Hotel Cozumel?..

[Mike]

Have to agree with Dandy Dan, the ocean view rooms are less then exciting, they cost more and the one they gave us was dirty, stinky, sitting practically right on top of the road with all the road noise you could ever want, it's also in the part of the complex that is dark and dingy, with those crazy sky lights and glass panels on the floor, just kind of creepy. We asked to be moved which was a down grade according to them. We now always avoid the ocean view rooms, so you end up in nicer part of the resort for less money, where the rooms are cleaner, brighter and the hallways don't make you think the terminator is going to pop out from behind a column and get you.

That being said the Hotel Cozumel is far from the nicest place on the island but it is safe, centrally located to the action, cheap, clean, staffed by nice people and you do get more than what you pay for there, it's a very good value. And of course has the largest pool on the island. You can dive with anybody, they will pick you up at the Hotel's pier. The house dive shop Dive Paradise is good, safety minded, middle of the row diving experience, there are others who will offer more for the experienced diver, but if you're new you won't know the difference anyway, so diving with the house dive shop is a very easy choice, they will take good care of you. Being new the convenience factor of using the house dive shop should out weigh just about all reasons to look at someone else.

 

[terri2chris]

Tell the Dive shop your a new diver and want you own DM. You can let them know in advance or when you get there,
I dove with Dive Paradise(had our own DM) great guide and excellent DM.
and with Dive with Martin, (excellent DM. I even held his hand) (don't laugh)
When we go back next month we will have our own DM again.

Have FUN!
Terri

How do you book the private DM, do you book in advance or do you arrange when you get there?

 

[DandyDon]

How do you book the private DM, do you book in advance or do you arrange when you get there?

It would probably help with scheduling if you ask in advance, and - agree on the price.

 

[Darol]

Have stayed there 18 of my 21 Coz trips, like the ocean view, and feel very safe there.
I really like the location, and staff. Not a huge fan of the food, usually just do the breakfast package,
there are a lot of great places to eat in town, and around the island. Numerous excellent dive ops,
BlueXTsea, Scuba-Du, and many others, enjoy your stay, and the great diving.

 

[drrich2]

If you go through air fast and get short dives, be mindful some op.s (Living Underwater and I think Aldora, for example), have big steel tanks (120 cf I believe) instead of the just the ubiquitous 80 cf aluminum tanks some places in the Caribbean almost solely use.

Have fun; make us a trip report afterward & let us know how it went.

Richard.

 

[James R]

For us, Hotel Cozumel was pretty good overall. Not great. Not poor. I would rate it 3.5 out of 5.

1) Don't "upgrade" to the suites. While the $50/day upgrade fee was not expensive, I don't think it's worth even $25 extra per day. You'll get a Jacuzzi on the balcony which, when filled, looks like urine because the hot water comes out yellow. I don't dig hot water anyway, but my gf was less than impressed to say the least. We ended up using the Jacuzzi (cold water only haha) as a washing machine -- board shorts, rash guards, and bathing suits with some Woolite and jet action from the tub gave us some pretty clean laundry. You will get a mini-fridge with cold water, beer, and sodas which is a nice touch, but if you're on the AI plan it's not at all necessary. The regular rooms have much better pegs and rods to hang/dry your wet stuff. We could see the water, but the palm tree blocked most of the view. Road noise was a bit loud, but we couldn't hear most of it with the door closed.

2) The staff I would rate as very good. No complaints at all. Very nice and very quick to resolve any issues we had, and so on.

3) Food was about what I would expect at a hotel on this level (price/star rate). The snack bar by the pool had our favorite food there - fresh fish and chicken tacos. We ended up eating out a bit more than we expected to.

4) Dive Paradise was a nice OP to dive with. One night the guy working at the dive center tried to tell us to be back with tanks by 930pm rather than 10pm as stated in the package so we decided to just come back when we got done and not worry about it. There was some confusion about the boat dive fee one night ($38 vs $30) as well. A few days later our DM came to me and told us he made a mistake when he charged us $38 and offered to refund the difference. I told him thanks for being honest about the mistake and to keep the $16 bucks. We got to hit Devil's Throat on this trip as well because we got there a day early and Dennis was able to get us on a fast boat.

 

[AaronRiot]

If the funds are available it may be worthwhile to invest in AOW when you get there rather than just a guide, you'll get two days diving, an escort for the first five dives, some new skills, build some confidence...

I found the experience very worthwhile to say the least. If you take that route, ask for Carlos

 

[Mark Derail]

What a great idea!

If the funds are available it may be worthwhile to invest in AOW when you get there rather than just a guide, you'll get two days diving, an escort for the first five dives, some new skills, build some confidence...

I found the experience very worthwhile to say the least. If you take that route, ask for Carlos

 

[Merchant]

im diving with them in august. plan on having 2 80s on me (side mount one of them )

 

[DandyDon]

Oh my.. I didn't realize any one had responded.. I've got to make sure to check the notify me..

Thank you all sooo sooo very much for the reviews!!.. This is a must go to place it seems like.. ) I have not done any dives since my check out dive so needless to say, I am very excited and ready to go diving!! )

DandyDon, thanks for all your info and the coupon code!!! This seems like an awesome deal! )

Thanks again everyone!!!

Outstanding avatar change. So, let us know if we can help with your plans further...