Playa Azul Golf, Scuba & Spa Hotel

Love this place - 5 star hotel at 3 star price

Can’t find one bad thing to say about this place, and about 100 good things to say. Went in off-season - quiet and kick-back. . We vacation in Mexico alot, but this was only our 2nd Cozumel trip. Did a ton of research online before choosing this hotel, re price, location, amenities. Didn’t want noisy cheesy all inclusive or ostentatious resort. Our requirements are: beachfront, nice snorkeling, low key, but with resort amenities, decent restaurant. We’re water dogs - we snorkel all day,nap on the beach, have fish tacos & beer. We want something nice but low key. Both hotels on either side are in ruins from the hurricane so our hotel has this huge stretch of beach to ourselves. The snorkeling gets really good just north of the hotel at the old Sol Cabanas del Caribe hotel - the reefs are starting to grow back from 2005 Hurricane Wilma. The hotel is simple, beautiful and spotless. The staff is super friendly and will do anything to help you whether it’s at the hotel or on the island. Hotel room had super cold air conditioning & good water pressure. Daily we got little towel swans on our bed -ocean view room with balcony, comfy bed, spotlessly clean rooms and hotel grounds. Tasty fresh food - ate fish and shrimp tacos every day. Buffet breakfast was yummy and varied. Rarely ate anywhere else. Live salsa band on Sundays. Definitely would go back in a heartbeat.

Go in the off-season. Hardly any people there, you get beaches all to yourself and great service! Take ferry to the mainland and see Tulum ruins, also go cave snorkeling at Dos Ojos - you won’t regret it. Best money ever spent. Rent a Vespa or car and drive around the island one day - many beaches to visit. Punta Sur reserve is only $10 a person and you can see crocodiles, climb a lighthouse, snorkel way out to a reef, and hang in a hammock under the shade.

Great Hotel

We loved this hotel. It was great waking up every morning to the sound of the ocean waves hitting the beach! The staff was great & very helpful. I am a big germaphobe and am always very nervous going into new hotels; I always bring my own blanket to put over the hotel covers - once we got into our room I completly forgot about my own blanket and sank right into the cozy bed. The only thing we were disappointed about was the "free" golf. We brought our own clubs down, but were still required to pay per person to rent the cart - it wasn’t cheap (in my opinion). Other than that - we loved it!!

Traveler's tip on dining

If you go eat in town - go off of the main drag by a couple of blocks & hit up some of the more local resaurants that are not so touristy.

Great little get away

The hotel and the staff were great. My wife and I were looking for a quiet and relaxing get away and we found it. The man made walk-in beach was nice to have and the snorkeling near the hotel was also a plus. We will definately be back.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Bring $1.00 bills for tipping. The cab drivers never have change!

A slice of heaven

Playa Azul is a wonderful, small hotel with all the amenities. The free breakfast is fabulous, the rooms are immaculate and every one has an ocean view! I love that I can swim and snorkel easily from the hotel’s beach, that it’s peaceful and not noisy. The staff has always been incredibly friendly and helpful. It’s my 4th stay at this hotel, and I will definitely return--no other hotel will do for me!

3 years in a row

Trisha and I are extremely pleased with our experience at Playa Azul. The staff is tremendous, the facility outstanding and the location perfect.

Friendly and relaxing place in north Cozumel

We had a great stay at the Playa Azul in April ’09. Our fourth floor room was quiet (except for the birds at about 6am each day). The breakfast buffet was tasty and substantial... lots of fruit, hot dishes like french toast and bacon, and made-to-order eggs and omelets. We snorkeled one day right out from the hotel beach and while the coral is nothing exciting, there was a decent variety of fish to see. We ate one lunch in the hotel restaurant and found the quality and prices quite good. Otherwise we had rented a car and drove to town for dinner.

This was our second visit...can’t wait to go back again.

This hotel is wonderful. The staff is gracious and helpful. They take the time to learn your likes and dislikes and anticipate your needs. They were helpful in every way. We will go back again.

Wonderful Stay

Great smaller hotel, excellent service. Highly reccomend.

Outstanding small hotel on the beach

This hotel was across the street from the back side of the golf course and had its own small beach that you cfan swim or snirkel off of. Outstanding selections at the combo buffet/cook-to-order breakfast which is included in the room rate. Every room had a private balcony with ocean view. Nice size pool. Bar on the beach. An $8 cab ride to town which we did daily because other than the hotel restaurant (which was excellent) there wasn’t anything in the area. In room hair dryers, coffee makers. Comfortable beds. We’ve travelled all oever Mexico, and have a home in Central Mexico, and we have never seen such a clean town (no trash or graffiti). Must take shuttle cab from airport which was around $8 each. A fun day trip is to take the 45 minute ferry ride to Playa del Carmen, or to go out on a 12-14 passenger boat snorkeling for 2.5 hours ($30/each). Not much nightlife in town, nothing at the hotel. The unlimited golf is included in the room rate, but you are required to pay for a $30 cart. Hotel rooms were nice size. Shower only. Comfortable beds,very clean, plenty of hot water.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

We went during the week AFTER New Year’s and the hotel rates dropped by a third.

Can’t wait to go back!

We had a great time. The hotel was small so there weren’t as many people on our little beach, which was nice and relaxing. There was great snorkeling right outside the hotel. The rooms were great. We tried the scuba through the onsite dive shop and they were very knowledgeable, patient and just great. We ate breakfast every day at the hotel. It was a good buffet. The evening/afternoon meals were not so good, so we went to a hotel next door that had a great restaurant.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

We ate in town a couple of nights, "Kincos" is on 5th Avenue, don’t remember the cross street. Great Dinner! Coconuts on the other side of the island was fun, beautiful views and great food. I would recommend renting a jeep (the scooters are kind of dangerous going through town) and heading to the other side of the island it is beautiful. We also did the dolphin discovery, swimming with the dolphins. It was great!!

Will be back soon

This was our 3rd stay and we intend on coming back again in the future.

Traveler's tip on dining

Talk to the people that work at the hotel. They can give you really good places to go that are more authentic and the food is fantastic.

Can’t wait to go back!

My wife and I were pleasantly surprised by this hotel. We loved the staff and the food was delicious. We ate every meal at our hotel! Upon arrival, they upgraded our room for free, giving us a wonderful view overlooking the water and giving us a picture perfect sunset every evening. When we make our way back to Cozumel, we will DEFINITELY be headed back to Playa Azul!

Great Hotel

Can’t say enough about this hotel. The staff is outstanding and the facilities are clean and comfortable. Great breakfast too!

Peaceful. Wonderful. We WILL be back!

Wonderful little hotel. Great location. Awesome staff! Sangria to die for! The rooms were just enough with nipple dropping air conditioning and enough water pressure to blast the salt and sand right off my head! My only quip was that there was no small refrigerator in the room. And we were told upon check-in that there were no ice machines - you had to bring your bucket to the bar. My husband and I went to Chedraui (supermarket) and purchased a styrofoam cooler and then went to Sedena (market) every other day for ice. It wasn’t until the night before our last that one of the waiters told us that there WERE refrigerators and we could get bags of ice free from the bar. Would have been nice to know that earlier. Nonetheless, it’s a wonderful little hotel with a beatiful patch of ocean surrounding it. Quite. Remote. And still five minutes from all the action downtown. We shall return!

Playa Azul Hotel Cozumel MX

We arrived at the hotel about 11:30 am. Even though check in wasn’t until 3:00pm they were able to have our room prepared and ready in about 15 minutes. No hassle to get in. Hotel is close to town so if you are there for shopping and snorkeling on the tours it is nice. Service was excellent in all aspects. Small hotel great for a romantic getaway with your significant other. Hotel restaurants are clean and easily accessible. Breakfast that was included with with our stay was superb. I recommend this hotel for anyone wanting to get away and relax from all your cares.

Traveler's tip on shopping

Close to town. Can hit the ferry, snorkeling tours and shopping district in about 10 minutes from the hotel. I recommend renting a scooter, or car. We did both and found it very easy to get around the island. Enjoyed the freedom we had to explore and visit Chankanaab Park and Discover Mexico. Gas was about $3.00 a liter. Stay was from July 4th until the 11th 2008.

I wouldn’t stay anywhere else!

This is the second time my girlfriend and I have stayed at the Playa Azul. It is such a great value. Everyone is very nice and helpful. Free tee times at the Cozumel Country Club can’t be beat (Bring lots of balls). Everyone at the Padi dive shop at the hotel were wonderful. Because is was the end of June-beginning of July, only 10 of the 40 rooms were occupied. If you’re looking for a nice relaxing experience that includes Golf, Scuba, snorkel, etc., at a very nice hotel with a staff that is a pleasure, this is the place to stay!

I WOULD STAY HERE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!

The hotel was very nice, as well as the staff. The view from the room was very much like the photos we had seen on the website.It is close enough to everything, but still far enough away for peace and quite.

Very Nice Hotel

Clean rooms - nice beach area, some rocks (suggest aqua shoes). Dive shop on premises - very helpful. Restaraunt at hotel - OK. Across the street from hotel is a jeep rental place to tour island. The hotel has a place to rent mopeds. Cab rides back and forth to town are $5.00 each way. They do have a gift shop (closed on Mondays) to purchase sun screen and such. The only snafu in our reservation was we requested a king sized bed and we got two full beds. If I go to Cozumel again, I would probably stay here.

Quite, wonderful, on the beach, great snorkeling

The hotel was nice and clean. It had its own beach, with wonderful snorkeling. Bring your own snorkel to save some money. Close to town, a $5 cab ride. Scuba diving at the hotel was the best part of our trip. Well worth the money. The car rental place across the street ripped us off, but that had nothing to do with the hotel. Tip: Keep ALL reciepts. :)

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

Scuba diving (you don’t have to be certified) was the best.

Can’t wait to go back

This is our second year and plan to come back next year. Wonderful as usual spent 10 days in paradise Staff is great. Everything perfect.Husband golfed daily I rode along one day and the course is beautiful

Traveler's tip on dining

many fine dining La Veranda is our favorite

Very pleased

This place worked very well for my girlfriend and I. We are a little older (40’s) and we enjoyed the small, comfortable, well maintained, quiet and quality staffed hotel.

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

The dive shop associated with the hotel was excellent.

Great little place

Would first of all recommend NOT to take advantage of the transport services offered by this website. Cozumel has the best taxi service and most reliable drivers (in the sense that they won’t rip you off) that I have come across in all of my travels... To the hotel: as befits a place where the people are the friendliest that I have encountered anywhere, the service at the hotel is immaculate and personal. The staff take time to get to know your name and will remember it and will never pass you by without saying ’hello’ after they have met you once. My room had a great view and everything worked just fine - no issues. The fittings are not of 5* standard but nonetheless, everything works more than adequately. Food was good - golf course a 2 minute, minimally priced taxi ride away...best not to walk it for the sake of a few dollars. All in all - perfect. Great sunsets, great scuba place opposite.

Traveler's tip on dining

Check out Kinta - restaurant opened 3 months ago (Jan 08). Incredible food at incredible prices in a incredible little place.

Many good points, but quite disappointing overall

I certainly agree with many of the high points of this hotel that other travelers have highlighted. This hotel definitely offers a great breakfast, great snorkling, and nice staff. I would highlight several other disappointing points though. First, all of the rooms are smoking rooms and we thought that we had selected a non-smoking room. There are none. Consequently, when we arrived, our room wreaked of room freshner covering up the smell of smoke. There were lots of ashes in the sink. Second, because this is not a high-rise hotel, most of the rooms on the first floor are sold at an "ocean view" price, but they are really more equivalent to a "pool view" at other hotels. The thatched roof palapas, the pool, and the very tight angle obscure much of the ocean view for many of the rooms. Third, the bedding was quite disappointing for a hotel at this price point. There was no fitted sheet on the bottom, just a loose sheet covering the bed. It often shifted and left us sleeping on the bare mattress. Our blanket also had a disgusting-looking stain on it. While the hotel certainly has many nice qualities that other travelers have highlighted, the snorkling and the people are great in all of Cozumel. This hotel did not meet our expectations. We would not stay here again at the rate that we paid, and we certainly would not pay for the upgrade to ocean view until we checked in and were able to see the specific view.

Wonderful Hotel

This hotel is almost perfect. The location, size, and beach were wonderful. For a more traditional sandy beach we simply took a day trip to the beaches on the other sides of the island. The breakfast is yummy. Something for everyone. The restaurant at the Club Cozumel down the beach is awesome! My only critique would be that the drain in the bathroom got a little smelly.

Traveler's tip on dining

Go to Club Cozumel for lunch!

The best.

Great service and confort. I can wait to go back