After reviewing others' reviews of the hotel I was a bit nervous, but everything turned out great! The price was right and for what we paid I was satisfied. We booked through Apple Vacations and chose to do the all-inclusive option. Upon arrival at check-in, we were given a ground floor room, which we did not want. After a few minutes they upgraded us for FREE to the Royal Service Tower with an ocean-view room. It was great. The hotel did lack in entertainment, but it's Cancun - go downtown!! I have a ton of photos and if you want more info just let me know!

Paid for what we got. All restaurants and buffets in hotel are poor. Common area such as lobby, lounges, and restaurants are not air conditioned.

This was our second time staying at the Gran Melia. Room was very nice (upgraded to an ocean view). No problems/delays at check-in. The hotel was relatively empty, which for us is not a bad thing! However, there was only one restaurant open the entire week.

I've read some complaints about the heat, humidity, etc. Remember folks, this is Cancun. Tropical weather practically all year round. If you don't like tropical weather, vacation in Colorado. =) Most areas of the hotel are relatively comfortable. I agree that the bathrooms in the main loby area should be air conditioned. I used them once and it was like a sauna!

The vacation club (timeshare) people will offer an orientation (free breakfast or lunch, and other incentives in exchange for 90+ minutes of your time) almost as soon as you walk in the door. You sort of get the feeling you do when walking onto a car dealership -- eyes are on you and there's some serious analysis going on! Plain and simple; if you're not interested, don't waste your time or theirs. If you're in it for the free stuff, just remember that these are very good sales people and you may walk out a proud vacation club member! If you are clear about not being interested from the beginning (at least at this hotel) they will generally leave you alone.

Especially in the evening, the hotel is spectacular. In the daytime, awesome pools and amazing beach for relaxing and wading in the water, but not great for serious swimmers -- rocky and heavy undertow.

Our only gripe was the inconsistent service. For us it was never exceptional, but ranged from very good to really bad, depending on the waiter, etc. I would settle for "good", consistent service across the board any day. Having an impassive waiter ignore you or treat you like he's doing you a favor by bringing you another drink when you're spending so much of your hard-earned cash is frustrating. It certainly wasn't always this way, but in my opinion, when you're paying that kind of money, it should NEVER be. My advice is, speak out if you are not getting the good service you are paying for.

La Isla (The Island) outdoor mall is a short bus ride away and a very cool place - especially at night. Plenty of places on the boardwalk, right next to the water to eat and drink. There is also an aquarium that houses dolphins and a neat restaurant overlooking the main dolphin exhibit.

Hope the review was helpful.

Every October we take a short vacation to celebrate my birthday, and this was one of our best trips! Due to the time of year, the economy, and the flu outbreak, resorts in Mexico are at about a 45% occupancy rate. We've heard from other travelers that this will work to your advantage and the resorts will really cater to their guests. This was absolutely true during our 4 days at the Melia. The staff was very welcoming and friendly during our check in. Although the vacation timeshare people had a desk in the main lobby, they didn't hound us with offers. We listened and politely told them we were'nt interested, and they (pretty much) didn't continue to bother us. We did the all inclusive All For You package, and were upgraded to a room in tower 5- the Royal Service tower. This gave us a breakfast, mid day snack and evening cocktails in the atrium of that tower. We could also use the private pool. The atriums, rooms and pool areas truly look like they do on the wedsite. At night, the atriums are breathtaking! The common areas that aren't airconditioned are hot, as others have said, but its Mexico and 90 degrees outside, so it is what it is. Don't be afraid to eat the sushi in the main atium. In spite of the heat, its very fresh and very good. The sushi lounge is tranquil and zen- like and deserves a visit every night. We ate most of our other meals at La Veranda, sometimes off of the menu, sometimes the buffet. Either way the food is good and there is nice variety to chose from. The all inclusive is a good value and i highly recommend it- especially if you're only in Cancun for a few days and don't have much time to explore. We were disappointed to find out that Tempo and Kunah (the two fine dining restaurants) were closed until the end of November. Also, 2 of the towers were closed as well as the pool with the swim up bar. This was all due to the low occupancy. However, the staff went the extra mile to make our stay fabulous. A special, private dinner was arranged on our last night there. This was when we celebrated my birthday and it couldn't have been anymore perfect. Valeria, in food and beverage, Mr. Coto, the Manager of Tempo Restaurant, Alfredo, the bartender at the poolside bar, Angie, at the front desk-ALL made us feel like we were the only guests there. And don't worry about drinking the water!! We drank bottled water, but got ice in our other drinks. No problem. We also ate just about everything in sight. Again, no problem. But keep in mind, we didn't eat or drink outside the resort. We ventured out only one night to visit the two malls that are nearby. We took the bus that you can get in front of the hotel. It's a bargin at 7.50 pesos (55 cents). Beware- they drive like maniacs and when you press the button for the driver to stop, get off quickly! The outdoor mall is nice and even has a Starbucks, if you need a good cup of coffee. The coffee at the hotel isn't the best. As for the beaches, it's sad but true. They almost don't exist. But the good news is, the Mexican Government is planning on starting restoration next year. We went into the water, up to our knees-how can you resist the warm, aqua blue Carribean? But it's very rough and you go in at your own risk. Spending the day at the beautiful pools is an easy tradeoff. So, stay at the Melia. We'll certainly be back.