Meliá Hotels International and Rafael Nadal have opened ZEL Cozumel, the brand’s first hotel in Mexico, Meliá said on November 10.
ZEL Cozumel is a conversion of the 209-room Meliá Cozumel, a resort dating to the late 1970s. It follows ZEL Punta Cana, which opened in the Dominican Republic in March 2025, and pitches at the island’s endurance-sport calendar with event packages for IRONMAN Cozumel, IRONMAN 70.3 Cozumel, GFNY Cozumel and Oceanman Cozumel.
ZEL is a joint venture between Nadal and Meliá. The resort sits on Santa Pilar Beach in Cozumel’s northern hotel zone, about 5.5 km from downtown San Miguel and the ferry terminal and 6.8 km from Cozumel International Airport.
Facilities include a 24-hour Training Studio, a separate Fitness Studio, two pools and the AUA Spa. An on-site Care Center run with Saint Luke’s Hospitals offers medical services at extra cost.
The Parda Beach Club, with daily DJ programming, anchors the dining. Other outlets include Caramba, Volcán and Tacorini. Guests can book all-inclusive or bed-and-breakfast.
The opening adds to the Mexican Caribbean’s all-inclusive supply. Grupo Xcaret took its All-Fun Inclusive pitch to WTM London this month.
Nadal and Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of Meliá Hotels International, announced ZEL in Madrid in late 2022. Meliá, founded in Mallorca in 1956, has more than 380 hotels open and in its pipeline across more than 40 countries.
