Stayed at the Melia for a week in August with one of my best friends, for our special '30th' birthday present and have to say, was very impressed.
The hotel was clean, yes the rooms smelt when you first walked in but due to humidity, you can't really expect anything else and to be honest, after the first day, didn't notice it all. Thought the beach was lovely, probably because so many people stayed at the pool for the holiday (we swam in the sea every day as it was so warm) It was slightly seaweedy but what can you do about nature and you didn't have to go far to get clear water.
Food - well, it was pretty awful but hey, was all included? We ate out almost every night in town and just had lunch & breakfast at the hotel. Just found the hotel food incredibly bland - but I also noticed that throughout Cozumel, and wondered if they play it safe and don't spice things at all with all the tourists they have there.
Drinks - all high end brands which surprised me, and extremely strong - learnt very quickly to stick to the local beer as much as possible otherwise the next day wasn't too much fun!
All in all, found the staff to be fabulous, always happy & eager to help. Nothing was too much trouble and every recommendation they gave us was absolutely first class. We went diving with their recommended diving school (who, were superb, very simple, no big boats, so no big groups, real personal service) went riding on the beach and through the 'jungle' as they called it, but again fabulous.
Will be going back to Cozumel hopefully next summer and would definitely stay at the Melia again as I feel most of the semi-negatives were pretty generic for Cozumel and not just the Melia.

A week of Hell.
Our room was filthy and had insects crawling on the bed & bathroom sink.
Hotel staff was uncaring and never followed up to see if our problem was resolved.

Food was terrible.
The only good thing I can say is that the waiters were very friendly and caring. None of the waiters were allowed to wear watches? I couldn't tell when it was time for me to meet with the tour group.
Will never return to that hotel.

Spend a week in hell. Hotel management were rude when told about the rooms being dirty.
Food was terrible. Bit by bugs in the bed. Will never go back there again.

We had a family reunion totaling 21 people. From the airport to check in, we we're handled professionally. The front desk personnel were very acccomodating and knew what we wanted. Our daughter, grandson and son-in-law were bumped off their Delta flight in Atlanta and had to spend the night. Delta screwed them over royally but when they arrived at the Melia, the staff set them up in one of the honeymoon suites to make up for the inconvienence. It was their 1st anniversary and the Melia made it memorable.
The food was buffet style and they had a different theme every day. They recovered from the hurricane by making improvements from years past. The main dinner area is now air conditioned, but it could still be made cooler. In August, it's hot and humid. Overall, the food was pretty good but it could use a bit more spicing up. The table servers were the high points of each meal. They were attentive and went way beyond expectations of the staff.
Swimming out front of the hotel was not the best. The water was cloudy, full of kelp so you can't see where you're stepping. You usually step on large rocks for the first 20 to 30 yards. The best place to go swimming is at the hotel on the other side of the pier on the left. The other hotel doesn't mind us using their beach as long as we don't use their chairs. The fish viewing was spectacular.
Overall, the stay was most satisfactory. We stayed in the towers where the room staff went out of their way to make us happy. The down side was one of the two elevators was broken and the waits were long.
I would highly reccomend the Melia for a satisfying rest.
Oh yeah..the scuba diving was the best, try it.