Just got back yesteray morning about 3 am january 9th 2005!! Melia Cozumel is the best hotel ever!! ie been places like cuba, dominican, florida and out of these places melia was the best!! it was my first time in mexico and forsure not my last!! i love it there its awesome... the beach water wasnt too clear but the sand was pure white.... both the water on both sides was crystal blue..gorgeous. Food for a change was awesome, the people are awesome and soo friendly. Especially Freddy, Edgar and George they work by the motorized water sport hut.. they are soo cool get freddy to give u a banana boat ride!! :P neways to make a long story short it is beautiful and if ur looking for a great vacation in mexico i definatley recommend this hotel!!

The melia offered a lot of stuff..mainly alcohol. the bartenders were rude. (except for augustine) and grunted when asked to do their job. unfortunatelly when drunk people ask for drinks they get even more frustrated when listening to the bar tender grunt. the bar tenders add more alcohol to the drinks if u go up asking for over 10 shots, in order to get u drunk and passed out sooner.

the food: hit or miss. the iguana grill was good for dinner but during the day the chef was very rude and grunted and gave evil glares when i asked for a hamgurger and nachos. the rest of the staff, other than some of the bartenders and the evil chef were great. the waiter named exekial from the paraiso cafe was wonderful!

the beach: great place to tan. odd location of a pool beside the high rise building (didnt get sun for more than 10 minutes a day) the water was full of seaweed, but the beach is great for getting some sun...the next beach has better water and a peir to stop the seaweed from reaching that beach.

local attractions: senor frogs was fun. deffinately go drunk because the drinks are overpriced there. dancing was fun and the people are awesome. The mexican strip club was gross (paradise men's club)...unattractive women and dirty bar. try black and white men's club.

overall: the people we met were fantastic and we had an awesome time in cozumel! viva mexico!

We just returned from a 10 day stay at the Sol Melia Golf and Beach Resort in Cozumel , Mexico, ( Dec. 17th 2004-Dec 27th 2004). Overall I would rate the resort an 8 on a 1 to 10 scale. For the cost I'd give it a 9. There were 9 of us, we had 4 Junior Suites which were spacious. The Beach is nice despite the seaweed which washes up after storms. The service is great and the cleanliness of the entire place is incredible. They are always washing sweeping etc. The food was good for an all inclusive. The ala carte restaurant , Cafe Paraiso was very good for dinner. If you are a golfer which I am , the location to Cozumel Country Club and the cost to play were superb. I'd recommend this resort and would definitely return again some day.

Just returned from a one week, Dec. 18th to Dec. 25th, stay at the Melia. We didn't even decide to take a vacation until the 10th of December. So I hopped on Trip Advisor for the next two days to figure out where to go.

My wife and I have similar tastes, but I am definitely the picky one of the group. In the last couple of years we have stayed in Antigua at "Galley Bay", St. Lucia at "Sandals" and twice at "LeSport"; Turks and Caicos at "Beaches", Puerto Varata at "La Hoya De Mismoloya". Except for the first time at LeSport, I have pretty much come back with a litany of things that I would change about each place and was more than slightly disappointed by what we got for what we paid. By in large we have spent $5,000+ plus or $5,000 to $8,000 (with kids) when we have gone. I stated all that just so you can see my reference point when comparing "Melia Cozumel".

First off, after two frustrating days looking on the web trying to decide where to stay, only to have Travelocity, Expedia and etc... say we could have the room but no flights or flights with two stops, but no rooms, or one room for three nights then on to another hotel. We called our Travel Agent and helped help. We had decided to go back to Cozumel (14 years since our last visit) and told her where we would prefer to stay (Presidente, Sol Cabanas and Melia (all based on what we had seen on Trip Advisor and our desire for a smaller hotel).

What she came back with was fantastic. Non-stop from Minneapolis on Northwest Charter Flight and one week at any of the hotels we were looking for. She strongly suggested not going to Sol Cabanas. After checking one last time (Sol Cabanas got nuked by reviews that last week) we went with Melia for $4,177 for the four of us, NON-STOP.

We checked in at the MSP Airport through the Kiosk and were able to upgrade for $100.00 each and off we went.

Three hours and forty minutes we landed in Cozumel. First off taxis are not allowed to pickup at the Airport. There is a monopoly there by one company that charged $34.00 for four people and we had to wait in the van for a half hour while they filled it up with more riders. If you go, I would recommend that you walk the one block to the main drag and flag a taxi down $14.00 for four to the same hotel (I learned about that later).

We passed by a lot of hotels dropping off passengers and most were right on the road or had rooms facing the road. I hate road noise on vacation! At the Melia you drive into there property about 150 yards and none of their rooms have openings toward the road. I was pleased with the welcoming and the check-in. Our agent had told us that we would have a Garden View Room, but that she would continue to check and see if she could upgrade us to Ocean. Without me asking for it, we would up on the ninth floor with rooms right next to each other. Nice rooms, great views and the AC had the room freezing (I turned it down and it was perfect all week).

I was in a hurry to see the brown water most reviewers have commented on. Expecting to see the worst, I was surprised that it wasn't that bad, it hug the shore for about fifty yards out. From our room I could see that the next hotel over (the severely crowded very loud music El Cozumelno (couldn't hear it from our room, only when we walked over there) had gorgeous water. But, from day two on we had wind and waves from the NW, which completely cleared the brown out and by day three we had the clearest water of them all. I sat on the beach under a palm tree and watched 2 barracuda menace small schools of fish. Everyone was snorkeling at Melia. So the water will vary on the wind and wave action.

As for the food I was pleasantly surprised. Accept for the two restaurants that you have to make reservations at, the affair is buffet. The selection is varied, very good and at your pace. The waiters are friendly and attentive. In the morning if you want an omelet, you select your ingredients by putting on your plate and handing them to the cook. He is a cogidy old guy when it comes to you not knowing you are supposed to do that. But once you get it right and assist some other newbie he is funny. He always has a big smile and Buenos Dias, Tardes or Noches. The female chef back there is friendlier still.

After the maid left our room with an animal, made of towels (Elephant, Swans and something else) I left a tip for her. Bad idea, she stopped making them. The room was always very clean, but no more little animals.

They serve at least 12 desserts at every meal; more fresh fruit than you would believe and they might have one left over from the previous day. The sit down restaurants were good, but limited selection and their mass seating made them the least desirable to eat at for me.

DON'T rent a vehicle from the Siesta Rental Car there at the hotel. What a wreck and the prices were just as high as Executive, just down the block that rents far better cars.

Because the price was so good, we made several trips into town to eat ($6.00 taxi each way). Stay away from Casa Mission (expensive, touristy and recommended by the Doorman at Melia). La Chosa, Espeesa (sp) and Manati’s are good.

Best beaches away from the Hotel (my definition of a nice beach is few people, pretty, little to no noise and friendly people) were Playancar Beach on the very south end of the island (try the grouper with garlic!). The other is the first beach, about a half a mile south, of the turn you have to make, when you go across the island on the north road (Two surf boards out front say "Surf Naked" and they have a pet Kuwada Monde (sp)). You can rent surf or boogie boards, play in the surf or sit and drink a hand made Coco Loco. The beaches of San Francisco and the one just south of it are loaded with people, vendors, loud music and have tour busses out front. They’re famous but stay away.

What I saw as potential negatives:
1) Don't get a room on the first floor of the tower. Everyone has to past those rooms to get to the elevators and you would probably hear everything (although their patios let out on to grass and ocean view);
2) I always travel with a stereo (iPod w/powered speakers) to create white noise when I try to sleep. My recording of the ocean prevented me from hearing any noises at night, but during the day you could hear yelling adults and kids in the hall way and closing doors. I never heard anyone’s TV or radio and I am "Mr. Sensitive" when it comes to that.
3) Nightly entertainment is pretty lame; and
4) the beach could go either way.

After a wonderful week, great staff, very good food and a good time with my family, I was greeted by a lower than expected bill of $2,340.50 (including a one hour massage for me). Including the upgrade to First Class coming down, this trip cost $1,035 per person (two rooms). My son drank that much in virgin pina colades (piñatas).

This is a 4 star hotel with a budget hotel price. I have already suggested this place to a friend and if I go back to Cozumel anytime soon, I will definitely return to the Melia. For the price, I don’t see how you can beat it.