Resort Suggestions
- Thread starter BCarolan
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I always stay at Blue Angel. It's small (22 rooms) and pretty close to town (cheap cab rides). It isn't AI, but breakfast is included, and the restaurant is great. The rooms are a bit rustic but spacious and clean. The dive op is excellent and the pool is very nice. The (free tanks and weights) shore dive is good by Cozumel shore diving standards, which are not comparable to the boat dives, but you can always find some critters, especially at night. It is between the coast road and the water, so everything is within a few steps of everything else. The grounds are lovely and the staff is great. It checks all the boxes for me.
cozcharlie
Contributor
There is a wide range of options on Cozumel and you really haven’t given that much info about your budget /other preferences. This includes whether you are traveling alone, with a significant other (diving/non-diving) and/or kids
Most of the people on this board don’t prefer the AIs because the food is usually just so-so and there are a plethora of good restaurants in town. The AIs are usually more remote (25-35 minutes south of town ) , so you hardly even feel like you are in Cozumel. This remote location can be a plus for families— people with kids often find the AIs attractive since the kids can just kind of roam around the resort (most of which have some sort of kid activities). The AIs tend to have better beaches than the resorts closer to town (which matters most to kids and non-diving spouses ). The geographic benefit to the southern AIs is that you are closer to the reefs so have shorter boat rides and easy access to the a dive shop at the resort. The negative to that is most of the resort ops are higher volume outfits that cater to occasional vacation divers that usually don’t provide the level and quality of service that the various boutique outfits that most people on the board prefer (there are 100+ dive ops on the island , including dozens of really good ones ). Depending upon which resort you are at many outside operators may not be allowed to pick up at the pier without paying a substantial fee.
Some of southern AIs to consider would be Allegro , Iberostar , Occidental Grand , Secrets, Sunscape/Sanor and Dreams (last 3 are Hyatt affiliates now ). Closer to town (and pricier ) would be Presidente Intercontinental (not an AI, but has generally been one of top two hotels on island for decades ) and Cozumel Palace (a high end AI in town ). Gordon mentioned Blue Angel as a decent non AI alternative, many people on the board like Casa Mexicana as mid range hotel in the heart of town .
Most of the people on this board don’t prefer the AIs because the food is usually just so-so and there are a plethora of good restaurants in town. The AIs are usually more remote (25-35 minutes south of town ) , so you hardly even feel like you are in Cozumel. This remote location can be a plus for families— people with kids often find the AIs attractive since the kids can just kind of roam around the resort (most of which have some sort of kid activities). The AIs tend to have better beaches than the resorts closer to town (which matters most to kids and non-diving spouses ). The geographic benefit to the southern AIs is that you are closer to the reefs so have shorter boat rides and easy access to the a dive shop at the resort. The negative to that is most of the resort ops are higher volume outfits that cater to occasional vacation divers that usually don’t provide the level and quality of service that the various boutique outfits that most people on the board prefer (there are 100+ dive ops on the island , including dozens of really good ones ). Depending upon which resort you are at many outside operators may not be allowed to pick up at the pier without paying a substantial fee.
Some of southern AIs to consider would be Allegro , Iberostar , Occidental Grand , Secrets, Sunscape/Sanor and Dreams (last 3 are Hyatt affiliates now ). Closer to town (and pricier ) would be Presidente Intercontinental (not an AI, but has generally been one of top two hotels on island for decades ) and Cozumel Palace (a high end AI in town ). Gordon mentioned Blue Angel as a decent non AI alternative, many people on the board like Casa Mexicana as mid range hotel in the heart of town .
cicopo
Contributor
If you stay down south or up north AI's become a necessity because there are limited choices in restaurants nearby. Near or in town opens up lots of places withing walking distance or by a short cab ride. Will a hotel do or do you want a resort experience? Real beach or just ocean access? Knowing these can be useful to us. Most resorts have an on site dive op, some with fast boat options as well as the slow big boat easy on / easy off option. Also what is your (& others in your party) skill set?
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There are many reviews posted here.
Might I suggest you read some of them and then come back with questions.
Might I suggest you read some of them and then come back with questions.
^^^This!^^^ Look for anything listed as "Trip Report" in the Cozumel forum. There's more information than you probably want!
EDIT: On second thought, you need to know which resort you want to read a trip report on so you can search the name and also Trip Report. There are so many. If you can narrow it down to AI or not that will help. Many members have stayed at multiple AIs and multiple small resorts that only include breakfast (like Casa Mexicana). If you can drill it down a bit it would help.
cozcharlie
Contributor
^^^This!^^^ Look for anything listed as "Trip Report" in the Cozumel forum. There's more information than you probably want!
EDIT: On second thought, you need to know which resort you want to read a trip report on so you can search the name and also Trip Report. There are so many. If you can narrow it down to AI or not that will help. Many members have stayed at multiple AIs and multiple small resorts that only include breakfast (like Casa Mexicana). If you can drill it down a bit it would help.
The second part of your post is why I responded with some general info about the lay of the land (very difficult for someone who has never been here before to get useful information from a search without already having something specific in mind). We should try to update Christy’s sticky thread at the top one of these days but I don’t know how or who would do that .
mediumone
Contributor
MMM or another mod?
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