We just got back from a stay at Vista del Mar after a week stay. We loved everything about it. First let me say: if you are looking for amenities, restaurants, pools, and entertainment, then you need to pay the all-inclusive price and stay somewhere else. But if you are looking for a nice, clean, and inexpensive place in the heart of town, Vista del Mar is it!

Pros: Our room was tastefully decorated, large, and very clean. It faced the ocean, which in San Miguel also means that it faces a pretty busy street. So, if you want more quiet, ask for a room that faces the courtyard instead. We loved the ocean view, sunsets, and people watching from our balcony. The room includes a breakfast of coffee, OJ, and Mexican rolls with butter and jam delivered to your room at a time of your choosing. The staff are supper friendly and go out of their way to make your stay comfortable. There is a fridge in the room which was very handy for keeping drinks and snacks cold (try Mexican yogurt, yum!). Hotel provides free bottled water. There is a small but nice pool. Most of the clientele here are adults, which was a bonus for us because we come to Cozumel to get away from the kids. Air-conditioning worked very well and the water pressure was very nice. Hotel is located steps away from dining and shopping. Checkout is at noon.

Cons: there was a musty smell in the room but we’ve found the same smell in other hotels on the ocean (what can you do, you’re in the tropics). There is no elevator in this hotel. Which was not a problem for us but could be for some – hotel has 4 stories. The check in is not until 3pm and there really are no rooms available early but the staff will check you in early and hold your bags (we rented a car at the airport so we went to the beach while waiting for our room).

Like anywhere else, if you are nice and friendly, people will be very friendly back. We love Cozumel and will return to Vista del Mar.

The Vista Del Mar is an outstanding value for the money. We stayed in a standard room (no balcony). We loved it. The room was spacious and clean, the beds were comfortable, there was plenty of room in the closets for clothes, the shower was large (great for drying diving gear), and the people were very friendly. The desk staff - Martin, Eva, and Linda - were absolutely amazing. Very friendly and helpful. A basic breakfast (orange juice, coffee, rolls) is included and delivered to your room at any time between 7:30-10:00 that you request. A bottle of purified water is provided in the bathroom and replaced every day, if you so desire (remember to use purified water when you brush your teeth and don't open your mouth in the shower!!!). On each floor there is also a cooler-sized bottle of water with a pump that can be used to refill this bottle and any others (e.g., Nalgene) that you bring with you. There is no additional charge for this freely available purified water. Please remember that when you are traveling in Mexico (as in many other nations), their septic systems are not the same as at home: Do *NOT* throw toilet paper in the toilets. There are garbage bins provided for this purpose in the hotel rooms as well as in public restrooms (banos): Dumping toilet paper into all the toilets simply clogs them up. We grew frustrated at the number of stubborn tourists who insisted on doing things the way they are done at home - resulting in plugged and overflowing toilets in many public places. Please, be considerate of the differences!! Back to the hotel - The vista Del Mar is within easy walking distance of everywhere you would like to be in San Miguel - restaurants, diving, shops, car rentals, ferry to the mainland, etc. If you are concerned about safety in the town, don't be. Obviously, be sensible and don't go flashing great wads of cash or carrying all of your credit cards and cash on you. That said, it is one of the friendliest, safest places I have ever been. My husband and I wandered well off the beaten track - into the side streets and up dark alleys away from the tourist district at the waterfront. Everywhere we went, we were greeted by the locals with friendly smiles and "hola!" Some reviews complain about noise; we were on the back of the hotel overlooking the market. The market opened at around 8am and closed by about 6pm. We weren't bothered in the least by any noise. In the afternoons, we did take siesta by the pool out back (instead of on a balcony); in this case, there was noise from the market but it wasn't in the least unpleasant. As for eating out - the worst and most expensive food we ate was on the waterfront, in the main square, and within a block of the waterfront. As soon as you walk 2-3 blocks back, you will find absolutely amazing food at excellent prices. Some of our best meals were at an outdoor cafeteria-type place about 3-4 blocks away from the water (turning right on the north side of Pepe's Grill). We ate at all but the grungiest taco stands and had no digestive issues. The locals seem very sensitive to our weak GI systems and are meticulous about not contaminating our food or drink with tap water. We did, however, avoid raw salads and uncooked vegetables. We ate fruit that had peels (without any pre-soaking in iodine solutions as some overly cautious internet sites have suggested). Even though Aqua Safari is next door, we walked 5 minutes up the street to go with Dive Paradise who has an outstanding reputation for safety and conservation. We thought they were some of the best-organized dive crews we have EVER seen. The crews were all Mexican with excellent English. The divemasters were outstanding. The crews were incredibly well organized. The maximum number of passengers is 16. And there were no more than 6 divers per dive master (usually closer to 3-4). The dive masters were sensitive to levels of training/comfort and afforded more leeway to experienced divers and helped keep an eye on those who were less experienced. The drift diving is not scary at all, despite what you may have read elsewhere. And the Hotel Vista Mar puts you close to all of this!! Go there, relax, have adventures, and enjoy. And please remember to tip generously. Martin, Linda, Eva: Thank you for a wonderful and memorable stay.

After many years of all-inclusives with bad food, watered down drinks, poor entertainment, and unhappy employees, I do my best to steer clear of them. If you want to go to Cozumel and stay at a clean hotel with a great staff at a fair price then Vista Del Mar is just your place. It is located near the square downtown and directly across the street from the Aqua Safari pier. (more on that in a moment) There were three of us with three rooms and even the most basic room of the three was nice, cool, and clean. Eva delivers coffee, juice and rolls each morning to the room and works very hard to make everyone happy. There is wireless internet on the property and the hotel is steps from about anything you would like to do. About the pier, if you have a choice when staying here, ask for a room facing away from the water and street. I found it amazing how loud the air tanks were as they hit one another while being unloaded way before daylight each morning. There was some traffic noise also. The other rooms in my party had no complaints about noise. In fact, they had no complaints. Would I stay here again, HECK YES! It was well worth the dollars.

Me and my girlfriend went to Cozumel to dive in the Christmas/New year holidays of 2007 and we stayed at Vista del Mar for 12 days. We payed for a dive package with 5 dives and 7 nights for 585 US dollars and that was at the time a very good price.

My girlfriend arrieved one day in advance and they took really good care of her. Because of the low price compare to competition we did not know what to expect when we arrieved. It turned out to be a very good hotel. They did not have any breakfast buffe, but they included a light breakfast with coffee and bagel-like bread, which they served to the room. Those days we wanted a bigger breakfast we just went to the neighbouring hotel Casa Mexicana Cozumel, which had a really good breakfast buffe.

The management was terrific and helped us in so many ways with bookings and advises.

We dived with "Diving with Martin" and we got the impression that they were the best on the island!

I really recommend Vista del Mar for divers and non-divers which are looking for non-all-inclusive downtown Cozumel, close to the restaurants!