We stayed at the Melia Cozumel from Jan 31 to Feb 7, 2004, using a timeshare trade via RCI (for comparison, we own a February studio room week at Continental Plaza Playacar in Playa del Carmen).RoomWe had room 504 in the 12 story tower. Each floor in the tower has eight rooms (501-508, for example). We did not get to see any other rooms in the resort so we do not know if our experience was typical, but the room was the most disappointing thing about our stay. The room was in the middle of the floor, directly opposite the elevators. The room had a balcony with chairs, kitchenette/dining area with table and chairs and cabinets for clothes, separating wall with big picture window in it between kitchenette and bedroom area, queen size bed, small bathroom. The original construction of the room was somewhat shabbily done (very noticeable flaws in workmanship in floor tile placement, door frames, etc.). The paint on the cabinets, walls, etc. was old and needed to be redone. Overall the entire room needed remodeling. I opened one of the vents into the air conditioner and noticed a lot of dust and mold. The room itself was clean and livable. During our first night there, we had a hard time staying asleep because of the noise. The marble floors carry the sound from floor to floor, so any little drop on the floor or chair scrape is greatly magnified to the floor below. Also, the doors to the rooms all have springs on them to close them, and when the other rooms on our floor would slam closed, it would wake us up every time. The balcony and the view were wonderful, with a great view of the ocean  this was the best part about the room. The rooms were cleaned daily by the maids, who would occasionally leave nice flowers and sculptures of the towels on our bed (swans, or hearts).BeachThe beach has lots of palapas and palm trees for shade, and very nice lounge chairs for laying around in the shade or sun. The beach faces northeast, so the sun for the entire day is coming from behind the resort s buildings, and you have to face away from the ocean to get the sun. There is plenty of sand outside of the water on the beach, but depending on where you go into the water, you may find lots of rocks, sand, or turtle grass (seaweed) growing on rocky areas, so you have to watch your step. The turtle grass (a flat broadleaf grass here, not sure if truly turtle grass or not) starts growing in the area immediately in front of the resort, and continues to grow more and more the further north of the resort you walk up the beach. Grass that has broken off from wave action will daily wash up on the shore here and has to be cleaned from the beach every morning by the resort, which they faithfully do. The beach is nice for sunning, relaxing, doing some water activities such as kayaking, swimming, and some snorkeling, but it is not good for wading out in because of the rocks and grass, and there are better places for snorkeling or diving (the water can get cloudy here). If you snorkel here, go immediately out from the pool bar area and look at the rock structures just off shore  lots of fish hang out around these. But the water is cloudy  if you want clear water, you have to go out near the marker buoys in deeper water. Also, when we wandered out on the pier next to the Cozumeleño Resort next door to the south, we noticed a lot of jellyfish in the water, and sure enough, I got hit by one while snorkeling, and still have a big welt on my arm from it. The best part about the beach for us was just being there, near the water, we really enjoyed just hanging out.Restaurants/All-InclusiveThere are three places to eat at this all-inclusive resort. As time share owners (not sure if everyone can do this), we could purchase as many days as we wanted, and the more days we bought the cheaper the daily rate gets. We purchased 5 days and then ate in town the other 2 days we were there. It was definitely worth it to do the all-inclusive, and we would do it again.La Isla  this is the indoor buffet restaurant, and the largest of the three. Breakfasts were very good, with 6 different juices, drink service by waiters, 10 different buffet items at each meal, a separate salad/fruit bar area, and a made-to-order grill for pancakes, eggs, etc at breakfast or grilled meats for lunch or dinner. All meals had at least one or two regional (Yucatan or Mayan) items on the buffet, with the rest being American or continental  but nothing that we Americans would consider  Mexican (tacos, enchiladas, etc.  never saw these). The regional items seemed exotic but once you tried them were enjoyable. I would consider the buffet to be average food quality, much like eating at any other chain restaurant s buffet in the USA. We thought the desserts were the best part of this restaurant, with flan, apple pie, tiramisu, strudels, cheese cakes, etc. all very good. We did not eat dinner here, but walked through a couple times during dinner and it looked similar in quality to the lunches.La Iguana  this is the outdoor grill, which provides snack and grill items during lunch time, and then converts to a sit-down outdoor restaurant during dinner. During lunch you can get grill-type sandwiches, plus a small buffet with salad/fruit items. We had chips and guacamole as a snack from here several times, and it was very good. We ate dinner here once, and my wife had a good meal but mine was so-so. This restaurant has three seatings at 7, 8 and 9 pm, and you have to reserve your seat at the concierge.Paraiso  this is the fancy, sit-down, multi-course restaurant. It has 4 seatings at 6, 7, 8, and 9 pm and you have to reserve at the concierge. We always did the 6 pm seating and had no trouble getting in when we reserved by 8:00 am. The 7 and 8 pm seatings are the popular ones because they are right before the show in the theatre at 9 pm. We ate 4 dinners here, and apart from a few courses enjoyed it very much. Each night is a different theme (Italian, French, etc.). The menu is different each night, with 2 to 4 selections in each course, and the menu stays the same each week (Fridays are always the French menu, for example). We felt we were treated special here by the waiters and left tips each night for them.Bars  we do not drink, so we cannot comment too much on the alcohol, but we did have soft drinks and non-alcoholic mixes, such as Bahama Mamas or Coladas without the alcohol. The quality of the drink we got depended on the particular bartender and the busyness of the bar at the time. If all you want is water or a soft drink or beer on tap, there are self-serve dispensers at La Iguana for these, which is pretty convenient.Activities/ShowsWe did not do any of these, and the only  activity we did do was to use our own snorkel gear that we brought with us. There appears to be lots to do if you want to be active here  snorkel, volleyball, swimming pool activities, a gym with exercise equipment, tennis courts, kayaks, wind surfing, sunfish sailing boats, jetski (extra cost), massages (extra cost), etc. The nightly show at 9 pm in the theatre was described to us by another guest here as a glorified high school production  but since we did not go, we cannot comment on that. If it had been earlier in the night we might have gone but we are early to bed people. Anyway, they do a different theme every night (tropical, disco, broadway, Mexican, etc.).Facilities/General AtmosphereThe overall facilities at the resort were clean, well constructed (unlike our room), well-kept. We even saw them re-painting some outdoor walls while we were there. There is slight wear and tear that is evident as this is an older resort, but overall it s very presentable. The landscaping is very well done. If you are the type that looks for Disney-like perfection, you won t find it here, but this is probably one of the best facilities on the island from what we have seen and read. The overall atmosphere of the place was very laid back, casual. The workers at the resort for the most part were friendly, although we did run into the occasional one that was not. Check-in/check-out was smooth, no hassles. They did seem to have trouble keeping up with our demand for bottled water  we went by the front desk and always asked for another set of bottles, and sometimes they did not have it. I guess they mostly expect folks to be going to the bars. But we greatly enjoyed the deck with chairs overlooking the beach activities area and the ocean  we loved to sit out there at night and just take it all in, what a beautiful setting.Rest of IslandThe town of San Miguel is oriented to cruise ships that arrive daily to the multiple cruise ship docks. Local folks told us that as many as 8 ships at a time can be in port, and that middle of the week is the worst. It s best to avoid the town during the week unless you like lots of tourist activity. Sunday and Monday are the best days to visit town to avoid the crowds, per the local folks. We like snorkeling, and went to the Chankanaab park and the Playa Corona beach club just south of Chankanaab, both of which we enjoyed very much. We also ate at Jeanie s Waffle House for breakfast (which was so-so), and at Chen Rio on the east coast for a very early dinner (excellent fresh seafood right on the beach, closes at 4:30, only serves lunch). We enjoyed our tour of the island in our run-down VW Beetle one-day rental!Overall RatingWe would rate the resort an 8 out of 10 overall, with the following breakout: Room  6 out of 10  Beach  8 out of 10  Restaurants/All-Inclusive  9 out of 10  Activities  8 out of 10  Facilities/Atmosphere  9 out of 10 The location (island, location of resort on it, things to do, etc.) is about an 8 out of 10 also.

Well, we got back Jan. 28. And had a wonderful time! Spent 7 nights and wish it could have been 365 nights. The staff was very friendly, the room very very comfortable, the ocean was heavenly! We loved the water and the beach. Every morning early, they cleaned the beach of sea weed and debris from the ocean. The water was clean and clear and warm! The food was very good and the drinks were outstanding. The Best Margaritas!!! And a very good Mud Slide. Will plan to go back again.

Four of us stayed there the week of Jan. 17 to 24/04. We had a terrific time, enjoyed the stay very much. We found the accommodation satisfactory (a little damp due to the humidity but not much anyone can do about the weather). The rooms were always very clean. The complementary coffee/juice/pastries arrived every morning at exactly the time we requested. The beach was cleaned every morning and there were always lots of lounge chairs when we finally made it to the beach in the afternoon after golfing in the mornings. The staff were very courteous, helpful and certainly went out of their way to make us feel welcome. The food was very good, there was always a variety in the buffet and the a la carte restaurants had excellent choices. The only down side we found with the buffets was that the food was warm, not hot. We golfed most days and the course was every bit as challenging as we expected. We had pre-booked our tee times and after an initial mix up with names on our first day we had all the tee times we pre-booked.
Overall this was a very enjoyable holiday and we would go back in a flash!

Stayed here in 2001 and really enjoyed the place. The beach was in great condition and we took advantage of all the free stuff we could do at the hotel. Shows at night were wonderful and colorful with audience participation many nights. The food was OK. Not great, but it is an all inclusive and I got what I expected. The staff was very friendly. Many did not speak much English but then again, I am in their country so that is my problem. It actually made for unique conversations and all the encounters were positive with everyone. My only negative was the room was damp. Lots of moisture and accumulation of water. Clothes were always damp. I didn't find that good at all. It was that way our entire stay. The food in their gourmet restaurant was fantastic. Wake up early and book it every other day for a change in the food.