Well it started off OK.....then Saturday the Mexican holiday season started (Now that I know I will never go to Mexico the last two weeks in March - crazy busy) and the Hotel was stretched far beyond what it could handle.

Also Never book your deep sea fishng with Bennie Guzman located in Zihuatanejo Even his fellow fisherman friends called him a liar. I suggest book via your tour co or hotel even if it costs you a bit more. Make sure you see the boat too.

I read the reviews on here before I decided on the Melia. You can make your own decision:

The Pros:

- The waterpark
- Nice pool
-Ocean view rooms
-lots of life gaurds around the pool
-night shows

Cons:

-Getting to the pool, retaurants, beach is a bit of an adventure - you have to switch elevators after a walk down a hallway or change to stairs - not easy with a stroller or wheel chair
-For an "all inclusive" the Food options are controlled and not made known, if we didn;t see someone eating ice cream on the 3rd day we would never have known, it was available, as it is not posted anywhere or on menus, several hidden items
-If you are not Spanish speaking it is difficult for your kids to particpate and win a prize and you are always 2nd.
-Kids clud and games was mostly in Spanish so my 5 year old who is very well spoken felt left out as she said she can't understand the the games as they were explained in Spanish so she went once and never wanted to go back.
-The food was always the same
-Only 2 a la carte restaurants were open until Saturday when the Mexican Holiday season started, All of a sudden all the restaurants opened
-The food is not good at all which was a surprise from the reviews in here - Very Very salty - Cozumel Iberostar has had the best food in Mexico out of 5 different places I have been too in Mexico
-Had to call for my room to be cleaned everyday or it would never have been
-Never had turn down service
-Never had clean towels delivered to the room in the evening, had to call ever night
-Always ran out of beach towels
-Never had enough poolside seats
-No clocks anywhere except front desk, not even in your room
-My bed sheets weren't changed
-The room was extremely dusty. Dust bunnies on the floor everywhere
-Wiffs of sewage smell around the pool
-Some sort of run off of used water drains over a concrete ally by the side of the hotel over the beach directky into the ocean

Could go on but this was my experience and observations

Much has been written about this resort in these pages. Most of it true. Some that cause you to scratch your head over too, but that is normal in these reviews. All things are relative after all.

We just returned March 4th, from a two week stay at the Melia Azul. Generally, we liked it very much. Biased somewhat, by the check-in news that our room was not available, but that we would be put in a suite instead. And a beautiful one it was, in the new block. But even after moving to our booked, Deluxe room with balcony (meaning King bed) it was fine. No suite, but fine. Yes, the air-con is loud and the beds unbelievably hard, but the rooms and overall complex is spotless and very well maintained. The staff, as written several times here are terrific. So much so, they tend to make up for some of the resorts wantings.

The food? Adequate, nothing more. And unusual for many all-inclusive travelers. They have three buffet restaurants and only two al a cartes. The buffets are themed, (Mexican, Italian and Oriental) and where the weak link here. Adequate, and nothing more, with the breakfasts in the Oriental area, the best of the bunch.

The two al a cartes where much better. Most people focus on the Oyster Bar, as it is the best spot for a sunset dinner, perched over the ocean directly across from Isle Ixtapa. The Costa Azul, found next to the lower lobby, is also, very nice. In both cases, it is the service and/or location that adds to the measure of that meal.

The facilities? Above average. Tennis courts, covered paddle ball courts, Private bike path tours, three swimming pools, swim-up bar, and of course, Flintstones. The place is definitely kid friendly, and if that bothers you, it will be a factor.

Yes, lots of Mexican national use the resort. (it is only three hours drive to Mexico City from here) And yes too, to the number of children they bring. In both cases, I personally have absolutely no problem with. I love the Mexican people and find that generally speaking, their children are remarkably well behaved and mannered.

Add a very friendly and attentive staff, clean, safe surroundings, (they have six para-medics on staff and always visible on the resort) and great facilities, this is an easy resort to recommend.

...keep your fingers crossed for that suite upgrade. :)

We found the hotel facilities to be adequate but not 4 star. We had large sections of mold on our bathroom ceiling. This made the smell quite bad especially when the air conditioner was on. So we didn't turn it on and it was difficult to sleep. We tried to get a new room but they said none were available with King beds.
The pools were great and the staff, especially the waiters and guys putting out the deck chairs on the beach, were friendly and helpful. The food was predictable for an all-inclusive. We found the squealing from the kids in the restaurants and early in the morning annoying. We knew this was a family resort but as school is still in we didn't ever think that there would be so many kids. And there were hundreds. Not too relaxing.

LOVED the view from our room over the pool and the ocean, you could hear the waves crashing on the beach at night. REQUEST A BALCONY!!! Breakfast and lunch buffets were decent, not your Palace Hotel 5 star but good enough. LOVED the people of Ixtapa, and the very gracious hotel staff but don't expect to be able to speak English. Front desk only. LOVED that you could walk the beach, long walk down past the pier to the public beach, not a hotel in sight, palms and big surf. Lovely way to kick off the day. HATED muddy beach in front of the hotel. GO TO THE ISLAND!! Just walk up the beach to the pier and hop on the boat. Great snorkeling. Good food! Great Massages! Very fun day. DINNERS at hotel...forget EXCEPT really enjoyed Oyster Bar for dinner. In town: Becco Fino!!!! Casa Bahia!!!! La Casa Que Canta!!!! and for THE most AMAZING sunset ever....Villa De La Selva. Too bad for an all inclusive that you can't eat dinner there! AND...if you are a wine drinker...FORGET IT!!! It is so so very bad. We went into town, got a decent Mexican Blanc de Blanc I think, and enjoyed that on our balcony. REQUEST A FRIDGE. Shocking, Palace hotels all have fridges filled with beer and premium booze of every kind IN THE ROOM. This hotel: Water in the room only. Also...heard red wine was terrible. BAR BAND: at times music was fun dancing. But a lot of Mexican music. LOOK OUT: Time Share deals move in on Friday/Saturday/Sunday...KID INVASION!!! And although only about 30% of the people in the bar were Mexican, band was playing to Time Share. Overall entertainment: POOR. WEATHER..PERFECT!!!! They say in 12 months, maybe 7 days of rain total. Beats Cancun Hands down for weather!! No need for a sweater or shawl ladies. If we win the lottery, we will be buying a waterfront condo in Ixtapa. Been to many many places but we fell in love with this area. Beautifully maintained in the town of Ixtapa and found the whole area very beautiful and charming Some very good shopping in town and some spots for night time dancing and fun. Silver: The Frog II Silver Shop...amazing deals and beautiful stuff. And Super Safe area.
Perhaps in a few years this hotel will be up to the standard of a actual 5 star as right now it's no more than a 3 star.