Iberostar vs Westin

[PStrangerX]

This will be my first time staying on Cozumel vs Playa Del Carmen. Would like to do a week long stay and dive for 5 days. We've narrowed our choices down to Iberostar or the Westin. I normally don't really like AI's, but we will have non divers with us and wanted them to have a nice resort to enjoy while the main group goes diving.

Both places seem well reviewed here. From reading up, it seems that Iberostar will be more convenient to many of the dive sites. How much extra boat time would staying at the Westin add?

Other than that, I was wondering if anyone has thoughts on Pros/Cons that I am not thinking of. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[lionfish-eater]

No comparison as far as proximity to dive sites.
Ibero is very close to the best reefs.
You can return for the surface interval if you dive with the house shop.
Westin is far north.
It would make for a long dive day.
For your first trip, also with nondivers, I would recommend the Ibero for a more convenient trip for all.

 

[Carlos Danger]

This will be my first time staying on Cozumel vs Playa Del Carmen. Would like to do a week long stay and dive for 5 days. We've narrowed our choices down to Iberostar or the Westin. I normally don't really like AI's, but we will have non divers with us and wanted them to have a nice resort to enjoy while the main group goes diving.

Both places seem well reviewed here. From reading up, it seems that Iberostar will be more convenient to many of the dive sites. How much extra boat time would staying at the Westin add?

Other than that, I was wondering if anyone has thoughts on Pros/Cons that I am not thinking of. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

The Westin does the upscale high-rise hotel thing pretty well, while the Iberostar is more of what I think of as the "AI" experience. The Westin is about as far away from the popular marine park sites as you can get, but they are all mostly a short ride from the Iberostar. The Westin is WAY closer to town and the airport, but the Iberostar has WAY better beaches.

Finding the right dive operator may be an additional factor from the Westin, as alluded to in Snrubnivek's threads below:

Question - Dilemma: Aldora or Tres Pelicanos

Hey everyone. Heading to Cozumel in a couple weeks and still debating between these 2 dive op's. I've spent countless hours reading trip reports, etc. I'll be there for 7 days on an anniversary trip with my non-diving wife. We're staying at the Westin (she picked the hotel). Planning on 2 or 3...

scubaboard.com

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Trip Report - Cozumel Sept ‘22 Trip Report-Westin/Salty Endeavors

Thanks to those of you who gave OP recommendations a few weeks back. Salty Endeavors did in fact pick me up right at the Westin dock (on time all 4 days). After the 2 am dives, I was back at the hotel between 12-1 (except the Punta Sur trip which was more like 1:45). HOTEL: My wife and I...

scubaboard.com

 

[ggunn]

The Westin is about as far away from the popular marine park sites as you can get...

Yeah, the Westin is near the north end of the hotel zone. It's probably close to an hour boat ride on a fast boat from there to Colombia Shallows at the south end of the island if you can even get anyone to pick you up there.

 

[jameseg]

My wife and I stayed at the Iberostar in May and really enjoyed it. Enough that it may well become our new "go to" for easy/short dive trips. Not familiar with the Westin.

I think a big consideration is whether your friends will be content hanging out at the resort all day, or whether they are people who like to explore the local scene. Iberostar is a solid 20-25 minute cab ride from town. But conversely, it's a great spot to hang out if they are resort people, with a nice pool setup, decent beach, beautiful jungle-like grounds and some pool-side entertainment.

I did love that Iberostar is close enough to the reefs that they come back to the resort between dives. Nice to use a real bathroom when needed, and in this case would give you the benefit of connecting with your friends for five minutes between dives if desired.

 

[nanches]

We stayed at Playa Azul in August which is right next to the Westin. We dove with Salty Endeavors which is a great small dive op that picked up divers from the Westin every day. After picking up at the Westin dock, it was a quick ride to the southern reefs in their small, fast boats. I’m not good at estimating time but maybe 20 min to Palancar Gardens? The snorkeling around Playa Azul and the Westin is really great! Lots of beautiful reef fish to see just a couple of feet from the shore. The beaches are small but nice. Once in the water, you can swim/snorkel along the coast in front of the other hotels/clubs near by. Some jet skis in the area that are annoying but they stay in a designated area. There are a couple of restaurants across the street from the Westin. It’s a long walk to the center. A taxi for 2 people is 100 pesos (confirm price before you get in the taxi). Lots of taxis in the area.
I’ve never been to Iberostar but Salty Endeavors also picked up a diver who was staying there. The reefs are super close there. I think it’s Paso de Cedral that is right in front maybe a 5 minute ride out. It is much further from town. I’m guessing probably 200 pesos for a taxi (we visited a beach club down that way last summer).

 

[ggunn]

I’m not good at estimating time but maybe 20 min to Palancar Gardens?

That would be a very fast boat; it's a bit over 20 miles by water from the Westin to the south end of the island.

 

[nanches]

That would be a very fast boat; it's a bit over 20 miles by water from the Westin to the south end of the island.

The boats are quite fast. I would say it was 30 min max. Also, I mentioned to Palancar Gardens which isn’t the farthest south of all the reefs - a bit under 20 miles

 

[NDL_Diver]

The boats are quite fast. I would say it was 30 min max. Also, I mentioned to Palancar Gardens which isn’t the farthest south of all the reefs - a bit under 20 miles

More like 40 to 45 minutes. Time flies when you are having fun.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Ok, the engineer in me is getting out. It is a little over 16 miles to Palancar Gardens from Westin (Google maps measure). Assuming 25mph it would take a little over 38 minutes.