Iberostar Cozumel
Just got back from Iberostar Cozumel. It was my first
actually stay at the hotel. Visiting it years ago I was impressed with the
beauty of it and finally had the opportunity to stay there. The hotel is set on
the south end of the island and the last hotel before you get to the light house
at the end of the island. It is an Eco friendly resort. The place is crawling
with wildlife. Flamingos, turtles, tons of iquanas, and all kinds of birds. We
saw parrots in the lobby visiting people and a macaw up in the trees near the
lobby also. They are free to walk and fly where they want to be.
The pool is
the center of activity. Large pool with swim up bar, volley ball net and lots
of people watching going on there. The beach is one of the better ones in
Cozumel. Lots of lounge chairs with plenty of shade to get out of the sun. It is
an actually a walkable beach area and you can walk down to Allegro and
Occidental or if you go the other way past a couple of beautiful beachfront
homes. They have a beach bar and I did see a waiter getting drinks for someone
there but I never saw one on the beach myself. The pool bar was generally full
of people when we walked past.
Food: buffet for breakfast, lunch, dinner
and 3 Ala carte restaurants. We managed to get a reservation one night that a
friend got for us (since you have to sign up during dive times 9am - 1pm) We ate
at the Mexicana restaurant and it was very good. The service was great and it
was rather warm inside of it. Not really air conditioned but not outside so that
could be improved. The hotel did not really have air conditioned restaurants.
The food was a variety on the buffet and was just buffet food. Plenty of choices
so you could get full. They had my favorite coconut ice cream so I never would
complain about dessert.
Rooms: Small rooms with 2 beds and I have had
harder but they were not soft. TV had more stations than normal in English I
have experience at other hotels in Cozumel. The bathroom was nice. It had a
window in it so you had sunlight so that was a plus. It has a large shower with
bath gel and shampoo dispensers. We were located right by the 540pm shop near
the beach so that was a plus. The rooms are all scattered on the property from
the front to the ocean in 4 plex buildings. 2 up and 2 downstairs. Each have a
small patio or balcony with one chair and a hammock that is not really a great
one for laying in. (looks better than it feels) Air conditioning....well ours
did not work at all when we got there. The ceiling fan did and after we called
someone was promptly there and put it back on for us. I think the problem was
actually the thermostat so he just turned it where it would stay on or off. So
it was on and off on and off cuz when it was on it was really cold air which is
good!
Service: It was great. Very accommodating. Very helpful and
friendly. You could have a late check out for $10 an hour so since our flight
did not take off until in the evening we took advantage of that.
This was my
first time to fly with apple vacations. You do need to pick up a voucher for
your transfers back to the airport so I was glad we asked the guy at the tour
desk. He quickly wrote us up one and we were ready for our ride back to the
airport.
The reefs are 5 minutes or less away or so it seemed. IT is great
for divers. Loved being so close to the reefs. The currents this week are wild
and we would do 2 to 3 reefs every dive. We wizzed by lots of cools stuff and
saw lots of turtles, some nurse sharks, and even little sand twisters ! You
could duck behind a cluster of coral and catch your breath and take a good look
and then be on your way again until you could stop to see something
interesting. The water was pretty full of sand since it was crazy current week.
But we had a great time with Alex at Pelegic Ventures. We got lucky and it was
just Kelly, Alex and I so we played hard and long. Longest dive was 95
minutes! That is another story for another time!
I would definitely stay
there again but it is not for people who don’t like to walk. It is a long ways
between rooms, restaurants, lobby, and the beach. The grounds are georgeous
and the wildlife was really a nice added touch.
Dressel Divers is the dive
shop at the hotel and most other Iberostars. It was full of people and
students. They do one tank dives and come back to the hotel. I was really glad
we went with our own dive shop so we got one on one service. Their boats were
full and run by European staff to accommodate all kinds of languages you find at
Iberostar hotels.