Recently returned from my 4th dive trip to Cozumel this year. For the past three years I have stayed at the "usually reliable", downtown-convenient, Casa Mexicana. This year I hit a few snags there,and thought I might pass along my personal experiences. First off,anyone considering booking this hotel must insist on a room off the bottom floor. The first floor is conveniently near the lobby,but also the kitchen entrance in the rear. If you are a light sleeper,beware of the "clack-clack" of housekeeping and kitchen carts banging along the hard tile floor. This first floor hallway is quite noisy, with door slamming and every voice magnified,echoing along the corridor. My visit in September found the entry escalators being repaired,often requiring a long slog up the frozen steel steps to the lobby.This on-again,off-again escalator work continued for five days and nights. When I returned in early December,the problem was still being worked on, as the staff struggled to erect the lobby Christmas tree (also a 5 day project). Divers staying here will soon note the 7AM buffet breakfast seldom starts promptly at 7AM. Making it difficult to meet the morning Aldora boats at 7:30. Would be nice as a courtesy to the many divers who stay there, if they opened a mere half-hour earlier. And because the buffet is in an open atrium,and it might be raining, the whole shebang moves downstairs to the conference room,... chairs,tables,food,coffee,juice,fruit,etc. .Finally the cable TV...Now I'm not one to travel to Cozumel to lay in bed watching Mexican TV, however...it is included in the advertised hotel "amenities". The cable TV has 27 channels, 9 of which are blank. Channel 21-22 are the same. Channel 29 (National Geographic) shows a frozen still image. Expect to see a lot of "Ninguna Señal" messages on your screen.CNN is one of the rare channels in English,...but the audio sync is whacked-out. Fox News not available,...perhaps intentionally. Well kiddies, I hope this informs those considering this otherwise splendid,well-run hotel, a mere block from the Aldora office,and a short five-minute walk to their pick-up pier. You may have a different opinion,and I welcome your own experience...Enjoy !
Casa Mexicana trip report
- Thread starter k4kafka
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drrich2
Contributor
Appreciate the info. The more people know going in, the more satisfied they're likely to be with their stay. I enjoyed Casa Mexicana, but was on the 5th floor, and never had to eat in the lobby. Plus we gathered at Tres Pelicano's shop nearby by 7:40 a.m. (though we generally didn't head out from there immediately), not 7:30 a.m. I'm guessing Aldora likes to be early to the reefs?
Richard.
Richard.
The escalators seem to be an ongoing problem. Our two trips it seemed one side or the other was often out but I don’t recall a time both sides were out. And I have to hand it to them that there was always someone there to reverse the direction whenever we needed to go up or down.
I agree that opening the buffet a few minutes sooner would make life a little easier for us on morning dive days. Only once was the buffet late and that was after a night of rain. As I recall the terrace is domed but open to air on one side. I guess we too have been very lucky that we have also been able to eat on the terrace.
As to floors, I can well imagine the noise level on the first floor and I have too read that rooms opening onto the terrace are very noisy in the mornings. And that booking through sites like Expedia and Hotels.com do not allow a choice of floors. Lucky for us we dive with Tres Pelicanos and their partnership with Casa Mexicana lets Jeanie specify the room.
Rarely watch the TV but the room we have stayed in twice now does not allow input selection so we can’t use our Apple TV or Firestick. Like you, not a big deal but aggravating. Not sure if its the same way in all the rooms.
I agree that opening the buffet a few minutes sooner would make life a little easier for us on morning dive days. Only once was the buffet late and that was after a night of rain. As I recall the terrace is domed but open to air on one side. I guess we too have been very lucky that we have also been able to eat on the terrace.
As to floors, I can well imagine the noise level on the first floor and I have too read that rooms opening onto the terrace are very noisy in the mornings. And that booking through sites like Expedia and Hotels.com do not allow a choice of floors. Lucky for us we dive with Tres Pelicanos and their partnership with Casa Mexicana lets Jeanie specify the room.
Rarely watch the TV but the room we have stayed in twice now does not allow input selection so we can’t use our Apple TV or Firestick. Like you, not a big deal but aggravating. Not sure if its the same way in all the rooms.
We like Casa Mexicana, with a few exceptions.
I got a great deal through Orbitz. Casa Mexicana gave us a very nice room on the top floor, facing the ocean. For the most part, we liked it. Talking to my neighbors, I learned that the lower floors are a little more restrictive (concrete walls between the neighbors) and don't have the type of pergola the top floor has to dry your gear.
Also, one of the cruise ship was playing music and had a person on a microphone welcoming passengers back to the ship one day. They were playing the music so loud, it was bouncing off the buildings behind us and coming in through the door to our room - due to the open air concept of the hotel. We were getting it from both sides! That was quite annoying for a few hours.
We were also in the "middle rooms" (not an end room) and our room was adjoined to the folks to our right. I could hear the guy snoring next door.
The next time I will ask for an end unit on the top floor facing Calle 7. I think room 518 comes to mind, from looking at other rooms.
I agree that even 15 minutes would make a world of difference for most divers (6:45, instead of 7). That buffet is awesome, though. And, I love how it changes every day. Never the "same old, same old". My only disappointment is that my gut can't hold more of their good food. Service is much better than another hotel I visited, too!
I got a great deal through Orbitz. Casa Mexicana gave us a very nice room on the top floor, facing the ocean. For the most part, we liked it. Talking to my neighbors, I learned that the lower floors are a little more restrictive (concrete walls between the neighbors) and don't have the type of pergola the top floor has to dry your gear.
Also, one of the cruise ship was playing music and had a person on a microphone welcoming passengers back to the ship one day. They were playing the music so loud, it was bouncing off the buildings behind us and coming in through the door to our room - due to the open air concept of the hotel. We were getting it from both sides! That was quite annoying for a few hours.
We were also in the "middle rooms" (not an end room) and our room was adjoined to the folks to our right. I could hear the guy snoring next door.
The next time I will ask for an end unit on the top floor facing Calle 7. I think room 518 comes to mind, from looking at other rooms.
I agree that even 15 minutes would make a world of difference for most divers (6:45, instead of 7). That buffet is awesome, though. And, I love how it changes every day. Never the "same old, same old". My only disappointment is that my gut can't hold more of their good food. Service is much better than another hotel I visited, too!
I was a little disappointed on our last stay in October/November 2018 because they put us in a double room instead of a king even though we requested a king room at booking. When we requested a King room we were told that it simply was not an option during our stay. The attitude was like " you booked on Priceline (or hotels.com) , here is your discount room, enjoy it or leave..."
That being said, we have always been able to grab a quick breakfast and make it to the Aldora dock with a few minutes to spare, and the place is OCD clean. The location works for us as it is within walking distance of all of our favorite places except of La Perlita.
We did notice escalator issues, but it was always the opposite side we needed so it never effected us. The elevators are much faster than they were 5 years ago.
Both Jamie (the matre d) and Santa (the grill chef) were on vacation, but breakfast was excellent as always. The Fruit bar and coffee has always been available just before 7, we also grab some fruiT to go for the divemaster. Supposedly, you can request a "to go" box if you have to leave before the full buffet is available. Most important...the beds are comfortable and AC works.
We have never had to relocate for breakfast in 5 years of staying 2-3 weeks per year so we have been lucky there.
On the upside, our last stay, we missed the 6:40 am wake up non stop bark from the neighbors dog.... it's usually not a problem unless it's the day we leave and want to sleep in a bit. The little turd will let you know it's time for breakfast...but I still hope he is ok...
If you book online, make sure you request your room in advance...and confirm again the week before you arrive. Our preferred room is atrium view, south side, 4 th floor. We were stuck in 5th floor, city view, on our last trip. The best budget rooms are South West side corner with partial ocean view.
Despite the disappointment on our last trip, we will stay there again.
Merry Christmas,
Jay
That being said, we have always been able to grab a quick breakfast and make it to the Aldora dock with a few minutes to spare, and the place is OCD clean. The location works for us as it is within walking distance of all of our favorite places except of La Perlita.
We did notice escalator issues, but it was always the opposite side we needed so it never effected us. The elevators are much faster than they were 5 years ago.
Both Jamie (the matre d) and Santa (the grill chef) were on vacation, but breakfast was excellent as always. The Fruit bar and coffee has always been available just before 7, we also grab some fruiT to go for the divemaster. Supposedly, you can request a "to go" box if you have to leave before the full buffet is available. Most important...the beds are comfortable and AC works.
We have never had to relocate for breakfast in 5 years of staying 2-3 weeks per year so we have been lucky there.
On the upside, our last stay, we missed the 6:40 am wake up non stop bark from the neighbors dog.... it's usually not a problem unless it's the day we leave and want to sleep in a bit. The little turd will let you know it's time for breakfast...but I still hope he is ok...
If you book online, make sure you request your room in advance...and confirm again the week before you arrive. Our preferred room is atrium view, south side, 4 th floor. We were stuck in 5th floor, city view, on our last trip. The best budget rooms are South West side corner with partial ocean view.
Despite the disappointment on our last trip, we will stay there again.
Merry Christmas,
Jay
Having stayed at the Casa Mexicana 10+ years now it is our regular stop. Most of these snags are the normal. Escalator requires much maintenance due to the salt and sand but it’s usually just a day or 2. Buffet starts at 7:00 but often doesn’t get up to speed till 7:10, makes a 7:30 dive a tight quick bit. Also have seen that additional items come out after 8:30 like tamales! First floor rooms are not as good unless you don’t like steps and the elevator.
We still love the Casa Mexicana and will be there March 2nd.
I was staying at the Bahia and flying out Saturday December 1st. I slept in and went to get a late breakfast at Casa. There was a youth basketball tournament in town and all the kids were eating there, not one empty chair. I bet it was pretty loud for those in inside rooms.
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