Iberostar vs. El Presidente Intercontinental

[Wijbrandus]

Any opinions on which one is better?

Got a pair of free tickets to Coz, so I "have" to go. I'm wanting to do the All-Inclusive thing this time, and we aren't really all that interested in the town life, but will most likely go in once or twice. We are interested in a romantic vacation with diving. What are the differences between the two? I see the locations, but what about atmosphere?

For dive ops, Dressel Divers at Iberostar appears to be ok. Who is at the Presidente? I'm quite willing to give the house dive op a shot as long as they have a halfway decent reputation. We are decently experienced divers, and may be interested in doing some of the more advanced dives. I know that may take special arrangements and longer commitments to a specific op to earn a ticket to more advanced dive sites. Do house ops do things like the C-53 and Devil's Throat? Or will I need to contract with an independent op for the week to get there?

Looking at an October travel time if that makes any difference for conditions.

Talk to me.

 

[scubawife]

I haven't stayed at either place, but I'm pretty sure the the Presidente is NOT an all-inclusive. If you stay there you'll be eating at $$$ hotel restaurants or going to restaurants in town.

 

[Wijbrandus]

Eh. Ok then. I did stay at the Presidente in Cancun a few years back, without a meal plan, and it was too freaking pricey that way. They had a meal plan there, and I just assumed the one in Coz would too. I need to look into that then.

Thanks for shaking me from my assumptions.

 

[Mawg]

Any opinions on which one is better?

Got a pair of free tickets to Coz, so I "have" to go. I'm wanting to do the All-Inclusive thing this time, and we aren't really all that interested in the town life, but will most likely go in once or twice. We are interested in a romantic vacation with diving. What are the differences between the two? I see the locations, but what about atmosphere?

For dive ops, Dressel Divers at Iberostar appears to be ok. Who is at the Presidente? I'm quite willing to give the house dive op a shot as long as they have a halfway decent reputation. We are decently experienced divers, and may be interested in doing some of the more advanced dives. I know that may take special arrangements and longer commitments to a specific op to earn a ticket to more advanced dive sites. Do house ops do things like the C-53 and Devil's Throat? Or will I need to contract with an independent op for the week to get there?


I have stayed at the Presidente many times over the last 15 years plus. I have also stayed at Fiesta Americana, Plaza Las Glorias ( The Palace ), La Ceiba and Occidental Grand. I have never stayed at Iberostar. We stayed at the Presidente for 8 days two weeks ago. Hurricane Wilma seriously damaged the hotel and shut it down for thirteen months. The 25 million dollar remodel is incredible but to me now it looks a lot like any other Intercontinental Hotel and has lost some of its original design and charm.Still, it is a beautiful hotel built on a beautiful piece of Cozumel. As far as Dive Ops go, I can not recommend Scuba Du,used them once at Presidente or Dressel. I've never used Dressel but I hear they will not allow another dive op to use the pier at Iberostar. There are several " popular " Ops you can use and I'm sure you'll be hearing about them soon on this thread. I wouldnt call C-53 an advanced sight but the Devils Throat is and better dive ops rightfully will not take you there until they have had a chance to observe your skills in the water. There are many beautiful dive site in Cozumel. My favorites include Columbia Pinnacles, Dalilah, Punta Tuniche and La Francesa.

I would also point out that Cozumel is mostly drift diving and the ability to establish and then maintain neutral buoyancy is critical. Relax and go with the ride. It is a great way to see the reef.

 

[dimitrik]

The Presidente is not All Inclusive and the food there is expensive based on a recent trip report I read. I recently stayed at the Occidental Grand and walked next door to the Iberostar. I talked to a couple of guests on the beach and they were not too thrilled with the food and service. I had no complaints staying at the Grand and diving with Blue XT. Next time I go back with my non diving wife, I will stay at the Grand again.

If you want a nice beach with all inclusive, I would recommend the Occidental Grand or the Allegro. If the beach is not all that important check out the Palace which is located in town and within walking distance to good dining if you choose to venture out of the hote.

Round trip cab fare from the OG/Allegro and Iberostar is $30 to town and back. Not sure what it is from the Presidente.

 

[cdreamer]

LOVED the Iberostar!! Food and service was great. Landscaped beautifully.
Did not love Dressel, we did our dives with Dive House. They pick you up at the pier.
Highly recommend Iberostar and Dive House - would use both again.
Terri

 

[Mawg]

Round trip cab fare from the OG/Allegro and Iberostar is $30 to town and back. Not sure what it is from the Presidente.[/QUOTE]


Cab fare from the Presidente to downtown is 6.00 dollars one way.

 

[tc_rain]

I dove with Dressel and have no complaints what so ever and will dive with them again. We dove Columbia, Palancar, C53, Delilah, Punta Tunich, La Francesa, Santa Rosa wall, and Punta Sur. I don’t know which of these if any you would consider advance. Dressel has a posted a weekly schedule of their dive locations but it is pretty flexible if everyone agrees. You will also hear comments about shortened dive times due to someone running low on air but I did not find this the case when I was there. If someone ran low an SMB was sent up and that person surfaced. The dive boat picked them up and everyone else continued their dive.

 

[5615mike]

60 pesos/ $6 from Fiesta Americana as well.
You might also consider FA and try the Casita Suites. They are great. Been staying there for the last 5 years. Stayed at Pres once and got a Reef Room. Nice, but not worth the huge upcharge. Yes, Pres is quite expensive when it comes to food.

 

[divingjd]

We stayed at the Presidente several years ago and there was no meal plan. The food was pretty good, but pricey. I don't recall seeing any meal plans when I have researched the Presidente recently (which I seem to do once a year for one reason or another). The on-site dive op is Scuba Du. It is a decent, reputable operation, but they really do not cater to advanced divers. They have a regular dive site schedule (the same two sites every Monday morning, etc.) and I don't think they deviate from it. Like another poster, I wouldn't really consider the wreck an advanced dive, or even a particularly desirable dive. I would much rather dive the reefs. The one time we dove it, we only spent a few minutes on the wreck itself, then went out to explore the little coral heads in the area. We did find a lot of octopus dens, identifiable by the fan of conch shells spreading out from a hole. Octopus generally just throw their trash on their front porches, leading to the concentration of conch shells. The resident octopus was usually present. Searching for octopus dens was a lot more fun than the wreck.