We travelled independently to Mexico and booked our stay online with Expedia. We stayed 5 nights between 24 and 29th October last, which worked out at $124 per person per night for the all inclusive deal in an Ocean facing Junior suite. We felt this was very fair a price, and knowing what we now know, was good value, on the main.

We dumped our hire car in Playa del Carmen and were driven by Hertz to the Cozumel ferry terminal free of charge, which was a nice touch, since we had a truckload of bags. There are two ferry companies running the trip, we plumbed for Mexicana which runs the faster trip, and has excellent jet propelled catamarans with VERY COLD A/C! On board, there was a Hertz rep who did book us a car ahead of arrival, and though we had oodles of trouble with the cars on Cozumel (yes, we had three till we finally got satisfaction!), all in all, it's got to be done. The car made us free to do so much more. Note that scooter hire is widely available, but not recommended. Many tourists have come to serious grief on those. You'll know why when you drive a car. The city is a criss-cross of unprotected junctions, it's a nightmare. I'd rather have a lot of metal round me if I am going to come a cropper, thank you.

We arrived early (12 noon) at the Melia and fully expected to have to wait it out till 3 pm, official check in time. But no matter, we were registered, our baggage stored, and invited to use all hotel facilities including a very nice lunch on the beach. Our room was ready at 2.30 pm. We had a Junior Suite.

The room was on the 11th floor of a 12 storey building, and the views were breathtaking! Cruise ships passing like floating cities, day and night, and the bright lights of Playa and the not so bright lights of Cancun scintillating in the night made for a very romantic sight. On the corridor side, extensive views of the island's interior were brilliant. Definitely ask for a high floor, as the room block overlooks the adult pool and was a little rowdy at times due to the all day swim-up bar! and the view of course!

The room was large, but not vast. A very large King Size bed took a lot of space, and there was a small seating area with coffee table, and a table and chairs tucked in a corner. A full dressing area and closet was offset from the living accommodation, and there was a full bath, which was on the very small side, and very cosy indeed! That would be my only criticism of the room. The bathroom was just so out of place with the rest. Everything worked, A/C, safe, cable tv, hot and cold running water etc. There was a small balcony with a couple of plastic chairs and a drinks table, which we did not use much but for drying out swimming and diving gear.

Our minibar was empty, bar 2 cans of Sprite, I had seen the maid down the corridor and ran out with a couple of bucks to ask for a full re-fill. Spanish definitely helps here, as beyond the reception desk, bar, and bellboy stations, very little English is understood past the most simple words, and they do so appreciate it. No later than 5 minutes, she was back with a load of cokes, water, beers and we never had to ask again, every day, we were full up with refills of whatever we had taken out. Important notice: the water in the rooms is not purified. Do not drink it, or brush your teeth with it. The hotel provides bottled water for this, use it!

Next day, hubby came down with Montezuma's revenge, and was none too bright. The maid knocked on the door to ask if the room was free for servicing, and I had to explain our predicament in Spanish. She very kindly asked if there was anything she could bring, and I said, yes, lots more Sprite would be nice. In no time at all she came back with an arm load of the stuff, and told me not to worry about the room and just call the maid station whenever we were ready to let her in to clean. Soon re-hydrated and a lot brighter, we were up and firing on all cylinders again and out of the room by 2 pm. On our return, what a surprise to see on our bed our entire towel complement built in the most exquisite creation of kissing swans and scattered flower petals. Bless her! It made our day after a very unpromising start. Everyday thereafter we had a menagerie of other creations waiting for our return!

The food in the main restaurant was uninspiring I must say, or rather, inconsistent, sometimes ok, sometimes I was struggling to find anything that looked remotely edible. Some very strange concoctions (and I have travelled a bit in some very dubious places and even shared a goat dinner with bedouins under a tent in the desert) swimming in sauces or gravies in heated help yourself containers were most unappealing, and reminded me of school dinners. I survived dinner time with soup, vegetables, rice and bread. We ate all our lunches that the beach snack bar restaurant which had a list of tame and safe favourites like hot dogs and burgers, and daily more adventurous specials, like fajitas and burritos. That was ok. Our biggest disappointment was the specially booked lobster dinner at the Paradiso reservation only restaurant, where service was conveyor belt style and ration controlled (we had to beg for a refill of wine!), and the lobster, well, like rubber and not very edible, obviously cooked some time before we arrived and simply reheated. I'd say, don't bother. The lobster restaurant down the road is heads and shoulders above, and at least, cooks to order as you order, not a day in advance.

Breakfast was ok, but not very varied. The fruit was good however.

Having the car allowed us to trip out every day, visit the whole island, play the tourist in town and go diving with our operator of choice.

Diving was ok, but hey, please, good visibility and exilerating drift diving does not make the place a world class diving destination.

Give me the Red Sea, Bonaire or the Maldives any day, and for diving, that's where I am going back next for the umpteenth time! I found the life sparse (where is the fish?), the corals tired, the sponges puny, the very much hyped up Palancar site lack-lustre and awfully damaged. But then, when you have 10 boats averaging 15 divers moored on the same site day in and day out, that's what you get. No wonder our divemaster was shipping out to Thailand, I could see his point somehow. I got bored after 4 dives, imagine it being your job! Sorry non divers, but as Cozumel is supposedly a world diving destination, I had to get this in. I have had better dives, supremely better dives, in the Floriday keys, and even in the UK's cold and dark waters!

A final word, THAT BEACH! We're not beach people so it did not worry us, but I can see the point made by those who came specifically for this feature. It is not a place for swimming. Period. I walked a good 1 mile and a half north of the hotel, and saw was the problem is. Very healthy sea grass grows in the shallows, which is a fantastic habitat for small fish and crustacians, and at every storm, gets ripped from the bottom and floats away. Guess what? The property next door have built a long concrete jetty, which stops this brown stuff landing on their beach. The local currents make is so that the jetsam stays close into shore, and so litters the Melia every time, but not the property next door. You could see where the current ran like the cut of a knife. Blue to brown, and no mixing! We went swimming next door every afternoon. They don't mind, as long as you don't use their sunbeds and that's jolly decent of them.

Verdict on the Melia? Very good location, not too far from town, not too close to it. Rooms were great, service perfect (apart from our sad adventure to the reservation only Paradiso), our room location was splendid, room service and attention to detail excellent. Food can do with improving in the main restaurant. I gave it an above average because overall, we had a great time there and the overall experience was super. Had we been less happy with our mood, it would have got a 3 star rating only because of the failings described.