COZUMEL - Allegro's Diamond Resort
 

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Cozumel for late December. We definitely prefer to stay at an all-inclusive resort. We are leaning towards Allegro's Diamond Resort, although we are considering others, such as the Paradisus Cozumel, the El Cozumeleno, and Club Isla Cozumel. We do have a few questions. <BR>Has anybody had any good or bad experiences with the Diamond Resort(or any others mentioned)? Are the meals buffet only? How is the quality of the food in general? How does this resort compare to others in the area? How is the snorkling in the area of the resort? Has El Nino had any negative affect? How does the experience of a low-rise resort(such as the Diamond) compare to that of a high rise(such as the Paradisus Cozumel)? <BR>Any response would be greatly appreciated! <BR>Thanks, <BR>Brad

I have not been to the Diamond Allegro but would strongly urge you to reconsider the all-inclusive idea. There are some great resturants in San Miguel. We picked a diver up at Diamond and it has a beautiful beach, could'nt see much else. San Miguel is a very safe city with loads of great restaurants. You are probably paying more than if you got a room at El Presidente and dined in town. E-mail me if you want some recommendations.

<BR>Brad, My family and I are going to Cozumel this Sat and staying at the Paridisus. I'll let you know! We are doing the all-inclusive and I think it'll be great for our needs. We are very active and love the idea of all the activities and water-sports that are included. When I researched Cozumel there was one site with negative comments about Allegro's, but that site is now closed. So, I couldn't find out what exactly the problems were.

I would also strongly urge you to reconsider the all-inclusive plan when on Cozumel. For the most part the food is buffet only, which gets real old after a couple days. There are plenty of places in town (good and reasonably priced). Aside from that, I've heard rooms at the Diamond are noisy because of the tall ceilings -- can hear your neighbors, etc. It's also a $15 cab ride to town. We have a timeshare at the Paradisus and while I can't comment on the food, because we never take the all-inclusive option, the hotel is pretty nice. It has two pools (one more for adults, one better suited for kiddies), a disco where they put on shows nightly, and two restaurants (reservations only, and I think you're limited to eating there once or twice during the week -- the rest is buffet). All non-motorized watersports are free, as is horseback riding. It's also considerably closer to town, about a $4 cab ride for two.

Brad, I couldn't agree more with the above statements. Please reconsider the all-inclusive. The restaurants in San Miguel are fabulous - I can email my personal favorites list to you if you like. There are some superior, upscale, gourmet places that are so romantic you'll kick yourself (or your girlfriend will kick you) for missing them. We go to Cozumel every winter for a month and never get bored with the restaurants. Friends have done the all-inclusive and were so bored with the food on day two that they forfieted the rest of their meals in favor of going to town. Yes, the meals are all buffet and its the same every day. <BR> <BR>I also agree with Michelle. Diamonds is so far out of town and so controlled that you'll feel more like you've been to DisneyWorld than to Mexico. <BR> <BR>Email me if you have more questions or want more info on things to see and do. <BR> <BR>Good Luck. <BR>TC <BR>

<BR>Brad, We just got back from Cozumel and stayed at the Paradisus. It is an all-inclusive and it was fabulous. It was nice not to have to worry about carrying money around with us. The accomodations were beautiful and the service excellent. We really felt pampered. It was nice to get a drink at the swim-up bar any time we wanted. The food did get a bit tiring by the last day. But, overall it was great. At the Paradisus they have a buffet restaurant (where you can get all three meals if you want). We ate breakfast there everyday - made-to order omelettes, waffles, pancakes, eggs, cereal, bacon, toast, sweet rolls, fruit, yogurt, etc. etc. They also had 2 different snack bars for lunch or snacks - hot dogs, fries, burgers, nachos, ice cream, etc. They had a gourmet nice restaurant that you had to make reservations for. It was lovely. We mostly ate dinner there, although we did the buffet for dinner 2 nights and it was really good (French theme one night, Italian the other). We ate lunch out of the hotel twice and ate a lobster dinner out 1 night. The activities offered at no extra charge were endless - snorkeling, kayaking, windsurfing, bikes, horses, organized activities like volleyball, aeorbics, water sports, etc. Also the staff put on excellent shows every night. It was a very nice place, especially for our children (they loved hanging out in the game room with other teens). E-mail me if I can answer other questions.

I read your message about Cozumel and would love if you can E-mail me some good places to eat & visit. I am going on 8/6/98 with my husband & 11 year old son. We would love to go out at night. Do you think the allow children in Carlos & Charlies? <BR> <BR> Thanks' <BR> Patty

Spent 2 weeks in May at Allegro. Just loved it. Excellent food, good entertainment, lots of activities. Highly recommend it. Much better than Paradisus in my opinion. It is rather far from San Miguel though. About $12 for a taxi with tip, one way.

Brad, Our trip to Cozumel this past June was excellent once we checked OUT of the Paradisus and into the "El Presidente Intercontinental" We are negotiating a refund from Vacation Express so we can't give you all the details at this time. We DEFINITELY DO NOT RECOMMEND the Paradisus!!!!! Anyone else who experienced problems of any kind with Paradisus, please send us an E-Mail

I have stayed at the Diamond - about 4 years back. It was nice. There is a reef not too far off shore if you dive. <BR>The snorkeling in close was OK but not great. The best (easy) snorkeling is in the underwater national park in Cozumel unless you hire a boat to take you to a reef. <BR> <BR>The food was good and plentiful. Although buffets were generally available throughout the the day, sit down meals were usually available as well as room service. Dinner was slightly fancy but fun. (Waiters in tuxes, wine, fancy food) I found the food to be very good and high in quality. Very similar to what you would expect in a decent cruise line. <BR> <BR>There was a lot to do. We also rented a jeep one day for a trip around the island (about $50). There is a lot of activities, including nightly entertainment - at times a bit hokey, but still fun. I prefer all inclusives for a real relaxing trip because you don't have to worry about anything - its all taken care of. We usually do about 1 all-inclusive resort a year, and the rest of the time it is fly-by-the-seat of your pants adventure travel. <BR> <BR>The "villa" approach to the resort was nice and I thought much friendlier - only 4 rooms/bungalow. <BR> <BR>Good luck.

<BR>The Diamond Resort is Top Shelf all the way. I stayed there last year in Sept. and I am going to the Diamond Resort in P.V. this year in Sept. Everyone I met on the trip loved there stay at Cozumel and the food was great for all-inclusive. If you need more info, e-mail me.

Hi Brad, <BR>I agree with all of the above postings about the food in Cozumel - it's great. How about spending a few days at an all inclusive and the rest of the time at the Presidente. That way - you'll get to sample both types of resorts. The Presidente is outstanding, and it has terrific snorkeling and it's about 5 - 6 minute by cab to town ( about $5 US). I did also see kids in Carlos@Charlie's for the person who posted that question. <BR>

Hi Brad, <BR>I agree with all of the above postings about the food in Cozumel - it's great. How about spending a few days at an all inclusive and the rest of the time at the Presidente. That way - you'll get to sample both types of resorts. The Presidente is outstanding, and it has terrific snorkeling and it's about 5 - 6 minute by cab to town ( about $5 US). I did also see kids in Carlos@Charlie's for the person who posted that question. <BR>