Very Good Restaurants, Fair dive shop, Poor hotel 8/17-24/04

[SDNetGeek]

Eight of us went to CZM 8/17-24/04, 3 experienced divers with 5 newbies (one of whom couldn't SWIM 45 days ago!) . I had one previous trip in 1989, boy has Cozumel grown up! None of the hotels on the beaches S. of San Miguel were there then...

Poor hotel: well, maybe *poor* is a strong word - it was the Reef Club Cozumel, and I just had to keep saying "$121 a night All-Inclusive. $121 a night All-Inclusive. $121 a night All-Inclusive..." to myself. Yes, that's a very inexpensive rate for an AI, but there are some basic hotel things which are requirements for me, and were missing here. Housekeeping (scheduling) was weak, several times my group's rooms were not made up before 6PM. A daily Hskping tip helps, the rooms were nicely cleaned when done, but king size sheets for king size beds would be nice. There were a couple items one could argue were "scams." First, we all had no Std rooms the first night, had to take a Suites room and move the next morning. We then heard of several other folks who had to do this - there's some basic math missing here (total # of rooms - reservations = avail. rms.) Of course they had Suites rooms if we wanted to upgrade for $45 per person, per night. NFL. Second, they have two "specialty" restaurants, reservations can be made 9am-2PM ONLY, and I mean ONLY. Skip the International completely, but the Italian was actually Good. The main buffet is only Fair, ever. On tripadvisor.com we saw comments that the food was bland, and it IS. I don't know how they found bland pineapple and chorizo, but they did. Even the made-to-order omelettes were Fair. I have stayed at Sandals (pricey but Excellent) and the Iberostar in Bayahibe, D.R. ($185/nt/2ppl, Very Good, excellent value!) and if I had paid the regular $150/nt rate at Reef Club I'd have moved.

Fair dive shop: Papa Hogs. Rates were very reasonable, $52/trip w/Park Fee if we all did 4+ trips in 4 days, we averaged 5. Picked us up at Reef Club dock, sometimes came back there for SI, sometimes Christmas Tree dock down the coast, sometimes the little bar up the beach from the Reef Club. DM was Gabriel. We had emailed them about having 5 newbies, asking for a bouyancy check/ simple dive for #1, but it was pretty rushed, actually I felt rushed all week. Did not get any pre-dive brief on any dive except very general comments, no creature brief, no specific plan at all. DM did find some creatures, a BIG moray, octopus, buried stingrays, but I found quite a few myself too. He did save a dive for a newbie when her pressure guage failed, kept her in tow (literally) for the rest of the dive (a case can be made for her aborting the dive, too). I think a case could also be made that if I felt this way I should have pulled my group to another shop, the other two experienced divers felt the issues weren't overt enough to do so that late in the game. On the last dive day AM the current was RIPPING us by the reefs, DM made no discernable effort to keep the group together (that I saw). Bottom line: I would not recommend them, I would suggest new divers not use them. I'd like to hear comments from others who have dived with them!

Very Good restaurants: three to mention. 1. Good: Sonora Grill, which is on 15th Av 1-2 blocks behind (inland of) the Main Square. Big menu, good food, good prices, nice folks. Facing the square, go to the back-left corner to the Baby Reef, keep it on your left and go inland, upstairs on the left.

2. Very Good: La Lobsteria. Go to the Punta Langosta mall, go 1 block north, at the bank turn right (inland) and go one big block, restaurant is on the corner. Heard of them from a townie as we got off the plane. Small (15 tables?) but nicely furnished, nice folks, good prices, pretty big menu. Lobster is tails only (I believe), pick your own priced by weight, the Lobster Menu has the preparations. Our group all had the Rosarito - deep fried but not battered - and loved it. I had the beef fajitas, also good. Shrimp ceviche was excellent, several had the cheese-and-<something> appetizers (-chorizo, was one, very good). Good salsa. I believe we were $32/person w/drinks, well worth it.

3. Very good/Excellent: Pepe's Grill. It's right on the waterfront a couple blocks north of the ferry pier. I had eaten there in '89 but I didn't remember how good it really is. Well furnished, excellent staff. Menu has both beef (Rib Eye and Prime Rib are specialties, both excellent) and seafood - my wife had the "Shrimp Brochettes" but they were really big prawns and TO DIE FOR! Lobster was excellent as well. Nice salad bar (not Souplantation-wide, but all nice veggies, fresh, good dressings), cooked veggies w/entrees not overcooked, bakers were good too. We got out of there for $40/person with a nice tip and 2-3 drinks each (good drinks too!)

Does this info help anybody? I'd love to hear...

 

[Christi]

Eight of us went to CZM 8/17-24/04, 3 experienced divers with 5 newbies (one of whom couldn't SWIM 45 days ago!) . I had one previous trip in 1989, boy has Cozumel grown up! None of the hotels on the beaches S. of San Miguel were there then...

Poor hotel: well, maybe *poor* is a strong word - it was the Reef Club Cozumel, and I just had to keep saying "$121 a night All-Inclusive. $121 a night All-Inclusive. $121 a night All-Inclusive..." to myself. Yes, that's a very inexpensive rate for an AI, but there are some basic hotel things which are requirements for me, and were missing here. Housekeeping (scheduling) was weak, several times my group's rooms were not made up before 6PM. A daily Hskping tip helps, the rooms were nicely cleaned when done, but king size sheets for king size beds would be nice. There were a couple items one could argue were "scams." First, we all had no Std rooms the first night, had to take a Suites room and move the next morning. We then heard of several other folks who had to do this - there's some basic math missing here (total # of rooms - reservations = avail. rms.) Of course they had Suites rooms if we wanted to upgrade for $45 per person, per night. NFL. Second, they have two "specialty" restaurants, reservations can be made 9am-2PM ONLY, and I mean ONLY. Skip the International completely, but the Italian was actually Good. The main buffet is only Fair, ever. On tripadvisor.com we saw comments that the food was bland, and it IS. I don't know how they found bland pineapple and chorizo, but they did. Even the made-to-order omelettes were Fair. I have stayed at Sandals (pricey but Excellent) and the Iberostar in Bayahibe, D.R. ($185/nt/2ppl, Very Good, excellent value!) and if I had paid the regular $150/nt rate at Reef Club I'd have moved.

Fair dive shop: Papa Hogs. Rates were very reasonable, $52/trip w/Park Fee if we all did 4+ trips in 4 days, we averaged 5. Picked us up at Reef Club dock, sometimes came back there for SI, sometimes Christmas Tree dock down the coast, sometimes the little bar up the beach from the Reef Club. DM was Gabriel. We had emailed them about having 5 newbies, asking for a bouyancy check/ simple dive for #1, but it was pretty rushed, actually I felt rushed all week. Did not get any pre-dive brief on any dive except very general comments, no creature brief, no specific plan at all. DM did find some creatures, a BIG moray, octopus, buried stingrays, but I found quite a few myself too. He did save a dive for a newbie when her pressure guage failed, kept her in tow (literally) for the rest of the dive (a case can be made for her aborting the dive, too). I think a case could also be made that if I felt this way I should have pulled my group to another shop, the other two experienced divers felt the issues weren't overt enough to do so that late in the game. On the last dive day AM the current was RIPPING us by the reefs, DM made no discernable effort to keep the group together (that I saw). Bottom line: I would not recommend them, I would suggest new divers not use them. I'd like to hear comments from others who have dived with them!

Very Good restaurants: three to mention. 1. Good: Sonora Grill, which is on 15th Av 1-2 blocks behind (inland of) the Main Square. Big menu, good food, good prices, nice folks. Facing the square, go to the back-left corner to the Baby Reef, keep it on your left and go inland, upstairs on the left.

2. Very Good: La Lobsteria. Go to the Punta Langosta mall, go 1 block north, at the bank turn right (inland) and go one big block, restaurant is on the corner. Heard of them from a townie as we got off the plane. Small (15 tables?) but nicely furnished, nice folks, good prices, pretty big menu. Lobster is tails only (I believe), pick your own priced by weight, the Lobster Menu has the preparations. Our group all had the Rosarito - deep fried but not battered - and loved it. I had the beef fajitas, also good. Shrimp ceviche was excellent, several had the cheese-and-<something> appetizers (-chorizo, was one, very good). Good salsa. I believe we were $32/person w/drinks, well worth it.

3. Very good/Excellent: Pepe's Grill. It's right on the waterfront a couple blocks north of the ferry pier. I had eaten there in '89 but I didn't remember how good it really is. Well furnished, excellent staff. Menu has both beef (Rib Eye and Prime Rib are specialties, both excellent) and seafood - my wife had the "Shrimp Brochettes" but they were really big prawns and TO DIE FOR! Lobster was excellent as well. Nice salad bar (not Souplantation-wide, but all nice veggies, fresh, good dressings), cooked veggies w/entrees not overcooked, bakers were good too. We got out of there for $40/person with a nice tip and 2-3 drinks each (good drinks too!)

Does this info help anybody? I'd love to hear...

Good restaurants, but you did miss some even better/equally good restaurants within the same price range or lower (Guido's, French Quarter, Especias, El Moro, Manati). Add them to your list for next time

Good directions for Lobsteria, but I would like to make one small clarification so no one gets confused. You turn east (inland) at the post office (just past "gag" Carlos & Charlies) not a bank. Lobsteria is at the corner of Ave. 5 and Calle 7.

As far as the Reef Club goes, it is your very basic AI, and sadly, I don't think I've ever had one customer who stayed there that was satisfied. The room problem seems to be a very common practice and the food has always been reportedly very bad, not even edible in some cases.

Sorry to hear you weren't happy with PH. If you were unhappy with the service from Papa Hogs, I hope you talked to Mike and/or Margaret about your concerns. It's only fair that they know what you weren't happy with so they can take whatever action they feel is appropriate. They have an excellent reputation and have been around a LONG time here, and I'm sure they would want to hear your concerns.

The currents have in fact been crazy freaky here for the past several weeks. The fact is that it is very difficult to keep a group together in these conditions due to the varying currents, especially when the divers don't stick with the DM. I'm not saying any of this was or wasn't true in your group's case, I'm just sharing "our" side of it and what the DM's deal with on a daily basis. If you are ever unclear on the dive plan, site, etc. ask the DM to clarify. In Gabriel's defense, and hopefully to ease your mind somewhat...I would be willing to bet money that he knew where everyone was and what was going on more than you think. These DM's here have been doing this for years and are very good at what they do. Just because you didn't see him physically turn around and count as often as you thought he should have, doesn't mean he didn't know what was going on at all times Of course, there could be alot more to it that you didn't share.

I see in your profile that you are an OW diver and got certified in 1983. Out of curiosity, how often do you dive? What is your definition of an experienced diver? Everyone's perception is different, this is why I ask and I mean absolutely no offense by it.

Thank you for the very informative report

 

[Skip Parker]

Fair dive shop: Papa Hogs.

I'm just curious how you chose Papa Hogs? Most of the popular dive shops around here are not popular because they are good newbie shops. Most are popular because they don't babysit the more experienced divers.

Your in-house dive op is actually quite good with newbies, but way to conservative for experienced divers.

 

[divematt]

Everywhere, especially in Cozumel, if you remember the saying "you get what you pay for" you won't be so disappointed.


Christy,

I would have to disagree in a couple of cases on this point although usually it is the case that you get what you pay for most anywhere.

Restaurants- Cozumel has some great food that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. The restaurants on the main road close to the cruise ship passengers are not always the best because they're expensive.

Dive operators- Is Aldora the best because it's $87.00 a day and Dive with Martin the worst because it's $50.00 a day?
I dove with Orlando, the divemaster with DWM for 8 days. I was very impressed with how they separated the beginners and the more intermediate to advanced divers on their boats as I requested. I was impressed with their 6 and 8 pack boats with twin 115HP engines that blew by everyone on the way out to the dive sites, that is, the ones that were on their way at 7:30am, another bonus. It's great getting that half hour or hour head start on everyone. I was also impressed by the free dive video that they made of one of our dives. I was impressed by the free boat night dive that everyone else charges for. And, it didn't hurt that they let us shore dive with steel 95's out in front of their shop to venture over to La Ceiba to see the plane wreck and such. Not to mention, Orlando took us to a nice site between Columbia Deep and Punta Sur that he called Columbia South, the best dive I've ever done, all things considered. Let's see, $400.00 for all of that for 8 days vs. what everyone else charges plus the Maracaibo, Punta Sur, Chun Chacaab, San Juan and Barracuda (extra long distance) charges. We're up to over 6 or 7 hundred bucks now with many of the other operators. All I'm saying, is that I had a great VALUE with my great diving.

How about hotels? Do you get what you pay for there? What about Caribe Blu, the place that everyone raves about, but only costs $65.00 a night. Do we really need to stay at the Presidente to "get what you pay for"?

It's all about value for me. I don't mind spending money, I just think Cozumel is one of the places that you can do much better if you're careful about "getting what you pay for".

Matt

 

[Scubakiwi]

A couple of things that sdnetgeek forgot to mention, was that on the first day of diving with PH that we all had problems with the equipment set-up by the boat master and Dive. During set-up of the tanks they did not wet down the tank strap when installing the tank. Some of us lost ourt tanks either before leaving the boat, or after being in the water for a few seconds.

Another thing I did not know until I got back was that PH is not a Padi certified dive shop.

 

[Christi]

I am not attacking yo Matt, just clarifying my point.

It's not about who is "best" or "worst." It is about value and whether you feel you got a value. Whether he paid $100 per dive or $50 per dive, the point is whether he felt he got a value for his money. Based on his report, it sounds like he didn't feel like he did.

I was also referring more to the hotel situation. There is absolutely no comparison in the Reef Club and Caribe Blu. One is an AI resort, one is a small boutique hotel. You just can't even compare them, two completely different concepts. However, I do not think that $120 per night/per person for the Reef Club, AI or not, is a value. Hotel Cozumel IMO is a much nicer property, better managed (despite all of the name changes), better location, and a better option all around for only $85 per night/per person AI.

Likewise, you cannot compare a high volume dive operator to a small customized operator. DWM, Papa Hogs, Blue Angel, Aqua Safari, Dive Paradise, Sand Dollar, Del Mar, etc. are volume operators (do not misinterpret for "cattle boat," not all of these are) and can offer lower prices for many reasons, that I'm not going to get into.

Myself, LB, Aldora, etc. are not. We are small customized shops. You cannot understand, (nor should you be expected to) the difference if you haven't tried different types of shops offering a different type of service. But I promise, the service is not the same regardless of what sites you are diving or when you get there, etc. There is alot more to it than that. This doesn't make anyone better or worse in that regard, just different. It's all a matter of personal preference.

I do know what it costs to run a dive op here and to provide the service I do. I didn't pull my pricing out of thin air, nor did the other higher priced operators. If you think any of us are gouging people, and not providing value, then I invite you to look at my books and what the actual expenses are, I think you would be surprised.

You had a great time with DWM and feel like you got a great value, that is great! I never said they were a bad operation or that they didn't provide what you were looking for. The important thing is that you enjoy their service and what you pay for it.

 

[Christi]

A couple of things that sdnetgeek forgot to mention, was that on the first day of diving with PH that we all had problems with the equipment set-up by the boat master and Dive. During set-up of the tanks they did not wet down the tank strap when installing the tank. Some of us lost ourt tanks either before leaving the boat, or after being in the water for a few seconds.

Another thing I did not know until I got back was that PH is not a Padi certified dive shop.

It doesn't make any difference what agency they are affiliated with.

A PADI resort simply means they have paid to be a PADI resort and be listed in the PADI travel network. It has no real significance regarding qualifications to runa shop.

I am not a PADI Resort operator either, but I am a PADI MSDT and all of my divemasters are PADI Instructors or Divemasters and our liability coverage is through PADI.

Mike and Margaret are both NAUI Course Directors and their divemasters are all either Naui, PADI or SSI.

Agency affiliation is irrelevant.

 

[nwdiver2]

Papa Hogs is great for value and as experienced divers they leave us alone. We are always treated well and they provide the service we expect efficiently and with a smile. You may have been better served on seven mile beach in the Caymans.

 

[travelem]

Dive operators- Is Aldora the best because it's $87.00 a day and Dive with Martin the worst because it's $50.00 a day?

How about hotels? Do you get what you pay for there? What about Caribe Blu, the place that everyone raves about, but only costs $65.00 a night. Do we really need to stay at the Presidente to "get what you pay for"?

It's all about value for me. I don't mind spending money, I just think Cozumel is one of the places that you can do much better if you're careful about "getting what you pay for".

Matt

Well said. I think in any places, price doesn't always reflect the service and value. You have to choose by a combination of different criteria to find the best deal that suit you.

You will be a big fool if you choose anything by price only.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

You will be a big fool if you choose anything by price only.

Truer words never spoken.