My mom and I returned from a 1 week stay at the Melia on Feb. 18 2008. The hotel was very nice, right up close to the beach, which is in fact the nicest beach on that side of the island. Yes the water was a weird brown colour most days, but if we wanted to swim in the ocean we just walked next door to the El Coz to snorkel. The pools were bare, most days we were one of the few in them, especially the adults only pool. The food wasn't the greatest, but hey we didn't starve, the drinks were good to us, but we aren't heavy drinkers that need tons of alcohol in our drinks. If you want more in them, just ask they are more than happy to do what you ask. Our room was the basic deluxe garden-view room we liked it, we were on the 3rd floor and had a bit of a view of the ocean, the room was always cleaned and the maid left us 2 bottles of water everyday. There was a safe in our room which we kept our valuables in, so I don't understand why people are saying there isn't one. There was no fridge though, but what we felt was more of an inconvenience was no ice machines, we bought beer in town and had no way of keeping them cold. Speaking of cold the air-conditioning wasn't cold enough??? As if, my mom had 3 blankets on the bed and most nights we either shut it off or put it on low beacause it was toooo cold! The staff here aren't the friendliest of the resorts I have been too, but by the end of the week some would say hi. WE went on the jeep tour one day, don't waste your money, the island is sooo small that you are better off just renting your own and taking your time sightseeing. We also took the ferry over to Playa Del Carmen, too busy over the there, the beach was packed, we were glad we picked Cozumel over Mayan. The weather was warm, it rained all day one day and a couple short times through the week. The entertainment obviously isnt first class but hey it was fun, and gave us something to do after dinner. Overall liked the small, close set up of this hotel, after seeing others on the island I think this was the best pick. But we preferred the pacific coast of Mexico, more sunshine and more culture, not as commercialized on the pacific coast, and we found that we liked the beaches and food in Cuba better! Enjoy your trip :)!

We had a reservation for 2/21 to 2/25 for 4 nights at the Melia, Cozumel. When we arrived we were told by the Manager that there was a mistake with our reservation and that it had been accidently cancelled. The Manager seemed very sincere and willing to do anything he could to make up for it. He said they had made reservation for us to stay at Park Royal (15 min away on other side of downtown) and that we'd get similiar room, all-inclusive, etc. Then we we return to Melia for our last 2 nights he said we'd get an upgraded room, he'd give us reservations to the on-site restaurants without having to wait in line and we could stay extra 1 1/2 hours past check-out on our last day to minimize our wait at airport. We had a very nice experience at the first hotel and then switched to Melia on Saturday around noon. When we arrived we were told they were finishing up cleaning our room but that we could take our things there and change, etc. Our room 117 was wonderful! It was located right next to the beach and had a jacuzzi tub on the deck, which we used every night. We also had a security box and our fridge was stocked with lots of water and soda. Behind our room was playground for kids, spa and restaurant. Then nearby was the other restaurant and pools. The beach was huge and made the other hotels beach look like a joke! Although there was a lot of sea grass in the water, it was still very nice and you could snorkel and swim in it. I would recommend swimming/snorkeling at the resort next door because the water was crystal clear on the other side of the pier and there are tons of fish! We thought the food was very good and the service also. The Iguana restaurant had mostly bar type food and the other one was more upscale/nicer. This resort had much more fun activities for all ages although it seemed like most guests wanted to just relax and lay on the beach rather than participate (but that is not the hotels fault...they definitely tried to find people to do them). We thought our vacation actually worked out well having chance to experience both resorts because each one had some things the other didn't so we got to try it all. The hotel and beach was never over crowded and felt very safe too. If you go shopping downtown make sure you tell them you're staying at resort and not from a cruise ship - they will charge you more if they think you're on a cruise.

My two previous stays in tropical settings have been at 5 Star resorts. As I see the Melia is a 3 Star, I could tell the difference.

I'll start with the bad and finish with the good.

The room had no safe for valuables (yet everybody warned about protecting your valuables). Called the desk and talked with hotel staff 5 times before finding out there is no safe in each room. There was a safe at one time because there was an instruction sticker on how to use the safe still stuck in the closet. If you want to lock anything up, you'll have to do it at the front desk. Just wish it didn't take so many calls to find this out.

The room had a refrigerator. It also took about 5 calls to finally find someone to tell us they don't stock it with drinks. That's OK for beer and pop, but in a country where you "Don't drink the water" I sure wish it would have been easier to have water at all times in the room. We had to take bottles to the bar and have them refilled which was a pain.

The air conditioning in the room was just barely enough. Not sure how well it would have worked had it actually been scorching outside.

The rooms I saw could use some serious updating. I didn't go to Mexico to stay in a hotel room, but they should be in better shape.

Very little hot water in the shower.

And for the good.....

Food is pretty good at all restaurants. The buffet has a nice selection changed each day so you're not grabbing the same dish day after day.

The drinks are OK....I stuck with beer, which is DOS EQUIS on tap and is the only choice. Those with me liked the mixed drinks. They don't use top shelf liquor, but it still made the grade.

The beach is nice...has soft sand. I've read many reviews talking about murky water. The water is clear, but sweeps up sand as it crashes the shore. Not sure how it couldn't be murky at times with all the sand being washed around. Swim out a little and do some digging and you'll find dozens and dozens of huge conch shells.

The staff is very friendly.

Be sure and look around the restaurant by the kids pool. There are a number of iguanas walking around that own the place!!! If you keep looking at the tip of the restaurant roof, you'll see them sunning at the top. The big orange guy is one to see.

All in all the Melia is not bad. I would recommend it as long as you know the shortcomings.

If you don't take one of the pre-planned Jeep tours...the best thing I did was rent a Jeep for 24 hours. Pay in cash and the whole deal is $101.00. That covers the Jeep rental, full coverage insurance and they'll fill up the gas tank so you don't have to. We drove around the island. There's NO way to get lost and you've got to see the surf on the East side.

You will be sorry if you stay here.

I have used Trip Advisor for years and found the advice to be very good. Based on mostly positive reviews we booked a week at this all inclusive and was very surprised at very poor quality we found at the Melia.

The very basics were in short supply, including hot water, food and beverages. 1. Four of the six days we spent there there was either no hot water or not enough water pressure to keep the shower flowing. 2. Most all inclusive reviews talk about the quality of the food. At the Melia the problem was quantity. Hard to believe, I know. But one night my wife and I had to leave and then return to the dining room later because there simply was not enough food available. 3. Most all inclusives offer guests access to some type of self serve beverges for water, juice, soda, etc. Not at the Melia. Even if you simply want a glass of water, you stand in line at the pool bar. If a kid wanted a soda they stood in line at the pool bar....and waited while the staff orders were filled for patrons eating in the dining rooms.

But the Melia did have a few things I wish it did not have, like bugs and music, or musak. I and a number of other guests were covered with red bites. The management fumigated our room as well as a number of other rooms. They insisted it was just sand fleas. Perhaps, but the bites appeared at night, not while I was out in the sand.

And oh the music! If you really like Saturday Night Fevor you will love the Melia. If you are looking for some peace and quite, definately go some other place. From 8am to 6pm the main pool area is blasted with tunes you would use for your aerobic exercise routine. If you go to the most distant corner of the beach you can almost get away from the pounding.

They are selling a sort of time share (they call it points system) and the sales person liked to refer to the positive ratings they are getting here during the sales pitch. So, I guess I'm a little skeptical of the rave reviews.

My wife and I have done all inclusive for years I would say that the Melia is by far the worst experience we have ever had. Were we to win a free week here, we would not go back.