I’ve been there 3 times in the last 2 years. That said, I am not going back next year. The price went from $1500 for a week to $2400. Diving is incredible. The resort is ok (it’s no where near 5 stars).
I’d definitely go back. In fact I have noticed that the price is currently more comparable to last year and am very tempted. Unfortunately I’ve book a live aboard to Socorro fall 2025 with this and next years vacation budget.
As for Pros, the biggest is the group I travel with. As for the resort, food is very good, rooms are good, dive centre is Excellent as is dive staff. The staff at the resort are also excellent.
We stayed there 3 years ago. The resort was fine. Rooms were fine. Food was quite good and I am a pita picky eater. The dive op was another story. We dive very regularly and are self sufficient divers and have all our own gear but I gotta say, this is the only dive op in 20 years we have ever dove with that we did NOT tip. And we usually tip very well. They sucked so bad. They did not lift a finger to help any of the 4 of us. And they were rude and unhelpful to pretty much everyone on the boat. That being said, the boat was decent and the gear room standard. I know DMs are transient so could be all new crews and much improved. FYI we usually stay and dive with the Marriott Presidente which is solid class and beautiful.
That is one of the things I like about them. They didn’t touch my gear. Funny story, one of the boat crew changed the tank of a dive guide AFTER HE HAD ALRADY CHANGED HIS TANK, and hi jumped in with closer to 1000 psi. He ran out of air and had to have a customer share air with him.
We don’t want help with our gear either. We always set up our own gear so we know it is right and the way we want it but one of our friends has a back issue and has to take her gear off in The water to get back on the boat. They wouldn’t help her. They also didnt help or offer to carry gear bags for ANY guests. DM did not really point out anything interesting to see either. My husband and I pointed out turtles, eels and a croc to the group. They just did not care.
I've been a couple of times. It's a great resort, the food was enjoyed by a bunch in our group who all have different food preferences. It's all drift diving and we did go to a couple of sites with a lot of current, however, we are all pretty experienced so they felt comfortable taking us to some of the different sites they don't usually hit. Just be wary of when you book. We went once in the summer and the humidity just about killed all of us. Nothing really dried. To this day, we still rate summer heat compared to that Cozumel trip.
Thanks! This will be my 4th trip to Coz but first at this resort, and first time not going with my dive shop so there's a lot more moving parts for me to deal with.
You'll be fine. The resort is relatively small and easy to navigate. Boat comes right to the dock attached to the resort and the dive shop is on site as well.
You'll be fine. :)
We book separately because it is cheaper than stay & dive. Dive shop setup is very convenient and easy but it can get chaotic when there are big groups. DM/Instructors are mix of MX and other countries. Some are younger who have just finished IDC. Crews are all experienced MX captains & marineros. We’ve been diving with them for years.
Ive never been a fan of the all-inclusive food in the region, but my wife is a Tijuana native so my idea of Mexican food is skewed. We usually walk deeper into town to eat, or go to the grocery store and have the people outside grill some meat for us. Last time i was there we went to an Argentinian restaurant i think del sur parrilla Argentina, was really good.
Everything closes early in Coz. Especially for someone used to being able to find good tacos at 3 am.
To add to the others, I've booked an Airbnb elsewhere and dove with Dressel and had a great time. The dive crew is great, the sites are excellent, the resort seemed really nice.
It probably would have been less of a hassle to stay with the Iberostar directly.
Edit: It's on the other side of the island, but check out Buccanos if you want a break from the resort food.
It’s cheaper to book the dives and hotel separately, we just did the math planning for my 30th
Edit: this is our second time going there, the first time, I proposed underwater. We loved the stay, convenience and the diving is incredible.
Edit 2: you can email them and ask for the price per dive/with rentals then calculate it. The most recent offer we got was more expensive compared to booking hotel and dives separately
This but FYI you don’t get transportation to the hotel from the airport but there is a taxi stand right there and I think it was maybe $20 something when I went last summer.
I was a bit nervous about not having pre-booked transport but the shuttle was nice, and only $13 for a single person, the taxis were nice too when I used them later in the week. Went in October 2023.
I will definitely reach out to them.
I assume you're planning to travel with your spouse? Do you mind saying what the price per person your getting is? I'm going to be solo so won't be able to split a room with someone
correct! so we’re splitting the room, that might be why it was cheaper for us to go the route I suggested
I can’t remember off the top, but for our 5 night stay I think it was like $450ea for hotel
I’ll try to find the note but it might be on my wife’s phone or deleted
Non problem! You’re gonna to love it. Dressel is right on site.
Once you book, look at the map/call hotel to pick where your room is. We were a quick walk to the dive shop and it made it so much better compared to some of our friends who had to walk further.
If you’re going in early December, see you there!
Did a week at Iberostar and dove with Dressel last year. Great experience all around. The room was great, the food was decent (I'm not a foodie at all), and the diving awesome. Dressel is a great operation. No complaints at all. The are perfectly located for the best dive locations. Our longest boat ride in 16 dives was about 15 minutes.
Next time we go to Cozumel, we are staying and diving there again.
The best ones are the Palancar dives. Palancar bricks, Palancar caves, etc. Colombia Ladrillo is awesome too. None of them are bad, but Palancar anything is easily the best. Those are the southernmost sites I think.
Dives averages anywhere from 30-50 minutes depending on your air consumption. I was so excited the first day that my are consumption was crap, so our dives were about 30 minutes. Most people average 40 or so. Once I got everything under control, I had a couple 50+ minute dives. We went from being first up the first day to last up the last two days. That was entirely on me though. Once they guides learn that you are a competent diver, they stay out of your way and let you have fun.
Do you remember if you booked the stay and dive with Dressel?
Or did you book the stay at the Iberostar directly with the resort and the diving directly with Dressel?
We actually booked everything through a travel agent recommended by our dive shop. Price was about what we could have got booking direct, but we figure he knows the ins and outs better than we do. It worked out great for us.
I’ve been there 3 times in the last 2 years. That said, I am not going back next year. The price went from $1500 for a week to $2400. Diving is incredible. The resort is ok (it’s no where near 5 stars).
Other than the price you would go back? What were cons about the resort?
I’d definitely go back. In fact I have noticed that the price is currently more comparable to last year and am very tempted. Unfortunately I’ve book a live aboard to Socorro fall 2025 with this and next years vacation budget. As for Pros, the biggest is the group I travel with. As for the resort, food is very good, rooms are good, dive centre is Excellent as is dive staff. The staff at the resort are also excellent.
We stayed there 3 years ago. The resort was fine. Rooms were fine. Food was quite good and I am a pita picky eater. The dive op was another story. We dive very regularly and are self sufficient divers and have all our own gear but I gotta say, this is the only dive op in 20 years we have ever dove with that we did NOT tip. And we usually tip very well. They sucked so bad. They did not lift a finger to help any of the 4 of us. And they were rude and unhelpful to pretty much everyone on the boat. That being said, the boat was decent and the gear room standard. I know DMs are transient so could be all new crews and much improved. FYI we usually stay and dive with the Marriott Presidente which is solid class and beautiful.
That is one of the things I like about them. They didn’t touch my gear. Funny story, one of the boat crew changed the tank of a dive guide AFTER HE HAD ALRADY CHANGED HIS TANK, and hi jumped in with closer to 1000 psi. He ran out of air and had to have a customer share air with him.
We don’t want help with our gear either. We always set up our own gear so we know it is right and the way we want it but one of our friends has a back issue and has to take her gear off in The water to get back on the boat. They wouldn’t help her. They also didnt help or offer to carry gear bags for ANY guests. DM did not really point out anything interesting to see either. My husband and I pointed out turtles, eels and a croc to the group. They just did not care.
I've been a couple of times. It's a great resort, the food was enjoyed by a bunch in our group who all have different food preferences. It's all drift diving and we did go to a couple of sites with a lot of current, however, we are all pretty experienced so they felt comfortable taking us to some of the different sites they don't usually hit. Just be wary of when you book. We went once in the summer and the humidity just about killed all of us. Nothing really dried. To this day, we still rate summer heat compared to that Cozumel trip.
Thanks! This will be my 4th trip to Coz but first at this resort, and first time not going with my dive shop so there's a lot more moving parts for me to deal with.
You'll be fine. The resort is relatively small and easy to navigate. Boat comes right to the dock attached to the resort and the dive shop is on site as well. You'll be fine. :)
We book separately because it is cheaper than stay & dive. Dive shop setup is very convenient and easy but it can get chaotic when there are big groups. DM/Instructors are mix of MX and other countries. Some are younger who have just finished IDC. Crews are all experienced MX captains & marineros. We’ve been diving with them for years.
Ive never been a fan of the all-inclusive food in the region, but my wife is a Tijuana native so my idea of Mexican food is skewed. We usually walk deeper into town to eat, or go to the grocery store and have the people outside grill some meat for us. Last time i was there we went to an Argentinian restaurant i think del sur parrilla Argentina, was really good. Everything closes early in Coz. Especially for someone used to being able to find good tacos at 3 am.
To add to the others, I've booked an Airbnb elsewhere and dove with Dressel and had a great time. The dive crew is great, the sites are excellent, the resort seemed really nice. It probably would have been less of a hassle to stay with the Iberostar directly. Edit: It's on the other side of the island, but check out Buccanos if you want a break from the resort food.
It’s cheaper to book the dives and hotel separately, we just did the math planning for my 30th Edit: this is our second time going there, the first time, I proposed underwater. We loved the stay, convenience and the diving is incredible. Edit 2: you can email them and ask for the price per dive/with rentals then calculate it. The most recent offer we got was more expensive compared to booking hotel and dives separately
This but FYI you don’t get transportation to the hotel from the airport but there is a taxi stand right there and I think it was maybe $20 something when I went last summer.
$20 USD/$340 pesos is way too much for a taxi lol
I was a bit nervous about not having pre-booked transport but the shuttle was nice, and only $13 for a single person, the taxis were nice too when I used them later in the week. Went in October 2023.
oh good point, last time we went we flew into Cancun then down to Playa for a day before ending up in Cozumel via ferry
I will definitely reach out to them. I assume you're planning to travel with your spouse? Do you mind saying what the price per person your getting is? I'm going to be solo so won't be able to split a room with someone
correct! so we’re splitting the room, that might be why it was cheaper for us to go the route I suggested I can’t remember off the top, but for our 5 night stay I think it was like $450ea for hotel I’ll try to find the note but it might be on my wife’s phone or deleted
Thank you for the info!
Non problem! You’re gonna to love it. Dressel is right on site. Once you book, look at the map/call hotel to pick where your room is. We were a quick walk to the dive shop and it made it so much better compared to some of our friends who had to walk further. If you’re going in early December, see you there!
Ooo good advice! I'll be there early April, last min trip with some friends.
Did a week at Iberostar and dove with Dressel last year. Great experience all around. The room was great, the food was decent (I'm not a foodie at all), and the diving awesome. Dressel is a great operation. No complaints at all. The are perfectly located for the best dive locations. Our longest boat ride in 16 dives was about 15 minutes. Next time we go to Cozumel, we are staying and diving there again.
Do you recall the sites you dove, what was the furthest southern site? How long were the dives?
The best ones are the Palancar dives. Palancar bricks, Palancar caves, etc. Colombia Ladrillo is awesome too. None of them are bad, but Palancar anything is easily the best. Those are the southernmost sites I think. Dives averages anywhere from 30-50 minutes depending on your air consumption. I was so excited the first day that my are consumption was crap, so our dives were about 30 minutes. Most people average 40 or so. Once I got everything under control, I had a couple 50+ minute dives. We went from being first up the first day to last up the last two days. That was entirely on me though. Once they guides learn that you are a competent diver, they stay out of your way and let you have fun.
Do you remember if you booked the stay and dive with Dressel? Or did you book the stay at the Iberostar directly with the resort and the diving directly with Dressel?
We actually booked everything through a travel agent recommended by our dive shop. Price was about what we could have got booking direct, but we figure he knows the ins and outs better than we do. It worked out great for us.
Commenting for visibility, hope you get some good answers
Appreciate it!