Playa Uvas

We vacationed in Cozumel for 11 days and this was on my bucket list of places I hadn't visited but wanted to check out. So, we were going to Playa Uvas today!

​

 Prior research showed they had a $15 cover charge per person (which I had read online), which included a "welcome drink", snorkel gear and a 30 minute guided shore snorkel tour, 30 minutes of Kayaking and access to all chairs and umbrellas/wifi and hammocks. 

​

They claim to have amazing snorkeling and service that sets them apart from other beach clubs...we are about to find out because everyone knows that's what I'm here for right?

When we entered, they only charged us $10 per person. I was ok with that. They took our temperatures and we washed our hands. Since we had only had a small fruit platter breakfast, we were already hungry! We headed straight to the restaurant and sat down. Edwin would be our waiter for the day. He ask if we spoke Spanish and one thing I remembered from Spanish class was "Un poquito" (a little and by little I meant not much lol but we would use this a lot this trip). 

​

He handed us the menu (click for enlarged version of each page)

This would be our view during lunch:

Sakari and I ordered the chicken taco's which came with rice and beans on the side and the hubby ordered a burrito with rice on the side. 

​

I have to say I was a little shocked with our chicken taco's came out and that was the only thing on it...just chicken on a soft taco. I guess I expected lettuce and cheese and sour cream and all the "fixins" but it was just plain. The hubby ended up giving me his lettuce and some pico and I had ordered a side of fries because Sakari and I were just craving some fries for some reason. LOL

Sakari desperately tried to get one of those Mexican singing birds to take food out of her hand of course. 

I guess the food was good despite not having anything in the tacos...and I don't like beans (even though I tried it again just to make sure and the census remains the same for me...no to beans) but we cleaned our plates. 

After we finished eating, Edwin cleared our plates and brought the check....and handed it to me! Wait, what? Why did he just hand the check to the woman in the party? Weird. 

Then we headed out to find "the perfect spot" and Edwin set up an umbrella under the chairs we picked out. He told us he would take care of us the rest of the day and let him know if we needed anything. 

Sakari immediately wanted to head to the pool to check it out and did a quick pose for me and we both went over for a little swim. You know she's growing up when she's now wearing her big sister's bathing suits! #Iwannacrynow

The pool is a pretty nice sized pool and then there is also a little small (in depth) pool for the littles. 

​

We went to go in and I could tell by the look on her face...it was COLD! I dipped my feet in and I just couldn't do it. No Way! Why was the water so cold at our casa and this place? You would think with the Caribbean heat and sun beating down on it every day that it wouldn't be so cold. 

​

Sakari was a trooper and determined to get that mermaid tail on and eventually she made it all the way in despite the temps of the water. 

​

There's also a swim up bar at the pool. I can see this being a big hangout place when the cruise ships are in.

I gave up instantly, took a few pictures, then decided to head back to our lounge chairs with my feet and legs sticking out in the sun to warm up since I was now feeling like I had just did a partial polar plunge and I was cold. 

​

On the way back I spotted another Iggy hanging out on the sidewalk

It was not long at all before Sakari was back at the beach with us. She said it was just too cold to stay in there and that was probably the reason why there wasn't another sole in the pool. I have to say the 2 iguanas we seen that day were probably the only iguanas we seen the entire time we were in Cozumel. I kept saying "Where are all the Iggys???" I'll have to see if I come across any others in my pictures, but if I do, there sure wasn't many this trip.

​

I really wanted to snorkel and ask Sakari if she wanted to go. She gave me a sideways look and I took that as a no. So, I gathered my things and headed toward the deck where you get in at the stairs. However, they did have sand bags right in front of the deck and it made it easy to get in and out of the water without slipping. I appreciated that for sure! I spoke to a local there and he told me that you were only allowed to go to the buoys without a life jacket (which wasn't far out at all and mostly along the shoreline). If you wanted to go out past that, they required you to wear a snorkeling vest, which you could get at their snorkel shop if you leave your license behind. He also told me that snorkeling was good along the shoreline, "out there" (pointing toward the buoys far away) and "that way", which was to the left if you are facing the water. He said there was a drop off there and there's nurse sharks, eels and rays out that way. 

​

I had a look around for a good 10-15 minutes and honestly, there wasn't much to see but a bunch of rocks and small minnow like fish in groups. 

​

​

I did manage to find this really odd looking small fish that looked like (to me) a Goby. I have never seen one that was striped with red and a black face. I tried looking it up and I still can't find anything like it. But it was definitely pretty and a good find for the day. I love finding new things. 

At this point, I knew I wasn't going to see much here so I motioned for the hubby to come over and told him I needed a snorkeling vest so that I could go out further. He managed to go get .... TWO ... which meant that Sakari was coming with me!

​

We headed out along to the right (facing the water) because there was a strong current that pulled you to the left. We figured we would go along the shoreline and then along the buoys at the side, then out and drift back to the left. 

​

We found a lobster under a rock, some Bermuda Chubs, Damsels, Sergeant Majors, groups of surgeonfish, some smaller parrot fish, and lot's of rocks. Maybe just a few coral here and there but nothing I would brag about. 

As we went out a little further, with the current continuing to push us back, we did manage to find a lizard fish

Still not seeing much here, I'm starting to wonder where this "great snorkeling" and "best on the island" is exactly. The most we saw was boats, coming in and docking at the dock we came into the water at, over and over and over and over....it was getting annoying trying to snorkeling and having to watch out for the boats. And this was NOT a big dock! You'd see them come and people get off and others line up at the dock and get on. I imagine they were probably doing some type of snorkeling tour or something? I'm not sure because no one approached us to ask if we wanted to do a snorkeling tour and that's usually something they are all trying to push. It was just weird. 

Right at the very end, we managed to spot a porcupine puffer fish. I just love these little guys! They are so cute and have such a cute personality.

We kept seeing them tell us to "get back" and giving the movement with their hands for us to move the other direction...against the current, and we were struggling a bit. Boats were just coming in and out and in and out. It was beyond annoying and you couldn't even snorkel or get to the other side the guy had told us to go to for good snorkeling (although I really doubt it was much different than the side we were on). 

​

Finally both Sakari and I had had enough and decided to just go back and forego this adventure that was not working out due to the boats. It was just a horrible experience really. It's definitely dangerous and I don't know if it's always like that or what, but definitely not a good or safe place to snorkel!

​

We chilled at the beach for awhile and see another boat come in, not to the dock, but to the area they had told us to snorkel in...it looked like it was ready to eat up any snorkelers in their way.

I have to admit, traveling during COVID is absolutely amazing! Not many people around and it makes for a good beach day every time we have been somewhere during our travels during the pandemic.

​

I went around to take some pictures of this place while the hubby ended up having to go up to the bar to get us another pop. Edwin had left us high and dry and never did come back to "serve us the rest of the day". So much for their advertisements online to be the best snorkeling spot and the best friendly service on the island...neither were true!

I was pretty much over being here at this point. The service wasn't the greatest, the pool was cold, the snorkeling was crappy and the constant dodging of boats just ticked me off. I was ready to leave. As you can probably tell, this isn't a place I would ever consider returning to again.

​

I took one last picture of my scuba girl for the road...

A picture of the entrance as we were leaving...

Also, there were plenty of buzzard's around picking at the trash

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Well, as you can probably tell from the review and my last comments on this place, it wasn't one of my favorite beaches in Cozumel. 

​

I know they can't control the temps of the pool and they are not about to heat it, so not their fault. It was clean and it was really big and did have a nice swim up bar. 

​

The service was ok, but they did leave us hanging once we moved to the beach and we ended up getting our own drinks from the bar. It definitely wasn't what they claimed to be the best service. 

​

The snorkeling just wasn't the greatest...as they claimed it was. And the biggest factor was all the boats coming in and out non-stop. It's just dangerous! That was the major put off for this place. 

​

The grounds were very pretty and it's a pretty big beach club. So maybe others would have an entirely different experience than us. I'm not going to say "Don't go there" because that's not the case. I just personally wouldn't return for the factors listed above. It's just not the place for "our" family.