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Dive Review of Dive House/Sunscape Sabor in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Dive House/Sunscape Sabor: "Excellent dives in spite of reef closures", Nov, 2019,

by Rob Longley, NY, US (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 11346 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments [None]When I first heard about the Cozumel reef closures I seriously considered canceling my trip planned for this November. I am glad that I did not.

On my first trip to Cozumel a year ago we did dive in the Palancar area a couple of times, but most of our dives were farther north and I certainly had no complaints then, so when I reviewed my log from that trip I realized that there were plenty of good sites open in spite of the closures.

This trip we dove at Cedar Wall, Caledona, Santa Rosa Wall, Francesca, San Clemente and possibly San Franciso (I forgot to make a note of where we dove a couple of times). There was plenty to see...turtles, sharks, rays, eels and plenty of smaller fish including a winged gurnard. I also really enjoyed the swim-throughs. And the visibility was great. The current ranged from light to strong, but it never presented a problem to me or, as far as I could tell, any of the other divers. All in all, I thought the diving was excellent.

One day was blown out by the wind, but because I was not flying out right after leaving the resort, the dive shop easily put me on for an extra day.

Conditions on the water ranged from moderate waves to big enough to make reboarding the boat somewhat challenging for me. I am slightly handicapped, but usually I can get myself back on a boat and to my seat with all of my equipment on, but a couple of times on this trip I had to remove my BCD while on the ladder. The crew, though, is so experienced with doing this that they weren't fazed a bit. The waves were also big enough to cause one person to get seasick, but that can happen to some people in fairly calm conditions, too.

I can't say enough good things about the crew and the guides. They were, friendly, helpful and clearly out to make sure that everybody had a good time. Our gear was taken back to the shop, washed, dried and returned to the boat the next day. In the water the guides were attentive without being mother hens, and they were able to point out plenty of cool stuff. I tend to go through my air about five minutes before everybody else so I liked that all I had to do was signal the guide and he would send up an SMB so I could ascend without everybody else having to go up with me.

Sunscape Sabor is very nice. It is all inclusive, including the bars. It says that tipping is not required, but I had plenty of cash on me and tipped regularly. I am certain that the staff appreciated it.

There is a bar off of the main lobby and sometimes, though it was open, nobody was behind the bar. That was a bit of an annoyance, but a couple of times I was able to flag somebody down to make a drink.

I had most of my meals at the buffet restaurant Portofino and found it to be good. While I like and appreciate fine dining, I am not overly demanding, so the occasional tough meat, shattered bones in chicken, or somewhat mushy fish did not diminish my enjoyment. I also ate at the restaurants once each and enjoyed the meals. Service was always friendly and I got to know one waitress who would greet me by name every morning and lunch.

I didn't participate in any of the activities, so I can't comment on them. They have a concierge service that I didn't use this year, but last year they were very helpful.

My room was fairly large and came with a mini-fridge that got restocked with Dos Equis, though I did have to ask one time (they claim that it is automatically restocked and the drinks in the fridge are included). There were signs of shabbiness here and there, but nothing that affected my comfort. I did have to ask for a reading lamp and there was no stopper for the sink, so soaking my computer and camera presented a problem, but I managed. My room was in the back area near the parking lot and a maintenance building, so noise during the day, especially when I was trying to take a nap, was irritating. Not enough to complain about, though. By the way, I did ask at the desk for a sink stopper, and they sent me one, but it was the wrong kind for the sink in my room.

Check in and out were quick and efficient, though I didn't realize that they were going to charge me for four local phone calls that I had to make. A minor complaint.

The one thing that did irritate me the most was the WIFI. It is bad enough that they charge an exorbitant amount if you want it in your room, but the connection was so slow that it took me an hour to accomplish what would normally take fifteen minutes. I stayed in small hotels in Tulum and Downtown Cozumel on this trip, both of which provided speedy internet for free. Sunscape Sabor should do the same.

Will I stay there again? Well, I would certainly dive with Dive House again. As for staying at Sabor, I would say “maybe.” I tended to sit by the pool in the afternoon rather than the beach, and I also had a rental car so I would drive around on the island a lot of afternoons. I stayed a night in town before flying out at an inexpensive place near the town center and realized that I could probably happily get by with inexpensive food and lodging and save a few bucks. Then again, having everything right there and not having to worry is worth something, so I'll see. If I were traveling with children or a non-diver I would definitely stay there.

Websites Dive House   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 51-100 dives
Where else diving St. John, USVI
Key Largo
Cozumel
Dos Ojos cenote, Tulum
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather Seas
Water Temp -°F / -°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility - Ft/ - M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals N/A Tropical Fish N/A
Small Critters N/A Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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