This place was everything I wanted from my vacation. On the positive side was the location, service, and the hospitality. On the negative side, not too much to report although there is always room for improvement.
We stayed in the Junior suites, the tall building, overlooking the waters toward Playa Del Carmen. The view was excellent. The rooms were made spotless daily with many flower arrangements left as a little surprise for when we got back to the room. The only thing I can say that could be improved were the mattresses as they were a little too hard for my liking.
As far as the location, the hotel is the last resort north of town. To me this keeps tourist traffic and local vendors away and adds to the peacefulness of the place. The cab rides were about $7-8 US to downtown shops and restaraunts. I did have a rental car as I like to be able to come and go as I please and I like to explore. The rental car also afforded me the ability to drive to the southern part of the island to dive without taking a long boat trip to Palancar, (less crowded boats).
Back to the resort: The hospitality was great. Not just from the people at the resort, but all over the island. The Mexicans of Cozumel made us feel welcome. The servers in the restaraunts catered to all of our requests. When we asked for a specific after dinner liquer, they went and found it for us. When I asked for espresso, they made it for me. They took the time to talk to us about the history and customs of the island and always smiled. This was just great.
One of the best parts of the day was the late afternoon gatherings at the pool bar. Please note that the main pool is for adults only as there was a second pool for kids and family. My kind of place. Noisy adults are somehow not as annoying to me as noisy kids. LOL The bartenders were hard working and did a good job keeping up with drink request as there were many at times.
I can't complain about the beach. No it was not perfect but was more than adequate. I read some reviews that complained of seaweed and jellyfish. Well, we had both for several days. A resort can do nothing about this! This is mother natures doing and nothing else. As seeweed washed ashore, the resort did their best to clean it up. That is all I could ask. Halfway through our stay, the winds changed and the weeds and jellies were gone.
Trying not to ramble, in summary I would say that I would definitely stay here again. The price was right. I think I paid $1350 for 2 for 7 nights and this was a good value. Yes, there is room for improvement and I think Melia knows that and cares and this place should only get better.
A little side note, you will get tired of the buffet food as it does get somewhat repetitive, goes with the territory of an all inclusive. Go downtown and try Pancho's Backyard. This restaraunt was fantastic. A 9 out of 10. Hope this helps. Bob