Need advise on hotel.

[MikeM_scuba]

Hi, I'm going to Cozumel in November with my non-diving family.
I need to find a place with nice beach (sand, easy in-out of the water), nice pool (for stormy day) and nice food nearby.
Hotel also has to be located so I can be easy picked up by different dive operators.
Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[tommyg]

the el cozumeleno is a nice hotel good food,a little far from town4-5miles. staff was nice. when iam by myself ,just diving ,i like the barracuda. when i go with girlfriend its the cozumeleno. rental cars on site watch them. they tried to get more money from me,long story. back in 1999 only paid $900 for everything still see samilar deals in ads.

 

[Divedoggie]

I doubt that the dive ops will pick you up, but I would have to say the El Cozumeleno would be very much appreciated by the rest of the non-diving family.
Maybe one of the Ops like Blue XT Sea will take your gear and have it ready for you on the boat everyday. All you would have to do is get yourself to one of the downtown piers.

 

[5615mike]

have not stayed at the northern hotels for about 4 years but I dont recall off site operators picking divers up there. Last time I did it I had to grab a taxi in the morning to town. Nice beaches up there no doubt.

 

[divingjd]

The Presidente would have suited your stated needs before the hurricane. It is currently undergoing significant renovation/reconstruction. It is supposed to reopen in the fall. It is right next to the caleta, so just about any dive op will pick you up at the Presidente pier. It is, however, the most expensive hotel on the island. Fiesta Americana would meet many of your needs, but it does not have a classic sandy beach sloping into the water. Much of the shore on Cozumel is ironshore. FA built a beach, but you have to climb down steps to get to the water. It's not bad access, just not the classic beach. It is south of town, so there aren't really any restaurants nearby, other than the hotel restaurants. It is just down the way from the Presidente. I have stayed there several times and seen boats from lots of dive ops picking people up at the FA pier.

 

[bfisher]

I don;t think there are too many places with what you'd call a beach. At least anything nerar town.

If you don't mind being south about 15 miles then you ould check out the Reef Club. I was just there last month and it's not too bad considering how bad things got hammered last year. They're not 100%, but what is operational is good to go.

It's an all inclusive place. There is a beach, several pools, one w/swim up bar. The food at the restaurant is very good, and the pool snack bar ain't too bad either---especially the ribs (YUM).

They do have a dive op on site---Sand Dollar. They weren.t quite up to snuff last month either, but it was adequate and improvong quickly. I'd imagine that by Novemeber things will be pretty much ship-shape.

One thing nice about this place from a diver's perspective is that it's close to all the more popular walls and deep dives such as Columbia and Palancar. No shore diving though.

I'm sure you'll get more help so this is just one option. It's tough trying to please a crowd of dive/non-dive people.

 

[94GTStang]

Hotel Cozumel was really nice. They have the biggest pool I believe also. Staff were really nice and helpful. They also have rental cars from which to choose from. Not sure about dive op choices though. Someone else might chime in on that. Plus, the hotel is close to town which is only a $3 taxi ride to the mall.

 

[Hooked4Life]

We stayed at Hotel Cozumel and Fiesta Americana last year. Hotel Cozumel is a great value and is close to town. The problem is the beach is really small. Overall we liked the place.

Last time we stayed at Fiesta Americana. Very nice place.. but the beach does not slope into the ocean and is far from town. I really like being closer to town because I would rather sample the local food.

This next trip we are staying at Caribe Blu. Great value and right on the ocean.

 

[94GTStang]

We are planning on going to the supermarket and picking up a lot of stuff to make breakfast with and lunch. Then hitting the liqour store to make some drinks as well. Just something to keep the cost down since we are not going Ai.

 

[smokey braden]

mikem scuba,
from what you posted sounds like allegro would fit the bill.
they are ai, so no need to go to town.
they have what you call a classic beach.
there are lots of activities for non divers.
being to the south they are close to the real nice dive sites.
you shouldn't have trouble finding a dive op.
upon your safe return please drop us a trip report.
regards,