{"id":21093,"date":"2025-01-21T09:36:07","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T09:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093"},"modified":"2025-01-21T09:36:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T09:36:07","slug":"a-new-all-inclusive-resort-from-rafael-nadals-hotel-brand-just-opened-in-the-dominican-republic-with-swim-up-suites-and-idyllic-pools-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093","title":{"rendered":"A New All-inclusive Resort From Rafael Nadal\u2019s Hotel Brand Just Opened in the Dominican Republic \u2014 With Swim-up Suites and Idyllic Pools"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The wellness-focused Zel Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic is a short walk from Bavaro Beach.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"Exterior<\/div>\n<\/div>
Exterior view of the Zel Punta Cana resort in the Dominican Republic.<\/span>\u00a0Photo:\u00a0<\/span>Courtesy of Meli\u00e1 Hotels <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal launched his\u00a0hospitality brand, Zel, in collaboration with Meli\u00e1 Hotels International in 2023 \u2014 with the first property on Mallorca, Spain, and the second in Costa Brava, Spain. The third Zel outpost, Zel Punta Cana, just opened on\u00a0the east coast of the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

While the all-inclusive property doesn\u2019t front Bavaro Beach, Punta Cana\u2019s idyllic stretch of waterfront, it is a short walk and takes advantage of its serene location to offer a quieter, more wellness-oriented experience. The resort has 190 suites, five tennis courts, a full-service spa, two swimming pools, eight restaurants and bars, and a beach club.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"resort<\/div>\n<\/div>
The Parda Swim Out Bar.<\/span>Courtesy of Meli\u00e1 Hotels <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Zel Punta Cana\u2019s spacious rooms \u2014 from 800 to 2,200 square feet \u2014 have terraces or patios with private hot tubs overlooking the resort\u2019s lush gardens. Guests can also book swim-up suites with separate dining and living rooms and a thatched-roof daybed in a private garden.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Zel<\/div>\n<\/div>
The pool and cabanas at the Zel Swim-Up Master Suite.<\/span>Courtesy of Meli\u00e1 Hotels <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>
Interior of the ZEL Master Suite Swim Up Bedroom.<\/span>THIAGO DA CUNHA\/Courtesy of Meli\u00e1 Hotels <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Zel Punta Cana provides its guests with plenty of opportunities to stay active through weekend wellness retreats, yoga classes and meditations, water sports, or trainer-led workouts at the hotel\u2019s gym. An upcoming fitness residency initiative will offer both hotel guests and the public the opportunity to participate in exclusive running sessions, pilates classes, and other activities.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the wellness offerings, the property\u2019s AUA Spa has an impressive slate of\u00a0face and body treatments, plus access to a sauna and steam room.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>
A lounger on the Casa Zel Terrace.<\/span>Courtesy of Meli\u00e1 Hotels <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTogether with Rafa, we decided to embark on this adventure to share our worry-free values and warm culture with our guests around the world,\u201d said Gabriel Escarrer, chairman and CEO of Meli\u00e1 Hotels International, in a press release shared with\u00a0Travel + Leisure<\/em>. \u201cThe Caribbean is a destination with an abundance of its own special charm that perfectly complements the Zel brand, creating a holiday retreat unlike any other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>
The entrance to the AUA Spa.<\/span>Courtesy of Meli\u00e1 Hotels <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\"Zel<\/div>\n<\/div>
Aerial yoga hammock\u2019s in the resorts fitness studio.<\/span>Courtesy of Meli\u00e1 Hotels <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The resort features a Mediterranean buffet with outdoor seating, a Japanese restaurant, and a Greek-Mexican fusion spot. For prime Caribbean views, guests can dine at the hotel\u2019s casual beach club, while oenophiles might try Silvestre wine cellar and bar.<\/p>\n

There are already two more Zel hotels in the works \u2014 in Madrid and Sayulita, Mexico. The average nightly rate at Zel Punta Cana is $450, and you can book your stay on\u00a0melia.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The wellness-focused Zel Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic is a short walk from Bavaro Beach. Exterior view of the Zel Punta Cana resort in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nA New All-inclusive Resort From Rafael Nadal\u2019s Hotel Brand Just Opened in the Dominican Republic \u2014 With Swim-up Suites and Idyllic Pools - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A New All-inclusive Resort From Rafael Nadal\u2019s Hotel Brand Just Opened in the Dominican Republic \u2014 With Swim-up Suites and Idyllic Pools - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The wellness-focused Zel Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic is a short walk from Bavaro Beach. Exterior view of the Zel Punta Cana resort in the...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-21T09:36:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093\",\"name\":\"A New All-inclusive Resort From Rafael Nadal\u2019s Hotel Brand Just Opened in the Dominican Republic \u2014 With Swim-up Suites and Idyllic Pools - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-21T09:36:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-21T09:36:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15-1.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":2000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A New All-inclusive Resort From Rafael Nadal\u2019s Hotel Brand Just Opened in the Dominican Republic \u2014 With Swim-up Suites and Idyllic Pools\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A New All-inclusive Resort From Rafael Nadal\u2019s Hotel Brand Just Opened in the Dominican Republic \u2014 With Swim-up Suites and Idyllic Pools - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A New All-inclusive Resort From Rafael Nadal\u2019s Hotel Brand Just Opened in the Dominican Republic \u2014 With Swim-up Suites and Idyllic Pools - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"The wellness-focused Zel Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic is a short walk from Bavaro Beach. Exterior view of the Zel Punta Cana resort in the...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-01-21T09:36:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":2000,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093","name":"A New All-inclusive Resort From Rafael Nadal\u2019s Hotel Brand Just Opened in the Dominican Republic \u2014 With Swim-up Suites and Idyllic Pools - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-21T09:36:07+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-21T09:36:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15-1.jpg","width":2000,"height":2000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21093#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A New All-inclusive Resort From Rafael Nadal\u2019s Hotel Brand Just Opened in the Dominican Republic \u2014 With Swim-up Suites and Idyllic Pools"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21095,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21093\/revisions\/21095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}