My husband and I just got back from the Melia, and I guess the biggest disappointment was the water on the beach at the hotel - yes, it is brown, and I didn't want to swim in it...there were some people that would go in to cool off, but seeing the beautiful turquoise water next store made me envious of their resort. I've heard that they are trying to have the pier separating the hotels removed in order to get the blue water back. That would help the hotel a lot.

The other dissapointment was the size of the resort. We had been to Melia Punta Cana and it was absolutely gorgeous and huge - maybe too big! They had trolleys that ran that would take you back to your room in the evening. This resort is small, in comparison - there is not much to it - a couple of pools, a dining area, a beach dining area, a small theater and another "upgraded" restaurant. Personally, I liked the food - there was so much to choose from at every meal. All of the staff was very friendly and accomodating - the rooms were clean, but our jacuzzi was dirty - not to look at it, but once it was filled there were unidentified objects floating in the water. We think the jets had this stuff in it - not sure - only used it once...

It was very relaxing on the resort - and I tend to enjoy a slightly livelier vaction - I love to dance, and the "disco" (the theater tranforms into a disco from 11 to 1 a.m.) is only opened for 2 hours - most nights, we did not stay up that long - between the drinks and the sun, we were tired after a late dinner and retreated to our room - the one night we did stay up to go dancing, we found that no one was there - so we went back to the lobby bar...after a while, we walked back to see if more people were at the disco, and the door was locked by midnight.

We were fortunate that we didn't have air conditioning problems with our building, however, some of the guests on the other side, near the pool and beach bar, had no air conditioning for four days...which is a long time in the heat of Cozumel! Of course, with the hurricane, it may have caused some problems that they didn't immediately see....which is understandable.
But, four days is a long time to wait to get the a/c fixed.

The Cozumelino next door (we walked over to their beach for a swim on a couple of days, and we checked out the resort one other day) seemed to be an upgrade from Melia. They had a nicer, larger pool with a bigger pool bar, the grounds were prettier - more greenery and island flowers here and there, and they had a little bridge that led to an area that had a giant chess set - my husband is a chess freak, so this was a thrill to him and I took pictures. Their lobby was also much nicer....we didn't get to see a room, but I was curious what they looked like. I've heard other people comment that next time they would stay there - we, however, have a vacation club with Melia resorts. I would think that they should drop a few bucks into this resort to make it a little more presentable and attractive to the guests.

Overall, it was a good vacation - and maybe the Punta Cana location spoiled us a bit...we have other destinations in mind for future vacations, but hopefully will get back to the Cozumel when Melia upgrades their resort a bit.

July 28-Aug 2nd. We had a great time at the Melia. The worst part of the trip was getting there. We were rescheduled 3 times because we were not going to make our connecting flight. Finally, we took it upon ourselves to rebook through cancun. Called our travel agent and they had a van drive us to Playa to ferry over to Coz. cost additional $150, but was worth getting there that evening.

Food was better than other all inclusives. Everyone in our party (6) enjoyed it. Only wish they had service at the pools and bars for food and nachos and dip all the time. Kids (20+) like to eat at odd hours, after returning from town.

Rooms were great. two rooms in the tower and one in the wing. Wing was smaller, but was fine. AC worked great in every room. The "jr suites" were nice, but not a suite; table 2 chairs and a couch, but very nice. Rooms were damp, but what do you expect in the tropics. Brought air freshener, but none of the rooms needed it.

The bars were great. Pool bar was closed the first day, but luckily it opened quickly. They poured whatever you wanted. Always very attentive. boys did shots with Felipe (he poured) all night the first night.

Shows were okay. only wen't to two. seemed redundant. Would have liked some activities in the lobby for adults. Heard there is a casino night, but not while we were there.

Overall... a great time. Everyone enjoyed themselves. If I repeat locations, I would go back!

Anyone deciding on where to go, this is a great property. Nice size, with excellent service!! Enjoy!!

We stayed at the Melia July 24-28th. We had a great time. All of the reviews are correct about the water in front of the hotel, it is brown and smelly, but the hotel next door is just a few steps away with a great beach. The food was OK, there was a large variety and we didn't have a problem keeping full. We didn't get around to eating in the nice restuarant, so I can't say much about it. The grill was really good and the buffet was pretty good, but there is no air and it gets a little hot. You DO need to bring bug spray, mosquitoes will eat your ankles! The rooms were cold, the air is either off, or on, nothing in between. Our room felt damp the whole time, but others in our group didn't seem to have that problem, but it wasn't unbearable or anything (room 235).

Ricardo, our bartender, was awesome! The adult pool was closed due to damage from Emily, so we had to hang out in the kids pool, but we made the most of it. Average wages there are about $8 per day, so any tips you give these people are much appreciated. We had a group of 7 and each tipped Ricardo about $2 each and he ran his legs off keeping our drinks full, we didn't even have to ask. The nightly shows were great and Casino night was a blast.

We went on a deep sea fishing trip with Albatros Chaters and they are the only way to go if you want to deep sea fish.

Our vacation was booked through MLT (Worryfree Vacations) and they went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed.

Good hotel, great staff, would go back for sure.

The hotel was very nice. The rooms were clean and air-conditioned. The food was good. There was a lot of pork and seafood dishes which I didn't like but I had no trouble finding chicken or turkey dishes. We had no trouble making reservations at the Cafe Pariso. We had dinner there twice and it was excellent both times. The staff is very friendly. We had stayed at the Iberostar before. Melia is more formal but friendlier. I remember at the Iberostar we could come in off the beach and eat lunch but at the Melia they didn't want swim suits or wet clothes inside.
We went horseback riding, took spanish lessons and played bingo while we were there.
The dive center/shop is very small and closed most of the time. We wanted to scuba dive but the dive center didn't offer us what we wanted which was a morning dive. We went with black shark instead. Abraham was our dive master. I thought he was a very good dive master. My husband has a lot of experience and said he was one of the best dive masters he has dove with. He lead us around on the dive and pointed things out to us as well as leading us through underwater caves.
There were plenty of activites at the activity center and the pools were all right. We never got into the pools though since we are there for the ocean.
The water in front of the hotel wasn't nearly as clear as in the hotel next door. But you can see the pier you have to walk to from the lobby. It isn't a far walk. Check out the picture for comparison of the water.
We were there during Emily and the staff took very good care of us. They had a backup generator and a shelter. When we got to the shelter there were serving us dinner inside. Later staff people brought pillows, cushions and sheets so we could be comfortable. The backup generator allowed the restaraunt to continue functioning after the power outage due to the hurricane.
Although we really liked the Melia, we probably won't stay there again since we are into scuba diving and the hotel isn't really into it. But for anything else I would recommend staying there.