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Disclaimer: My perceptions are colored by an intense desire to get out and see things (content tourist) and a life lived for a couple of years in the Caribbean with some great undersea adventures.

Introduction

My wife was pretty far along in her pregnancy with our third daughter, so I decided that we should take a trip to a beach somewhere close as a belated honeymoon. (E.g., not to Fiji.) My parents love Cozumel and go every year, and I hadn’t been yet, so it seemed like a nice way to get somewhere quick—just 6.5 hours total travel time for us. My parents always stay at the Suites Turquesa and recommended that part of the island (north), as they like to snorkel along the wall. We looked around and selected the Meliá Cozumel, mostly because I wanted to give my wife an experience free of hassle. This was the first time in my decades that I’ve ever done an all inclusive resort, as I’m more of a content tourist and want to be out and about—but one does not want one’s very pregnant wife to suffer such proclivities. 

Getting There

Since she was so pregnant, we flew first class both ways on UAL, which was just domestic F, but a lot easier on her than going in cattle class. On the way down, we at first were split apart on the very first segment, but a no-show meant that the seat beside me was open. Yurena popped back to it, and an upgraded lady took hers. We pre-booked meals there and back, which meant that we weren’t ravenous by the time we got into Cozumel, and were also fine on the way back. We both appreciated the extra luggage allowance, as it allowed us to bring our own fins, etc.

The trip down and back.

When you arrive in Cozumel, after making it through immigration and customs, you have to run a gauntlet of people trying to get you to book cars with them. We got a Jimny from Fiesta, which is just southwest of the airport. I walked there, grabbed our Jimny, and then went and picked up my wife.  From there, it was a quick trip to the Meliá, maybe 15-20 minutes at most. I should add that we chose Fiesta at the recommendation of my parents, and they’ve used the company 12 times or so with no issues. The prices are lower and there is no upsale/scammy behavior from them. 

Why Meliá?

The Meliá had ok reviews, and we went during an off period in November when the island has fewer tourists than usual. We picked a ground-level floor by the ocean, which at the Meliá in Cozumel meant that we paid to upgrade to the “Level” experience. Is it worth it? I think it really depends on your use case and how much money (total outlay) you’re willing to spend. Since we went during a traffic slump, we were able to stay for a week in the Level for about $2000 US. 

Is the Level Worth It?

What benefits did we notice?  I say this, because they were benefits that we didn’t have to hunt down, and which made sense for us to use. They consisted of the following:

-A honeymoon door strap and welcome basket of our favorite treats. They might give the honeymoon thing to all guests. 

-A reusable tote bag.

-Access to free, higher end alcohol.  Nothing special, but I guess if you drink and don’t want the bottom of the barrel, this is the way to go. 

-Better Bali bed reservations. These were not needed when we went, but might be when it’s busy. 

-A bar for Level guests. (If you tip them, they are kind enough to encourage the habit by bringing you whatever food you want from nearby.)

-Assistance via concierge making reservations at on-site restaurants so we weren’t relegated to the cafeteria-style restaurant. The concierge is assigned at check-in and handles most stuff via text. We were well set up, so we only used the reservation help. There was a snafu one night where we ended up having to eat in the cafeteria, so it might be best to double-check the work of the concierge they give you, which maybe nullifies this benefit.

-A check-in place outside in a covered hut (so you go through and past standard check-in), where you’re given a welcome drink (nothing special, though, in comparison to other places I’ve visited, which have had signature drinks; this was more “serve yourself a cold beverage or sparkling wine”) while your luggage is delivered to your room. I’m not sure that this is much of a benefit, but it might be a little nicer during the busy season. 

-A pool and taco truck for Level members. (Maybe the taco truck is for everyone, but it didn’t seem that way.)

-A little bracelet with Level markings that you show to staff when accessing Level benefits and use to access the rooms. 

-A hot tub on the deck.

-Our minibar was restocked with the snacks and drinks we liked each day. (This was a great feature, but easily bypassed by going to a local grocery store.)

-Various discounts. Yurena used one spa discount ticket and enjoyed it. 

-A special welcome treat. (Edible but we only ate half as the flavor profile was confusing.)

So is that worth the extra expense? I think if you’re staying at the Meliá, which is a cheaper location, it might be if it’s within your total outlay budget, especially if you value being right by the water side and not having to ride elevators. We found that we didn’t use the concierge much, wished we could have been eating more outside the property (for example, we went all the way south to Gusto’s twice), but were glad we didn’t have to walk to the water.

Parking

Parking was pretty limited. It seemed we were among the few who rented a vehicle. 

Parking out front.

Room

The level room was basically a standard hotel room with a plastic hot tub outside; the images made the hot tub appear much nicer than that one actually receives. I suppose the room itself is bigger than what non-Level guests get, but by no means is it huge. We found that the room was cleaned well but somewhat run down. E.g., one wall mounted bedside shelf was at an angle as it was falling off the wall. The best thing for my wife was that it was right adjacent the Fish House and other restaurants, plus she could walk right out to the loungers and watch the ocean and read. I don’t do breakfast, but she also liked being so close to breakfast. Something to note is that the view of sunrise and sunset will not be as pretty as an unobstructed view from a tower room with a balcony, and you’re also closer to the noise of people outside. We didn’t find that we were bothered by the ambiance, but it was a quiet time when we visited.

Our room and right outside our room.

Services and Entertainment

Meliá has a number of activities they do throughout the week, but we didn’t really go to any shows or anything as we found it better to be doing things outside the resort, but we did pop in for one cultural/dance night. Unless you are really there to lounge, adults are going to be better off exploring the island. Meliá does have childcare (Kidsdom), and Yurena liked the massage she booked.

Various little things to do.

Beach and Snorkeling

Meliá has an actual beach, which is rare on the leeward side of the island. Runoff from the mangroves nearby means that the water is very murky, or at least was every day we were there—we only snorkeled there once. Walking right south past the first pier you’ll find that the water is perfectly clear, and no, no one cares that you’re walking the beach. There were some seaside vendors moseying around, but they were not as pushy as ones in the Caribbean. Overall, I think that snorkeling in Cozumel was just ok. The reefs are not really meant for snorkelers (depth and distance), but we couldn’t dive due to the pregnancy. I found that Ambergris Caye was much better than Cozumel for that purpose, though once again, the places with beaches were not so great.

Various places around Meliá, and in the picture with me giving thumbs up, my favorite pair of Kuhl shorts, which I horrifically left on the island. That was a $99 mistake.

Staff

All the staff were quite courteous and fun.

Location

We ended up wishing that we were south of town, where we found the snorkeling to be better, or perhaps even in town, close to better food.  The all inclusive food was fine, but we ended up eating out a lot, as the non-AI options all over the island are simply leagues better. Speaking of which…

The water just SOUTH of Meliá.

Food

The food was fine and not offensive, but the anodyne nature meant that we were not exactly excited the times we ended up eating there. My favorite meal was probably some chicken and cheese nachos from the taco truck, if that tells you about the excitement you’ll find at the prospect of eating at the hotel. The minibar did let us pick our favorite beverages and snacks, but they come from a very limited menu. We also received a bottle of wine, which of course was left for me to drink given my wife’s pregnancy. If you like cocktails, ask them to make you a chichi. Being married to a Hispanic with babies, it’s a word one hears a lot. 😛

Eating at the various places the hotel offers. The white restaurant is the “Fish House.” When we were there, it actually changed what it served based on the night, and they told us the name is just thematic. It seemed that a few eateries were not used during this low-visitor time.

Cozumel Itself

I found Cozumel to be charming, but nowhere near as fun and stunning as Fiji, and certainly not as good for snorkeling as Belize (more expensive) or even some in Cuba, St. Lucian, Martinique, etc.  It was far cheaper than St. Lucia, the Caymans, and other places though, and we were hit with long stretches of rainy weather, which affected visibility.  My mother claims that the snorkeling is typically about the best she’s seen. I guess we’ll have to go back to find out.

Having a native Spanish speaker as my mate did seem to earn us bonus points–for example shop owners commenting to us in Spanish that they’d only rob us half as much. My wife did not let me consume “locals” food, which she said would certainly kill me. The drivers and roads were the worst I’ve been on as far as islands go.

While we were in Cozumel we visited the museum in town, which was worth the small entry fee if you are a museum enjoyer, went down to Playa Senos/Gorda, drove all the way around the island and swam on beautiful (windy) beaches on the windward side, snorkeled Playa Casitas and another place to the north, floated the wall, etc. My favorite part of our trip was probably shopping in some of the local stores, which is always a fun experience. The world is robbed of mystery so often that sometimes the commonplace (non-influencered [sic]) becomes a respite. While I’m at it, Gusto’s was by far our favorite food, and worth every minute of drive to get there. The ribeye is shockingly worth it, and boy did my wife love the dadgum seafood. Both times we went, we arrived fairly “early” for dinner (i.e., just after opening) and were the only diners.

The windward side.

Gusto’s. We went a couple of times.

There are two downtowns. One is a fake downtown for the south pier (just a tourist place), whereas the northern one is both a tourist trap and, farther away, a place for locals. We liked that the museum told forbidden knowledge about Abraham Lincoln.

Snorkeling area (free) at Playa Gorda, just south of Skyreef. A small temple en route (north of town) to our hotel, and Iglesia de San Jose del Mar. Last eating at Casa Mission, where you can also do a “tour” to buy slightly overpriced, very good Los Tres Tonos tequila.

Summary

Cozumel is great for a quick getaway for Americans in the west, best for divers, and an AI experience at the north end is for those who really, really want to chill and not do much other than that. The Level at Meliá is worth a modest upgrade fee if you value being waterside or want medium-tier liquor, and might have more value during busier times.