Kelly's $16 Margarita?

[wedivebc]

We were charged $16 for a margarita at Kelly's; $64 for the four of us. The regular magarita was $5 but because we specified Don Julio and Grand Marnier the total went way up. We complained to the owner who said Don Julio was $50/bottle and Grand Marnier was $40/bottle so he felt justified, plus the hurricane damage, blah, blah, blah. We argued and he got mad and threw our money on the table, then after 5 minutes came back and insulted us.

We've been surveying other bar/restaurants and have been charged between $6.50 and $8.00.

We came to Cozumel because we wanted to help out Post Wilma but this is ridiculous.

By the way this morning was the kids' costume parade (pre-school and kindergarten). It was tooooooo cute! Opening night was last night, a big party on the plaza. Tonight is the first of the parades.

-R

We went to some little dump past the naval base where we were going to eat dinner, but after being charged $10 for 4 cokes we got back on our scooter. I am all for helping Wilma victims but this gouging is not helping Cozumel's economy. I would sooner go back to Thailand thanks.

 

[Titletowndiver]

Hmmm.... Caveat emptor ????

 

[ScubaTexan]

I know top shelf margaritas are considerably more than regular house margaritas, but even so, $16 sounds a bit exorbitant to me. Granted, Don Julio and Grand Marnier are going to make a top shelf margarita, but I suspect you got fleeced a bit.

 

[Brandon]

Though I did not order the drinks, in my opinion fine tequila should be drunk straight up. Why ruin it with lime juice, orange liquer, and ice?

I was going to ask why you were drinking Don Julio margaritas, but didn't want to give you a hard time =)

They probably charged you $16 to punish you for abusing the fine tequila in such a way!

-Brandon.

 

[ScubaTexan]

We complained to the owner who said Don Julio was $50/bottle and Grand Marnier was $40/bottle so he felt justified, plus the hurricane damage, blah, blah, blah.

At most, Don Julio is $25-35/liter here, and that's including import charges, which they don't get charged for in Cozumel.

 

[yak]

I know there's a few lists going around on this forum on the best restaurants, along with some indication of prices.

This sounds like a good opportunity to start a similar thread on the best/cheapest bars in Coz. (And it would be just in time for my first visit to Coz since 1988, this May )

 

[PaulChristenson]

Well, to put some perspective on this, we were charged $25.00 for two rather small bugers, and two gatoraides while sking recently at WinterPark/Jane!! :11doh: I could have got the same meal at a Burger King for $4

Nooo...it would have tasted better at BurgerKing...but the skiing there sucks...

 

[Firerescueguy]

I would have to agree on the prices going up. I just returned from a 10 day trip to Cozumel and I probably spent $200 more on food and drinks this time compared to a 10 day trip last year. The drinks and food were not any better and the service may have been a little worse. IMO

 

[Christi]

We were charged $16 for a margarita at Kelly's; $64 for the four of us. The regular magarita was $5 but because we specified Don Julio and Grand Marnier the total went way up. We complained to the owner who said Don Julio was $50/bottle and Grand Marnier was $40/bottle so he felt justified, plus the hurricane damage, blah, blah, blah. We argued and he got mad and threw our money on the table, then after 5 minutes came back and insulted us.

We've been surveying other bar/restaurants and have been charged between $6.50 and $8.00.

We came to Cozumel because we wanted to help out Post Wilma but this is ridiculous.

By the way this morning was the kids' costume parade (pre-school and kindergarten). It was tooooooo cute! Opening night was last night, a big party on the plaza. Tonight is the first of the parades.

-R

Sorry to hear about this bad experience and I hope that you will not let this one place taint your impression of Cozumel. Kelly's is not a place I frequent...in fact I have been there once...I'll just leave it at that.

However, it is true that Don Julio is $45 to $50 per bottle even here on the island and you will pay a premium for it at any bar. I do think that $16 is a bit steep in any event. We ALL had hurricane damage, but we are not all using it as an excuse to price gouge. As tough as they are, hurricanes are part of living in the Caribbean and it's part of life and business.

Cozumel has gotten out of hand on it's prices on some stuff. It used to be this cheap little island that you could go diving on... but they've "grown" into being expensive on many things. I think the cruise boats are part of the reason. The average cruise boat passenger spends $125 per port visit while they are on a cruise. The stores in Cozumel really reflect the cruise industry a lot now.

We paid $16 bucks for two of the worst margaritas I've ever had a Carlos n Charlies the last time I was there. They were so bad that we poured them out.

Cozumel is still great, but a lot of the businesses have their minds only on their wallets.

Inflation affects little 3rd world resort islands just as it does the US and every other part of the world. You cannot expect prices to stay as they were years ago as the island grows and has more to offer. All of these conveniences and modern ammenities that most of the tourists want come at a cost. Something people seem to forget is that we ARE an island and EVERYTHING is imported...whether from the mainland or from another country. Despite what people believe, it is not cheap to live here...my grocery bills here are actually higher than they were in the states. Gas is more expensive, Electricity is more expensive, insurance is more expensive, etc. etc. When the prices were lower, you also didn't have the same options or comforts as are offered now...it was much more primitive in all ways...thus lower prices because overhead and expenses were less. If you think Cozumel is expensive...have you been to Cayman, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, Virgin Islands, the Keys? Places like Carlos and Charlies are pure tourist traps...so you'll always pay inflated prices in places like that. This is not just a Cozumel thing...it's called tourism.

Isn't every business in business to make money...and if they don't watch their bottom line, there won't be one right?

When you go to a tourist based resort area, you can not expect great deals even if you can get them at times. Ask before you order, and if you feel you must drink premium drinks, expect to pay a premium price.

I'm not surprized to discover you can get a Grand Marnier margarita for $8.00, but not with Tequila that sells for between $50-$60 for 750ml. When you specify such an expensive Tequila, I'm not sure that $16 is actually THAT overpriced. Consider that a rail drink is generally around $5, and that uses one shot of booze that can be purchased at under $20 for 1.75l

Perfectly stated!

 

[loudives]

I don't drink but wife loves to in a casual way. She had the best Margarita of her life at La Choza last week and it was $5. Even asked the bar keep for his recipe.