Cozumel: The best Vacation I Ever Took!

There were some scary comments online about the Plaza las Glorias such as lackluster service, outrageously expensive restaurant, and moldy non-functioning air conditioner. But the location is perfect and we decided to risk it.

We were very pleased. The room was spacious and spotless. It was a suite with kitchen and living area in addition to the bedroom/bath. The air conditioner worked perfectly and was totally mold free, and we found all the staff to be friendly, helpful, and concerned for our well-being.

The Plaza las Glorias is very close to downtown, unlike all the other big international hotels and right across the street from a great grocery and more store and little mall with a great movie theater. Lots of restaurants were close by, but we still ate most meals at the hotel restaurant, which had tasty food at standard hotel prices.

The pool is minimal and often full of shouting children, but you can snorkel right in front of the hotel and that makes up for any problems the pool might have.

Our friend's unit was facing the street and was very noisy during the late night parties during Carnaval. They ended up sleeping in our unit. Our door faced into the building and we couldn't hear a thing.

We loved the parrot that visited us several days looking for snack and the friendly bartenders who remembered what we wanted to drink.

We want to go back. The Plaza, like most Mexican hotels, has a few quirks, but nothing that kept us from having a grand time!

Diving and snorkeling are great all over Cozumel, but we really liked being able to snorkel right off the front of our hotel, the Plaza las Glorias. One member of our group is a very experienced diver and she said that most of the areas where she dove were looking "tired and worn out" from over use, and that is truly a shame! She thought the Aqua Safari people were knowledgable and helpful and if you want to dive, those are great virtues!

But for us novices, the snorkeling was great at the several places we went. If you are going to dive in Cozumel, Aqua Safari in the Plaza las Glorias is great, but snorkeling is available many, many places along the west side of the island.

Xcaret is an ecological amusement park just south of Playa del Carmen. We made arrangements to visit at the travel desk at our hotel, the Plaza las Glorias. We met a tour guide at the Cozumel ferry pier who gave us our roundtrip ferry tickets and told us where to go in Playa del Carmen to catch the bus to the park. He also gave us our options for returning that evening.

When we got to the Xcaret office in Playa, it was closed, but someone soon came and walked us about a quarter mile to where a bus picked us up and took us to the park.

The park is spectacular. There are elements of a zoo with howler and spider monkeys, black panther, and manatees. Also great beach facilities (though most were closed when we were there due to rough and heavy seas).

The highlight for us was the underground river. Near the park entrance is the entrance to the underground river. You leave your belongings in a locked bag and the park takes them to the river exit down at the beach. You climb down some stairs and enter the very cold and amazingly refreshing river and float along wearing the mandatory life jackets. There are several places to get out and warm up and lots of "skylights" so you don't feel too claustrophobic! You can just float along with the current or speed up the trip by swimming.

The evening show is truly spectacular. The HUGE building is a technological marvel and the program is even better! Lots of music and dancing and an eye-popping game played in a darkened theater with a flaming ball!

On the way home we elected to miss the last couple of minutes of the show and catch a cab so we could catch a earlier ferry back to Cozumel. Otherwise we risked missing it and having to wait 2 hours for the next.

I truly enjoyed our day at Xcaret, but next time would probably just go on my own. There are lots of taxis in Playa del Carmen, the ferry is not hard to figure out, and you can buy tickets at the gate all for about $20 less per person than we paid--but it was still worth it!