Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal has teamed up with hotel chain Meliá Hotels to launch a new leisure hotel brand called ZEL.
ZEL will be run as a joint venture between Nadal and Meliá, both of whom hail from Mallorca.
The idea is to expand the Mediterranean-themed brand around Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America.
ZEL plans to open its first hotel in Mallorca this year, with Madrid, Paris and London due to follow. In the short-term, the plan is to have 20 hotels in the portfolio – catering for high-end leisure tourists.
“As a Spaniard, a Mallorcan and a global traveller, the launch of our hotel brand is a project that I have had in mind for a long while,” Nadal said.
