Dive with Hotel or Not?

[Dogbowl]

@nwflyboy , about how much is the cab ride into town from El Presidente? Thx

 

[nwflyboy]

Don't recall exactly, I'm thinking about 140-160 pesos each way - under US$10 including tip to/from the center.
Depends on location - El Morro is a bit further.
I suspect others here have the taxi fares memorized and should be able to confirm/correct.

The El Presidente is just a bit beyond the Punta Langosta cruise ship terminal, so while it's a little too far to walk to the center easily, it's not waaaaaay down south and super isolated like the big all-inclusive resorts. It also seems to be within "pickup distance" for the dive ops.

 

[ReefHound]

The beds are hard at Hotel Coz but beds typically tend to run hard in Mexico.

You can shore dive from Hotel Coz and it's a short walk to Blue Angel if you want to shore dive there.

You can boat/shore dive in afternoon, lounge by pool, or go walking into town. Odds are you're problem will be not having enough time rather than not having anything to do.

 

[Ron Lee]

140 pesos should be close enough for planning....per taxi.

 

[ChuckP]

I have stayed at Hotel Coz many times over 20 years, as recently as last year. Yes, their beds are hard, but not like concrete. For its modest price, I think it's hard to beat the Hotel Coz. Nice big pool, walking distance to the big stores and town. As suggested above, fer cryin' out loud, do NOT buy the full meal package if you stay there - breakfast is fine, but do your dinners in town.

I have also stayed at the El Presidente for the past 2 years and highly recommend it. I love this place. Nearly everything about it is just perfect. The beds are heavenly - my wife calls the beds there "magnetic" because they really feel good and you do not want to get out of them. The newly renovated rooms there are spec-tac-ular, with really lovely outdoor rain showers (two showers actually, both huge - one fully indoor, marble, etc, the other even bigger, outdoors but shaded and private, lots of dark wood...man, I can sit in that shower for hours...). Really beautiful "infinity pool" fronting their beach. They do everything right - I even found their food to be pretty good (but I'd still rather go eat in town). Your wife will looooove this place, it feels very luxurious. There are only two downsides to this hotel: price and location. Any way you slice it, it's expensive (you can use points though, if you have 'em, that's what we do). And it's too far to walk into town - but the taxi is easy, quick and not terribly expensive. My wife wants to go back and will probably insist on staying there until we're bankrupt...she still gushes about the beds. If having a reeeeeeally comfy bed is a high priority, and you can stomach the cost, this is the place for you. Pro tip: you definitely want one of the newly renovated, ocean-front rooms (these have the lovely outdoor shower suites). They will usually upgrade you if you are a member of the IHG loyalty program. If you plan to go there, if you don't already have it, get their IHG credit card - you get a big slug of points (which you can use for 1-2 nights free), and having the card gives you a very good chance of getting upgraded upon arrival to the nicer ocean-front rooms.

No matter where you stay, you should be able to use any dive operation you want. We dive with Living Underwater. No problem getting picked up/dropped off at the dock.

Finally, about all that free time...

Our routine in Cozumel, like that of most other smart guys I know, is like this:
1. Get up early. Maybe have a light breakfast, maybe not.
2. Suit up and be at the dock around 8 am (check time with your op)
3. The boat pulls up, you get on, say hello all around. Off you zoom to the dive site. Your stuff is already on the boat, set up and ready. Gear up as you approach the dive site.
4. First dive of the day.
5. Surface interval at some beach, shade, hydrate, maybe snack, hit the bathroom.
6. Back on the boat, off to the second site.
7. Second dive of the day.
8. Short boat ride back. Tip your DM and boat crew, hop off at the hotel dock.
9. Back to your room, shower, change into comfy clothes.
10. Optional afternoon activities: Have a cold beer. Lay in the shade, or very briefly in the sun. Take a dip in the pool or ocean. Decide where to go to dinner. Maybe review/upload some photos from the day's dive.
11. Taxi into town (or if staying at Hotel Coz, walk to town), head for dinner.
12. Eat, drink, be merry. Go for a walk around town after dinner. Get a paleta or liquado at La Michoacán (a personal favorite, Mexican ice cream/frozen things place).
13. Taxi back to the hotel. Fall into the Magnetic Bed.

Repeat this for 7 days. You should be quite relaxed and happy. This routine works wonderfully for me, and I bet it's close to what most people here do. Can't get more blissful than that. Have fun!

I used to work in Mexico and lived in Saltillo, I stayed in Mexico City one night every week for 6 months at the El Presidente. We had some last minute travel deals out of Monterey to Cozumel, went 5 out of 6 weeks there for the weekend and then back - oh I know those beds!!! That was years ago though and I really just wanted to make sure after that Curacao disaster.

I spoke (emailed) with Blue Project this afternoon and I think we're leaning that way. Seems that they can tailer things a bit toward what we're looking for......

 

[gopbroek]

@nwflyboy , about how much is the cab ride into town from El Presidente? Thx

The taxi rate cards are posted Cozumel FAQ's sticky on the last post
Arriving/Departing the Cozumel Airport - A Guided Tour
El President, the new marina and old Caleta are all in the same Sur zone 4 rate of $110 MXN
El Presidente is on the south side of the old Caleta about a mile south or the Puerta Maya cruise ship terminal at KM 6.5 (6.5 KM south or 4 miles south of the ferry terminal / main square)

 

[morecowbells]

I know I am getting old when I pay attention to the type of bedding listed on hotel websites. I agree with all of the above about the beds in Mexico running on the hard(cast iron) side. Personally, I have had better luck with bedding comfort renting a condo than staying at a resort. I have used Homeaway, VRBO and Airbnb. When scrolling through the listing, they usually specify or boast about the mattresses, plus I can also read reviews(honest, unlike Tripadvisor)where people address the comfort of the bedding. You can also contact the owner for more specifics.
As for dive ops, find one that checks all of your boxes regardless of where you are staying.

 

[morecowbells]

I know I am getting old when I pay attention to the type of bedding listed on hotel websites. I agree with all of the above about the beds in Mexico running on the hard(cast iron) side. Personally, I have had better luck with bedding comfort renting a condo than staying at a resort. I have used Homeaway, VRBO and Airbnb. When scrolling through the listing, they usually specify or boast about the mattress quality, plus I can also read reviews(honest, unlike Tripadvisor)where people address the comfort of the bedding. You can also contact the owner for more specifics. You will find that most of the listings are USA citizens. Since their unit is also their slice of paradise, they don't want a rock hard bed either
As for dive ops, find one that checks all of your boxes regardless of where you are staying. Since most dive ops store and handle your gear, an on site dive op is not terribly relevant.
Too bad about your Kura Hulanda experience. We stayed there several years ago and I could tell the resort was struggling and teetering to stay solvent. Great location, but so many problems.

 

[ChuckP]

I thought about the condo route as we are looking for property somewhere outside the US, Mexico isn't topping the list but an investment is just that...

I wish I had the money to buy Hulanda or they'd pay me to run it for two years... Heard there is red tape in the sale involving the government but someone needs to invest in that place.

I think we're sticking with Blue Project, they seem a touch smaller then Blue XTsea who looked really favorable also, I really prefer private smaller groups and I think it'll help my wife's comfort level.

 

[Ron Lee]

Many dive ops use six passenger (customer) boats. Plus if you get a private divemaster the first day, it would be the three of you. Either go a few minutes before or after the rest of the group.