Where Rafael Nadal Wants You to Spend Your Winter

When Rafael Nadal walked off the court for the last time, at the Davis Cup in Málaga in November 2024, the question was what one of the most relentless competitors in sports history would do with himself. The answer, it turns out, involves a lot of sunshine. This month, Nadal and Meliá Hotels International opened ZEL Cozumel on Santa Pilar Beach, the first Mexican outpost of the hotel brand they launched together, and its second in the Americas after ZEL Punta Cana. And if you’re wondering whether a man famous for sprinting after every ball would design a hotel for lying perfectly still, I think you already know the answer.

Photo Credit: ZEL

From Mallorca to Mexico

ZEL started, fittingly, at home. Nadal and Meliá unveiled the brand in late 2022 and opened the first one on Mallorca, his native island, the following summer. The idea was a Mediterranean way of life you could check into: outdoor living, local food, the sea on your doorstep and plenty of movement, but always with other people around. “ZEL will be synonymous with feeling good and enjoying the Mediterranean lifestyle,” Nadal said at the time. Translation: you will be invited to a sunrise run, and you will be the better for it.

Cozumel is a clever place to take that idea. The island has its own outdoorsy, sociable rhythm (it hosts IRONMAN Cozumel, among other races, so the locals know a thing or two about endurance), and the resort sits on one of its longest stretches of beach. ZEL took over the former Meliá Cozumel, an island fixture since the late 1970s, kept its arched corridors and garden palapa, and layered in the warm tones and natural textures of a Balearic summer house. The result is 209 rooms and suites that feel more like Palma than Playa del Carmen. If you want the full ZEL treatment, book a Casa ZEL room.

Photo Credit: ZEL

Train Like Rafa (or Don’t)

As you might expect, there’s a strong argument for packing your trainers. Tennis and pickleball are on the menu, naturally, alongside Vinyasa yoga, Pilates, sound healing, social runs, beach walks, kayaking and paddleboarding. The Training Studio is open 24 hours, which tells you everything about whose name is on the door, and athletes in town for IRONMAN and the island’s other big races get packages built around their training and recovery. For the rest of us, there’s the AUA Spa, which is where you’ll find me. I like to think of a deep-tissue massage as a form of cross-training.

Photo Credit: ZEL

Where the Party Is

ZEL’s other obsession is togetherness, and in Cozumel that plays out at Parda Beach Club, where the cocktails come with Caribbean views and a daily DJ set rolls on past sunset into live music and beachside movie nights. Dinner is a choice between fire-led steaks at Volcán and Tacorini, which, as the name suggests, puts Mexican and Greek flavors on the same plate. It’s a cheeky little metaphor for the whole project: a Mediterranean brand born on a Spanish island, now very happily at home on a Mexican one.

Stays come all-inclusive or bed-and-breakfast, families get a kids’ club, mini golf and a batting cage, and dogs are welcome. The resort is also the closest to the boats for Isla de la Pasión, one of the island’s favorite day trips, and Cozumel’s renowned reefs are a short ride away for divers and snorkelers.

Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles by refusing to give up on a single point. His hotels, happily, ask a little less of you. Show up, move a bit, eat well and stay for the sunset. Even Rafa takes rest days now.

Read More

Planning a winter escape? Browse Haute Living’s latest luxury travel coverage.