May 16 – 19,
2005
Tim and Anne Larison
by Tim Larison,
www.cruisetalk.net
Anne and I love cruises, but we had never stayed at an
“all inclusive” resort. We jumped at the chance for a 3 night/4 day stay at
the all inclusive Melia Cozumel resort in May 2005. In addition to
experiencing an all inclusive resort for the first time, we would be returning
to the Island we enjoyed visiting just two months earlier on our Holland
America cruise. Below I will review different aspects of our stay and how it
compares to a “cruise” experience.
The Resort – Melia Cozumel
We had a 9th floor room with a beautiful view
of the ocean and the beach below. For a standard hotel room we had quite a
bit of space. The room had two large queen beds, a sofa, plenty of closet
space and a large bathroom area.
We found the resort to be well maintained. The staff was
very friendly and we frequently encountered cleaning crews during the day at
different areas of the resort. The Melia is an older resort than some of the
other “all inclusives” on Cozumel. We saw some of these other resorts on a
tour of the Island, and in comparison the Melia architecture and structures
seemed dated, but this was still a nice place to stay thanks to excellent care
by the Melia staff.
We liked being so close to the beach and the ocean. Some
of the other all inclusives on the Island did not have as many units this
close to the beach.
Dining
During our stay Melia’s main La Isla restaurant was being
renovated. The La Iguana, normally a snack bar, served as the buffet
restaurant during our trip. We particularly liked the “made to order” entrees
at the La Iguana grill. The first night we had excellent grilled pork ribs at
this restaurant and on subsequent mornings I enjoyed cooked to order omelets
at the grill. At lunch time hamburgers, hot dogs, and other grilled items
were available.
The buffet offerings at the La Iguana were average, with
the exception of an excellent fresh fruit portion of the salad bar.
We liked the oceanfront location of the snack bar. We
dined in a covered patio area, overlooking the beach.
The best restaurant on the property was the Café Paraiso
Gourmet Restaurant. To dine at this restaurant we had to make same day
reservations at the front desk between 7 am and 1 pm. We arrived too late on
our first day to eat here, but we had excellent meals at the Café Paraiso on
our other two nights. Café Paraiso was in the rear of the resort in its own
building. The atmosphere was very romantic with candlelight lighting, a large
aquarium in the center of the restaurant, and a pianist playing classic hits
as we dined.
Dinner here consisted of an appetizer, salad, soup,
entrée, and dessert. The menu changed daily. I liked the shrimp dish I had
the first night, and a chicken dish the second night. Anne also liked the
shrimp. Her beef entrée the second night was good but not great. We both
enjoyed the dessert choices (especially the cheese cake!)
Being new to the “all inclusive” concept, we liked that
there was never any pressure to tip our servers, and that we could eat as much
as we wanted at no extra charge. While we rarely drink alcohol at home, we
did indulge more on this trip with a wide selection of free drinks available.
We found the drinks to be of good quality.
Activities
With its beautiful beachfront location, the Melia had a
wide variety of water sports to choose from. Wave runners, parasailing,
horseback riding on the beach, windsurfing, kayaking, and snorkeling were just
a few of the activities available. In addition the resort had a nice tennis
court (we played a set there) and basketball area.
The Melia is best known for its close location to a
championship golf course. Resort guests could play the course at no extra
charge (equipment and golf cart rental were extra). For golfers this is a
great place to stay.
While we participated in some of the resort activities,
we enjoyed most just relaxing on the beach. There were plenty of shady spots
and the beach never seemed crowded. We saw many honeymooners and young
couples at the resort, along with a few families.
Other things to see and do in Cozumel
We decided we were going to spend most of our 3 ½ days in
Cozumel enjoying our resort. We were tempted to do an all day excursion to
see the Tulum Ruins on the mainland, but decided we would save that for
another trip or cruise. Instead I arranged a 4 hour Island tour on our second
day with an American named Harry from Cozumel Tours.
For $60 per person Harry gave us a custom 4 hour tour of
the Island. We received a good overview of the Island as Harry drove us
around – he was quite willing to stop whenever we wanted for us to take
pictures or spend more time at a particular location. Being travel agents we
wanted to see some of the other all inclusive resorts in the area and Harry
was able to accommodate us (getting us past the guards at the Iberostar
resort!)
While we saw much of the Island on our tour, we realized
we could easily spend a week here doing lots of different activities and
seeing different sights.
I highly recommend Harry’s tour – we liked the personal
attention he gave us and the flexibility of seeing what we wanted to. We
would not have experienced this on a tour with a larger group (we saw some
larger tour groups organized by the cruise lines)
How did this “all inclusive” resort stay compare to
our past cruises?
Overall we really liked our “all inclusive” stay and we
thought it was great for a 3 or 4 day get-a-way. For a 7 day trip or longer
we still prefer the variety of destinations and the “at sea” days of a cruise,
but an all inclusive resort is a nice alternative for shorter trips. I think
an all inclusive resort fits in well with our love of cruising. Similar to
what we did on this trip, we would like to go back and stay for a few days at
an all inclusive resort at some areas we have briefly visited on a cruise.
In some ways we found our all inclusive stay more
relaxing than a cruise. While enjoying the beach at the Melia Cozumel there
was no rush to “get back to the ship” – we could stay on the beach as long as
we wanted. On a cruise alcoholic drinks and specialty restaurants often
require an extra charge – at the Melia these were included in the price. Tips
were also part of the whole “all inclusive” package – there was no pressure to
tip extra though we did give some additional tips for our housekeeping staff
and other Melia staff members who we felt gave outstanding service.
While the Melia had a show each night and “casino” night
on one evening of our stay, we found the entertainment offerings of a typical
cruise more varied and interesting.
Anne’s take
“When we arrived in Cozumel I was impressed with how
smoothly the process went at the Cozumel airport. It was modern and air
conditioned unlike the Acapulco airport we experienced in December, 2004. I
would not hesitate to fly into Cozumel again, however beware of the ‘Cozumel
Transportation Authority’. They have a monopoly on greeting guests as they
arrive. Before you can get out of the airport, they take you aside and spend
time offering you tours and activities during your stay on Cozumel. They also
have exclusive rights to shuttle transportation leaving the airport and you
can’t even get a taxi unless you walk off the airport property. The fare to
our resort was almost twice what a taxi would have cost. If you are booking
an all inclusive resort package to Cozumel make sure that transfers are
included – then you will not have to hassle with the Cozumel Transportation
Authority.
From a mother’s view, I would feel very comfortable
taking kids to Melia Cozumel. In addition to the activities Tim listed above
there is a children’s play area (away from the pool and the beach) and a large
family pool with a shallow end, just a few feet deep. There are activities
kids could participate in as well as activities just for adults. We even saw
a Fred Flintstone character walking around to entertain the kids. Although
kids are welcome, families were certainly in the minority and we didn’t feel
the presence of kids took away from the relaxing atmosphere.
I enjoy participating in water sports. I usually enjoy
snorkeling. I chose not to snorkel on this trip. My impression is that
snorkeling around the resort would be good but not great, as there is limited
fish and underwater sites to view. Although, just standing in the ocean at
times I found myself surrounded by schools of fish, so there would certainly
be fish to view while snorkeling. At night you can see the lights of Riviera
Maya which is across the waterway from Cozumel. If you were staying for
several days a trip to one of the villages in Riviera Maya would provide the
opportunity for much more scenic snorkeling and scuba opportunities.
I enjoyed staying at the Melia Cozumel and would
recommend it for a romantic get-away or a fun family vacation.”
Summary
Anne and I really enjoyed our 3 ½ days in Cozumel! It
opened up to us a different way of vacationing (staying at an all inclusive
resort) that we are looking forward to trying again!
Tim Larison
