HI...i also just booked thru Apple this past week. we are staying 7 nts. @ Fiesta Americana. 2/12-19 our favorite hotel on our favorite island i believe you can still find rooms here. call your local travel office today. good luck!!

Hello, In regards to booking a hotel from an on-line site, does it make sense to call the actual hotel before going down there to make sure you have a reservation? Is it possible to get an exact phone number for the hotels in Cozumel?

I can't understand why booking direct with the hotel, or getting the hotel phone numbers or websites, would be difficult. Maybe because most sites are trying to sell packages there and don't want you to contact the hotel direct. Most hotels here have 1-800 numbers from the US. Please visit the Hotel Association's oficial listing of some Cozumel hotels with phone numbers & emails, just click the hotel name: (cut & paste on browser) http://www.islacozumel.com.mx/hotels.asp

harpua: from your description, you're looking at Sol Caba��as, Playa Azul or Coral Princess and I have to imagine that if ytou call and book directly with them, it has to be bonafide, but like some say here, it's cheaper and when bought with the air/hotel charters from the US, funjet, apple, etc. just watch their representatives in the colorful uniforms that pick you up at the airport, as they have your "transfers" back to the airport, they'll try to get you buy only their tours (which can be marked up 30-50%, as commision to the local ground-operator agency) look into all services offered at your hotel and nearby walking distance, and get your transfers back to the airport from "your guy" as soon as you can after checking in, so they can't be bugging you about it.

Enjoy Cozumel!!!!

Thanks for all of your input. I have finalized (I dearly hope) my hotel plans for the trip. El Presidente for 4 nights (To live it up a bit) and Sol Cabanas Del Caribe for 5 nights (for deep relaxation).

I am a bit worried though when I searched the SolMelia webiste they claimed the Sol Cabanas Del Caribe were not available, but when I called the 800 number, they said that there WAS availability. Either way, I'm heading down to the Coz and can't wait to enjoy the atmosphere and kick back.

I am searching for good local restaurants in these forums now, if anyone has input that hasn't been posted feel free to do so.

Once again, thanks so much all of you who have taken the time to replay to my postes with helpful info!!!

Bill (Its gonna be -1 here on Saturday.)

Antonio, I tried your suggestion and went to that web site to get the 800 numbers for the hotels. However, when you call them, you don't get the hotel in Cozumel. You get their reservation center (ie. Occidential Hotels) in the US and of course, they are already closed and probably won't have the local info on our internet reservation. I prefer to call the hotel directly and may try with their Mexician phone number. We are staying at the Allegro beginning Sunday and I booked on the internet through a travel site and am nervous we will be stranded unless I can verify with the hotel itself. I think that is a crummy thing to do to a tourist, say you are full even though the tourist paid for the package in full. I did try their email address on that site, although I had a different email address for the Allegro reservation and no one has email me back after a week.

Hello from MN, I also was nervous about not having a room once we got to Coz. I called the site I booked from and they confirmed we had a reservation. They also gave me the hotel confirmation number. I am hoping all this helps assure a reservation for us. So, you may try contacting your booking agency and explaining your concerns and getting a confirmation number from the hotel as well as from the travel agency.

Oh yes, I do have that motel confirmation number. But that number is assigned by the booking agent so that doesn't mean the hotel knows about it. The hotel confirm number appears on your original intinerary about 2-3 days after booking so I do have that number printed on the documentation. Guess we'll know when we get there. Suppose to be twenty some below when we leave. Oh what a shame we'll miss the cold weather in MN......

I think part of the problem was that these problems occured during the holidays when things were maxed out on the island. Many of the online booking agencies will send in reservations last minute after the hotel has already released the space. We had two bookings from travelocity that arrived, but we never had recieved a faxed reservation from travelocity on. So, it is always a good idea to check directly with the hotel to make sure that the hotel has it in the sytem.

Hope you enjoy your vacation up at the sol cabanas

tom@hotelflamingo.com

Yeah. The holidays. Kinda like Carnival. I am sure everything will work out, despite my fears. I just wish there were no booking issues at all. Like on Sienfeld... "Its not taking the reservation, its HOLDING it that is the important part..." or some such blather...