anyone been to Iberostar

[rkr3000]

We have stayed at several Iberostars - Cozumel twice, Playa del Carmen twice, Domincan Republic Punta Cana once... We really enjoy staying with the Iberostar group. No matter where we have gone, the staff has been great, the grounds beautiful, the food pretty good, the dive ops okay. Cozumel is smaller and more "quaint" than the newer and upscale Iberostar Lindo in Playa, but that's why it's one of my husband's favorites. There is a great kids program, the night shows are entertaining, AI really means AI, and no need goes unmet.

I haven't heard of the problem with the outside ops as we went to Playa instead in July, but each time we've gone to Coz we have used Anita divers for our dives. They are so much better than the Dressel outfit there. Double decker boat, two tanks, lunch, 9 until 2... perfect dive days with plenty of pool and hangout time afterwards.

We highly recommend staying there. You won't be disappointed - unless you want a highrise hotel packed full of people. Have fun and let us know how your diving goes!

 

[rkr3000]

Now that I have been reading some other posts, I think I might know what others are referring to when talking about problems with other dive ops. If it's the fact that Iberostar won't let other dive ops use their peer to pick up divers, then I might have some information.

We have always used Anita Divers in Coz and loved every minute - MUCH better than Dressel. They do not pick us up at Iberostar's peer though. Instead, they pick us up at the next peer, Playa Sol (I think). It's a $5 taxi and 5 minute ride down the road. Anita Divers told us they couldn't pick us up at Iberostar because it's not deep enough for their double decker boat. Either that or "It's our peer and you're not using it". Either way, going a few minutes down the road to have a great two tank dive is well worth it.

Don't let the peer limitations keep you away. Iberostar is worth checking out. It's our second favorite Iberostar after Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

 

[waldick]

WOW, we just got back from our trip, thanks for all the input...
As we were told the food was indeed great and the layout fantastic. Our two children, 12 & 13, really took to scuba. We were all certified here at home in Ohio and so this was our first dive outside of the cold water of our local quarry. Our plan was for my son and i to dive poss. 3 or 4 days and my wife and my daughter to join us on three of the days. As it turned out, everyone liked the diving so much that my son an i did 6 2-tank dives plus a night dive and my wife and daughter dove 4 2-tank dive plus the night dive.

I think what made the difference for us was the dive operater we found. The dive outfit is called "scubatony" and it is run by a former cop from LA who moved to Coz because he loved diving and instructing. He was great to deal with. The first night we met him he gave us a cell phone and told us that anything we needed anytime, he was just a phone call away. He specializes in small groups and he told us that he had a boat for us all week and that he was at our disposal to dive as much or as little as we wanted.

We were picked up at the dock of the hotel at nine the next moring and as promised we were his only customers that day and all the rest of the week. Over the course of the week we hit all of the sites, including some deep wall dive to 100' with the kids who absolutely loved the whole scuba thing, and took to Tony from the start.

Tony also helped us with SI time like places to see and go as well as places to avoid...


All in all it was without question the best vacation we have ever taken, due in no small measure to Tony and the individualized attention he gave us. His prices were in line with all the other dive ops. His service was outstanding, he loves what he does and it shows. When we go back we will go back to Tony without question.

You can find out more about Tony at www.scubatony.com .

I'd be happy to share any other info if anyone would like more...

j. waldick

p.s. got great uw pictures too.