Fiesta Americana/Blue Angel Trip Report

[driftin' by]

Part 1
Hold on, It's a long one....

WOW! What an amazing week it was in Cozumel! My wife, 19-month old daughter and I just returned from a week at Fiesta Americana and diving with Blue Angel. In about a dozen trips to both Cozumel and the Mayan Riviera since 1999, with more than half taken before we were divers, this one was the absolute best. For a basis of reference, we've previously stayed at higher rated resorts including many different Iberostars, Kantenah Grand Palladium, Club Maeva, Gala and Allegro in Coz. We've finally found the perfect home away from home at Fiesta Americana. A strong desire to move away from the overly pretentious, mega resorts to the smaller, perhaps somewhat "funky" resorts has yielded greater enjoyment and less illness due to tourista. I know, I know already that the buffet chow lines at the AI's have a lot to do with that. Heck, I NEVER go to one at home so why on vacation especially with all the good eats in San Miguel you ask? Because, I'm lazy and we were traveling with our daughter. The AI paid off BIG TIME with this trip to Fiesta Americana. So good in fact that with strong intentions to eat out for dinner 4 or 5 times, we only made it to town once and it was for lunch. Anyway, on with the review....

Getting there:
Flight from Houston direct to Cozumel went off without a hitch aboard Continental. Through immigration and a green light at customs we were off to get our white van then whisked away to the resort.....

Staff/Clientele:
Besides the staff here, the second best aspect was the clientele. We met the most sincere, genuinely nice folks here that were both divers and non divers. Maybe it was because we were in the company of our precious daughter or perhaps it was just the kind of folks that gravitate to such an awesome resort. Either way, they were all just wonderful and a pleasure to get to know.

Room:
Our room on the 5th floor was very roomy with all the standard amenities including alarm clock, coffee maker, hair dryer, clothes iron and board, bath tub, small love seat, a table and chairs and color TV with the best selection of channels I've ever seen in Mexico. However we only put on Spanish speaking cartoons for our daughter to watch. Contrary to other reports regarding a noisy air conditioning unit we found ours to be very quiet and it worked extremely well. Sometimes too good, cooling the room to an uncomfortable level. Only thing missing was a refrigerator which we knew wouldn't be available in advance and ended up being an non-issue. King size bed was quite firm but it's what we've come to expect over the years in Mexico. There was plenty of storage for dive gear and clothes although the closet was rather small. The balcony had a large wooden table and 2 sling chairs which was nice to spread all our dive gear out on to day. We didn't experience any problems with water pressure, temperature or odor although it's was a bit yellowish when you first turned it on. Not a problem for us. If I had one complaint it was that the lighting in the closet/sink area was rather dim making it difficult to see into the safe which was located in the closet on the top shelf. The safe was electronic and of a generous size. There was an additional daily usage charge for it which was of no consequence at about $1 USD per day. Big whop.

Facilities:
Including our room the facilities were very clean and tidy. The pool was about the cleanest I've been in while vacationing to Mexico and cleaned every morning. Both pools were also perfect for our daughter with both having shallower portions that she could stand in. The main pool with the swim-up bar was great and Mario the bartender was happy and eager to server you. The man-made beach was cleaner than I've experienced also with far fewer cigarette butts and trash buried in the sand. The walk-in to the ocean was a bit traitorous if you were to attempt it bare footed. All in all, the "beach" was really nice and beyond our expectations with plenty of comfortable and clean loungers under palapas. On a few occasions, bartenders would bring us more drinks to the beach or pool area which also exceeded our expectations of this 3.5-star resort. Crossing the street from the resort to the beach area was of very little consequence/hassle with the addition of the new highway that runs behind the resort diverting traffic. Also, an enormous speed bump practically brings all motorists to a complete halt although it was funny watching fresh off the ship, pod-people attempt to slow their suicide cycles (mopeds) before going air born. In fact, it was like clock work... just about 2 hours after the cruise ship would steam to port, you could count on a steady stream of mopeds, jeeps and buggies all occupied by loud and obnoxious pod people determined to let every island vacationer know they've arrived.

Breakfast:
The food was among the best we've had staying at an AI resort. Although the selection was smaller than what we've experienced in the past, the quality and number of edible selections ranked supreme. We ate breakfast daily at the beach-side restaurant which consisted of the usual fare. For me, it was a bacon, onion, green pepper and cheese omelet with 2 chorizo tacos, 2 sausage links, 2 pancakes, a banana, cup of yogurt, glass of orange juice, cup of coffee and half a liter of water every morning. What can I say? I love breakfast and it was awesome here. The selection of cereals and fresh fruit was perfect for our daughter and she ate about a half a cantaloupe or honeydew every morning. The reports of flies at this resort are somewhat true. They were pretty bad the first couple days but disappeared for the remainder of the week. It was perhaps due to the heavy rains we had early on. I know for us in swampy Houston that when it's been dry for awhile, all the bugs try to come inside for food/water then when it rains they all retreat back outdoors. YMMV Anyway, for the most part, they would just hover above your table and swoop down for a nibble. I didn't see many on or around the food that was sitting on the buffet.

Lunch:
I seldom eat hamburgers and especially not in Mexico. When we arrived at the resort on our first day around noon, I saw several people with large tasty looking hamburgers on their plate so I decided what the heck. Wow they were good! I had a burger and fries everyday except on day 3. That was when we figured out we could order off a menu. I ordered a steak burrito which was very good but it couldn't hold a match to the burgers. Also, that was a magical day when we were greeted for lunch by Manuel who brought us a huge plate of guacamole, chips and pico de gallo. Just earlier that day, I commented to my wife that I hadn't seen guacamole and chips being served. Apparently they keep the really good stuff in the back and you have to ask for it however Manuel read my mind and served it without us asking!. Needless to say, he became our favorite server especially our daughter's since guacamole is her favorite thing to eat next to guava. Manuel was also very sweet and endearing to her. From that day on, we had the guacamole, chips and pico with lunch.

Dinner:
Dinner was good and they alternated between a buffet style restaurant and a traditional al a carte restaurant every-other-night. There seemed to be a theme to the buffet each night but it wasn't obvious until our last night which was "Mexican night". Each evening at the buffet there was a selection of beef, chicken, pork and fish.... all very tasty and palatable but nothing to write home about. The al a crate restaurant on the other hand was surprisingly quite good. The menu consisted of a variety of pasta dishes, seafood, various salads and soups, steaks and traditional Mexican fare. All could be ordered with your choice of appetizers. The first night I had Peruvian Ceviche and Rib Eye, second night I didn't get an appetizer and had Prawns in Caribbean sauce. The third night I had calamari and the Rib Eye again. The steaks were good and tasty but probably on par with a Ponderosa. The prawns were about as good as I've every had. The Ceviche was good but had a little too much squid for my liking and the calamari was good but a little overcooked. My wife enjoyed dishes such as seafood lasagna, seafood pasta and blue crab stew usually with some soup for an appetizer. She enjoyed all but didn't care for the lasagna as it too contained far too much squid as well. I'm guessing squid is much more economical than other types of seafood. Each night our daughter enjoyed about 2 pounds of fresh guacamole and bit off our plates.

Continued....

 

[driftin' by]

Booze:
Having been known to put a few away and really enjoy drinking, I (we) couldn't have been happier with the bar service or drinks. Preferring draft beer for obvious reasons, we were bummed to find this resort didn't serve draft beer. However we were very pleased to find a great selection of canned Mexican beers including Dos XX, Corona, Pacifico, Corona, Tecate, Tecate Lite, Modelo, Modelo lite and a couple other's I've never seen before but no Sol. Margaritas was about it for me with mixed drinks and as expected they were very good, authentic Mexican style. I happen to enjoy authentic margaritas that are more bitter than sweet and heavy on the tequila unlike the popular sweet ones in the States. Apparently they pre-mix them and serve them out of a gallon jug and one day they were really off with too much bad stuff and not enough good. Every other day they were fine. Surprisingly, they could not make mango margaritas but did have melon liquor to make a "Midori Margarita" for a change, but it was as though none of the bartenders had ever had it requested. I guess it's another thing us gringos do? A White Russian is a typical night cap for us and they too were quite good. I noticed some premium brands of liquor but never inquired about them nor requested any.... I was in moderation mode and just taking it easy this trip.

Babysitter:
We hired a babysitter for our daughter while we dived. Her name was Mika was truly amazing. She is a 10-year employee of the resort and the receptionist so she spoke English very well. She presented us with hand made gifts upon arrival and on our last day. She did a terrific job with our daughter leaving was to feel confident that she was being well cared for while we dived. She would start each day giving our daughter a ride around the resort in her stroller introducing her to other resort staff and guests followed by playing in the sand at the beach. On the second day, everyone including guests knew her by name and had given here the nickname "Little Mermaid". Other guests would report to us that they'd see they two having fun while we were gone. When we would return from diving, we would find Mika giving our daughter a cute hairdo with little pom-pom pig-tails in the room while watching Spanish cartoons. She also taught our daughter how to say kiss (beso) and hello (hola) in Spanish. This was our second time to hire a sitter in Cozumel and both occasions exceeded our expectations and we couldn't have been happier. If anyone is questioning whether or not to take young ones to Cozumel, I would not hesitate doing so for one minute.

Summary:
Forgive me if this review of the resort seems glowing.... Typically, I'm more critical and spend more time highlighting faults. I hope this review serves as a useful tool for others in making their decision. Honestly, we really enjoyed ourselves and it'll be hard if not impossible to lure us away from Fiesta Americana. We have plans to return in September before our daughter turns two. Admittedly, this resort is a bit older and is certainly showing it's age but it's truly a diamond in the rough. The staff is really second to none from the maids to the servers to the general manager we spoke with on occasion to Mika (our daughter's baby sitter).

Occupancy:
The general manager of the resort told was that occupancy was only at 30% and that they had adjusted the staff accordingly. Mario at the pool bar blamed it on the rainy spring. A guest from Denver said the Cruise industry was to blame. Whatever the reason, there were only a couple of occasions where we waited longer than expected due to the reduction of staff. On the flip side, at times, it felt like we had the place to ourselves which at first was nice.

AI or not to AI? That is the question.
Good food and drinks and plenty of it, you'd be silly not to go the AI route. I'm not advocating to avoid town and not eat there.... it just more than pays for itself with breakfast and drinks alone. I think we would have gone to town on the buffet nights but with our daughter in tow, it was just easier. It was also nice to return from diving and plop down for and big lunch and a few cold ones without much hassle. The AI add on was $36 per day for both of us. To put it into perspective, the dinner buffet at the resort was $18 each, beers $2.50, mixed drinks $4. Another diving couple we hung out with one afternoon at the pool bar racked up a $72 bar bill and I think we hung with them drink for drink, beer for beer.

Dive House:
I was put off by some workers at the resorts on site dive op, Dive House. As most already know here, they use larger boats. I can't say they were cattle boats though because I really never saw more than 8 on one. However they would leave the pier 30-45 minutes before us and would not get back to the resort until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. They were apparently slow getting to the sites and for this reason, I'm very glad we opted not to dive with them. Best I know, they didn't run a single night dive because I asked daily if they were having one and was told they'd call my room if they did. As late at 2 PM each day they couldn't confirm if they were having one. Also, the policy would change from day to day... some days I was told all they needed was 4 divers and other days it was 6 or sometimes 8. Please note my next gripe is a matter of principle and not monetary. After inquiring about the night dive, I was told that it was $45 plus $2 Marine Park Fee and $1 chamber fee. As I recall, these fees covered a day of diving. I mentioned that I would have already paid these fees to Blue Angel and he proceeded to argue with me. Like I said, I could care less about the money, but why would he get into an argument with a customer over $3 and loose the business? A lot of people we spoke with at the resort were using them and had nothing but good to say. They did offer to let us use lockers to store our our gear free of charge but it wasn't unfortunately until our second to last day otherwise I would have.

Location:
The location of Fiesta Americana is also great. Being close and cheap to town yet relatively close to the reefs.... I can't think of a better location to be if both are a priority.

Getting Around:
Cab to town was $6 and prices are fixed regardless if you act like a gringo or not. Cab back to the airport was $9 and ours stopped at Blue Angel for me to retrieve a shirt I left on one of the boats without charging us any extra. I resisted the urge to tip the cabbies although I'd still throw them a couple of extra bones. It's just not in me to not show some gratitude. It is truly amazing how much tipping here goes a long way especially at the resort. All together, we had received such good service that we left all our money there in the form of tips. We had brought extra to purchase a piece of art but never did so that got left as tips also.

Ground Transfers:
Getting a "white shuttle van" at the airport couldn't had been any easier. It was $9 per person and they did not charge for our daughter. All total $27 for transfers that would have cost $67.50 through Expedia. In less than 10 minutes, we were in the van and exiting the airport after buying the transfer ticket. It's not like they load up a van with only people purchasing transfer tickets at the airport... you're just shoved right in with everyone else who got a transfer whether it was through their booking agency or at the airport since there is only one company transporting people off the property to their resorts/hotels. I was pretty happy with this decision obviously.

Eating out:
Wahoo! Our one meal out could not have been any better. On our second day, split between either going to Casa Denis or La Mission on 30th, I asked our cab driver what was a good place and the first words out of his mouth was La Mission so that's where we went. It definitely lived up to it's reputation. After enjoying chips and salsa, large bowls of tortilla soup each, I had a gigantic chili rellano and the wife had a skirt steak. Add a couple of cold Negra Modelos and all was had for $13 plus tip. Great value, great food and great authentic feel. I was so overjoyed with our dining experience that I got all discombobulated and had us walk almost all the way to Avenida 60 before realizing we were walking the wrong direction!

Weather:
I would classify the weather this trip as the strangest we'd ever had while vacationing to the area. Although, I'm told an El Norte isn't possible in May it sure felt like one. Daily the palms were blown to the south as a result of the strong winds from the north causing considerable chop on the ocean. This made boat rides back to the resort somewhat bone-jarring. Although the sun was quite intense, these strong winds would chill wet skin quickly. We also had rain almost every day including the "big storm" that hit on Saturday night but none lasted more than an hour or two. The storm was the worst we had ever experienced on the island with beach chairs blowing around the resort and submerged in the pool. However , we felt comfortable and safe in our big red concrete fortress and benefited from the resorts generator which kicked on during the power outage keeping things well lit and the air conditioners running. I've recently reported that May was our favorite time of year to visit the area as we'd had very little rain in May on previous trips. In the end, the weather did very little to dampen our sprits.

Continued....

 

[driftin' by]

Diving:
We booked diving with Blue Angel and was pleased we did in all aspects from timely communications via email to the actual diving... everything was perfect! Everyday they arrived happy to see us and on time. Two days we had 7 divers on the boat but still had plenty of room. The boats were fast and whisked us away to the sites quickly. All but one day, our surface intervals were taken at an abandoned beach/dock. All the DM's and captains were helpful but the most significant thing I appreciated is that they never tried to become the center of attention. They let us do our own thing. They were so easy and laid back it almost felt like I was doing something I shouldn't have been doing mainly because they never told me to do anything different. Another bonus was that they came down to the resort to pick me up for a night dive and committed to doing so with only 3 divers with the other two (H2ODoc and spouse) coming from Caribe Blu/Blue Angel. There are about a half a dozen good night dive sites between Blue Angel's shop and Fiesta Americana but I thought it was special of them to motor the extra distance at night for 1 diver. In addition this dive was $13 less than Dive House's price and there was no issue with double paying the marine park or chamber fees. There are a lot of good operations on the island and some that are better that I haven't tried but for what you pay to dive with Blue Angel, I thought it was an excellent value and would highly recommend them to anyone.

There were only a few issues in regards to diving this trip. It was mentioned previously on SB about the short fills people were getting here in Coz and Christi explained why that was and I understand. However, looking back at our times I wish I would have had a few more psi and time although it didn't bother me during the trip as I make a point not make a big deal about it. In review, the closest I got to 3000 was 2930 with every other tank having less than 2900 and one as low as 2630. One tank my wife got was below 2500 and the DM swapped it out for one that had 2700 and he used the lower one. Second, all of our second dives were cut short because our conservative Cobra computers would go into deco.... It's time to get nx certified. Finally I was diving a new BC (SeaQuest Balance) this trip and it appears my SAC was higher as a result but again, no complaints as I was very happy and comfortable with the Balance over my previous BC (Pro QD+).

This review might set a record here on SB so I'll only briefly go over the dives. Much less, everyone here already know what it's all about. I will say that since our last trip in June 2006, it's obvious the reefs making an incredible comeback as evident with soft corals thriving and now everywhere. I don't know how to say it scientifically but it as if you can see new coral growth out of coral that was killed/stunned/traumatized by Wilma. I have this one picture that depicts this well but I don't have available to post now. All in all, the diving was just amazing. I apologize for not posting more UW photos although I did get some good ones using my Canon Powershot A95 in a WD-50 housing with no strobe. They are in need of some post editing and I just haven't had the time to work on them. So look forward to them in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, here is one I submit for your viewing pleasure.

Day 1
Columbia Deep- it's deep.
93fsw, 35 minutes - Buddy (wife) low on air with 2600psi fill.
Paso del Cedral- spotted 5 nurse sharks all together.
78fsw, 43 minutes
DM: Mauricio- best dive brief I ever had. Even told us the CB frequency they were on.
Captain: Julio- made us a cricket out of palms
Boat: Belinda/Sea Robin- Super nice boat but it was being rented by Blue Angel.

Day 2
Palancar Bricks- no bricks but awesome dive.
91fsw, 41 minutes- What the heck! Low fills again.
Dalila- very mild current from what I remember in the past.
68fsw, 54 minutes
DM: Pumba - Laid back and quiet
Captain: Alberto - Laid back and quiet but serious about his job and safety of passengers.
Boat: Blue Angel II - Dual 75hp. Somewhat small but still had plenty of room.
-Met up with fellow SB'er, H2ODoc and spouse who were staying at Caribe Blu. For only having a dozen or so dives under their belt at the start of this trip, they couldn't have been anymore confident, competant and relaxed about diving. They were a complete pleasure to dive with and get to know.

Day 3
Columbia Deep- Uh, yeah, it's still deep.
113fsw, 38 minutes
Tormentos - 3 eels all different species.
58fsw, 57 minutes
DM: Pumba
Captain: Alberto
Boat: Chiquimax- Liked having the bow of the boat to spread out on during SI.

Day 4
Palencar Garden - My new favorite in Coz.
69fsw, 49 minutes
La Francesa - Was supposed to do Dalila but the current was go moving south.
73fsw, 56 minutes
DM: Jose
Captain: Alberto
Boat: Blue Angel II

Day 5
Punta Sur Chapel - Couldn't do the throat because one diver was using nx so we got Chapel and Black Tip Sharks as a constellation prize.
106fsw, 43 minutes
Santa Rosa Wall - Not so great as a second dive but I'm not complaining.
77fsw, 57 minutes
DM: Pumba
Captain: Alberto
Boat: Blue Angel II

Night Dive-
Chankanaab - Best night dive ever for me with a lot to see.
50fsw, 78 minutes
DM: Jorge - really great DM who pretty much let us all do our own thing on the dive.
Captain: Alberto
Boat: Blue Angel II
-Did all 3 dives with H2ODoc and wife this day and again, it was a real pleasure.

We'll that's it. Until next time Cozumel....

 

[jeancmo]

Thanks for a great review! I needed a Coz fix today!

Jean in MO

 

[H2ODoc]

Crossing the street from the resort to the beach area was of very little consequence/hassle with the addition of the new highway that runs behind the resort diverting traffic. Also, an enormous speed bump practically brings all motorists to a complete halt although it was funny watching fresh off the ship, pod-people attempt to slow their suicide cycles (mopeds) before going air born.

Driftin' By - funny you mention that speed bump. We rented a VW bug for our last day while the N2 bubbled out of our pores and found that back road that runs along the beach and right into FAmericana. That little bug was no match for "MOASB" (Mother of All Speed Bumps).

I think we'll try to take our kids next year and FAmericana sounds like a good choice given the pool and activities. Hope to run into you again there! Great trip report.

 

[scubawife]

Your daughter is a cutie! Sounds like you had a great trip. The AI plan is worth it even if you just have breakfast, an afternoon snack and the litre bottles of water.

Wonder if the atmosphere at Fiesta Americana has really changed, or if was the current low occupancy that made the difference? The one and only time I stayed there it was packed with loud, obnoxious dive groups who were staggering and louder by 3pm... I liked the location for diving, but between the party crowd, pool games and never being able to get a chair at the pool or beach in the afternoon, I never bothered going back.

 

[LetsDive]

Awsome report Josh Thanks!

I was looking forward to your post as I remeber seeing some posts that you were bringing your daughter to Coz and I so badly want to bring my now 15 month old daughter this summer, but will have to wait until our planned trip in Jan 2008.

Did you find any time to snorkle near resort, if so how was it?

 

[Martha]

Wonderful trip report. I'm glad you and your family had such a terrific time. Your daughter sure is a cutie-pie! Thanks for sharing.

 

[texbob]

Great report! We are headed there June 6-10, and it is good to hear your reviews about FA. I have read many mixed reviews on Travelocity but I always took a lot of those with a grain of salt.

We are planning to use Dive House so I will report our review on here after our return.

I can't wait, and yes, it is very difficult to concentrate on work without jumping over to this forum constantly. I can already taste the Guacamole dip and chips and cervesa.

 

[stevenq99]

great review! We were there in April and feel like you do that it a great family place to stay.

Did you find any time to snorkel near resort, if so how was it?

The snorkeling right in front of the resort was good. go up to beach club and drift back to the resort. There was a barracuda right in front of the resort all week.