billindenver
Contributor
- Messages
- 447
- Reaction score
- 16
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
Casa Del Mar
The last time we stayed there, I wasn't really much of a fan. No safe in the room, restroom window permanently open to the hallway, no balcony to dry the gear, small pool, etc. This trip, since we couldnt get into Hotel Coz, we decided to give casa del mar another try this time not in the regular room, but rather in the superior room. Much better. There is a safe in each room, and a balcony with an ocean view. Still though, I do prefer Hotel Coz. In most rooms there is still that open restroom window to the hallway. In the Marines seeing guys in the shower wasnt an abnormal thing .on a vacation though .privacy is a bit more expected to me. Also, no wifi in the rooms like Hotel Coz. Its a small thing but installing wifi is so easy, I can't fathom why they wouldn't do it. I love disconnecting in Coz, but some business still has to be done and I would rather catch up on email in my room than in the lobby. Its a small thing, but it to me it matters though not as much as that window. The couple across the hall were not divers and while I appreciate their um...vacation activities, I can't say that I really needed to wake up to it. The pool area falls short of Hotel Coz as does the lobby. As a diver, I appreciate Hotel Coz having plenty of large rinse tanks down by the pier, hanging areas to dry gear and storage lockers. Casa Del Mar not so much. Still, if Hotel Coz is not available, I would stay here again. The staff were all friendly and helpful and I like the distance to town as it makes for a great walk in and back for dinner. Don't take the above as overly critical, nothing about Casa Del Mar is terrible.
Diving
As Ive said in the past, I am not a brand loyal guy. I will go where my money gets the best return and I like trying new dive ops. But, Aldora has blown me away. Memo is one of the owners and the original Aldora dive master .but these days he manages the offices and runs the schedule on their 8 boat fleet and stack of DMs +boat captains. We mentioned on Saturday when we arrived that we would love to dive with Memo if he gets the urge and if he can think of any place we could look into some spear fishing .let us know. On the second day, as the boat pulls up to the dock, Memo is smiling up at us from the boat. He was our DM for the day. We did Punta Sur Sur which was amazing and then took off north to the pier in town. While we are getting a bite to eat downtown, Memo runs to his house and picks up some spear guns. Off we go .north. Way way north. We couldnt see land anymore if that tells you how far north we went. Three dives later weve bagged 19 lionfish (to to eat), 1 huge lobster, 1 large jack, a barracuda and a dozen other fish. It was nothing short of an amazing day of fun that put us back on land at 5pm. The captain and family ate really well that week. The dive buddy and I are hunters in Colorado, but hunting underwater now that is fun. A whole lot warmer than chasing Elk at 12000 feet too. It's an Iphone picture, so not terribly clear but here is one from that day.
The rest of the week was typical Aldora. Long, deep dives using all of a high pressure 120 cubic foot tank. Sherief was his typical amazing dive master self ..packing 3 hours of deep diving into two tanks. He was taking a tri-mix class this week though, so we didnt have him all week. Mateo, as always, was fun and entertaining. The man is an encyclopedia of diving knowledge. It is never a bad day being in the boat with Mateo. Aldora was diving the east side the day we left due to a norte shutting down the port, so we missed it by ONE day, and I have never been so tempted to blow off a flight home and reschedule. But, the following day was Valentines day....and the two of us couldn't bring ourselves to make those phone calls. Since mine recently recieved a ring, I'm betting I could have skated by but the dive buddy would have had to sleep in the front yard and it was COLD back in Denver so we took our scheduled flight home..which was 4 hours late. Oh yeah, a note to Frontier :mooner:
This trip we also met several of the scubaboard regulars. A crazy Canuck wandered over during a surface interval to say hello. Firstdive2005 is as funny in person as he is on the boards. OverandUnder was there as well, and one name that my aged mind has forgotten (sorry man). AnnFrenchie (annlaur?) was a blast to dive with, as was Maria again (is she on this board?) Naturally, I have to envy/hate those two just a little despite how nice they are .staying on Coz for months at a time .pfft. Oh yeah, firstdive2005 falls in that category as well .jerk.
One last thing. Kevin, I'll apologize now for the beating team Canada is going to take tomorrow at the hands of the USA mens hockey team. U-S-A U-S-A...
The last time we stayed there, I wasn't really much of a fan. No safe in the room, restroom window permanently open to the hallway, no balcony to dry the gear, small pool, etc. This trip, since we couldnt get into Hotel Coz, we decided to give casa del mar another try this time not in the regular room, but rather in the superior room. Much better. There is a safe in each room, and a balcony with an ocean view. Still though, I do prefer Hotel Coz. In most rooms there is still that open restroom window to the hallway. In the Marines seeing guys in the shower wasnt an abnormal thing .on a vacation though .privacy is a bit more expected to me. Also, no wifi in the rooms like Hotel Coz. Its a small thing but installing wifi is so easy, I can't fathom why they wouldn't do it. I love disconnecting in Coz, but some business still has to be done and I would rather catch up on email in my room than in the lobby. Its a small thing, but it to me it matters though not as much as that window. The couple across the hall were not divers and while I appreciate their um...vacation activities, I can't say that I really needed to wake up to it. The pool area falls short of Hotel Coz as does the lobby. As a diver, I appreciate Hotel Coz having plenty of large rinse tanks down by the pier, hanging areas to dry gear and storage lockers. Casa Del Mar not so much. Still, if Hotel Coz is not available, I would stay here again. The staff were all friendly and helpful and I like the distance to town as it makes for a great walk in and back for dinner. Don't take the above as overly critical, nothing about Casa Del Mar is terrible.
Diving
As Ive said in the past, I am not a brand loyal guy. I will go where my money gets the best return and I like trying new dive ops. But, Aldora has blown me away. Memo is one of the owners and the original Aldora dive master .but these days he manages the offices and runs the schedule on their 8 boat fleet and stack of DMs +boat captains. We mentioned on Saturday when we arrived that we would love to dive with Memo if he gets the urge and if he can think of any place we could look into some spear fishing .let us know. On the second day, as the boat pulls up to the dock, Memo is smiling up at us from the boat. He was our DM for the day. We did Punta Sur Sur which was amazing and then took off north to the pier in town. While we are getting a bite to eat downtown, Memo runs to his house and picks up some spear guns. Off we go .north. Way way north. We couldnt see land anymore if that tells you how far north we went. Three dives later weve bagged 19 lionfish (to to eat), 1 huge lobster, 1 large jack, a barracuda and a dozen other fish. It was nothing short of an amazing day of fun that put us back on land at 5pm. The captain and family ate really well that week. The dive buddy and I are hunters in Colorado, but hunting underwater now that is fun. A whole lot warmer than chasing Elk at 12000 feet too. It's an Iphone picture, so not terribly clear but here is one from that day.
The rest of the week was typical Aldora. Long, deep dives using all of a high pressure 120 cubic foot tank. Sherief was his typical amazing dive master self ..packing 3 hours of deep diving into two tanks. He was taking a tri-mix class this week though, so we didnt have him all week. Mateo, as always, was fun and entertaining. The man is an encyclopedia of diving knowledge. It is never a bad day being in the boat with Mateo. Aldora was diving the east side the day we left due to a norte shutting down the port, so we missed it by ONE day, and I have never been so tempted to blow off a flight home and reschedule. But, the following day was Valentines day....and the two of us couldn't bring ourselves to make those phone calls. Since mine recently recieved a ring, I'm betting I could have skated by but the dive buddy would have had to sleep in the front yard and it was COLD back in Denver so we took our scheduled flight home..which was 4 hours late. Oh yeah, a note to Frontier :mooner:
This trip we also met several of the scubaboard regulars. A crazy Canuck wandered over during a surface interval to say hello. Firstdive2005 is as funny in person as he is on the boards. OverandUnder was there as well, and one name that my aged mind has forgotten (sorry man). AnnFrenchie (annlaur?) was a blast to dive with, as was Maria again (is she on this board?) Naturally, I have to envy/hate those two just a little despite how nice they are .staying on Coz for months at a time .pfft. Oh yeah, firstdive2005 falls in that category as well .jerk.
One last thing. Kevin, I'll apologize now for the beating team Canada is going to take tomorrow at the hands of the USA mens hockey team.
U-S-A U-S-A...
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