Well finally pulled trigger on this race and learned from Arizona that you have to book early. Knowing that I don’t love to stay at the host hotel since it just freaks me out a bit to eat, breathe, and sleep with everyone doing the same race. I’d prefer to find something nice but away from the craziness. Looking for a place the kids and hubby can have fun while I do what I need to do. Also looks like the swim is at a different location than where we finish the bike or run. So host transportation or cab is necessary for me and the family to get around. (Atleast I think that is the case) In that case do I need to stay at the host hotel or is there another option you would recommend? Thanks in advance
We stayed at the Wyndham…closer to the swim but away from T2 and finish. Definately away from everything. Next time, I will stay in town closer to finish area. Cabs are required if you stay away from town…and they pop you for about $20 everytime you climb in. Made race day a hassle for the family.
I do not recommend the Wyndham by the way.
Enjoy the day…it is without a doubt the most awesome race I have participated in. The spectators are out of this world.
Rent a moped and visit the southern and southeastern part of the island…you’ll see it on the bike loops, but take some time before or after to spend some time down there.
We stayed at the Fiesta Americana about a mile North from the swim start. My wife and daughter loved the all inclusive and ocean view. The hotel itself was great and I’d stay again. Great value for the price. Yes it is away from most of the activity, but I prefer that over being in the middle of everything. It was convenient on race morning as it was not difficult getting into transition and did not require getting up any ealrier than I had too.
In the past, there have been several host hotels. The wesbite is only showing one at this time - Cozumelino - but I am hoping this will be updated soon. Unlike some of the U.S. races, Cozumel has numerous hotel and lodging options. The Cozumel host hotels usually have good deals, but the main thing they offer, in my opinion, is the free bus transport to bike check-in and the swim start. If you stay close to one of the host hotlels, you can still use the buses.
I did this race in 2009 and staid at the Melia, which is on the northside of town at the turnaround on the run course. The place was OK, but the food was awful. With the start and finish being in different locations, wherever you stay is going to offer pros and cons about transport before and after the race. Wit that said, I am doing this race this year with a 2 1/2 year old in tow and will probably stay in town to make things easier on the family.
My husband and I rented a private condo 3 blocks from the finish in 2009, which was very nice and had it’s own private pool (great for cooling down the legs post race!) and are renting a condo on San Francisco Beach (I think about 5K south of the start) for 2012. There are tons of hotels and condos in Cozumel! The 2009 race was my first time going to Cozumel and I didn’t find the race logistics are getting around difficult at all. Personally, I prefer a condo so I have more of a “home away from home” and have a full kitchen, and it just feels more relaxing to me then being in a hotel. We wented a car in 2009 but ended up getting around most of the time on a scooter, and we will just rent a scooter this year, but is is VERY easy to get a cab to get where you need to go. If you stay closer to downtown the race does offer transportation to the start on race morning. I think a lot depends on if you want to be near downtown (very touristy) or on the ocean and if you’d rather have an all inclusive hotel or a condo. I know some people who stayed at the Intercontinental and said it was very nice. The really nice thing about Cozumel is that you don’t feel like you are eating and breathing ironman all week because everyone is spread out and the expo is pretty small so not really a place to “hang out”. You will obviously see triathletes all week but I loved the fact that it didn’t have the same feel as a north american IM. I really felt more like I was on vacation with a really long race on Sunday.
Strongly recommend Cozumel Palace for the following reasons…
It’s not a “host hotel” but I’d say greater than 50% of the guests were there for the race and they treated the racers like royalty. M-dot shaped cookie with turn-down service, staff cheered and took photos of athletes as they came in after the race, etc. It’s a busy place so I’m not sure it meets your away from the craziness criteria.They have a ton of staff on site. If you need anything, just ask.Downtown with great access to restaurants and grocery stores. Don’t underestimate how convenient it is to walk across the street to a full service grocery store. The only time you’ll have to take a cab is for bike drop off and race morning.You are within walking distance of packet pick-up and the finish line.The bike course goes right past the hotel and the run course within a couple blocks. This is really nice for your family. The buffet is incredible and your family can easily duck into the hotel for an hour or two to grab breakfast/lunch, get out of the weather, or just relax.They don’t have a beach, but there is direct water access so you can practice your open water swim directly from the hotel.A downside is that all-inclusive is the only option available. To get the most bang for your buck your husband will need to drink for two leading up to the race.
Do hotels book fast like other venues or is it safe to wait? have been to Cozumel for vacation only and usually book a month of two in advance and had no issues.
Also, we stayed in the Iberostars which is about 15-20min away from downtown and we liked it. I was thinking of booking the same. Should I reconsider and book something close to downtown?
Thanks.
I stayed this year at the Iberostar and it was great. I like being away from all the pre IM craziness so this hotel being a bit far from downtown, made it possible. Your family can see you on the bike 3 times and they only need to walk 200 meters from their room/pool to where you will be riding and the hotel even set ups water and juice stations for the fans.
I rented a Smart to move around the island and I paid less than 100 USD from Friday to Monday with Avis.
As far as how fast they book, I normally book everything when I register for a race but in this case I had to change plans 2 weeks before and there was still availability.
Haven’t been there during the race but have stayed at Cozumel Palace (and a few other Palace resorts on the mainland) and I can heartily recommend them if you want an all inclusive. As noted, this hotel does not have a beach but is right on the ocean. Mt wife likes to snorkel and they supply fins, mask and snorkel (although we bring our own mask and snorkel). There is a LOT of sea life just in the area in front of the hotel which is roped off for swimming. Plus of course a couple of pools if you prefer that.
Great info from you all! So it sounds like needing to be close to start and finish is not as high of a priority and your saying the expo is small so no need to be close to that. Sounds like cabs are normal. I’ll check out all of your suggestions! Thanks so much. Likely more questions as the year progresses but thanks for covering this one!
cozumel really doesn’t have beaches except on the wild/East side and your family would have to spend the entire day out there (and rent a vehicle to get out there as i don’t think they’d have much luck getting a taxi to bring them home. Chen Rio is nice for families but the food sucks. I would never stay in a large hotel unless I had to. We’ll be staying in a very cheap house (as we did last year) within walking distance to the run course (and centro). You really have to decide what you’re interested in and if you want hotel then check tripadvisor, otherwise check the local’s board. There are a lot of folks who support Ironman on the island as it is a HUGE economic boom. Lots of folks will rent out their homes also. (local board is http://www.cozumelmycozumel.com/dc/index.php)
My husband did the race 2 years ago. We (my sister, my husband, myself and our two kids who were 3 and 1 1/2 at the time) stayed at the Occidental Allegro Cozumel. It was GREAT! The beach is so beautiful. Crystal clear calm water. No rocks. They have a really fun water park for the kids too. My kids loved it so much. We have even been back to Cozumel just to go back the resort. They provided transportation to the race start. I took a cab back to the hotel after my husband went on to the bike portion. The bike course looped by the front of the resort so we would time when he was coming by and go out to the road and cheer. For the finish, the 4 of us took a cab into town to watch him finish. The resort was very helpful to the athletes. For example, my husband has always trained w/ eating hard boiled eggs before races and long bike rides. We went to the special early breakfast the resort had provided on race morning and there were no hard boiled eggs. We spoke to someone and they whipped up a huge tray of hard boiled eggs asap.
I liked the Hotel Cozumel & Resort Hotel. This year it was an official hotel , but very calm (a big pool…nice place).
It is near the finish line (and t2). There is transport to t1 - which is far from all hotels
Its near the atlhete packet pick up (and 2 big supermarkets).
To get off topic I just had to ask, what is it about normal tri shops that make a women’s tri shop an essential? I’ve seen both Tribella’s and your shop and was just curious…
Is this something that has been going on nationwide or just in colorado?
We stayed at the Fiesta Americana about a mile North from the swim start. My wife and daughter loved the all inclusive and ocean view. The hotel itself was great and I’d stay again. Great value for the price. Yes it is away from most of the activity, but I prefer that over being in the middle of everything. It was convenient on race morning as it was not difficult getting into transition and did not require getting up any ealrier than I had too.
We stayed there in 2009. We did not do all-inclusive – cold breakfast is still included, which is sufficient as I gorge on fruit in the “tropics”. Price was reasonable and the accesibility to the swim practice/start and bike practice without traffic was nice.
The only thing I did not like is that it felt like I had to walk my bike 1/4 mile to my room once I entered the front doors of the hotel. If you have a sherpa it is not an issue, but I carried all of my own gear.
Because the hotel was away from shopping bring an empty backpack if you go into town just in case you make purchases. Almost all of the hotels are a distance from the finish, athlete’s briefing, supermarkets, internet cafes, dining, ferry, etc. Some are more walkable than others, but even a mile walk with kids or tired legs can be a long way.
Suites Bahia! Google it and consider them. Awesome location in town on run course, great place near everything! $47 a night with great breakfast!!!
Strongly recommend Cozumel Palace for the following reasons…
It’s not a “host hotel” but I’d say greater than 50% of the guests were there for the race and they treated the racers like royalty. M-dot shaped cookie with turn-down service, staff cheered and took photos of athletes as they came in after the race, etc. It’s a busy place so I’m not sure it meets your away from the craziness criteria.They have a ton of staff on site. If you need anything, just ask.Downtown with great access to restaurants and grocery stores. Don’t underestimate how convenient it is to walk across the street to a full service grocery store. The only time you’ll have to take a cab is for bike drop off and race morning.You are within walking distance of packet pick-up and the finish line.The bike course goes right past the hotel and the run course within a couple blocks. This is really nice for your family. The buffet is incredible and your family can easily duck into the hotel for an hour or two to grab breakfast/lunch, get out of the weather, or just relax.They don’t have a beach, but there is direct water access so you can practice your open water swim directly from the hotel.A downside is that all-inclusive is the only option available. To get the most bang for your buck your husband will need to drink for two leading up to the race.
Agreed. If I ever went back for that race, I’d stay at Palace in a heart beat.
Well finally pulled trigger on this race and learned from Arizona that you have to book early. Knowing that I don’t love to stay at the host hotel since it just freaks me out a bit to eat, breathe, and sleep with everyone doing the same race. I’d prefer to find something nice but away from the craziness. Looking for a place the kids and hubby can have fun while I do what I need to do. Also looks like the swim is at a different location than where we finish the bike or run. So host transportation or cab is necessary for me and the family to get around. (Atleast I think that is the case) In that case do I need to stay at the host hotel or is there another option you would recommend? Thanks in advance
I really really liked Hotel B.
- great food
- great rooms
- it’s right on the run course, you can go to your room to take a crap if you want
- sweet deals last time we stayed (IM Coz 11)
- people staying there were awesome.
- get a moped while you’re there.