My husband and I stayed at Melia Cozumel 3/25 to 4/5/2008 and had a wonderful vacation. The reviews I read prior to our departure were very helpful. I hope some of our commentary is helpful to you, too.

Room: The ocean view room was most definitely worth the extra money -- waking each morning with spectacular views of the Caribbean was incredible. We were on the 10th floor and booked an M-Experience reservation. With M-Experience you have access to a 'travel assistant' at nearly all times. Your 'travel assistant' will assure you have whatever you need during your stay. Veronica made dinner reservations and expedited our check-in and out process. She was great! The room was always impecably clean (thanks and kudos to Lorena). The bath towels were some of the finest I have experienced ay any hotel. We also had wireless internet connection included in our room

Food: I have read several other reviews mentioning the food -- I would say the buffet dinners were mediocre at best. There was plenty of variety so you could always find something pleasing to your palate. However, there were a couple of nights I saw children eating cold cereal -- there were not often alot of kid-friendly choices on the buffet, especially true for picky eaters. Good news, the hotel is willing to accomodate any special request within reason. The food was often cool to slightly warm at service from the buffet.. Unfortunately and somewhat ironically, the worst meal was the mexican buffet. We found the reservation restaurants to have higher quality meals with exceptional service. That said, we did venture into town for several dinners for some variety and to sample the local cuisine. I'd recommend Guido's, and Prima has an exceptional wine list but only average food.

Water: The hotel advised NOT to drink the tap water. We found the quantity of bottled water supplied by the hotel was inadequate and in such small portions (11oz bottles). We requested 'extra' water, but did not regularly receive it. We found it more convenient to go to the grocery store and purchase larger bottles of water (5 liters = $1.25). Chedraui, the large grocery store, was only a $15 cab round trip and well worth the effort.

Currency: We have travelled many times to other destinations in Mexico but have never encountered a destination where using American currency was not only easy but preferred. We did not exchange any money and did not find it necessary to use the ATM (located on hotel grounds). There did not to seem to be much advantage to exchange rate as in our other Mexican vacations. Bring American currency in various denominations, especially smaller bills, and you'll be fine.

Bars: We met MANY exceptional bar staff during our stay. David was among the finest. He provided top quality service and spoke excellent English. Enrique and Felipe were also top quality. We did bring our own insulated travel-style tumblers as recommended in previous reviews. The drinks stayed much cooler and were filled to capacity. If you wish a brand-label liquor, just ask -- it will be poured if it is available.

Beach: I've read reviews of 'murky water' in front of hotel, but it was exceptionally clear during our stay. The staff is up very early to clear the beach of washed-up sea weed/grasses. The beach is cleaned and tidied every evening. The hotel next door has better waters for snorkeling with greater variety of sea life. In front of Melia, we found more seashells and saw an adequate range of sea life. About 15 minute walk down the beach (toward El Cozumeleno) is an exceptional bay for snorkeling, too. Next year we plan to return and do some scuba diving -- hear the reefs are amazing. For this year, we found the snorkeling to be amazing! I swam next to a few barracuda which kind of frightened me until I learned that they RARELY harm humans. What I did learn is that they are attracted to shiny items, like jewelry. I also read reviews of 'sand fleas' -- though we did have a couple of insect bites, it was not a significant problem for us.

Tipping: The resort information on internet indicated tipping is included in fees. HOWEVER, even small tipping is MOST appreciated and well deserved. We generally tipped $1 to $2 dollars at the bars, $2 at meals, $5 for baggage handlers and a couple of dollars/day for housekeeping. For our 12 day stay, we brought about $100/person in $1 bills -- it was sufficient. I can not stress enough how meaningful tipping is to the staff and they certainly earn it. PLEASE, offer gratuities -- it is a reflection on the appreciation of the attention and services of the dedicated staff. TIP, for heavens sake, when the service is deserving (which it almost always is).

Overall: Melia was a fantastic vacation for us. We were looking for a restful and relaxing stay with activities as we desired. Our room was great and the entire staff is pleasant and most helpful. They really desire your stay to be everything you wish. A little Spanish knowledge goes a long way in Cozumel -- seemingly more so than in other Mexican resorts we've visited. We will be planning a return trip next year and already looking forward to it.

We returned a week ago from a weeks stay at the Melia. The service was wonderful and the resort was very clean. We had a junior suite oceanview room with remarkable views. There are three buildings of rooms. The "tower" held the suites with oceanviews and one building had ocean views and the other had garden views. I highly recommend an ocean view. The resort was full but never seemed to be overcrowded. There was an adult pool that was never crowded, and an activities pool that was a bit more crowded, but never crazy. The breakfast buffet was wonderful, with fresh fruit and made to order omelets every morning. During the lunch hours, the grill was perfect for hamburgers, fries, and quesadillas while the buffet offered many choices. The dinner buffet had themed nights with the best being the Italian night and the Oriental night. If you want to eat in the restaurants that require a reservation, you will need to get up early and make your reservations. I was down and in line by 6:45am to do that. The service and food in La Paraiso was wonderful. The grounds were kept very clean. The beach offered wonderful, soft sand, but there was a little bit of kelp that washed in. This was raked up each morning, but still existed somewhat during the day. If you like snorkeling, you can walk next door to the resort and snorkel out front of that hotel. The resort was the perfect size. Spread out enough that you could get away, but not so large that you couldn't find someone. The resort is a 5 minute taxi ride to town costing about $5-8. For the price we paid, this resort was perfect for what we were looking for.

Very dissapointed. This was our second trip to the Melia Cozumel. Had requested to stay in the tower during our reservation. (We had booked two rooms; we were traveling with our in-laws to help with the kids.) When we arrived we were told the tower was extra money, even though it was listed in our reservation. The Hotel management refused to budge. We were not given adjoining rooms (also requested in reservation). Finally after two days they moved us to adjoining rooms. The rooms had only one bed each. Since we had seven in our party (4 adults - 3 children) this proved very uncomfortable. Again Hotel staff not very accomidating.

The hotel seems run down, and not properly maintained. Rooms had a musty smell. The food selection also not as good as our trip here three years ago.

One positive - the restaurant and bar staff were very friendly and helpful.

Got into big argument with Hotel management at check-out. Needless to say, we will not be returning to the Melia cozumel

We stayed at the Melia Cozumel Resort, from March 29th to April 5th 2008. My wife & I just loved this resort. We booked a junior suite through our travel agent localally. When we arrived at the Melia, the front desk was very helpful in getting us checked in,& also with any questions we had about the resort. Genny at the front was very personable & profesionnal, look for her if you need anything. We were totally blown away with our room. It was very spacious & very well appointed with a kitchenette, a four poster king size bed, two flat screen televisions, & a jacuzzi tub on the balcony facing the ocean. WOW!!!! It was the type of room you never want to leave, the room was just beautiful. The food was average, not great but not horrible either. Just very repeatitious for both breakfast & lunch, while the dinners were different & had a theme every night. You may be better off going into town for lunch or dinner to eat a couple of times during your stay. The gruonds are very well maintained. Staff are constantly working hard here & are very nice to the tourists. Both the adult pool & the kids pools are cleaned first thing in the morning, as well as the beach area. The maids are always working hard, & our room was cleaned every day looking perfect when we came back after the days activities. Please tip the maids a few dollars daily as they are not paid well in Mexico. The resort bars have great bartenders who are very nice & always have a smile & a pleasant attitude. I do believe the drinks are watered down some. Nightly entertainment was very good most evenings. Mexican fiesta night is on Thursday should not be missed, & Friday night is casino night for adults. What a hoot!!!! My wife & I also did a few activities during our stay going shopping in downtown Cozumel a couple of afternoons. We also booked the Atlantis submarine tour & the jeep tours, which were both a blast . Overall the Melia is a fantastic resort with a couple of downfalls, but it is a super resort if you like a very clean & fun place to take a well deserved vacation. Thanks