In all fairness, some of this won't apply to straight couples.
Universally, the Manager was uninterested in putting the guests needs first. The food was ok, not great. The rooms lacked basics like alarm clock, working applicances & working air conditioning. Because of the air conditioning issues, the floors are constantly wet. There were bugs by the shower because of the mold issues. The positives, the property is big and the beach out front is nice.

My girlfriend and I had to switch hotels because of the harassment we received from the staff. I asked to have the room changed to one with a king bed. That didn't happen, and boy was i made to be sorry for the days to follow. They did change the room to another because the tv and other fixtures didn't work. But it had 2 double beds. I doubt that a straight couple with one or both persons heavy and couldn't fit in a double, would have received the same treatment.

We stayed in the room and gave up asking the front desk for anything. They didn't answer the phone, the hotel lost power constantly, and it seemed they told our request of having a single bed to other staff members. We were harassed about our request from several staff members. Even ones that weren't working that day decided to ask us about how our room was, and they heard there was a problem with our bed. After the bugs, and the power outages, I had enough. it cost money, but I had to leave the hotel. Even the guys trying to sell time share felt the need to let us know how un-gay friendly mexico is. We moved to the Cozumel Hotel and Resort. The food wasn't great, but everything else was. They even had internet available, free wifi. Rooms were updated, and had the basics- plus. Melia had 4 restaurants, but in general the staff thinks they are doing you a favor when you make requests.
I will not forget the experience. This hotel needs a facelift.

This part of Mexico also has a terrible methane smell. I didn't have that oder from the other hotel.
Honestly, for the money, you lose out. You can spend the same and get more at a different hotel.

Another warning- you will get ripped off by cab drivers, right to your face. That happens everywhere, just ask the price before you get in. You can always get another cab.

Also, right off the plane, there are people there who say they don't work for the hotel, but want to save you money. It is for time share in their hotels. You don't seem to be given a choice, as you are directed by the airport personell directly to them as if they are airline personel. If you see them start drawing on the map on how much tickets for the ruins cost and car rentals, be ready for the offer. They want you to spend money and hours at their hotel to hear their pitch. In my case, it was off the island and would have incurred me paying them for the coupons and laying out all the cab and ferry fare. I declined, as you get your vouchers after you endure the whole thing and shoot a morning to hell. we didn't have that much time.

so- Melia Cozumel hates gays, and americans, oh and has a mold problem, appliances don't work and are missing. power goes off at least two times per day, and the telephones don't work to call the front desk. at least not in the rooms we were in.
the staff will not put your needs first, as even a days inn would.
but the beach is nice, and having 4 choices to eat isn't bad.
methane smell is hard to ignore. drinks are watered down, but thats usual in all all inclusives.

thankfully, we had a good time at the Cozumel Hotel and Resort and recovered our vacation.

We just got back from our 10th wedding anniversary celebration at the Melia Cozumel. Seven days of sun, water, tropical drinks, good food, scuba, and NO KIDS (thanks Grandma for watching them).

This was our 4th time to the Melia since first visiting in '06, and it just keeps getting better. It's not the Ritz-Carlton, but for the price the food, drinks, rooms, entertainment & events, and SERVICE are wonderful.

We enjoyed the buffet dinning (huge selection), but be sure to go to the Cafe Paraiso deluxe restaurant once or twice (make reservations early in the morning before they fill up). The food at the snack bar is fine, and it's a nice break so sit by the beach and eat outdoors. The rooms are comfortable and well-maintained. The pools are clean and pretty (but sometimes cold). The drinks are nothing special (but hey, they're unlimited!). The beach at the Melia is rocky and not the best for swimming or snorkeling, but if you walk 100 yards to the El Coz just south of the Melia you will find what you need (and it appears to be fine to go use the beach).

The staff are really what make the difference--they really went out of their way to make us feel special. We really got to know the entertainment staff and enjoyed spending time just hanging out.

If you leave the resort, be sure to devote at least a day to rent a car or scooter and hit the East side of the island (the beaches are beautiful and isolated--lots of nice beachfront restaurants). The downtown square is a fun place to try some authentic Yucatan-food and see street performers and singers.

One thing is for sure: we are going back!

We stayed at the Melia from 12/8-12/15. The service was impeccable. The staff was very friendly and accommodating and would bend over backwards to help out. The only exception was the front desk personnel who were not very friendly or knowledgeable. My boyfriend and I had booked the M experience, which means we should have been able to make reservations at the "fancy" restaurant, El Paraiso the night before so as to avoid the lines in the morning. However, the front desk seemed to be unfamiliar with this and we found ourselves having to explain it to them. I found this strange. They also gave us a hard time about the fact that we removed our all-inclusive "bracelets" the day after we arrived because the bracelet scratched me.

The rest of the staff were exceptional, especially the bartenders and servers in all the restaurants and the buffet. They were always asking us if we needed anything before we even had a chance to ask them. The food at La Isla was ok for a buffet; some days were worse than others, but I was always able to find something to eat. The food is not anywhere near outstanding, but if you are not that picky, you will be fine. I subsisted on mostly omelets, some form of potatoes, and burgers from La Iguana Grill all week. You can't really expect more from an all-you-can-eat buffet. We ate at El Paraiso twice; the atmosphere is nice but the food is highly overrated.

I booked the M experience mostly for the room, after reading some not-so-good reviews about the other rooms. The room was very nice with a beautiful ocean view and was cleaned daily, although the housekeeping staff informed us that there was no scheduled time for their service. This meant that we would sometimes come back to an uncleaned room after being out for the morning. It does get humid in the room, especially if you leave the balcony door open. Just make sure to have the fan going when you're out of the room.

The resort's two swimming pools were not a high point of the stay. The adult pool was too cold, and I hardly saw anyone go in all week. The activities pool was better. They have a free scuba diving lesson at that pool at nine every morning, which my boyfriend took advantage of. You can also sign up for horseback riding at the activities pool desk for $20 per person. El Cozumeleno next door has a great pool and spas (which Melia does not have), and we snuck over one day to use them. It is much better than the Melia's pools if you can stand all the kids.

Like the other reviewers have said, the water in front of Melia is not clear and blue like at El Cozumeleno next door. However, El Coz has a VERY rocky beach which can be awful if there are any waves. For snorkeling, we went to Chankanaab.

Stay away from the nightly "shows" in the auditorium, unless you are a fan of extremely cheesy and embarrassing displays. Also avoid the timeshare people in the lobby. They will offer you free tickets to Chankanaab and Punta Sur, but you have to sit through a 90-minute seminar. My boyfriend and I were not willing to go to the seminar at 8:30 a.m., plus after hearing some other horror stories, we thought it would be less troublesome to just avoid it altogether.

Overall, our stay was very pleasant and I would recommend the Melia to anyone who is planning a trip to Cozumel. Of course there are always downsides to every hotel, but the good things about the Melia far outweighed the bad. I would definitely return.

Booked this resort as an exchange through RCI. We picked Melia beacuse the all-inclusive was optional, although we ended up buying thepackage anyway. We were upgraded to a junior suite with partial kitchenette (which they didn't tell us until after we bought the AI), and a wonderful ocean view. The room was very clean and spacious, and we were able to open the patio doors all night to listen to the surf. Weather was perfect; mid 80's and hardly any humidity. The commentary about the brown water in front of the hotel is correct. But it's really no trouble to walk next door for awesome snorkeling. We went to Chankanaab one day and paid money to get in to snorkel there, but we decided we liked the beach in fron of El Coz better. We ate WAY too much, trying to get our money's worth. Food was okay, and sometimes very good if you are adventurous enough. I did see Monday night's dinner entree on the Wednesday morning breakfast buffet, which turned me off a little. We managed to get up early enough one morning to book the reservations only restaurant. What a joke that was! They only seat about 10 out of 25 tables, and they line you all up against a wall of windows, so that from the outside the place looks packed. Trust me, it isn't. Food was okay, but nothing spectacular. The grill was very good for burgers, guacamole, etc. Kids' activities looked pretty good and the kids I saw all seemed to be having a great time. It was nice having an adults only pool right on the beach. Beware of the pool bar; the sun will beat down on the middle of your back only and you'll end up with the weirdest sun burn ever. The worst part of the week was the cheesy night time production acts. They have fairly capable dancers, but poor productions. They dancers try hard to lip sync to American songs, and it's clear they don't speak enough English to know what they're pretending to sing. Add a bad sound system, and it's more like my kids putting on a puppet show from behind the sofa. You almost felt embarassed or sorry for the dancers. The other issue I had was the marketing, like this is some over the top exclusive resort. It's more like a Ramada Inn on the beach with a Denny's attached. If you go in with that expectation, you won't be disappointed. But if you're looking for the Ritz-Carlton, look somewhere else. If you get the chance, rent a car and drive over to the east side of the island. It's absolutely breathtaking. Also, we took the sunset lobster dinner cruise that was ao much fun. The food was excellent, and the pirate show was a very pleasant surprise. I highly recommend it.