Fiesta Americana vs Hotel Cozumel All Inclusive

[dannysporea]

Planning on coming for 8 days in March for diving in Cozumel and cannot decide between Fiesta Americana and Hotel Cozumel. I have reservations at both for the all inclusive package, Hotel Cozumel is just $100 more than Fiesta Americana. Trying to decide which one to cancel and hope someone can help... I will be diving for 7 days and my wife will hang out at the pool/beach and do some work while I am gone diving. We have been 3 times already at Hotel Cozumel but never at FA and leaning toward Hotel Cozumel again, but trying to make sure it is a good decision. From the reviews I've read, FA seems to have better reviews, food and drinks, yet the beach closure is kind of a deal breaker. Will have a rental car for the entire stay and, if we decide for FA, can drive to the marina for diving every day. Not sure what is the current parking situation at Marina Fonatur, but as an alternative FA is providing taxi for divers because of the pier closure... but still, hauling gear every day is less convenient than being picked up from the pier at Hotel Cozumel. Would appreciate any opinions that would make our decision easier between the two AIs and any reasons (other than $$) to pick FA over Hotel Cozumel. Thank you!

 

[ggunn]

Planning on coming for 8 days in March for diving in Cozumel and cannot decide between Fiesta Americana and Hotel Cozumel. I have reservations at both for the all inclusive package, Hotel Cozumel is just $100 more than Fiesta Americana. Trying to decide which one to cancel and hope someone can help... I will be diving for 7 days and my wife will hang out at the pool/beach and do some work while I am gone diving. We have been 3 times already at Hotel Cozumel but never at FA and leaning toward Hotel Cozumel again, but trying to make sure it is a good decision. From the reviews I've read, FA seems to have better reviews, food and drinks, yet the beach closure is kind of a deal breaker. Will have a rental car for the entire stay and, if we decide for FA, can drive to the marina for diving every day. Not sure what is the current parking situation at Marina Fonatur, but as an alternative FA is providing taxi for divers because of the pier closure... but still, hauling gear every day is less convenient than being picked up from the pier at Hotel Cozumel. Would appreciate any opinions that would make our decision easier between the two AIs and any reasons (other than $$) to pick FA over Hotel Cozumel. Thank you!

If it makes any difference and if you didn't already know, FA is about 5 miles south of town. You know where Hotel Cozumel is.

Also, from what I have read in here, the parking situation at the Fonatur Marina has ranged from dismal to horrendous, and I haven't heard anything lately about it getting any better.

 

[tursiops]

Sounds like you already made your decision, for Hotel Cozumel.

 

[dannysporea]

Sounds like you already made your decision, for Hotel Cozumel.

Just leaning towards it... unless I get more arguments for choosing FA instead

 

[NDL_Diver]

Just the facilities at the beach are closed, not the beach itself. You just have to walk across the street for a drink.

Food is WAY better at FA.

 

[rick00001967]

i tried using a dive op that took us to the marina etc etc. it was a pain in the a**.

we have never been to FA but if it has a beach that would sure be nice.

hard to beat hotel coz pool area and it is closer to town which is a bonus if you plan on eating in town a lot.

so i guess it depends how convenient you want the diving to be and whether the beach trumps the pool. *no donald trupm jokes pls* haha

 

[Cali Native]

Stayed at the FA a few years ago
Positives-The view was amazing from our room high on the hill
We don't do all inclusive food preferring to venture out to eat but at the hotel a waiter encouraged us to dine on the beach eating whtever we wanted and to pay him whatever was fair. We had the Lobster once which was very nice and gave the waiter a $50 tip . Certainly that's unscupulous but I couldn't resist so my bad
Negative- We got stuck in the elevator with my wife who's claustrophobic . No one responded to the alarm and when I called the hotel operator she hung up on us . We were rescued after about 30-40 minutes Gracias Dios!!

 

[deepsea21]

Hotel Coz all the way over FA. Use Hotel Coz's on-site dive op if you want. Want a higher level of diving? Book your stay at Hotel Coz and then book your diving separate with 3P's that is always picking up Hotel Coz divers on the street out front around 7:50 AM to the dive boats and dropping them off there after the dives around noon to 1PM (depending on sites visited and traffic). Fiesta Americana way south and being stuck with Dive House on site? No thanks. If you go with FA I say book your dives separate with Dive with Martin that should still be picking up down there. You don't want to dive with Dive House.

I'm gonna piss off lots of people here who believe we should never name names but on our Dec trip staying at the Casa Mexicana we were hanging out in the little heated pool after a dive and met a couple who were taking a dip in the pool. They were there because they had been staying at Secrets and diving with the on-site op (Dive house) that also happens to serve Fiesta Americana among some others.

I'll make this short. Husband got mixed up in those cattle boat's divers UW that Dive House was running and ended up diving one boat's profile that was a deep and got mixed up into the other group UW and surfaced and boarded that boat and dive #2 was was that boats profile. I've no idea how that happens but it did and I've no idea how someone can surface and walk onto a different boat with all different people but it did. I mean, aren't we taught to take notice of all divers on the boat, count and recognize if someone is missing or someone is there who doesn't belong? Good Lord! No DM ever noticed, no one ever kept count, no one knew anything.

Back the boats come to Secrets and he was dizzy and made his way down the dock to a beach lounge chair beside his wife where she had been waiting while he was diving and he passed out and becomes non-responsive. Ambulance to the chamber and 6 days of chamber rides in town with the wife moved to the Casa Mexicana so she could be right around the corner. When we met them in the pool, over $30K had racked up on credit cards for chamber rides and he still had a final check-out to go through the next day and was being advised to check with a specialist once in the states as he was still having probs dragging 1 foot while walking.

Do as ya will but I wouldn't get anywhere near Dive House for my diving. It is a crap operation and these things do happen. Those who don't know and don't have their own dive computers and dive with a dive op that doesn't provide them for free and show people how to read them? If this happened to this man in USA gross negligence charges would be filed immediately. In Mexico, Nope... Goodbye and have fun with that $30K chamber bill and whatever else may be wrong with ya.

 

[dannysporea]

I usually dive with Dive with Martin or Aldora, never planned on diving with Dive House. I think they may be even closed since the pier is unavailable at the FA. We usually eat at the hotel, rarely go out in town, so better food is a pro for FA...

 

[brsnow]

Hotel Cozumel is old with lesser level food. Not sure FA beach is open yet.