Cozumel- All-inclusive, dive resort (or both), or hotel (with no meal plan)???

[goofygirl]

(Copying this from the Caribbean forum where I had misplaced it originally)
Even in our post-wedding budget mode we have decided that we are still taking a dive vacation!!! Based on all the great info on these boards we've decided on Coz as the best 'bang for our buck.' (Our first trip to Coz I might add!!!)

To further try to keep the budget under control we're considering if all-inclusive would be a better choice. All-inclusive is not something hubby and I would normally be into (we like to go out and explore topside just as much as bottom) but if it is more cost efficient we'll do it.

rofile: Is all-inclusive the way to go in Coz or are the restaurants resonable enough that a hotel with no meal plan would come out about the same?

rofile: If we're going to go all-inclusive should we go to a dive resort?

rofile: How is October for weather, diving, water temps, etc.? (I'm aware that it's the end of hurricaine season) Or shoud we consider another time of year?

Basically, right now we're considering The Fiesta Americana and Scuba Club Cozumel. Any other ideas? (You should know I'm on the picky side)

Any personal experience and specific recommendations are greatly appreciated!

PS- Aircondiitoning is a MUST

 

[glbirch]

My wife and I have been to Coz a couple of times and are headed back in a couple of months again. We would never do an all-inclusive there. For one, we hate the idea of always having to head back to the hotel to eat. There are too many good cheap restaurants in town that we like. We're booked into a bungalow in town at $45USD/night for the room. In the past we've stayed at a hotel in town for $35USD/night, but the bungalow has a second bedroom for our daughter. Cheap, clean and convenient. For diving we just book with our usual shop and cab down in the morning.

But... If you're picky(?) you might want to go with all-inclusive or the larger hotels. Keep an eye out for specials, sometimes you can get a good deal.

Just wait. Depending where you stay your next choice will be what dive shop to book with. Lots of threads on that one...

 

[goofygirl]

actually in my case 'picky' means all-inclusive is really not my first choice.

Our usual MO is either to stay in a condo and prepare our own breakfast/lunch, or a hotel and go cheap for breakfast/lunch, and to go out for NICE meals for dinner and drinks, etc. We usually have no problem with renting a car and driving ourselves around, including to and from town. Gives us freedom to explore. But this trip the budget is an issue so we're trying to cut corners, so probably no condo or car rental this time.

I don't mind less than luxurious accomodations as long as they're not truly bohemian. Holiday Inn is fine with me if you get my drift. A clean comfortable place to shower and sleep and get ready to go out is all you really need, right?

We would like a place with a nice pool and/or beach to hang out at in the lazy afternoons after diving.

 

[Natasha]

Hi goofygirl!
I have been to Cozumel 8 times. I have done it both ways, all inclusive, and on my own.
I personally like a very small breakfast before I dive, like a Cliff bar and some coffee. I like to go back to the room after two tanks, and get a sandwich out of my fridge. (Usually bring tuna, and buy bread there) Then I'm ready for a one tank afternoon dive.
Dinner is where I like to spend my money. I like lobster ..and I like all the fresh sea food. I try to have dessert, my favorite is coconut ice cream with Kahlua poured on top!
Since cabs can cost a lot, and so can renting a car, I like to stay at Plaza Las Glorias. I can walk into town from there comfortably. They also have a great swim up pool bar, and a small shore dive.
The rooms face the west so you get the sunset nightly.
As for October..it's a coin toss. The prices are cheaper, but you can miss dive time with the weather.
Hope this helped.
Most of all have fun!

 

[goofygirl]

Natasha- Thanks for the info. I'll add PLG to the list of possible hotels.

rofile:Anyone have any personal experience or info about Villablanca? That's another hotel I see come up on these boards a bit.

 

[ggunn]

actually in my case 'picky' means all-inclusive is really not my first choice.

Our usual MO is either to stay in a condo and prepare our own breakfast/lunch, or a hotel and go cheap for breakfast/lunch, and to go out for NICE meals for dinner and drinks, etc. We usually have no problem with renting a car and driving ourselves around, including to and from town. Gives us freedom to explore. But this trip the budget is an issue so we're trying to cut corners, so probably no condo or car rental this time.

I don't mind less than luxurious accomodations as long as they're not truly bohemian. Holiday Inn is fine with me if you get my drift. A clean comfortable place to shower and sleep and get ready to go out is all you really need, right?

We would like a place with a nice pool and/or beach to hang out at in the lazy afternoons after diving.

Check out Caribe Blu (formerly Lorena, more formerly La Perla). It's right on the water, close enough to town to be a cheap cab ride but far enough so that you won't ever be mobbed by cruise ship folks. It's got a nice pool and a sort of a beach, a dive shop and a snack bar on the premises, and a dock. The shore diving there is pretty good. It's really small (21 rooms), and it's between the road and the water, so every room has a great view and none are far from the dock and pool. My family has been staying there for a couple of weeks every summer for over 20 years; it's not luxury, but the rooms are clean and the staff is friendly.

 

[BrettM]

GG,

I have done both all inclusives and non in Coz and either way I think you will have a great time. You may also want to look into The El Cozumeleno as an all inclusive option. It is north of downtown, has good food with nice rooms and amenities. Great friendly staff there too.

Having said that, it sounds like you enjoy exploring and the many local resturants in Coz have excellent food at very affordable prices. A quick search on this board will turn up many diver favorites not to be missed. All inclusive or not you are likely to want to go back and forth into town on a regular basis to eat, shop, explore. You can save about 5 to 10 bucks each way in cab fare by choosing a hotel located within easy walking distance from town. Several that fit this bill are Plaza Las Glorias, Brisas (or whatever the current name is) and Scuba Club. All fine options.

For me the benefit of all inclusives is convenience more than expense. After finishing up diving for the day I enjoy just chilling out by the hotel pool until dinnertime. It is nice to just walk over to the pool snack bar or beverage bar whenever you want without having to change cloths, see how much money is in your wallet or hike into town. You can sip cokes or Pina Colada's all afternoon poolside and grab a snack or burger at will without wondering what that is doing to your hotel bill.

Have a great trip!

 

[parrotheaddiver]

Everyone has different taste mine is between dive camp and luxury. I've been going to Coz since 1977 and stayed in all price ranges. Currently the hotel we are enjoying is Hotel Cozumel & Resort. It is close to town 3.00 US cab ride. The rooms are clean and comfortable (new mattress with foam eggcrate) AC is cold nice balcony with pegs to hang gear. Largest pool on the island w/hot tub. We decided to go AI this last time because we decided we wanted to do more diving than getting cleaned up and going to town to eat 3 meals. All though I did miss the different resturants the AI at the hotel was not bad. All meals are served buffet and had a lot of choices food was good and hot. The beach side which you can access through an under the street tunnel (nice touch) has a large open air resturant for lunch after our morning dive we would just rinse our gear and store it in the dive lockers that hotel provides (ask for key on ck in) we would sit down for lunch and then go down to the beach chairs and relax on the beach, hotel also provides large beach towels no extra chargethey also have a small pool on the beach side, until the afternoon dive. When we would return from the afternoon dive we would clean up and go down by the pool for a snack nachos burgers etc. also cannot forget all you can drink as well. Then it would be time for dinner. The plan was cheap enough for us approx 85.00 ea extra for AI 5 day pkg. that we wouldn't have felt guilty if we had gone to town for dinner. It was just easier for us for this trip. They also have the no meals pkg or breakfast only pkg. We booked through Funjet cheapest we could find at Christmas. www.funjet.com http://www.hotelcozumel.us/english/default.htm Have fun.

 

[goofygirl]

Thank you all for your input and advice! I looked into all the suggestions that you all made, and after much research both on this board and others (tripadvisor.com is great!) I'm pretty sure we've decided on Fiesta Americana without the AI plan.

There are other hotels that I probably would have liked better, but for the $$ FA looks like the best choice for us. Can't wait to start researching Dive Ops and restaurants!!! Oy!!!

Thank you all again!

 

[Natasha]

Have fun. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.