The ZEL Mallorca hotel, the new brand launched by Meliá Hotels International and tennis player Rafael Nadal, is about to open its doors this summer. This is the first of the twenty or so establishments that this joint venture plans to open over the next five years. Let's find out more about Rafael Nadal's first hotel which will open its doors in July in Mallorca.
The first ZEL hotel is located in Palmanova, 20 minutes from the airport and close to the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range. The establishment will have 165 rooms, 21 of which are suites with privileged sea views. It will also have two swimming pools, and pieces of local craftsmanship will adorn the common areas. The amenities in the rooms are specially selected creations by the personal care firm HAAN.
At ZEL Mallorca, the courtyard is configured as the heart, the epicentre of the hotel, functioning as a lobby and interconnecting its different areas. In the same courtyard, the hotel has a 'speciality coffee' corner by Syra Coffee, a company that offers an environmentally friendly product obtained from transparent fair trade crops sustained by family businesses.
Also integrated in this special lobby, ZEL Mallorca has designed and installed its own 'concept store', a place where visitors and guests can purchase exclusive products from local and international brands.
The rooms of the Mallorcan establishment that will open its doors in July have been conceptualised with colours, textures and shapes that refer to nature, generating a sense of peace, well-being and relaxation for guests.
The interiors of the establishment feature a mixture of influences, with nods and references to other key points of Mediterranean culture such as Italy and Greece.
"With this first ZEL hotel in Mallorca, as with the concept we have created for the brand, we are looking for those moments in life that I enjoy so much. Everyone knows that I love sailing and especially in the Mediterranean; eating on the beach, at a beach bar or beach club and relaxing while spending time with friends and family and feeling at home. For me, this is the most important thing, what I wanted to convey with ZEL and I think we have achieved it," says tennis player Rafa Nadal.
Beso Beach to offer a unique dining experience
The Beso Beach group, famous for its beach bars in paradisiacal destinations, will shape the gastronomic experience at the hotel's beach club. With more than 10 years of experience as a gastronomic reference, it stands out for its cuisine with a Basque-Mediterranean heart and will be the only establishment of the Beso brand on the island of Mallorca
This is not the first time that Beso and Meliá have joined forces and experience, in 2017 Beso Sitges was inaugurated, located in an emblematic hotel in the town, ME Sitges Terramar by Meliá.
As far as the 'wellness' section is concerned, sport is always present, as it could not be otherwise, thanks to the tennis player Rafa Nadal. ZEL Mallorca offers professional trainers to help guests create their personalised routines. The hotel will also have a large gym with state-of-the-art equipment, hanging systems for activities in the air and meditation spaces. In addition to the outdoor treatments on offer, the hotel has a spa equipped with three cabins, two hot tubs, Turkish bath and sauna.
To complete the experience, the hotel team has also designed a programme of concerts, music sessions and destination breaks. This includes boot camps with sporting activities, tastings of local products, and routes selected exclusively by Rafa Nadal himself.
"The personality of ZEL Mallorca has a little bit of everything for everyone. Here you can do everything or just enjoy doing nothing, yet we have thought of every detail to make your visit to our hotel unique. A programme full of events that celebrate life; concerts, beach or pool parties or endless hours of music that mimic every moment of the day," explains Antonio Albiol, general manager of ZEL Mallorca.
Agreement between Meliá and Rafa Nadal
Last December saw the official presentation of the agreement between Meliá and Rafa Nadal for the opening of the new ZEL hotel brand. This agreement includes an 80% holiday portfolio, while the rest will focus on the main tourist capitals, especially where Nadal has played tennis, such as Paris and London.
In fact, among the next 10 openings will be the French capital and Madrid. The Canary Islands, the Costa del Sol, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia will also be the main locations for this new line of hotels, which will be four-star superior hotels under management with a Mediterranean and family-oriented market.
The joint venture between these two brands of Mallorcan origin aspires to a very strong international growth that capitalises on its Mediterranean character as its main hallmark. In addition, it will be joined by strategic partners, who will be announced shortly and who will accompany it in its international expansion in different areas such as gastronomy, decoration, well-being and technology.
This is the first time that the Meliá hotel chain has created a hotel brand with a third party and both parties confirm their "high level of demand and involvement" in the project as they are family businesses that share values and a long-term vision. The project is based on the positioning of both brands as ambassadors of Mediterranean values and lifestyle: "the passion for living outdoors, good gastronomy, with spacious and bright spaces, where the connection with nature, the sky and the sea is a priority".
The management model of the project, with a 50% investment by both parties with "maximum, absolute and total" involvement, will be through hotels owned by Meliá, to subsequently evolve towards a management model that the hotel company considers a "successful and extrapolable" formula.
Initially, 80% of the hotels will be existing hotels that will be converted to transfer the attributes of the new ZEL brand and the remaining 20% will be newly created hotels.