We booked a week at the Presidente InterContinental (European Plan) in Cancun. Extremely Expensive. Not worth the money UNLESS you like paying thousands of dollars to sit on the beach. Rooms were basic La Quinta style. Beach had plenty of cool places to sit, but you couldn't swim out more than 20 or 30 feet because it was fenced off...
We spent most of our week in Cozumel, Playa and Coba.
After much research on the best outfit to scuba and snorkel with, we chose Scuba Mau which is #1 on TripAdvisor. We couldn't have been happier. We were so happy with our dive and snorkel tour that day that we wanted to spend the night in Cozumel and dive with Mau the next morning at 7:30 am. But, we didn't have a place to stay in Cozumel and coming back from Cancun early the next morning was not possible.
So, Opal of Scuba Mau got us a room next door at the VillaBlanca (VB). We got a Superior (S-4?) for $60. I've seen the reviews that say they don't accept credit. Not sure about that because we paid for our room through Scuba Mau, which accepts credit! Awesome for us!
Check was easy because they were expecting us. They asked how many keys we needed. We needed one. Nothing to note about check in.
The grounds are beautiful and lush, very charming. Our room had a small patio (2 chairs) that opened right out to the pool between two charming trees that formed a canopy.
We checked in around 8pm. It was quiet with a small group sitting under the canopy next to the restaurant chatting (not sure if guests or employees/owners). Two people in hot tub. A couple sitting at the pool relaxing. No noise. No kids running around.
Our room was very large! As described by others, closet on the left and large bathroom on the right. King size bed (hard mattress but we slept fine) with an open divider/shelf space overlooking the living room/sitting area that had what appeared to be a full size futon, coffee table, tv, small to med size fridge (no micro) with sign about ants. This was great bc my husband and I were traveling with our 17 year old son, so he had his own bed and we had some privacy....We LOVED OUR ROOM. No decor on the walls but it was CLEAN and LARGE. We really spread out all of our stuff. Ceiling fan hummed fine and A/C was working ok. I think we were a bit chilly during the night. Plenty of pillows and linens and we asked for more pillows and got them.
Our bathroom was large, marbled and large roman tub. We had PLENTY of hot water. Towels are hard, but what do you expect? No purified water was given to us, so not sure if that is still a problem? We didn't need it. We had our own bottled waters.
After the couple left the hot tub, we went in. The heater was not on. We asked for it to be turned on. They said it would take 15 minutes. It never heated up. I think they just turned the jets on. A group of 3 twenty somethings with cocktails showed up while we were sitting there have an intimate discussion. Of course, they had no sense and hopped right in. After 15 minutes of polite conversation, we got out since it was clear they weren't leaving and the water had not gotten hot. The hot tub never heated up for them, either.
The pool appeared crystal clean and the temp was the same as the hot tub...
We left a deposit at the front desk for 2 beach towels and had no problems upon returning them.
We didn't eat in the restaurant or ask for anything else. We checked out with no problems the next morning and haven't heard a word since.
We are returning in July 2009 to dive for 4 days with Scuba Mau. Opal has made our reservations at Villablanca already. The hotel served our purpose very well and we are quite happy with what we got for the price.
It really depends on what you are looking for. It was quaint, quiet, charming, no frills, but naturally beautiful. It is perfect for a dive trip or just a place to lay your head while you are out all day enjoying the beauty of Cozumel and excursions. We wanted to finally have a hoity-toity vacation at Presidente -- and we paid for it! But, the room was just two hairs better than VillaBlanca. I would rather pay $10 a day to go to another beach during the day while at VillaBlanca than pay several thousand dollars to sit at Presidente's beach. We spent 3 hours at the Presidente beach upon arrival and 1 hour getting a massage on the beach on our departure day. That's it. Our mistake! Now we know not to waste money on an expensive hotel if we don't plan to sit there all day every day. If you want a beautiful view and want to be pampered and relax all day, then don't stay at VillaBlanca. Pay a lot of money and go somewhere exquisite. That is ok! It all depends on what you or I want out of our vacation.
This would be a great location to have a small wedding or family reunion and have ALL of your guests stay there. The grounds are beautiful and there is a tennis court in the back.
We will ALWAYS dive with SCUBA MAU -- they are the best! And, we hope to continue to stay at VillaBlanca. We will definitely write a follow up review after we return from our trip July 2009. We will try the restaurant and bar, try the hot tub again, and see if we can rent some scooters. Hope it goes well! We'll let you know.
