Cozumel-going Solo, Where To Stay?

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If a pool is a deal breaker then another nice hotel downtown with a courtyard and pool is Villa Las Anclas. If you dive with 3P its just around the corner and 3P will take care of your gear so you will not need to lug it back and forth. The owner, Doug, is a diver and the hotel is very diver friendly.
 
We stay at Casa Mexicana, it usually runs around $70-$80 a night. What ever the travelocity rate is, if you call direct, they will knock another $10 or so if you play the haggle game.

suites Bahia is right across the street from our favorite lunch place and bar The Thirsty Cougar. Rooms run around $40 a night and include the same breakfast buffet as Casa Mexicana, it's just about a 2 block walk. Tres Pelicanos is close, Aldora's shop and dock are about 1/2 a block away. I really can't decide if I prefer a cab to the marina to leave or getting on the boat close to the hotel. If it's rough, the boat ride sucks....but your going diving so it really doesn't matter.

Breakfast at CM starts at 7:00, but coffee, fruit, cereal, etc is usually out by 6:50. Aldora wants to leave their dock at 7:30 so you have plenty of time to grab a good meal and walk to the dock. It's less than 5 minutes away.

Blue Magic also has sleep and dive packages that include most of the hotels mentioned. Great service as well.

Aqua Safari also has a dock and shop near the hotel. I have never dove with them though.

Good luck, safe travels, and have fun!
Jay
 
Hotel Barracuda is perfect for a guy's solo dive trip. In town, most dive ops will still pick up there, pool, ocean view, cheap, sports bar in hotel, pool side music some nights, lots of action during day at pool, across the street from large grocery store. Only negative is that the rooms are a bit worn, but they are clean. I wouldn't stay there with my wife, but have with buddies and on solo trips.

PH
 
I will be there the same time as you. I have stayed at hotel cozumel,blue angel and suites Bahia. Hotel Cozumel and blue angel best bet for meeting people to hang out with. If u stay at suites Bahia or plaza hotel u have to think will I go sit at a bar in the daytime and run a tab or stay at a AI that has everything there. Even tho I don't stay at the resort much but having meals and diving in the same place is easy and convenient. Enjoy 9 days to go for me.
 
With a budget of less than $200 per night you can easily stay at the Casa Mexicana AND dive with 3P's for less than $200/day. In fact, $200/day should get you the Casa, Diving, and DInner/Drinks in town every night with $ left over! Of note, 3P's offers courtesy transport to and from the marina from their in-town shop that is on the rear of the same block Casa Mexicana is on. It's less than a 5min walk to the shop from the Casa. They leave at 7:40-7:45 AM from the shop to the marina so you have a little over 30 minutes to enjoy that fantastic endless breakfast buffet at the Casa. 3P's will also usually have you back at the shop by 1:00PM so it's like getting 2 vacations in one. Of note, 3P's will take your gear when you arrive and will take care of it until the day you leave... No lugging/rinsing gear... It's on the boat and set up when you get to the boat and then you break it down, bag it, and walk away from it... They take care of EVERYTHING so you can enjoy more fun time on the island and in town.
 
Casa Mexicana isright next to Aldora Pier. I personally see no reason to have to take a taxi to and from the marina daily when the pier a dozen ops use is 50 feet away. :)

As for bars: Wet Wendys & Kellys (make friends with Aries (ex-pat) - great guy) are my 2 favs. Kellys is THE place to watch sports.
 
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We just got back from Cozumel a few days ago. We booked through Caradonna Dive Adventures and stayed at the Sunscape Sabor Resort, diving with The Dive House there.

The new management company is working on fixing up the resort, so some things are still awaiting repairs. Our room, however, was clean, the staff very friendly, and the cost reasonable. For seven nights, with RT airfare from Tucson through Houston, all meals, drinks, and five days of 2-tank boat diving, we paid $1700 per person. That is, of course, double-occupancy since my wife and I shared the room. Sunscape has several restaurants to choose from, a couple of bars, a lounge, different shows and activities each night of the week, and a nicely maintained swimming pool. The Dive House has a small auxiliary on the premises, and the crew took our dive gear in each night, rinsed it, and had it back on the boat the next morning. We were also quite happy with how well the dive crew treated us, particularly since my wife has a few mobility limitations above the water, and so needed a bit more help on the boat.

The management company gave us a sales pitch for their vacation membership program, and while I'm not sure how reliable the information they gave during the pitch might have been, the price they quoted for typical for a room at the Sunscape Sabor was around $50 per night, per person, double-occupancy.

We did hear some people complain about the resort, but in some of those cases, I think the problem was expecting far too much from a lower-budget resort. About our only complaint was that the bed was firmer than we're used to, but that's a matter of personal preference, and no matter what mattresses they furnished the rooms with, they would not be able to please everyone. We enjoyed our stay, loved the diving, and have no hesitation (when the budget provides) to returning to both Cozumel and the Sunscape.
 
One alternative not mentioned already is Villa Escondida. It's a B&B very close to downtown. Right across from La Choza restaurant, private, small pool, 2 blocks from the water, and the breakfast is awesome.
 
One alternative not mentioned already is Villa Escondida. It's a B&B very close to downtown. Right across from La Choza restaurant, private, small pool, 2 blocks from the water, and the breakfast is awesome.

Phil, shhhhh...it's hard enough to get the spot in the corner of the pool to read my book.:) Just kidding, David & Magda are lovely hosts and her breakfasts are to die for. You can also meet some very nice folks in a nice garden setting right in the middle of town.:thumb:
 
If Villa Escondida is right across from La Choza, diving with Deep Blue couldn't be easier. They're about 75 feet from La Choza and would be on the same side of the street as Escondida. Their shop is on the corner. They leave from a downtown pier (Aldora? Aqua Safari? Same thing?) and have an early and a later boat, meaning 9am. Even if you wanted to keep your gear with you, they'd haul it from the shop down to the pier and back again. Don't know what Escondida costs, and I've never stayed at Suites Bahia either, but if I make a solo trip again, I'll look into Escondida for summer (the pool), and the Bahia in the winter. (Right on the water, great breakfast, close to the pier Deep Blue uses.) If I have a choice, I'd rather have a nice, relaxed breakfast and no rush to get on the boat.
 

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