So Dave you just might have heard this before..
Last year for spring break My wife and I took a vacation with our young daughter (6).
Being an avid diver I have just one requirement for vacation - it is a place to dive..
My wife a non-diver just wants a place with a beach and she does not have to worry going finding a place to eat with just her and our daughter while I am diving (she likes the all inclusive for this reason).
It being spring break however, we where a little concerned over this same subject. We did lots of the same type of queries on travel forums and other sites. The replies we got were pretty much in the same line as what has already been said here. "Cozumel is not a party town, This is all done in Cancun and Playa".
We went further and found more information on the resort the El Cozumeleno stating the they did not allow "springs breakers", they had strict limits on the number of guest allowed in a room.
We got there; got a very nice room, just off one of the pools, and could see out to the Channel .. it was beautiful and relaxing. My wife fell in love with the room, location and view. She really liked the view from the porch and enjoyed sitting out there after our daughter went to bed.
Most certainly, Jerry Springer and Girls Gone Wild did not show up on the beach, and it was a very peaceful and relaxing place during the day.
All was great for the first night, then on each side of our room two young groups that were clearly together arrived. I have no idea of what the limits were on the "number of guest allowed in a room" but I know there were way more people in those two rooms then pillows. Every night at about 9:30 - 10:00 these kids would start up with cranking the music and yelling.. OMG the language that some of these kids used. I know I went through a period where my language was not so great but I do not think I ever was as bad as this. Slamming their doors, running up and down the hallway, yelling. This went on EVERY night till about 4-5 in the morning. At points they were even knocking at our door - mistaking it for their other room....
ANYONE with a young child knows that in order for you to enjoy vacation or any other day knows that your child needs to sleep at night, Right!.
Plus any diver knows the morning dive boats leave early.
Asking them to quiet down did nothing at all.. Complaining to the hotel got it to stop for about 15-20 minutes. Then it started right backup
What Boggles my mind in all this is why did they want to spend so much of their time cramped in their hotel room when they were at a beautiful destination. They could have been out away from the rooms at the beach side bar - on the beach, the resorts night club.. or at one of the clubs in town. If you are just going to stay and party in a hotel room why spend the money on air fare - just get a room in your home town.
My wife having done all the research, and having an expectation that she would not have the bad experience has vowed to NEVER travel again on spring break.
I think she is being a little over dramatic. I connected with some other divers at the same hotel they did not have the same experience.. And I do not think that the whole hotel was over run with this type of group. The fact is that there are just dis-respectful people in this world - this same event could have happened at anytime of the year at any hotel and with any age group..
A couple lessons learned however -
If you can do not get a room within 5 door of the elevator banks(ever!).. (this is alway a mecca for the disrespectful).
Do not get a Ground Floor room - always a bad thing.. Really being able to just walk out to the pool is an answer for high theft risk and more foot traffic....
If you have noisy neighbors - do not wait to complain - complain often and just a load as they are.
Do not fall in LOVE with a HOTEL ROOM or the VIEW from it.
IF the Hotel cannot control the guest next to you after a couple of complaints - request to be moved and upgraded - DO NOT let the love for the room stop you from moving - you will have a better time in the long run.
The Squeaky Wheel Always gets oil first - if at first they hotel cannot move you make everyone aware, the day, the noon, the evening, the night shift..
Travel with a large group of your friends and maybe you can get rooms together to help prevent those disrespectful neighbors.
