Hotel choice

[mikelev]

Hi,

We are going to Cozumel in February (our second trip) and staying at one of the southern resorts for half of the trip and need to find a hotel closer to town for the other part of the trip (4 days). We will book 2 or 3 days of diving as well, but it does not have to be a package deal.
The hotel needs to have water access, i.e. be near water. Hotel choice will probably dictate the dive op choice to some extend.
Many hotels are not available on our travel dates. Here are some that are available:
Coral Princess
Villa Aldora
Scuba Club
Casa Del Mar

Forget about diving for a second. Which of these hotels/villas is nicer/cleaner and maybe has better water access or pool ? I want to make sure my wife does not kill me We are not picky at all , but she strongly dislikes dirty floors/bathrooms, spiders and cockroaches She always prefers resort type accommodations.
I like pictures of Villa Aldora and Coral Princess, but they can be deceiving.

Thanks!
Mike

 

[ggunn]

Check out Blue Angel. Small and clean, nice pool, easy water access, great dive shop on site, great restaurant on site, dock for dive trip pickup... What more do you need?

 

[mikelev]

Check out Blue Angel. Small and clean, nice pool, easy water access, great dive shop on site, great restaurant on site, dock for dive trip pickup... What more do you need?

Thanks. Unfortunately, it is not available on my travel dates in February.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Casa Mexicana.

Book through Blue Magic and stay at Casa Mexicana. Click on the "sleep and dive" link on Blue Magic website. Only drawback is the pool it is shallow and small. It is across the street from the waterfront downtown, in the middle of everything and has the best breakfast buffet on the island which is included. Request an upper floor room and it will be quieter. Breakfast is served on the second floor as well as the front desk so there would be a lot of traffic. Entrance is just two glass doors that open to an escalator. Everything starts on the second floor. my wife is relatively hard to please and she loved it.

great dive operator that will work to accommodate any special requests.

i searched for almost a month and they had the best prices. tres Pelicanos was the next closest in price. Hotel was great, bed comfortable, breakfast was beyond incredible, and was exceptionally clean, cleaner than almost anything I've stayed at in the states. About 4 blocks to the dive shop so you can walk or cab it for $4.

The best thing is the location. You're in the heart of downtown so everything is within a 5-10 minute walk.

If you are wanting to shore dive, scuba club may be the one, but I don't think it is in town. They have a website I spend way too much time on looking at the webcam.

Safe travels!
jay

 

[ccannon707]

Coral Princes is very clean and well run, has a nice pool and good snorkeling out front. IMHO the drawback with them is if you get the hotel room (vs the 1 bedroom w/ kitchenette= more $$) you have the tiniest balcony on Cozumel to see your gorgeous waterfront view. 2 people can barely stand there together. You can almost fit 1 chair on it sideways... you get the idea. The bigger condo type rooms have bigger balconies with tables and chairs. And whatever you do, don't fall for "jungle view".

I've not stayed at the other 3 but this is the info I've gleaned. I'm sure others more knowledgeable will chime in...

I don't think Aldora has a pool, just a super nice ocean-front spot; walkable to town; staying with one of the top dive ops on the island.

Scuba Club is ocean front, has a small pool and includes food - good in-town location. Diving is the focus here. When you book X number of nights you are automatically booking (& paying for) X number of dives.

Casa del Mar has a pool and is across the street from the ocean front. No guarantee of view. Read some good things, but everybody seems to always upgrade from the standard room immediately after seeing both. I believe they have an AI option. Out of town.

Others to think about: Hotel Cozumel, Condumel (no pool but NICE), Cantamar (2 bdrm condos with pool, 3 doors away from Aldora)

 

[Ron Lee]

Villa Aldora does have a pool. It is not huge but still relaxing.

Some rooms have a kitchen. The suites are primo. It is not all-inclusive.

The following classy picture was taken there

 

[DjDiverDan]

I've stayed at the Casa Del Mar each of the last 4 or 5 Decembers, and I like the Hotel. I would DEFINITELY upgrade from the standard room - I really like first floor Garden view, where I can walk off from my little patio area to the pool. No real ocean view, but I never cared much about that, since I really obly stay in the room when I'm sleeping, napping, or cleaning up and changing clothes. The location is convenient for diving and still not a terrible distance from downtown - it's a long walk, maybe 45 minutes, and an 80 Peso taxi ride, but that's only about $5.80 at current exchange rates (ALWAYS pay for taxis - and most everything else- in Pesos). Casa Del Mar also has a decent breakfast, or you can walk across the street to Ernestos for Breakfast. Never used the house Dive Op there; I used Dive with Martin, which will keep your dive gear for you and pick up at the CDM pier. I recommend Dive with Martin.

One other option, closer to town, would be Hotel Cozumel; nice hotel, HUGE pool, big comfortable rooms (I've read lots of complaints about hard beds, but I like a fairly firm mattress, and I was very comfortable there), but DON'T do the AI option. In my opinion, the food at Hotel Cozumel is TERRIBLE. Breakfast buffet was borderline tolerable, but lunch and dinner was swill. But it's an easy walk to Downtown, with all of its great restaurant options. The Dive Op at Hotel Cozumel is Dive Paradise; it's OK, I've used them, but I would probably opt for one of the higher end dive ops, like Aldora, Blue XTSea, Living Underwater or others.

I've stayed at Casa Mexicana, right downtown, and I liked it, nice comfortable rooms, good AC. Location is great, easy walking distance to all the downtown restaurants, and a very good breakfast buffet. Location will narrow your choices of Dive Ops, but it is very easy walking (about a block) to the Aldora pier, and there are several Dive Ops that will provide cab ride to the Caleta. Casa Mexicana "pool" is really just a small kiddie pool - fine for a trip in January or February, but if I was going in the hot months, July or August, when a pool is a real necessity, I'd probably take Casa Mexicana off my list because of the inadequate pool.

 

[MMM]

I know you said to set aside dive OP's for now. However, if you stay at Villa Aldora, I believe you MUST use their dive op. Both VA and Coral Princess are North of town so you will need a vehicle to get to the harbour south of town to get to your dive op if you stay at Coral Princess Almost no one will pick up there. If that isn't a deal breaker, I would go there as I have never heard much complaining about the facility. Someone here suggested Casa Mexicana; although it is across the street from the ocean, does not have ocean access as no one wanders in the ocean in town and there is NO beach.

Was there any availability at El Cantil (condos) or Cozumel Palace? Both get EXCELLENTLY reviews, location is perfect and meets all your requirements.

 

[divingjd]

Villa Aldora is available for those diving with Aldora. I'm not sure if that rule is strict, but I've never met anyone there diving with another op. I think the Villa is nicer than the pictures. Just be aware that if you want a "resort atmosphere," this may not be the place. There is a small pool, but it's right on the water. It's ironshore, but they've brought in sand to build a beach-like area, several feet above the water. Enter by steps, ladder, or giant stride. The atmosphere is more like a condo. Once you get to know people, it's sort of like staying at a friend's condo. It's generally pretty quiet and very friendly. I like it a lot, but it may not fit everyone's definition of a resort.


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[mikelev]

Thank you for the information guys!

I just confirmed the flights for 2/15 - 2/25.
I assumed that it is better to spend the first part of the trip (15-20) closer to town since there will be some carnival activities and then stay at Iberostar from 20 to 25.
It makes sense to do more diving while staying in town (in a cheaper hotel) and then let my wife enjoy resort life (without diving) at the end of the trip.
Booking dives for earlier dates also leaves me time to re-schedule in case of bad weather.
However, many dive ops (including the one I know - Dive with Martin) are completely booked during carnival time and become available after Feb 20...
I can stay at Sabor from 15 to 20 instead and then move to town when carnival is over. How interesting is that Carnival ? Is it worth seeing ?

El Cantil is not available, Cozumel Palace is too expensive for my dates.
I am now considering Coral Princess (if I can find a dive op there for 2-3 days), Hotel Cozumel (partially available) and Casa Del Mar.

Thanks again,
Mike