Hotel Cozumel and babies?

[mhedstrom]

Hey all, has anyone gone down to Cozumel with a 4 month old baby, specifically staying at Hotel Cozumel? I was particularly curious about their babysitting service, like if it's worthwhile/reliable/trustworthy, and other options, such as would I need to bring a Pack N Play or do they have clean cribs to use?

We haven't booked anything, but just trying to see if something like this is possible. Am I absolutely insane for even looking into this?

 

[grassyknoll]

I was there last April with my wife and 6 year old daughter. There is a Kids Club on site but it never seemed to be in use while we were there. We did have the Hotel concierge arrange a sitter one day. The sitter turned out to be one of the housekeepers and was on duty and trying to watch my daughter. Needless to say we ended it early.
I would ask some of the locals that post in this forum for referals and see if you can arrange sitting in advance, I have done this on other trips and usually get a better class of babysitter than what the hotels will provide.

 

[johnnc]

Thankfully my babies are older and now certified but we used to travel to coz and stay at the fiesta. They had a good kids program and used to have good baby sitters. We stayed at the el presidente once and the sitter ther was fantastic. It has been 8 years or so since we needed those services so things have probably changed,but we always took our kids with us. They have more stamps in their passports then most adults. My youngest was 4 months old on her first trip to the carribean

 

[mwhities]

My wife and I stayed at Hotel Cozumel with our 16 month old son. They provided a crib for us to use. We never did try out the baby sitting thing, we paid for our "niece" (friend of the families' daughter) to come with us and be our sitter.

I will suggest that you go to a store and get a large container (slightly larger than the ice bucket the hotel provides) for ice, as there are no refrigerators in the room, for leche (milk) or juices. Also, the milk there isn't pasteurized or at least we didn't see/find it. It did upset Tanner's belly a little but, not to bad.

They did have two people (male/female) that did do a "kids" thing everyday with my niece and nephew. Whether is was playing board games, to making bead iguanas or playing in the pool, they really took care of them and watched them. (Free service.)

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me, I'll try to help.

Michael

 

[driftin' by]

We've taken our daughter 4 times in her first 2.5 years with her first trip being at 6 months. Then we stayed at the Allegro and utilized a babysitter arranged by the hotel who happened to be a 16 year employee of the resort and was the manager of the maids. Everything went well and we felt confident given her tenure and position although we did witness her carrying out some of her duties while she watched our daughter. But it was not big deal.

We've not returned to the Allegro for other reasons so the last 3 trips have been to Fiesta Americana where we've made good friends with the lady (Mika) that watches our daughter there. She's a tenured employee of the resort and acts as the resorts receptionist so she's very fluent in English. The other nice thing is that her shift starts at 2PM so while we dive and she's watching our daughter and not preoccupied with her regular duties and in fact, she's dressed in plain clothes instead of her uniform. However, we feel terrible as it makes for a very long day for her watching our daughter from 8 AM to 1 PM then working from 2 until midnight although, like most locals, she appreciative of the opportunity. She is truly a wonderful woman who I whole heartedly trust with our daughter. At just 3 years old, my daughter is very fond of her and regularly asks to go to Cozumel and stay with Mika.

I know this doesn't much help you with staying at Hotel Cozumel but if nothing else, it my ease any anxiety you may have. If you have not finalized your plans to stay at Hotel Cozumel you might consider FA. I've not stayed at HC but understand the 2 are very similar with HC being closer to town while FA is just a bit off the beaten path a bit more quiet and secluded but still just a $5 cab to town.

 

[gNats]

Hey all, has anyone gone down to Cozumel with a 4 month old baby, specifically staying at Hotel Cozumel? I was particularly curious about their babysitting service, like if it's worthwhile/reliable/trustworthy, and other options, such as would I need to bring a Pack N Play or do they have clean cribs to use?

We haven't booked anything, but just trying to see if something like this is possible. Am I absolutely insane for even looking into this?

Okay - Single girl without children.... Danger Will Robinson...

My instinct would be to hire a nanny / au pair at home or ask family members to watch my child..... and enjoy the vacay without the responsibility and worry of traveling with a small (eek 4 mo old) baby.

There are probably other reasons, such as nursing or separation anxiety about leaving your child, but, is it safe to travel with such a young child?

I guess that's why I have dogs. They are used to being left behind on airplane travels. although I take them practically everywhere else.

 

[mhedstrom]

Thanks for the info, all. The reason it'd specifically be Hotel Cozumel is because our lds is planning their spring trip to Cozumel, and our best friend is the one leading it. Myself and my husband are really on edge to dive again (I haven't dove since Bahamas in March, and for some reason he wouldn't do a trip without me, even though I really pushed him to), so we wanted to see how feasible this would be. The trip leader (our friend), said myself and my husband could split the dives up if needed as well, so one person would always be watching the kid during dive time - I just wanted to see how feasible even considering this would be.

Otherwise, husband offered to watch the kid for a week while I go, which is actually really really tempting.

 

[NudeDiver]

Am I absolutely insane for even looking into this?

Yes, I believe so.

What would possess anyone to travel with a 4 month old is beyond me - let alone doing it on a diving vacation.

Even if you found someone in Mexico to watch the kid, would you want to trust them? If something happens - good luck suing the pants off them like you can do here in America.

Were it me, I would find someone locally to do the babysitting and go to Mexico baby-free.

Good luck!
nd

 

[grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by mhedstrom
Am I absolutely insane for even looking into this?

Yes, I believe so.

What would possess anyone to travel with a 4 month old is beyond me - let alone doing it on a diving vacation.

Even if you found someone in Mexico to watch the kid, would you want to trust them? If something happens - good luck suing the pants off them like you can do here in America.

Were it me, I would find someone locally to do the babysitting and go to Mexico baby-free.

Good luck!
nd

Even if you found someone in Mexico to watch the kid, would you want to trust them?

Wow, just.....wow. I don't even know what to make of this statement? What does them being Mexican have to do with anything?

good luck suing the pants off them like you can do here in America

Sooooo the sue-happy US is to be emulated? I am a strong believer that personal accountability for ones decisions should trump an easy out of legal recourse.

Quite a few people are more than competent to travel with infants, she is not crazy. As for the whole "stranger" issue, plenty of children are harmed by those they know, even "Gasp" family members.
Don't live your life governed by irrational fear, get a good referral from someone you trust and do it.

 

[judydivescoz]

Can't help you with Cozumel sitters but I have traveled with my 4 children since they were very young. What posessed us to travel with our kids was our total enjoyment of parenthood. Vacations for us were family events. We wanted to be with our children and really enjoyed their company even when they were very young. For diving vacations we took along a family friend and paid their expenses for the most part. We hired local sitters in Grand Cayman and Turks and Caicos and it worked out very well. I dont think you are insane. Our kids are adults now and do not travel with us, I really miss those family vacations!