Hotel Casa del Mar Dive Resort Review by Cindy Shaw

Casa Del mar was a very pleasant dive vacation venue for us. Their generosity to donate a weeks stay through a DiveHeart raffle introduced us to their hospitality. The staff we met at the LB Scuba Show graciously greeted us in Cozumel and made sure our stay met all our needs. Staff at all levels were friendly, inviting, and helpful. Our maid even created incredible towel critters for us including both a whale shark and a lobster. The dining room staff all introduced themselves by name and made it important to quickly learn our preferences from their varied menu. Rather than a buffet, we were able to choose from a very nice made to order menu tailored to our preferences. They felt like a part of our family after our week stay. The room was basic and comfortable, decorated in traditional mexican style and the bed was very spacious and comfortable. As underwater photography aficionados, it would have been nice to have more space and more easily accessible outlets for camera care. More hooks and places to hang things to dry after diving would also have been helpful. The diving was coordinated with Marine World across the main street, but a bridge overpass was available and lockers in the dock area to store and clean our gear. This was our third trip to Cozumel and I think I love the diving there more each time. The colors are amazing and I see more everywhere I look. The brightly colored and uniquely shaped sponges tempt me to imagine fairytales. This trip we spent time with many turtles, often "posing" for us along with large barracuda and myriad tropical fish of all sizes and colors. The house reef was truly excellent, allowing long, relaxed shallow shore dives to photograph arrow crabs, anemone crabs, brittle stars on bright sponges, and even basket stars. The boats of Marine World were spacious and not jam packed with divers in every corner. They put effort into pairing up experienced divers in smaller boats and seeking dive sites that allowed exploration not specifically timed to a large group. We truly appreciated this attention to making the dives even better. We were able to return to the wreck site more often as one of our favorites and add some afternoon boat dives to the reefs as well. Traveling as a couple and not part of a group, I felt that Casa Del Mar and Marine World did a great job providing a relaxed, very Cozumel experience.