We have just returned from a fantastic vacation at the Melia. It was our first "all inclusive" experience and were not too sure what to expect. Travelling with a 22 month old, I had checked many, many hotels through trip advisor, and found this one to be the best rated.
We were not disappointed!
We checked in easily on Saturday night, very quick an efficient, then were escorted to our "M" experience room by the concierge. This room is definitely worth the extra money. We had a corner room on the "M" floor and it had a little foyer before you entered the main room. The room overlooks the ocean and has a little hammock swing, and 2 chairs on the balcony. It was fantastic to listen to the ocean every day and to avoid any other noise from the main areas of the hotel.
This is a very child friendly resort, and everyone goes out of their way to make your vacation enjoyable. Our little girl would be escorted to our table by the waiters at every meal!
The food is fine, buffets change daily and there is always something to eat, even for a picky toddler. The alcohol is plentiful and they can make pretty much any cocktail you like.
The pool is very large and clean, and the activities staff is awesome at keeping the mood very lively throughout the day.
They seem to have a wonderful kids club, and the playground is awesome even for an unsteady toddler to explore.
The beach is quite tiny, depending if the tide is in or not, and swimming in the ocean is not really recommended as the current is very strong. But we saw this in most of the beaches in PV, so I do not think this is downside for the hotel. There is still lots of sand to play in, and kayaking, jetskiing, or parasailing right off the beach.
I would highly recommend the sunset photos offered by the hotel photographers, they are very efficient and they do a great job. We love the family shots of our great vacation.
The grounds of the hotel are spectacular. Everyday they are cleaning the walkways, pruning the hedges, or just cleaning up leaves. They have a lovely lake stocked with Koi, and an area to feed them.

I just cannot say enough about our experience with this hotel, and highly recommend it to anyone, but especially for a family oriented get away

Ok,,, here is my opinion. I will give some good points and bad points, so I hope it helps.

Planning:

We went for my cousins wedding. Once you find out when you will be going make reservations. I recommend not using companies that help with travel,,, except for hotels.com. My parents used cheap tickets, and they got their flight changed several times within 5 months, at one time they were cancelled. Use the airline company directly,,, I used Continental, who gave me a discount by transferring over to hotels.com from them. My seat only changed once,,, not like my parents. Plan to land early around lunch,,, more time when you get there.

do not sign up for the bus pickup,,, it was going to cost me $25 per person just for a 5 minute ride,,, take a taxi

Money: Take lots of small bills especially $1 bills,,, tips

Travel:
Flight... Continental Airlines, ERG, non-stop... they served lunch, and were helpful with the kids. A little bumpy prior to landing

Take a carry on with change of clothes,,, just in case, they lose your bag....

Arrival:
Small airport,, the runway was rough,,,
You get off the plane and walk into the building... Have the bottom portion of your declaration completed, or they will hold you up. Immigration Inspectors stopped a few people, for random questioning. Stood in line along with everybody else, things ran smooth, they did not ask questions. they will give you a small paper with an immigration stamp,,, you must return or be charged $50 US dollars

You have to walk quiet a ways to baggage control,,, to find your bags, follow the signs. Once you get your bag, you go though customs, press a button get a red light or green light. Red you have to stop for bag search... took all of 15 minutes, from Immigration to leaving the customs area.

NOW the fun part...
People will stop and ask where you are going and if you need a ride,,, DO NOT STOP. All they want you to do is listen to there story and try to get you to go and visit a hotel, for a time share... keep walking. Once you exit the building go over the bridge and get a taxi on the other side,,, you will save about $10... I paid $5 for 4 people to the hotel....

Hotel:
when we arrived the power was out,,, so they could not check us in,, but they had us on the books, and our room set up... when the power is out, so is the water pump,,, so no water in the bathroom. the hotel is very big,,, when you check in they are supposed to refer you over to a welcome desk,,, we went a few days later...

when you check in they will give you a wrist band,,, leave it on you have to turn it in, when you leave

the hotel is split in 2 parts building 1 and 2,,, call ahead if you are with a big party, to make sure you all get on the same floor. If you can pick the Garden View rooms,,, you can still see the ocean. My parents room had a great view of the ocean and the garden. try and get rooms that are ate least 18 or higher,,, example I was in room 1218... some of the classier rooms have hot tubs on the balcony..

the beds are small,, but comfortable and clean. My tv did not work,,, we did not watch much anyway... the only thing you have in the fridge is water,,, they have safes for your personals,, and the cleaning ladies are very nice,,, especially if you tip them. we asked for water, and they brought us 4 bottles... later I tipped the cleaning lady,, and she filled the fridge...

PHONES:
My cell did not work there,, so I had to use a calling card... Mexico has different phones,,, you have to use a public phone,,, IF you call from the hotel they will charge you an access fee, to your room,,, I was prepaid,, so I went to the phone out by the street. Calling cards cost about $10,,, go to a store in the marina,,, youshould get about a 60 minute card... I had to buy 2,,, the first one was a 45 minute one, but only lasted about 25, I got it down town.

FOOD... you basically have 5 places to eat,,, depending on the hour... from about 7-11 is breakfast 1-5 lunch 7-10 dinner so plan accordingly.
the 5 places are....
**inside buffet for breakfast lunch and dinner, th food was ok,,, typical buffet, decent variety,,,
**a mexican food restarant,,, dinner only... did not eat there...
**the Italian food --- reservation only,,, THIS IS A MUST EAT... the food is incredible,,, it is a 4 star place and if you are all inclusive its free!
**Outside buffet.. this was good food, not much choice,, depends what they are making for the day,,, good variety
**Hamburger, hotdogs, and nachos... just for kids... but they dogs are big, and the burgers are good,,, they hit the spot if you have the munchies

DRINKS: this is not an American Bar... the drinks are not as great as I thought they would be... they make virgin drinks for the kids,, so they thought it was cool to swim up to the bar and order... remember TIPS... go to the italian restaraunt and drink wine.. you will get a buzz faster

BEACH.... now the beach does not look like the pictures... half of it was washed away and the hotel does not recommend using it,,, the water has a very strong under current,,, watch the kids
the space for the wedding was small,, looks big but not much room

SERVICE: good,,, as long as you tip... I tried to find one good service person and just work with them... just my luck when we ordered drinks,,, she would forget mine

There is no laudry facilities,,, unless you pay or go across the street and pay I would recommend taking at least 2 sets of clothes per day... you will get hot and sweaty and want to change for dinner. We would leave our clothes on the balcony to dry out.

THINGS TO DO:
the hotel does not have a lot to do unless you want to pay.... it is a bit pricey, for my standards.... you can cross the street to the marina,, and do some shopping, but all the venders haggle you to buy something. We went down town and did our shopping, you can talk your price down.

Take the blue bus to down town, by the market,,,, make sure when you return the bus has "MARINA" written on it,,, or you tour the city... taxi's cost about $6 each way.

Go and sign up for the time share tour,,, get the free gifts,, we got massages,,,, but you dont have to sign up... Actually Sol Melia,,, has a good plan,,,, I just cant afford it now.

The pool is great... plenty of space for everybody,,,, you can relax or have fun.... take your camera

Every night there are shows or events at the hotel,,, they are ok,,, my mom saw one about dances all over the world, and she liked it...

THE VIEW:
I was not overly impressed by the view.. the hotel faces in a south west angle,,, so the sun sets off to the right,, but i did get a few good shots,,,

WEATHER:
cloudy but not rainy on Thurs and Fri,,, cool not muggy
Sat and Sun.. sunny and became HOT... had to stay indoors for a while.... Monday rained when we left

SHOPPING:
recommend to go down town,,, and barter,,, the venders along the sidewalk over looking the bay,, are cheaper than the market...

OVERALL:
I liked the place,,, but I have 12 year old,,, and she got bored, the place is for families with young kids,,, I would not recommend ages from 10 or higher,,, there is really not much to do..

I would probably not return.. .they are planning on rennovating next year,, so check out the construction... While we were there they were painting rooms,,, and that made people sick...

LEAVING:
Keep all forms,,, and read the paperwork,,, if you fail to return your towel checkout form,,, they will charge you... you have to check out and have your wrist band cut off,,, you will be given a check out form to give the bell hop.... Taxi $5 to the airport

We bought our alcohol at the airport,,, before we left,,, that way we knew it would not be taken out of our bags

We just returned from our 7 nights at the Melia on June 13, 2008. We had a wonderful time!!! It just so happened that the weather was unusually rainy and cool....but it didn't stop us from sun-burning at the pool. In fact this mom preferred it to scorching sun and humidity. The rooms were wonderful. Beds were comfortable. The ocean view was spectacular. The food was excellent, and the service was "out of this world"! I cannot say enough about our stay at the Melia. We have two boys, ages 9 and 14. There was plenty for them to do and they enjoyed every minute of it. There are alot of "helpful informational hosts" which are really only there to sell timeshares....but I have noticed that it's that way at all the hotels and resorts. Just say, "no, thank you" and they will leave you alone. We've been to Cancun and the beaches there are nicer and the water is bluer, however in Puerto Vallarta the atmosphere is more laid back and even feels safer and actually feels more family friendly. We had an awesome vacation and we would go back in a heartbeat!

Our week started out with 4 days of bad weather. The hotel was good, but our trip, not so much! The food is pretty good, you can usually find something to eat. We enjoyed the La Palapa lunch buffet the best. The Italian restaurant is gross. The food did get old after a while. The deserts are not great either. Our room was an awesome upgrade to an ocean view. It is small though, and the beds are double size. Which I now know is too small for my husband and I after 7 days. We had a bottle of champagne in our room after check in. The staff is really nice and friendly. I would definitely stay here again. One complaint is that when it was raining for days, they should have worked harder to entertain the guests. Also, the pool could have been cleaner. Oh, and one day they turned off the power and water for 4 hours. Then they charged us for late check out. Still all and all it was a good place for my family.