sharky60
Contributor
We had stayed at the Occidental Grand several years ago and were very impressed. The room was huge with a stocked mini fridge (included) (beer and soft drinks), his-n-her sinks and a seperate tub and shower, which came in handy for rinsing equipment, the balcony wasn't very big, but had enough space for drying equipment.
The food was suprisingly very good, not the same thing day-in and day-out on the buffets. The grounds are beautifully cut out of the surrounding jungle, 2 pools, one inland and one by the ocean with a restauran/bar located on the water also.
The drawback of course, is that is so far south and getting to town can be costly, nearly $20 one way by cab and there is not much to do at night down there. but then again, some folks are happy staying at the resort and chilling.
The plus, of course, is the 10 minute boat ride to the reef. I'd suggest using someone other than the on site dive op as they only appeared to have a large "cattle boat" and no fast 6-pack boats to get you out and back quickly.
The only diving minus is that the dive boats won't go back north too far, so diving Paradise or Chankanaab Bolones will be most likely out of the question.
Almost all dive ops will pick up down there and being so far south, it will buy you some extra time in the morning for breakfast and getting gear ready.
Personally, I'd prefer staying closer to town, Scuba Club is a very good choice, the Cozumel Princess is one of the newest resorts on the island and is one of only two 5-star rated hotels, the El Presidente being the other one.
Hotel Cozumel also has all-inclusive packages and is probably more budget minded than the Princess or Scuba Club.
For a semi-inclusive experience, Blue Angel Resort has hotel/dive packages very reasonably priced, and breakfast and lunch are included on days that you boat dive and a dinner if you dive more than 5 days I think it is. With the low price of a BA package, you may have enough budget money to pay for dinner and stock the room with drinks to save money.
The dive op is located on property, the shore diving is included and is some of the best on the island, especially night shore diving.
Most dive ops will pick up at all these resorts, as usual I recommend these dive ops in no particular order:
Blue Angel-our current dive op
Dive with Martin-long time favorite
BlueXTSea-boutique diving at it's best, want to be pampered, e-mail Christi
Bottom Time Divers-wanna see little critters? Raul is and expert!
One note about iced tea, especially if you like it unsweetened or "natural" as they call it. We have found that not all places have iced tea and a lot of time it is sweetened only.
If you decide on Scuba Club, Blue Angel or someplace that doesn't include, bottom shelf, watered down drinks, which you WILL get at an AI. Most hotel rooms have a small fridge and a quick trip to Chedraui or Mega to supply the room can save money on buying drinks. A bottle of rum and pina mix can go a lot farther with the budget than buying them from the bar. and a six pack of beer is around $5US, when you wil pay at least $3 for one from the bar...plus tip.
The food was suprisingly very good, not the same thing day-in and day-out on the buffets. The grounds are beautifully cut out of the surrounding jungle, 2 pools, one inland and one by the ocean with a restauran/bar located on the water also.
The drawback of course, is that is so far south and getting to town can be costly, nearly $20 one way by cab and there is not much to do at night down there. but then again, some folks are happy staying at the resort and chilling.
The plus, of course, is the 10 minute boat ride to the reef. I'd suggest using someone other than the on site dive op as they only appeared to have a large "cattle boat" and no fast 6-pack boats to get you out and back quickly.
The only diving minus is that the dive boats won't go back north too far, so diving Paradise or Chankanaab Bolones will be most likely out of the question.
Almost all dive ops will pick up down there and being so far south, it will buy you some extra time in the morning for breakfast and getting gear ready.
Personally, I'd prefer staying closer to town, Scuba Club is a very good choice, the Cozumel Princess is one of the newest resorts on the island and is one of only two 5-star rated hotels, the El Presidente being the other one.
Hotel Cozumel also has all-inclusive packages and is probably more budget minded than the Princess or Scuba Club.
For a semi-inclusive experience, Blue Angel Resort has hotel/dive packages very reasonably priced, and breakfast and lunch are included on days that you boat dive and a dinner if you dive more than 5 days I think it is. With the low price of a BA package, you may have enough budget money to pay for dinner and stock the room with drinks to save money.
The dive op is located on property, the shore diving is included and is some of the best on the island, especially night shore diving.
Most dive ops will pick up at all these resorts, as usual I recommend these dive ops in no particular order:
Blue Angel-our current dive op
Dive with Martin-long time favorite
BlueXTSea-boutique diving at it's best, want to be pampered, e-mail Christi
Bottom Time Divers-wanna see little critters? Raul is and expert!
One note about iced tea, especially if you like it unsweetened or "natural" as they call it. We have found that not all places have iced tea and a lot of time it is sweetened only.
If you decide on Scuba Club, Blue Angel or someplace that doesn't include, bottom shelf, watered down drinks, which you WILL get at an AI. Most hotel rooms have a small fridge and a quick trip to Chedraui or Mega to supply the room can save money on buying drinks. A bottle of rum and pina mix can go a lot farther with the budget than buying them from the bar. and a six pack of beer is around $5US, when you wil pay at least $3 for one from the bar...plus tip.
