We just returned from a tremendous vacation in Cozumel! The Melia Hotel was absolutely wonderful. It was spotless clean, the grounds manicured, the rooms spacious and even somewhat luxurious, which I didn't expect. The food was very good and abundant and available from 6:30 am to 11 pm. The Staff were friendly and loved our efforts to speak Spanish.

The hotel has a long white, powdery sand beach, and is the last hotel in the line. In Mexico all beaches are public so you can walk as far and as long as you like. Even though the hotel was almost full, it was never crowded on the beach because many guests are divers and go off for the day. The Melia has everything you could want right on the beach - chairs, towels, shade, bars for water and margaritas, recreation, sail boats, kayaks, snorkel stuff, and a place to rent jet skis, etc. You can walk off the beach right into a snack shop for lunch without changing.

We traveled as a family of 5 - our kids are spread out - ages 21, 15 and 5. They all had fun. Except for one day, we stayed at the hotel. Everything is paid for so why not? It is not a long trip from the airport to get there either.

This was our first trip out of the US. Cozumel was very safe and easy to navigate, and very quiet.

One thing to watch out for (you will meet them) is the sales reps for hotels - beginning from the guys at the airport to every hotel lobby and street corner and store front. At the airport you say you need a taxi, or even at the hotel and they ask you what you are doing or want to do. They then begin to tell you how they can help you with that but in the end they are trying to set you up for a meal and sales pitch with one of their sales reps. Now if you want to put $10 thousand dollars down and pay $200 a month to be able to stay in any of their hotels worldwide one week a year for the next 50 years, you'll be glad to give them 90 minutes of your time, but if not, just tell them no thanks when they invite you to brunch! (we know cause we did it - the guy was nice and we got tickets into a park but it was a waste of his time).

One tip - take $1 bills with you and be generous to the service people. $1 or $2 means almost nothing to us, but a lot to Mexicans. They will take even better care of you and go out of their way.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Cozumel and the Melia. It was soooo relaxing!

I just got back from Melia on 4/7 and want to give my unbiased opinion. I read may reviews before going and really did not know what to expect..I have seen reviews that made Melia out to be a mildew, bug ridden 1 star motel to the best resort on the island and everything in between..
Here was my perception:

Hotel - Very Nice 3 star..Stayed in a High Rise unit and had a beautiful, large ocean view room. Plenty of room and tons of hot water. Room felt damp unless you run the air conditioner 24/7 but that is to be expected. No mold anywhere. Housekeeping kept us stocked up with bottle water and took care of us.

Beach - Nice white sand beach with plenty of chairs and huts. There are sand fleas but I was never bitten...Our friend had a problem with them. Guess it depends on your body chemistry. Bring bug spray just to be safe. Ocean has some rocks and seaweed depending on the current and wind direction..First 3 days the ocean was horrible..Rest of the week it was crystal clear and beautiful...You can snorkel right in front of the hotel or go down to the next hotel and snorkel in the water next to the pier..Always clear and plenty of fish...

Staff - Very friendly and helpful.

Food- 3 restaurants to chose from..
Cafe Paradiso - signature Restaurant ( reservation only) . Went once and would not go back..Food was average and portions were small.
Iguana Grill - Burgers etc.for lunch and reservations required at night. Nice dinner menu. Never had a bad meal.
Buffet - great food all day! Breakfast was the best. Eggs to order and fresh fruit..Plenty of Mexican dishes to choose from + different food theme night everyday.

Entertainment- Shows every evening at 9...We did not see many...

Misc - Golf next door is $60 in the morning and $45 after 1:30.....$25 per person for a cart...Club Rental ranged from $30 - $50 ....Course was very nice but tight...Miss the fairway and ball is lost in the jungle . Bring lots of golf balls..Did not get attacked by bugs but brought bug spray just in case.

Overall experience- Had a great time and plan on going back

Hi Don and Sandy!!!!!!!!

Stayed at the Sol Melia from 3/24/07-3/31/07. Second stay for my wife and I. We were there five years ago when it was the Paradisus. Liked it then and think its only gotten better. At check in we were asked if we wanted to pay an extra $25 a night to upgrade to an ocean front room but we're frugal and stayed in building behind the activities pool. It was a fine room with a balconey and a view of the ocean. With the money we would have spent we each had a great massage. Had no problems with anything in the room and the air conditioning got as cold as we wanted and was very quiet. Room never smelled musty. Bed were firm but not hard. Free safe and bottled water.

The resort is on the smaller side but it makes it easier to meet other guests and get to know some of the great staff. We kept seeing the same people at activities, meals, and shows and really got to know them. One couple we got to know even offered us the remainder of their rental car for the afternoon. And I can't say enough about how terrific the staff was and how nicely they treated us. Every staff member we ran into always said "Hola" and smiled. They were the most warm and friendly people I have ever met. Getting to know them and developing a friendship was one of the best parts of our vacation. The all work insanely long hard hours for practically nothing so take some of the money you will save by staying here and spread some of it around.

The food was very good and they always had something different to try every night. Each night was a theme night and not only did the food change but the decorations in the resturant did too. We had an oriental night and a Mexican night among others. They even had Carribean night with tables set up on the beach. It was incredible. The outside grill has a lunch menu you can order off and they always bring Nacho chips with guacamole and salsa for an appittizer. Yum! The BBQ ribs were the only failure.

The shows at night were really terrific. They have an extremely talented group of dancers who will really amaze you. The dancers are also the ones teaching water fitness, playing volleyball and giving Salsa lessons. Beware, they will work you out hard and they're hard to beat at volleyball. When we got to know them better it made watching their dance performances that much more special. A shout out to Luis, Stephany really misses you.

Overall a terrific place to stay. Very good for couples and familes. They have very good childrens activities that are supervised. Their beach does get seaweed but they clean it up everyday. It's all due to the pier next door at the El Cozumeleno.It's still swimmable but not as clear as next door. Still the beach is nice and there's plenty of palapas and beach chairs and a cool bar. Beware of the Vacation Package sellers. They will approach you at check in and through out your stay. They are the ones in white Sol Melia polo shirts. Snorkeled in front of El Coz & it was O.K. Rented a La Bamba VW & visited Uvas Beach Club. Snorkeling was poor & packed withcruise people. Went to Corona Beach Club, funky place but great snorkeling. Free but have to buy something to use table & chairs. Worth the trip.

If your the type of person who doesn't need a big, upscale resort with fancy furnishings, and a fancy price, then you would be prefectly happly staying at the Sol Melia Cozumel. 10 minutes from the airport, $5 taxi rides to town, very good food and shows, and the friendliest staff I've ever met. What's not to like?

my boyfriend and i just got back from melia. must say it's definately a beautiful resort. when we checked in, we got upgraded to a honeymoon suite with a 2 person outdoor jacuzzi, only a few feet away from the beach. it was gorgeous. the staff is very pleasant, the resort is very clean. we didn't have any problems. the food is ok.. make a reservation in the nice restaurant. weather was excellent. we went diving, saw sea turtles, coral, fish and even 2 sharks! couldnt have imagiined a better trip. definately a nice laid back vacation. :)