I Got a Hall Pass!!!

[ReefHound]

I know Blue Angel has as lot of fans but Casa Mexicana is nicer (excluding the pool), better beds, a great breakfast, and in town. My .02 worth.

Likewise CM has it's devout apostles but BA is directly on the water, has it's own dock and shore dive, also has a good restaurant for dinner as well as breakfast, good happy hour drinks and appetizers, close enough to town to walk but far enough to get away from the hustle and bustle.

 

[nodakdive]

This might come down to how far you are willing to walk to bunches of restaurants and/or how far you want to walk to get on your dive boat. If you stay "downtown" for instance at Casa Mexicana, Suites Bahia or Colonial, you'll be very close to restaurants, but you'll either walk to a downtown pier or walk to a dive shop to be driven to the marina to get on your dive boat.

If you go with any of the dive ops that leave from downtown, you can still stay somewhat close to the restaurants/shopping mass, and get picked up off your hotel's dock, if that's what you're looking for.

I believe all of the following hotels have a dock and will allow you to be picked up off their dock.

The Barracuda is about 8 blocks, give or take, south of the Square and the ferry pier. It's on the low end and has some cruise ship foot traffic at their location and an active bar at night. The El Cantil condos are about 3 blocks south of that (11 blocks south of the square). 5 blocks south of El Cantil (16 blocks from the square) is the Cozumel Palace and Hotel Cozumel. About 7 blocks south of Hotel Coz, etc., (21 blocks from the square) is Blue Angel.

The distances are approximate.

 

[noj3333]

@nodakdive, I'm just starting to plan my trip out, but aren't Casa Mexicana, Suites Bahia, and Colonial close to the Aldora Pier? If so several operators will pick up there... no?

 

[nodakdive]

@nodakdive, I'm just starting to plan my trip out, but aren't Casa Mexicana, Suites Bahia, and Colonial close to the Aldora Pier? If so several operators will pick up there... no?

I think several to many shops pick up there, but you'll be walking from your hotel to the Aldora pier. Not a big deal but it's more walking than if your hotel has a pier. I've never stayed at the places I mentioned other than Casa Mexicana, so I'm not sure about the facilities at those hotels with piers, but Casa del Mar has a pier, shore diving and lockers for your gear right on the pier. Thing is, it's by no means a short walk to "town" and a taxi is 90 pesos one way. There are a lot of good things about CDM, but imo Blue Angel would be a better choice for a solo traveler/diver with the OPs requirements.

 

[noj3333]

I think several to many shops pick up there, but you'll be walking from your hotel to the Aldora pier. Not a big deal but it's more walking than if your hotel has a pier. I've never stayed at the places I mentioned other than Casa Mexicana, so I'm not sure about the facilities at those hotels with piers, but Casa del Mar has a pier, shore diving and lockers for your gear right on the pier. Thing is, it's by no means a short walk to "town" and a taxi is 90 pesos one way. There are a lot of good things about CDM, but imo Blue Angel would be a better choice for a solo traveler/diver with the OPs requirements.

Gotcha... I far from an expert on Cozumel...

I booked my airfare and hotel on a whim (not the smartest thing I've ever done, but it appears like it'll be ok)...

I ended up going with Hotel Plaza Cozumel, and booked my dives with Blue XT...

It looks like the walk will be maybe 10 minutes to and from the Aldora Pier, and Blue XT is handling all my gear, so no schelpping of wet gear to and from the boat. The hotel should also be super convenient to all the downtown restaurants so I'm happy about that too.

All and all I'm sure the OP will find a great spot to stay, and shop to dive with...

 

[MMM]

A place very popular with Europeans, but which doesn't get much talk on this board are the rooms above Guido's restaurant. Guidos Boutique Hotel It gets great reviews. I have seen the rooms and they are beautiful, clean, and have full kitchens. Only a handful of rooms though. I doubt that the street noise would be a problem except during Carnival as they are right on Melgar. No pool. They are about a 1 minute walk to the downtown pier.

I dive with Living Underwater which picks me up downtown, and keeps all my gear including my wetsuit. I am a skinny, slow breathing female yoga practitioner, so I don't need to use their 120 cu.ft. steel tanks. But they have them if you are a heavier breather or want a longer bottom time than you'd get with an AL 80.

Most of my recent dive trips have been family-type vacations where I try to schedule a 2-tank dive everyday except for arrival and departure dates. My wife is a non-diver and my son is a brand new diver. Most of these vacations have been at high-end resorts in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, VI & Hawaii. This is so that my non-diver wife can enjoy the stuff she likes to do. (spas, dining, shopping, etc).

I recently retired from my skull-crushing mind-numb robot soulless corporate job and I have been given a "hall pass" by my loving wife to go diving solo without her and my son. (and it wasn't the "fine, go!" type of hall pass...)

I have decided to go to Coz for a week to 10 days (+/-) and I have some simple expectations.

1. I would like a hotel that is clean & quite, and has a refrigerator and maybe a microwave.
   
2. A valet dive Op that will pickup and dropoff at the hotel dock. I have used 3P's for my past dives in Coz and while I love them I do not think they can accommodate me for the hotel dock dropoff and pickup unless the hotel dock is south of the marina.
3. I am not interested in AI resorts. I do not need a beach. I hate swimming pools.
   
4. I have my own gear (except tank and weights of course) so that is not a consideration.
   
5. I would prefer to be within walking distance of decent restaurants and grocery shopping.

Any recommendation/suggestions are appreciated! I have no set dates so I am flexible.
I am NOT looking for extreme budget either. I just don't need the high-end AI or resort stuff since I am going solo.

 

[ggunn]

I know Blue Angel has as lot of fans but Casa Mexicana is nicer (excluding the pool), better beds, a great breakfast, and in town. My .02 worth.

FWIW, I have no problem with the beds at BA. I sleep just fine there. The restaurant breakfast is plenty good, too.

 

[dberry]

We're strong believers in renting condos / apartments with AirBnB or VRBO, and have done so in many countries in Europe and around the Caribbean. We'll be staying in Cozumel in a 2-bedroom unit only 2 blocks from Tres Pelicanos, with a full kitchen and a short walk from the Mega and dozens of restaurants. We'll leave most of the gear with 3P and just carry our regs to the shop to catch the ride to the boat

The cost is generally much lower for a single room, but especially for two hotel rooms vs. a 2-bedroom apartment. I'm not sure what advantages a hotel would offer us - we don't need daily maid service, don't do AI, and prefer light breakfasts made in the apartment. We eat out for dinner, and lunches split about 50/50 in the room or out. As always, YMMV.

Note that we're only talking about stand-alone apartments, not renting a room in someone's house. I suppose one concern would be the unknown of dealing with an individual owner instead of a "big hotel", but we've found the reviews of the rooms and especially the owners to be very reliable.

 

[mediumone]

We're strong believers in renting condos / apartments with AirBnB or VRBO, and have done so in many countries in Europe and around the Caribbean. We'll be staying in Cozumel in a 2-bedroom unit only 2 blocks from Tres Pelicanos, with a full kitchen and a short walk from the Mega and dozens of restaurants. We'll leave most of the gear with 3P and just carry our regs to the shop to catch the ride to the boat

The cost is generally much lower for a single room, but especially for two hotel rooms vs. a 2-bedroom apartment. I'm not sure what advantages a hotel would offer us - we don't need daily maid service, don't do AI, and prefer light breakfasts made in the apartment. We eat out for dinner, and lunches split about 50/50 in the room or out. As always, YMMV.

Note that we're only talking about stand-alone apartments, not renting a room in someone's house. I suppose one concern would be the unknown of dealing with an individual owner instead of a "big hotel", but we've found the reviews of the rooms and especially the owners to be very reliable.

Nearly identical biography for us. Location is slightly different due to different op - which is immaterial, except that you can find something in any part of town.

We've never had a hint of a problem, and I read reviews only to assess the noise level of the neighborhood - a couple strategically placed dogs or a bar can drive me crazy.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

For the record, the Villa Aldora is true waterfront and is in the serene near north of town. All rooms have refrigerators, coffee makers, microwaves and kitchenettes. Free bikes for those who don't want to make the short walk into town. If diving with Aldora, pick up is just 50 ft from most rooms.

This is as commercial as I get, but seems to meet most of the OPs needs

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers