change of plans

[scubagirlj]

Had everything lined up to go to Paradise Island(Comfort Suites with PADI discount and access to Atlantis & Stuart Coves for dives) but have now changed mind after some dive site/bottom time/boat occupancy/cost issues with DO, not to mention plane fare almost doubled before booking final arrangements-looking at Coz instead(was backup plan)-thinking Occidental Grand(loved Occidental Xcaret)with Dive Palancar or Scuba Club Cozumel-husband prefers all-inclusive and more of a resort, I don't care either way-is it true that SCC does not have TV? I see they include meals but not beverages, kind of strange-Looked at Trip Advisor, but thats not diver's reviews-prefer on-site DO -being close to town not a big deal, not into bar scene and prefer to be FAR away from cruise shippers-thoughts?

[awap]

The Occidental Grand is great but pretty far from town ($15 taxi each way), if that matters. Rooms, grounds, food, beach and pool are all top notch. Dive Palancar is a good op but they run 4 single tank dive each day and limit bottom times (35 minutes for deep dives and 45 minutes for shallow dives) to maintain schedule. I often stay there and usually do am dives with a smaller op and then get a 10 dive package from DP that my wife and I split in the afternoons. Plus you would want to do your night dives with them as most ops do not want to come that far south for a nigh dive. Don't miss the night dive as the souther shallow reefs can be really good at night. SCC is also a good choice but is usually a bit pricey, once you add in tips, for what you get. Food is good. No TVs is a good thing. Hammocks are great. Dive op is OK but really limits diving on the shallow southern reefs as their boats are big and slow. I have not been there in a few years now but their shore dive took a beating in the storms. SCC is an easy walk to town but cruise ships are usually in every day except Sunday.

[rayaa3]

Hi - I've stayed at hotel coz, right next to scc. It's pretty close to town, about 1.25 miles away.

The cruisers - ok - as long as you are not going into town - you really don't need to worry about the cruisers. It sounds like you are looking for a resort to stay at the entire time, and not go into town for dinner or drinks very much. That being said, you can look at nearly any place from downtown - south. The south end of the island you see very little cruisers at all. It's 'out of town' However - it also means if you want to go to town - it's an expensive cab ride (15.00 would be 'expensive' nothing compared to our US cab fairs, but pricey for cozumel).

You mentioned preferring an onsite dive OP. There are some ok onsite dive ops at most of the hotels. However - most of the offsite dive ops in town will pick you up/drop you off from the dive boat from the hotel pier to any hotel from downtown - father south.

So I suggest you book a hotel that you want, downtown or father south..then book a DO that you want to dive with (on the condition that they can pickup/drop off)

I like Papahogs....

Papa Hogs Scuba Emporium of Cozumel - Mexico

If you are booking 3 days of diving or more (2 tanks/day, they do offer 3 tanks) it is 58.00 per day, when paid in cash. A little more if you pay in credit card. They pickup from pretty much any hotel pier from downtown south... they limit their boats to 6 divers, 1 dive master, 1 captain. They try their best to group boats by skill level. The boats are small and fast. They do not have a head. Larger boats with heads usually pack 12-16 divers, with other operators.

So - I've never stayed at the occidental grand - but it's suppose to be a decent 4 star place...

It's south of town - so you won't see cruisers. (Again, if you are staying at the resort all the time - you won't see them anyway)

You can have other dive ops pick you up there.

I priced it from OKC 6 nights all inclusive in august, on orbitz and it was 622 ppdo with flights included (but no diving). So it's not terribly priced.

I think it meets your requirements. The only thing I would point out - if you plan on going to town for 2 or 3 nights or every night - find something closer to town - you'll spend lots on cab fairs round trip.

Also - before you book - call the dive op you want and double check if they WILL pick you up there. There is one or two hotels in town that won't allow other operators to pickup from their pier (wish I could remember which hotels).

Have fun in paradise.

[Desert_Diver]

It's been a while since my last Coz trip, so my info may be a tad out of date. When I stayed at Scuba Club Cozumel, I don't think there were TVs in the rooms but I seem to recall there was one in the down stairs dining room/bar. I'm not a big fan of TV so I can't tell you what channels were available.

I have no experience with other hotels/resorts.

If you have a chance, stay over on a Sunday. All cruise ships are gone that day and the nature/flavor of Coz changes radically. Make sure you walk through the town square on Sunday afternoon. It's delightful.

Art

[scubagirlj]

thanx for the input-we have no intrest in going to town(went last year, only place we would return to is Cochel del Caribe for ceviche)-stayed at HORRIBLE resort last year(Wyndham), did our OW with Sand Dollar(2,30 min, 1 tank trips a day doesn't cut it now)and want to avoid a repeat-thinking the Occ will do with the idea of small DO in AM and buying a couple 10 packs and nights from DP-will look into Papa Hogs-again, thanx for pointing me in right direction

[Travelnsj]

You might want to look at the Del Mar I was 3 years ago great food, good dive op...since close to town is not important. I'd go there again.

[scubarobin]

I was just at ScubaClubCozumel in March. Here is my trip report:
Cozumel and the Yucatan Trip Report, March 2009

there are no TVs there, and not much else to do but dive or sit in sun or walk to town (not far, maybe 10 minutes). If you are looking for resort type activities, I would go to Occidental or one of those resorts down south on the island. They aren't close to town but you have everything else you need right there.

robin

[scubagirlj]

think we will do Occ as it is further south and we won't have to endure 1 hr boat rides-your pictures are great

[tk trekers]

We stayed at the Occ Grand in March, it's what started our diving adventures. The drinks were really good, the food was really good to so-so depending on the daily menu. Our kids had a great time in the pool and my 9 year old did the Kid's Club that they have for 3 or 4 days and loved every minute of it. The night time entertainment was pretty nice and if you hang out by the small relaxation pool you will see one particular iguana that knows he's showing off for the crowd, we probably took over 30 pictures of him alone. We even enjoyed the beach snorkeling there and if you get out towards the far end of the buoyed off area, there is even a barracuda that makes his home there. We saw a ray and quite a bit of sea life there in the swimming/snorkeling area as well.

Just watch out for the predatory time-share sales people, they get annoying of you get close to their area of the grounds.

[scubagirlj]

had same issues with t/s people in xcaret-a very firm no from my mexican husband did the trick(i think there were more words exchanged besides no but i can't understand everything when the conversation gets rolling)