Rafael Nadal’s new hotel, Zel Mallorca, which is the brand’s first 165-bedroom property CREDIT: Tomeu Canyellas Moragues
At Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in his hometown of Manacor, Mallorca, I’m surrounded by the satisfying thwacks of balls being knocked across the net. I await the Spanish sporting legend at a terrace bar overlooking the 45 courts where 160 aspiring tennis stars aged between 12 and 18 train every year, dreaming of following in the footsteps of the record-breaking athlete himself.
Nadal, now 37, founded his academy seven years ago – but I’m here to learn about another venture that will keep him busy in life beyond tennis. We’re meeting just weeks after he revealed that next year will likely be his last on the courts; and now, he’s the co-founder of a new hotel brand, Zel, whose first 165-bedroom property has just opened here on the tennis champion’s native island, aiming to encapsulate “the essence of the Mediterranean”.
Rafa Nadal and Gabriel Escarrer (Melia CEO) at the Zel launch party
Rafa Nadal with Melia CEO Gabriel Escarrer at the Zel launch party CREDIT: eventone.es
The 22-time Grand Slam singles winner meets me after a morning of rehab, still recovering from recent hip surgery. The injury kept him out of last month’s French Open, the first time in 19 years that the King of Clay missed the tournament, which he has won 14 times. He’s on the mend – “poco a poco (bit by bit)”, he says – but he’s a no-show at Wimbledon and will be off the courts for the rest of the year.
With his feet firmly on Mallorcan soil for now, the timing of Zel’s opening seems fortuitous. Its location in the sportsman’s birthplace, which he has spent the majority of his life away from since he was a teenager, sounded to me like a dreamy homecoming – but Nadal takes a more pragmatic view. “It’s not romantic,” says the two-time Wimbledon winner, who has spent 209 weeks as world number one. “It’s logical.”
Zel Mallorca – Rafael Nadal and Meliá s new hotel
The aim is to have more than 20 Zel properties around the world in the next five years CREDIT: Tomeu Canyellas Moragues
He seems aware that investing in one of the most valuable local industries is a smart game. “Mallorca lives off tourism,” he says. “Ever since I was born, the island’s economy has depended on it.” With the sector accounting for around 45 per cent of the Balearic economy, hotels can be a lucrative business. And the project isn’t just about Mallorca – Zel wants to open more than 20 properties around the world in the next five years.
“I’m not a hotelier,” he quickly clarifies. Instead, this partnership with the Meliá hotel group – a marriage between two leading homegrown assets – means the matador of the tennis court needn’t worry about day-to-day management. “I’m here to learn,” he continues. “My contribution is to carry over what I like when I’m travelling.”
Zel Mallorca – Rafael Nadal and Meliá s new hotel
An interior view of a suite at Zel Mallorca CREDIT: Tomeu Canyellas Moragues
The mood at Zel is fun and informal, with chilled house music playing on the soundsystem; the staff dress in relaxed beige linen, while rustic wooden ceiling fans spin overhead. Esparto rope hangs on the walls and lines the bannister of the spiral staircase – the hotel’s architect Alvaro Sans tells me it’s the kind used on fishing boats, a nod to the Balearics’ maritime traditions. Mallorca’s typical blue and white lenguas pattern, made with ikat dyeing, is found in much of the upholstering, including the rocking chair on my bedroom’s sea-facing balcony.
Just don’t expect tennis courts, a racquet on arrival or lime-coloured balls everywhere – Nadal says he intentionally avoided making his presence felt too much – he would see it as “egocentric”. Instead, they’ve opted to offer more “relaxed sports”, with a gym, yoga studio and outdoorsy activities.
At Beso Beach restaurant, I enjoy a garlicky grilled sea bass with Mallorcan wine. The colour palette is sandy, with wood and linen touches and terracotta tiled flooring. Beso Beach has outposts in locations such as Formentera, Ibiza and Sitges; its newest spot also extends to Zel’s pool area, with direct access out to the beach.
Deià, Valldemossa and Pollença are among Mallorca’s most picturesque areas but the first Zel, somewhat surprisingly, is in Palma Nova, a purpose-built resort town on the south-west coast: right next to Magaluf, notorious for rowdy, drunken Brits. I pass topless men of all ages around the Passeig Mar strip, where holidaymakers can hop between American diners, sports bars, karaoke joints and countless shops for beachwear and souvenirs; cuisine ranges from Indian and Chinese to jacket potatoes and fish and chips.