Cozumel: Day 1

By
Saint Greg

June 1, 2021

I won this trip for entering my Cozumel Barhop Tour in the Cozumel Barhop blog contest. For winning I received a free plane ticket to Cozumel, a three night stay at the Hotel B Unique Cozumel, and a free Cozumel Barhop.

A friend of mine wanted to come with me so he booked the same trip on Travelocity except his room is in the Hotel B, which is the older wing of the hotel. Apart from the rooms everything else was the same. Cozumel Barhop provided my friend with a free barhop as well.

Normally I would fly out of Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) but I didn’t like their flight options for my dates in Cozumel. I don’t think any were direct and most either got in late or left super early and connected through Houston (IAH). I decided just to drive to Houston and fly direct.

We booked parking at an offsite parking facility called The Parking Spot 2 on Will Clayton Parkway and booked a Best Western hotel across the street. This hotel was just renovated in October 2020, looks new, and is well reviewed. The plan is to park at The Parking Spot the night before, walk across to the hotel, and take the hotel shuttle to the airport in the morning. If anything happens with the hotel shuttle, we are entitled to use The Parking Spot shuttle across the street since we parked there.

I signed us up for the 7:30 shuttle. At 7:10am we got a call from the front desk reminding us we were on the 7:30 shuttle. Apparently we are supposed to be down there at 7:15. This isn’t something that was mentioned when I signed up. I was planning on being down there 5-10 minutes early. At 7:14 we get another call reminding us we need to be down there at 7:15. I tell her we’re on our way.

We get downstairs at 7:16 and are told we missed the shuttle. I can’t believe this. “This is the 7:30 shuttle, right?” “Yes,” she said. “The 7:30 shuttle leaves at 7:15?” “Yes, it stops at other hotels.” “Maybe you should think about calling it the 7:15 shuttle,” I said. I tossed our room cards in her general direction and said “we’re checking out.” We walked out the door and across the street to catch The Parking Spot shuttle.

We made it on The Parking Spot shuttle. It looks like JR is boarding now.

The bus ended up being full and I got trapped in a corner. We let half of the people off at terminal E but nobody slid down so I’m still trapped in the corner.

The bag tag line is long but moving fast. They have about 30-40 kiosks. I think I like this system better than DFW where you have to do the kiosk part then get in line. If there are any kiosk delays that line can get really long.

We have moved on to the security line.

We had no issues at security. Our plane is here. I need to get breakfast.

We’re at this Tex Mex Bar & Grill. We were going to get a beer but apparently you can’t get alcohol until after 10am anywhere in the airport.

I ordered online by scanning a QR code on the table. It took about 20 minutes to get my bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich.

By the time I finished breakfast it was time for our flight to begin boarding. I’m in economy and didn’t pick any seat upgrades other than picking an aisle seat. It’s pretty tight here. I miss my Spirit exit row seat already.

They do have Sports Center though.

They actually have the full compliment of channels on the basic DirecTV package. That is nice, but they say you lose it outside of US airspace. I figured it wouldn’t do me much good. If I could go back I would’ve taken the headphones because we actually had it almost the entire flight. I put mine on the show “wipeout” because you don’t necessarily need to hear the commentary to enjoy the show.

We take off at 10:30. At 11:15 they tell us we have to fill out three forms. One is the card I filled out last time (on my Cancun trip) that the customs lady said I didn’t need because I printed out the tourist card. Another is this customs declaration form. I don’t remember needing that for Cancun. The third is some kind of online COVID form. If we didn’t already fill it out they’ll give us a QR code to fill it out when we have WiFi.

I went ahead and filled out the customs and immigration forms even though my tourist card should do it. I don’t want any additional delays at the airport.

At 11:35 this guy from like several rows back decides he needs to get into his bag which he put in the overhead compartment above me. So he’s got his junk in my face. And if I look up I get his underarm odor. It’s just not a good situation at all.

This picture is leaving the mainland of Mexico heading to the Island of Cozumel. It’s in vicinity of Cancun.

This is a nice video landing in Cozumel.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Saint Greg (@saintgregtravel)

It’s been awhile since I’ve exited a plane outside.

And now we’re in the customs line. I connected to the Wifi and rushed to get my online COVID questionnaire completed.

The good thing about this airport is I think my luggage will be on carousel 1.

We met Tom from the Barhop outside and now we’re on the road.

The Hotel B is only a couple miles from the airport.

The hotel has an open air lobby with quite a view.

They gave me a welcome shot that looked like guacamole. It did have avocado and some kind of juice in it.

This is the lobby waiting area.

This is the old wing of the hotel. They call it Hotel B. My friend’s room is going to be on this level just a few rooms down.

This is the pool on the newer side they call Hotel B Unique.

My friend’s room was ready immediately. They told me it would be an additional 30 minutes to finish cleaning my room. I can understand that. We arrived at 1:30 and check-in probably isn’t until 3pm.

The Cozumel Barhop left me a package. I really didn’t expect all of the extras I got.

We had to try the peanut butter tequila right away. This is the stuff they have a Rasta’s which is the last stop on the barhop. Last time they sold out before I could get any so this was a priority this trip. We would drink half of the bottle in this sitting.

After 30 minutes I returned to the front desk to check on my room. Now they say they still have to dry the floor so they asked me to hang out here.

I really wish that bar was open but it appears to be just for show. If I had realized there was a bar right below us, I would’ve gone down there for a drink.

At 2:30 my room was ready. I just have to take the elevator up to the third floor and It’s like the third room from the elevator. Room 320.

This is definitely more modern than the room my friend is in on the other side.

You can see the front desk waiting area I was at on the left.

After getting settled in we decided to meet at the bar for drinks.

We started out with pina coladas.

Then a shot of vodka for my friend and very strong sea breeze for me.

We were discussing swimming out to that buoy. I’m thinking backstroke out there. And breaststroke back.

This little deck area between the pools is where they do yoga in the mornings.

We did a little exploring. It looks like this is the old restaurant. It’s on the far end of the old wing.

The next thought is to grab that ore and one of us chase the other around the pool area with it and see what the reaction is.

Back out on the balcony here. Happy hour is 5-7 so the thought is to meet back down by the pool for that.

We decided to hop in the pool for our happy hour drinks.

It’s pina colada for me and a vodka tonic for my friend.

Dirty banana for me and another vodka tonic for my friend.

This guy has been in this exact spot since we checked in.

Back to the room to shower, change clothes, and then down to the restaurant before happy hour ends.

I got a dark Bohemia beer and my friend is a big fan of the vodka tonic.

This is a look at the menu board in the restaurant. The prices are in pesos so pretty much divide by 20 and you’re good. I’m just charging everything to my room and it can all go on my credit card at the end.