Iberostar vs Westin

[nanches]

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.

Ok, ok, I’ll admit that I’m even worse at estimating speed than I am at estimating time Also, I love being out on the water as well as being in it, so, yeah, time does fly but this is what Salty Endeavors’ web site says about their boat speeds:
“All of our boats are fast boats designed to get you out to the reef and back quickly. Where most boats in Cozumel are 1 – 1.5 hours travel time from downtown to Palancar reef, we can do this in 25 minutes on all of our boats. This allows you to get two morning dives in and still return for lunch. Or complete two afternoon dives after lunch. Doing two dives does not need to take your entire day!”

Our Boats

cozumelscuba.com

 

[ggunn]

...most boats in Cozumel are 1 – 1.5 hours travel time from downtown to Palancar reef, we can do this in 25 minutes on all of our boats.

This is not a true statement, or at best it is an exaggeration; most Cozumel dive boats are not slow cattle boats. I've seen Salty Endeavor's boats out on the reefs; they are not over twice as fast as "most boats". They are about the same speed as other boats of the same type, of which there are lots.

 

[Manatee Diver]

I've stayed at the Westin, really nice hotel. But it is far from town where all the good food is, and very far from the diving, in fact you most likely will have to taxi to town to get to most operators.

It wouldn't be my first choice or even second choice.

 

[nanches]

This is not a true statement, or at best it is an exaggeration; most Cozumel dive boats are not slow cattle boats. I've seen Salty Endeavor's boats out on the reefs; they are not over twice as fast as "most boats". They are about the same speed as other boats of the same type, of which there are lots.

So, as I’m sure you realized, I was quoting the company’s website, so, yeah, some skepticism of any company’s advertising is always healthy. However, in your above comment you said:

“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.”

As well as being inaccurate, it seems you also believe that it takes “most boats” an hour to get to the southern reefs.

Also, I believe that there are at least 3 dive ops that will pick up from the Westin.

 

[ggunn]

So, as I’m sure you realized, I was quoting the company’s website, so, yeah, some skepticism of any company’s advertising is always healthy. However, in your above comment you said:

“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.”

As well as being inaccurate, it seems you also believe that it takes “most boats” an hour to get to the southern reefs.

Also, I believe that there are at least 3 dive ops that will pick up from the Westin.

It's 35-45 minute boat ride on a fast boat from Colombia Shallows to Blue Angel depending on conditions; I have taken that ride many times, and the Westin is 5 miles farther than the BA, If dive boats will pick you up at the Westin, then good for you, but many have posted in here about the difficulties they have encountered in getting picked up by a dive boat on the north end of the hotel zone. I always stay at BA, so I do not have any direct experience with the Westin other than seeing where it is on Google Earth, which is where I am getting my distance measurements.

Irrespective of how long boat rides are on "most boats" the claim by Salty Endeavors that they are more than twice as fast is not accurate because "most boats" are not the big slow cattle boats that SE is comparing themselves to. There are a lot more small fast boats than big slow ones serving the divers from Cozumel, and I haven't seen the really slow Dive Paradise boats out diving in a long time.

 

[nanches]

It's 35-45 minute boat ride on a fast boat from Colombia Shallows to Blue Angel depending on conditions; I have taken that ride many times, and the Westin is 5 miles farther than the BA, If dive boats will pick you up at the Westin, then good for you, but many have posted in here about the difficulties they have encountered in getting picked up by a dive boat on the north end of the hotel zone. I always stay at BA, so I do not have any direct experience with the Westin other than seeing where it is on Google Earth, which is where I am getting my distance measurements.

Irrespective of how long boat rides are on "most boats" the claim by Salty Endeavors that they are more than twice as fast is not accurate because "most boats" are not the big slow cattle boats that SE is comparing themselves to. There are a lot more small fast boats than big slow ones serving the divers from Cozumel, and I haven't seen the really slow Dive Paradise boats out diving in a long time.

I’m not sure why you’re still arguing this, since, by your own statement above, Salty Endeavors’ boats ARE faster. You say 45 minutes from BA, and with Salty E it’s 25 minutes from downtown.

As I mentioned in my original reply to the OP, I stayed next door to the Westin and DO have direct experience. Clearly, not all dive ops pick up at the Westin, but there are some good ones that do. I’ve heard of at least 2 that do, was on boats that picked up guests at the Westin’s dock, AND saw other boats picking up and dropping off there.

Hopefully, the OP has gotten enough information to make their own informed decision about where they’d like to stay

There are lots of places to stay in Cozumel, all with their pros and cons. It just depends on what is most important to each person/group.

I hope they have a great time in Cozumel!

 

[jonhall]

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.

A few things to think about:

Since it's been mentioned, if a "fast" boat left from the Westin, it could get you to the dive sites in the south in ~ 30-40 minutes, but not as fast as a "slower boat" from the Iberostar dock. I dove with Pepe Scuba at the Coral Princess (about a mile south of the Westin) and their fast boats can move as we got the the dive sites in ~25-35 minutes depending on where we went. From the Iberostar, it's only 5-10 minutes. Some enjoy the longer boat rides, but if the weather isn't great or the water is somewhat choppy, the longer boat ride might not be so enjoyable.

Also leaving from the north, there is a good chance a dive op will either be making stops to pick more divers up or let divers off, adding more time to your overall boat time.

Pro Dive has a satellite shop at the Westin. When I stayed at the Melia, Pro Dive had a shop there also and they provided taxi money for the ~25 minute ride to (and back) the Allegro/Occidental where their boat left from. Only 5-10 minute boat ride to dive sites. Less boat time but time on the road. Dressel Divers is located at the Iberostar. You may have to book initial dives online, but it is very convenient.

Clearly, not all dive ops pick up at the Westin, but there are some good ones that do.

If Salty Endeavors picks up at the Westin, they get good reviews from SB members. If Pepe Scuba picks up from there, I would also recommend them. I've researched over 30 dive ops in Cozumel (I'll attach the link) and most will only pick up in town and/or south of where their boat leaves from. Salty Endeavors generally leaves from Puerto Abrigo - a marina just under 2 miles south from the Westin. I would research any op that picks up from the Westin and make sure they are diving the marine park and not some small reef north of town. Assuming you want a dive op to pick you up at the dock of the resort you stay at, you will have more dive op choices if staying at the Iberostar.

Lastly, the beaches in the south (Iberostar) are nice and sandy with the pretty Caribbean blue water - the beaches in the north are not as nice as they can be iron shore, less sandy, and have murky water due to the currents.

For me, I'm all about convenience and also prefer nicer beaches, the Iberostar would get the nod over the Westin.

Below is the link to many dive ops in Cozumel. Pretty current info although I probably need to update it some.


Dive ops by jonhall

 

[nanches]

Lastly, the beaches in the south (Iberostar) are nice and sandy with the pretty Caribbean blue water - the beaches in the north are not as nice as they can be iron shore, less sandy, and have murky water due to the currents.

A little more info about the beach: I think maybe it’s just the Melia that gets murky. The water around the Westin is the beautiful blue Caribbean turquoise. The beach is sandy but small. But there’s not a long stretch of beach to walk along like there is down at Iberostar. The rocky shore surrounding Westin’s beach attracts a lot of reef fish, so the snorkeling is really nice for those that like to snorkel.
The quality of the water at any hotel can vary, too. When we picked up at the Iberostar in August, the water at the beach was a bit murky. I think there had been some sargassum seaweed that came in. Cozumel doesn’t tend to get a lot of sargassum like the mainland, but when it does, I think the south can tend to get a bit more than the Westin area. BUT it’s nature, and so it’s unpredictable.
Attaching views of the water in front of the Westin and their pier, seen from Playa Azul. The brownish color isn’t the water, but the rocky coast and coral that attract the reef fish (we found an octopus,too!).

 

[ggunn]

I’m not sure why you’re still arguing this, since, by your own statement above, Salty Endeavors’ boats ARE faster. You say 45 minutes from BA, and with Salty E it’s 25 minutes from downtown.

No, they are not. I've seen them on the water many times and they are like all the rest of the small boats on the island. But believe what you want. Their claim that their boats are more than 2X as fast as most dive boats is an exaggeration; their boats are much faster than the big slow boats like Dive Paradise runs (or used to run), but those boats are by no stretch of the imagination "most boats". Most of the dive boats on Cozumel are small ones like theirs and are of comparative speed.

FWIW, I have been diving Cozumel for 29 years, virtually exclusively from small boats. I'll just add that if anyone is running dive boats that are more than 2X as fast as the ones I routinely ride on from Blue Angel (which are typical of Cozumel fast dive boats), I don't want to be on them.

 

[nanches]

No, they are not. I've seen them on the water many times and they are like all the rest of the small boats on the island. But believe what you want. Their claim that their boats are more than 2X as fast as most dive boats is an exaggeration; their boats are much faster than the big slow boats like Dive Paradise runs (or used to run), but those boats are by no stretch of the imagination "most boats". Most of the dive boats on Cozumel are small ones like theirs and are of comparative speed.

FWIW, I have been diving Cozumel for 29 years, virtually exclusively from small boats. I'll just add that if anyone is running dive boats that are more than 2X as fast as the ones I routinely ride on from Blue Angel (which are typical of Cozumel fast dive boats), I don't want to be on them.

Clearly they are not 2x the speed of the boats you use, but 25 min IS faster than 45, and BA is further south than “downtown,” so my point was that they are clearly faster… which is also probably why you originally imagined it would take an hour from the Westin. I didn’t say 2x faster. You can take your issues with Salty Endeavors’ claims up with them.