Nice resort for the family. Employees are nice, resort is very clean. Food is good enough but not great. There is something for everyone at the buffet though. Some items are better than others. The fried Mahi Mahi is excellent! Beds are a little hard but never had a problem sleeping after a day of fun in the sun. Kid's Club is awesome and Claudia is so sweet and funny! I would not recommend to couples because of all the families but to each his own....if it does not bother you, then great. My main complaint would be that the resort is not very handicap friendly. My mother has trouble walking on uneven surfaces but she did mange to get around. The rock surface throughout the resort makes it impossible for a wheelchair. An electric scooter is ideal but hard to get one there. No one rents them in Cozumel. There are steps here, there and yonder but a few ramps too. Overall, I would not recommend to a totally handicap person. Other than that, very tropical and relaxing vacation!

The setting is beautiful, the resort is nicely located, the staff worked hard, but the resort has major management lapses. Granted the management is new after a recent buyout, but there were problems that could have been solved overnight if someone would have cared. The lunch service was poorly laid out to the point of being laughable, there were food shortages, and the serving area was arranged to cause confusion--and the poor staff who had nothing to do with it were the ones who caught grief. Breakfast was okay but dinners were mediocre. This was surprising to us because other Occidental resorts have been very well managed. The pools are beautiful and the kids' pool is the best I've ever seen. The beach is great, and the resort offers great service for divers. The beds were hard and small for two people, even average size people. But the maid service was good. External maintenance was being done with earnest. The men who transported food and drink t the lunch area and various concessions were using 3-wheel bikes with flat or no back tires. This to be was inexcusable and symbolic of how the staff needs were ignored. Overall, all seven of us--four adults and 3 kids--has a decent time, mainly due to the beautiful spot occupied by the resort. But unless we hear that management has improved considerably, we won't return.

The Melia is a wonderful resort. The resort is very clean and the staff are very friendly and accomodating. The air conditioning did not seem to be working in our orginal room, so we notified the front desk. They agreed to give us a new room, and they upgraded us to an oceanfront suite that had a jacuzzi tub on the balcony. It's completely worth it to upgrade to one of the oceanfront suites. The resort is clean and the pool an beach were beautiful, and best of all it was not crowded. We had no problem getting a lounge chair each day. There did not seem to be a large variety of food choices like in larger resorts, but the food was good. Definitely get reservations at the two restaurants. Overall, we would definitely return the the Melia.

This resort has a beautiful sandy beach and great pools. The staff were great ("Love my job!"), the resort beautiful, the snorkeling trip we booked right there from the resort beach was fabulous!!! Loved the special dinners set up on the beach a couple of nights! A group of friends booked this resort and we were a little hesitant due to some resort reviews we read. We've traveled to the Playa Del Carmen area & Cozumel before so knew what to expect. We did not have any problems with the resort at all. Very happy we upgraded to a ocean front room with Expedia shortly before going. Although, I don't think there would have been a bad room. The ground floor room we got had a patio where we stepped into the 'lazy river'... was great! We traveled in the off season and loved that we didn't have huge crowds to deal with!! Part of the resort was closed (off season?) so a little confusion when we arrived to a resort name 'Aura' not 'Sabor' (they are next door to each other). I recommend this resort!

This is not a five star resort! If that is what you are looking for in a resort, this is not the place for you! We had a big deluxe room on the corner of the building. Great ocean views! It had a wrap-around balcony, two sliding glass doors, couches, table, tv, and mini fridge. The bedding looked old and the TV was small. The grout in the floor tile looked old and dirty. Room was adequate for the amount of time you actually spend in it. The food at the resort was good. Breakfast and lunch are buffet style. You will see an item or two on the menu repeatedly. The La Veranda restaurant is the only sit down restaurant in the resort, and is open for dinner. The meal is good, but you have to make reservations early or you will be eating at 9:30pm. The beach is very nice and the staff works hard to provide drinks. Snorkling is at the resort is fantastic! People are constantly feeding the fish bread, so fish are always around. Entertainment at the resort was lacking. The two pools at the resort were nice, but the water was a little cold so most people didn't swim. Need to improve the atmoshere around the pools and bars during the day. A lot of spanish music, which started to get really annoying. They need more beach music! Overall, the resort was nice, the food was good, and beach and ocean are great. If you are looking for a great all inclusive vacation destination, and don't want to spend a fortune, El Cozumeleno is a great pick.

Pretty rsort with tropical flora close at hand, including beautiful, full-size iguanas. Rooms are very nice, bathroom is even nicer. Only problem in room was the VERY firm beds, and A/C fan that worked on high speed only (resort-wide situation). Fan is loud overnight when sleeping. This resort was less than half full due to economy. Only two of the specialty restaurants were opened, no drink servers on the beach. Pretty Beach, but shoreline sand full of shells and flotsam (removed once during our stay. Hobie Cats and PWC only available on advance order (brought to resort when needed). To the good, lack of patrons meant dive shop loaners (masks, fins, etc) were for 3 hours rather than normal 1 hour. Resort was supremely located for excellent diving/snorkeling, including just off the resort beach... lots of exotic fish in big schools, placid Barricudas... Food was EXCELLENT in both quality and variety. Biggest complaint... Resort staff were part of a very aggressive, on-site time share solicitation for their "Royal Club," maybe other timeshares. We were solicited within 15 minutes of check-in. Not cool. The $20 jeep rental is part of this scheme to avoid. Rely only on your Expedia "Fiesta" staff for off-resort travel advice, vehicle rental.

Our second trip here in a year. We like the resort very much. The best location on the island for divers. Not so much for people that need to go to town for shopping. $20 each way by taxi. The room was fine, and yes, the beds are hard as stone. The staff was very friendly. Resort is well maintained. My Son and I each had a birthday, while there. The staff made us feel like kings. Lots of happy birthday songs and cakes. Dressel dive shop treated us like family. Most of the staff remembered us from the last trip. Book your dives before your arrive, for a nice discount. We like other resorts on the island too, but we will return to Iberostar next trip, just to dive with Dressel. For a nice surprise bring any old crescent wrenches or tools to Alex in the dive shop. He needs them. His seem to wonder off.

Having stayed at 10 other resorts and some 5 star and 5 golden apple ones from Cancun to Tulum. I have to give this one only 3 stars. However, If you are planning on some scuba, then the location cannot be beat. Great pier where dive boats pick up 3 to 4 times a day. the grounds are pretty and well kept, appear they painted that place on the outside. The swin up rooms are very nicely located, and always worth the price, every time. Although the sun in December does not hit the southern located room swim up area, so you'll want the northern side of resort. The place was barely 30% full when we where there, so very laid back and quiet place to relax. The king beds kinda short, and firm. The inside of the rooms were a bit outdated, and run down looking, but still was comfortable. Restaurants were few to choose from and the menu limited. However the chicken Mole enchaladas were awesome and the apple stuffed french toast. Keep in mind, the Sabor resort next door is available to you as well, so if you don't like how quiet it is, or the choice of bars and restaurants, walk next door and check out the plays, fire shows, swing bar, gift shops and cigar shop, just make sure you make reservations for the Sabor restaurants ahead of time. Also, contrary to other resorts we have stayed at, the spa credit you receive at check in is excellent here so take advantage of that if it;s offered. So service and outdated rooms are the main reason I am not rating this place higher. They just don't go over the top like other resorts I have stayed at that to make you feel welcomed and cater to your every need. The higher end resorts will come find you and make sure you are comfortable, these servers, although very nice folks, don't go out of there way to serve you. Except when they realize you tip, which we highly believe in whenever we go all-inclusive. So if you want a nice quiet place to relax, scuba dive, lay by the pool, and not be too overly pampered, then you won't be dissapointed. A little tiping goes along way. And seriously, if you just want to Dive, this is the spot and they have a great Dive shop right there who will take great care of you.