Traveler22

Hi,

Has anyone stayed at the Occidental Grand Cozumel? They have a good deal mid-November and my husband and I were thinking about booking a trip. Also, any experience with their onsite dive center?

Thanks,
Caitlin

deb4ever

Try this website, you'll find a lot of info. http://www.cozumel-hotels.net/yabbse/

gp2b3a

Cozumel

Qik facts:
1. best beach:
"playa azul" right next to playa azul hotel, you can find this beach North of the downtown area, past the military base, heading towards the golf course,you can use their pool ( but why would you want to with a awesome beach nearby) food ( i recommend eating at the nearby rest. on the water down the beach from the playa azul, great view and good food, also this area is great for snorkling, tons of fish near the two piers at the beach - playa azul is a 5$ taxi ride from downtown - heading north 5 miles

2. Awesome Views:
go to the west side of the island - take a jeep or taxi to "mezcalito's bar" it is breathtaking on this side of the island - big waves, no people, nude beaches, windy, tour down to the "reggae bar" on the southwest corner of the island - more views and drinks

3. Mayan ruins
San Gervasio is worht the time, you could tour for 1 hour to 3 hours(we did a short walkl thru in 1 hour) tons of iguanas, cool ruins, you can find it on the way to Mezcalitos Bar, its half way between the east and west sides of the islands

4. Hotel:
Hotel: Playa Azul, northside of island, 5$ taxi from downtown. PA ( Playa Azul) is a beach and hotel. We
toured the entire island and feel that PA is the best beach for snorkling, seeing fish, swimming, relaxing. It is so blue you can see down 30 feet from the pier and see fish on the bottom. One night, it was a full moon, we walked out onto the pier and we could see all the way down to the sandy bottom, it was so cool. The PA Hotel is awesome, very small ( 60 rooms) and quaint. They play classical music at breakfast, food is ok but cheap. Rooms, they have a new wing and the original wing, we stayed in both. We wanted an upgraded room so we paid for a suite. The old wing suite faced the pool ( room 211) it was huge but kinda old. The balcony was hughe but not very private. It would have been great for a family, plenty of space and two bedrooms. The old wing has suites facing the beach/ocean. They have private balconies, the ones on the 1st floor walk right out to the beach (good for someone with walking upstairs problems). I would stay in these rooms in the old wing.
The new wing, awesome. Our suite ( room 201) was beautifully appointed, a raised living room, two double beds, balcony facing the sunset/beach and a huge jacuzzi tub. Rooms 101,201,301,401, all have jacuzzi tubs on the balcony. 301 and 401 would be the best because they are up higher and more private.
Any room in the new wing would be good, a little smaller but all with nice balconies facing the ocean.
The staff at the PA Hotel are incredible. They are friendly and always try to make your stay better. Martha and Fernando own the PA Hotel. We had a problem with our room the 1st night and Martha upgraded us to the jacuzzi suite room. She said she did not want our trip to suffer because of a plumbing issue. She was so nice.
There is a nice seaside rest. Next to the PA Hotel, it is the next hotel down, check out the rest. And the fish that swim up to it! Throw them some food and watch the action!
Almost everynight around 5, a pod of dolphins would swim offshore in front of the PA Hotel. Beautiful!
Don?t stay at the PA Hotel if your are looking for action! It is an older crowd that turns in around 9pm! Cozumel is a daytime place, at night things tend to quiet down except for around the crusie ship terminal.


Food:
Santiagos ? great key lime pie and shrimp dinner on veranda
Prima ? great balcony terrace, awesome itlaian and steak
La Veranda ? very romantic outside patio, good food,

Bars:
BabbaLou ? spelling maybe wrong here, on same street as Santiagos Grill and LaChoza, very romantic setting, candles on every table, great jazz/latin live music, mellow place for cocktails

slynkyy

I stayed at the Grand when it first opened! The first week. The resort grounds are very beautiful. There are several restaurants one is on the beach and is very picturesque. I really liked the rooms. Big, new and comfy. There is two pools-a quiet one and another right on the beach. The disco was small but cool. There was a pizza place on a roof top patio that was open late at night. My friend went diving three times on site. She loved the staff and had a great time. There was no entertainment but that might have changed. Next door is an older alegro that we went to a couple of times for the evening show. The beach is awesome. White sand and turqoise blue water. The food was just o.k. but it was a year ago. Since I have stayed at the Occidental Flamenco xcret I can see the food improving. I liked the smallness of the resort. It is very far from the town center so if that is important then it might not be the best choice. If you are looking for a relaxing get away then this is the place. Back to the dive center-They were very flexible and would go out of their way to help or book trips etc.

RobertSDF

Some good suggestions in the previous posts but would like to add my suggestions.
On the east side of the island I would recommend you go to Chen Rio which has excellent seafood (fresh and serving many local families) and a really beautiful beach.
For a restaurant in the city, I consider La Cocay to be the finest food and atmosphere. A little difficult to locate but any taxi driver can take you there. (not really far from the center--and only 3 or 4 blocks from the coast)
Enjoy!

Owen_ONeill

I second the motion for La Cocay - a wonderful restaurant and prices are moderate considering the quality. We also ate at La Veranda - mthe atmopshere and food there were good but IMHO La Cocay is better.