Namron Hospitality, a locally-rooted collection of luxury Mexican hotels and restaurants in Tulum, Mexico City, and San Miguel de Allende, has opened its fifth boutique hotel in Tulum – XELA (pronounced ‘shell-ah’)
Located in one of the first private villas ever built on Tulum Beach overlooking the Caribbean Sea, just across the road from the lush jungle, the property has maintained the intimacy of its former home. Now the villa has been transformed into a 12-bedroom boutique hotel, complete with a rooftop lounging space that offers 360° panoramic views, beachfront restaurant, two swimming pools, spa cabins, and a boutique.
Inspired by the meditative and adventurous feelings evoked from collecting seashells on the beach, XELA is a soulful retreat for those in search of a warm, authentic, and laidback hospitality experience. The original property was built and owned by a chic European couple (a Belgian designer and avantgarde British artist) and welcomed an array of high-end and celebrity guests over the years, now taking new life as a hotel, following a mindful renovation by architect Carlos Larios, who is known for his work in the local area.
Today, the property still embodies a homely tranquillity with its original minimalist wabi-sabi design elements that set it apart from its neighbouring properties, and has incorporated soft sand-like hues, warm oranges, and inviting textures – all while keeping new material usage to a minimum and upcycling existing furniture and materials where possible.
XELA’s seamless indoor-outdoor transitions are centred around an open-air living room and two swimming pools, and each individually designed suite is thoughtfully oriented toward the sea, offering a calming beachfront ambiance. Crowning the hotel is the property’s remarkable rooftop – the highest point on Tulum Beach, giving guests incredible panoramic beach and jungle views and a peaceful haven away from the crowds.
The beachfront restaurant serves up modern Mexican cuisine, using locally sourced organic ingredients and authentic flavours to nourish the mind, body and soul. Wellness is a focus across the Namron Hospitality portfolio, and XELA has a gym exclusively for guests, and will offer in-room treatments as well as two spa cabins. For a fullspa experience, guests will also have access to the group’s new La Valise SPA just seconds away, which has a philosophy centred around Mayan spirituality and healing through treatments, rituals, yoga classes, meditative breathwork sessions, sound healing, and cacao, lunar, and fire ceremonies.
As with the rest of the Namron Hospitality collection, XELA will invite guests to sign the Tulum Pledge as a promise to mindfully leave Tulum even better than they found it. The hotel’s spaces are designed to foster a connection between guests and their natural surroundings, and it prohibits single-use plastics, composts waste, recycles where possible, offers eco-friendly toiletries, repellent, and reef-friendly sunscreen.
