Hotel Cozumel - Meal plan or do your own thing

[crgravitt]

One thing to note is that if you're doing morning and afternoon dives, there's nothing else very close to Hotel Cozumel where you can grab a quick breakfast and/or lunch. For us, those two meals are a given at the resort. For dinner I'd much rather explore the local restaurants, but the difference between the European (breakfast only) and full meal plan may be insignificant, making the full deal worth it. Eating at the oceanfront restaurant for lunch was $26/day for the two of us - the convenience is worth that.

 

[Darol]

Breakfast... Good ... No fresh omlet till seven, then stand in line with some divers who find it necessary to bring all their gear into the restaurant...
Lunch... sometimes Good
Supper... in Town... Always Good...

 

[JG109]

I definitely recommend the Hotel Cozumel/AI. I don't know the ranking but I give HC a solid 3 stars Dive Hotel, clean, convenient, staff are pleasant. You meet a lot of divers, and people often show video or photos from the days dives on the lobby bar tv. The AI saves time in the morning and if you dive w Dive Paradise, you can have lunch while your gear dries next to the beach. Actually, you can use many different dive ops. We were always happy with breakfast and lunch, nevermind the convenience/lazy factor, and usually dinner (you could always poke your head in to see the dinner buffet)
Shop around tho, as long as you get a good deal you don't feel guilty eating dinner out in town. I'm sure there will be days you are whipped and eat dinner at the hotel tho.
We just used Bookit.com, a 99 hour special, and got air/hotel/AI from NJ for $820 pp total ( that incl tax and fees).
Check with DP ref the night dive tho, I think you may not be able to use them for a night beach dive as the shop closes. They and other dive ops do night boat dives.
Bring a wad of singles (or bigger bills) and tip the staff! Good Luck.

 

[WoodyLompoc]

DP will be happy to rent you tanks and weights for a night dive ($6). You just have to have them back by 9:00 PM. As you only get to about 20 ft (max), most if your dive can be done at 15 or less, you do have to watch the clock. You can be down a LONG TIME at that depth and 9:00 can come quick.

As far as if you should do a shore dive. We did plenty on the two weeks we were there in August but none when we were there in March / April. For US, it was great. We like to get away from the boat crowds / diving with strangers once in a while and you do see different things: Sea Horses on almost every dive (once we knew where to look). We enjoyed the night dives from the shore too (Octopi, eels, etc.), but to each their own.

We always do the breakfast only, but having to hoof it for dinner for two weeks can get old.

 

[SandyRobinson]

Thanks to all for the above replies and the pms.