Cozumel questions

[Captain CaveMan]

if you dont mine staying on the main land with a 45min boat ride thats realy nice stay here. awsome hotel stayed the 2 times before and going back in 5months
www.royalhideaway.com

 

[Christi]

***** Update*****

Just read some Great Reviews on Casa Mexicana.

Any thoughts. I got a brochure ( Funjet Vacations) and they say that
its All Inclusive. When i go to the Web Site, it says nothing about being
all inclusive. Any one got any comments?

If i do stay here the Scuba Dive site is Aqua Safari; anyone dove with them?

Casa Mexicana is NOT all-inclusive, but they do have a wonderful breakfast buffet included.

I have a feeling you are confusing Cozumel Palace with Casa Mexiana. Casa Mex is in the $100 per night range, Cozumel Palace in the $200 to $250 per night range.

Cozumel Palace is all-inclusive and Aqua Safari is the onsite shop.

Regardless of where you stay, you can dive with any shop you like. The main thing you want to find out form shops you are interested in is whether they will pick you up (downtown for Casa Mexicana) or at the pier for Cozumel Palace.

Good luck and have a greeat vacation!!

 

[Charlie99]

Single guy looking for a mid range( 2 - 3 star) All inclusive hotel.
Probably around 90-100 a night??

I was looking at Scuba club, and from the people I've talked to
they said it is a pretty good hotel , then I found out the rooms
dont have TV's; Major points deducted.
.......

Im thinking something sorta close to the middle of the island, that way IF
I decide i want to go into town,... I hope Im pretty close.

Between diving, eating, hammock siesta, late afternoon/evening shore dive, and dinner you won't have much time for TV.

I highly recommend Scuba Club Cozumel for the a diver traveling by himself. It's a very friendly place where virtually everyone is a diver. At mealtimes and hanging around the hotel you will continuously bump into the same people that you've been hanging out with on the boat. Much more "single diver friendly" than a typical resort.

Charlie

 

[diveborg]

Single guy looking for a mid range( 2 - 3 star) All inclusive hotel. Probably around 90-100 a night??

On the beach. and something that wasnt too severly damaged by Emily.
I've read where hotels are still closed due to the damage they got.

Im thinking something sorta close to the middle of the island, that way IF
I decide i want to go into town,... I hope Im pretty close.

All these lead me to suggest the Fiesta Americana.

I was looking at Scuba club, and from the people I've talked to
they said it is a pretty good hotel , then I found out the rooms dont have TV's; Major points deducted.

TV is that important? They do have some on-site, just not in the rooms. Scuba Club would probably be a good choice for the solo traveler. Also, while James is certainly entitled to his opinion about Scuba Club, there are others who have an opinion about it that is 180 from his.

I was looking at El Cozumenlo.... any comments.

Nice place if you like families with kids and having to take a taxi to meet the dive boat. El Coz is north of town and few dive ops will pickup there.

Also,... how can I / should I book, travel agent, Expedia/Orbits, or direct with the Hotel.

That will depend on the hotel you pick. If you go with Caribe Blue, you will do best going thru www.travelnotes.cc The rest of the places I'd look on www.tripadvisor.com and use their price searching feature. There is no one web site that always has the lowest price for hotels.

Also, you would really enjoy the Cozumel map from www.cancunmap.com It is more than just a map, it is a travel guide. You would also know where the hotels were located, helping you to make a descision about where to stay.

 

[Moodiejeff]

Granted i've never stayed at any of these but it sounds like you want an AI.

Your best choices would be:
Fiesta Americana
Scuba Club
Hotel Cozumel

The last 2 are close enough to walk if you want to eat in town.

Drawbacks:
Scuba Club - you have to use their Dive Op, no ifs, ands, or buts! Like I said, never stayed there but did take a quick tour of Scuba Club... looked nice but I think James got it right about the beds.

None of them have a proper "beach" but all have sandy spots near the water.

And yes, Casa Mexicana gets good reviews from a LOT of people.

 

[jbilicska]

:goldfish: : How's the Coral Princess, were looking for a comfortable CLEAN place to stay that has a nice pool and beach and not to far from town. We heard you can snorkel and shore dive right from the hotel.
Thanks
Joe B

 

[pjdc1]

And it looks like the Winner is .......

Fiesta Americana.

Thanks to everyone for your help and suggestions.

Now, reviews about the hotels and dive shop from those that

have stayed there.

What kind of dive pkgs do they offer. do you have to
buy a pkg,..ex, 3dives for 3days, or can you just go to the dive shop and
say "hey whens the next boat goin out?"

 

[loudives]

Stayed at Coral Princess 4 years ago. Was clean and also is a time share hotel. No beach but the terrace is sand with sand volleyball court. Pool is mid size, The property is on a sea wall with a ladder to get back up. Depth is 15-20' at the wall makes for great jumping in and no sand in your a__ getting out. They have an on site dive operator who I would not use, but you can rent a tank there and jump in. Night dive along the sea wall you can see crabs, lobsters, but not much else. I snorkeled at night there instead of dove. Cab fare to town $5 or if you want its a 1-2 mile walk. All in all I would rate it 3-31/2 on a 5 scale.

 

[jbilicska]

Thanks for the info.

 

[d56nut]

Hi,

Stayed at Fiesta Americana 3 times in 2004. All 3 trips were wonderful! Ask for an upper floor (5th, 6th or 7th floor)....the views are much better and it is less noisy.

Sounds like you are taking the All Inclusive Plan? It's totally worth it even if you just use it for breakfast and lunch! My opinions on the food....

Breakfast: Made to order omlettes are wonderful. The buffet is good....not amazing....just good....has all the basics....french toast, sausages, tamales, fruits, cereals, pastries, etc.

Lunch: Fair to Excellent...depends what you get! They will not tell you that you can order from the menu...YOU CAN!!! If you want made to order, hot food, order from the menu. Otherwise, go for the buffet....hot dogs, burgers, and assorted other items.

Dinner: There are two places to eat for dinner at the resort. One is the fancy place...they tell you that you get to eat there twice during a 7 day stay....we went 3 times without a problem. Guys have to wear pants and collared shirts. The food here is excellent. The other place to eat is the buffet. It's a different theme each night. Some nights the food was excellent....some nights it was okay...some nights we went out to eat.

Drinks: Bottled water is free....however, don't take the bottles from the room...those are NOT free...just ask for a bottle of water on your way to your room as you pass the bar or ask for one at meal time. There are two bars...one is a swim up bar in the pool and the other is in the open lounge. Be nice to the bartenders and they will be nice to you!

There is a fridge in your room. Do NOT drink anything from the fridge or you will be charged for it. This, in my opinion, is assanine but it's the way it is. You can get the same items for free down at the bar and bring them to your room and put them in the fridge and there will be no charge. Those cans in the fridge have little stickers on them and if there are any missing you get charged. Same with the snack basket...don't eat the stuff if you don't want to pay for it.

Taxi's: Taxi's will cost you 6.00 each way to town. Don't let them charge you more than that. Make the driver tell you the cost before you get in the cab.

Diving: The on site operator is Dive House. We dove with them on all 3 trips to Fiesta Americana in 2004 and we were very happy with them. It really depends on the type of diving you want as to whether you will like Dive House.

Almost all operators will pick you up at the Fiesta Americana/Dive House pier. You do NOT have to dive with Dive House unless you want to. The boats that Dive House use are moderate size. When we dove with them we had around 12 divers per dive...give or take. The rides to the sites weren't fast and they weren't slow (we did pass other boats)...just a nice pleasant ride. They set up your gear for you. All entries are giant stride. When you suraface they take all your equipment from you while you are still in the water. By the time you climb the ladder they have your gear set up for the next dive. You are served sodas and water. We made a point of getting to know the divemasters and we tipped them well....and it worked to our benefit. We got extra attention and were often the first ones to see special things.

Now, if you want another suggestion on a dive operation: go with BlueXTSea. They have small fast boats...maximum of 6 divers per boat...very nice! You get to the dive sites very quickly. They set up your equipment for you. Entries are back rolls. When you surface they have a nice fresh shower rinse waiting for you and a nice warm towel. You get taken to a beach for the surface interval and you are served juice and snacks! They are very customer oriented....tell them what you want and they will do their best to accomplish it. Their website is www.bluextseadiving.com but if you want to book with them you'd better hurry...they fill up fast and far in advance!

So, as for Fiesta Americana....you'll have a blast! We stayed at the Occidental Grand in May and although it was nicer in many aspects than Fiesta Americana we felt that Fiesta Americana was more worth it for the difference in price (much less than The Grand). We are going to try Cozumel Palace in November!

Hope you enjoy the Fiesta!

Michelle