The Meliá Roatán resort will open in 2029 in Honduras, facing the world’s second-largest barrier reef

Meliá Hotels International signed a new resort in Honduras on 27 October 2026: the Meliá Roatán, due in 2029 with 350 rooms and suites and 145 branded residences. Built from scratch overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, it will stand on the island of Roatán, sheltered by the Mesoamerican Reef System, the second-largest barrier reef in the world.

Meliá doubles its presence in Honduras

The Spanish group announced the signing in a press release on 27 October 2026. Meliá Roatán will be a brand-new resort, operated under the Meliá Hotels & Resorts banner. It will be the group’s second address in the country: less than a year ago, Meliá brought the Media Luna Resort & Beach Club into its Affiliated by Meliá network, and it is set to become Sol Roatán.

The project extends the group’s collaboration with entrepreneur Piero Dibattista, head of HMResorts, who was already Meliá’s partner when it entered Honduras in November 2025. No images of the site have been released yet: the photos in this article show the island of Roatán, and only the view of the resort is an official rendering.

Tiered terraces facing the Caribbean

According to Meliá, the architecture will be contemporary and tropical in spirit: tiered volumes, wide terraces, open spaces and lush gardens, designed as a retreat facing the sea. The resort will have 350 rooms and suites looking out over the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. Their breakdown, their sizes and the name of the architect have yet to be revealed.

A beach club, a spa and restaurants in store

The press release mentions several dining concepts, a beach club, wellness areas with a spa, shops and rooms for meetings and events. The names of the restaurants and the treatment menu will be unveiled later.

The photos above show West Bay beach, on the same island: they give an idea of the setting, but do not necessarily match the site of the future resort, whose exact location has not been disclosed.

145 branded residences: what are they?

Alongside the hotel, the project includes 145 Branded Residences: homes that are bought outright and benefit from the services and standards of the hotel brand. According to Meliá, the formula meets demand from investors who want to own a property with these services.

The group presents this model as a business set to carry ever more weight in its international growth. The size of the homes, their type (villas or apartments) and their sale prices have not been disclosed.

Roatán, on the world’s second-largest reef

Roatán is the largest of the Bay Islands, in Honduras. Meliá highlights the Mesoamerican Reef System that protects it, the second-largest barrier reef in the world, and both the corals and the channels beneath the mangroves are part of the island’s landscape. Elsewhere in the region, look out for the overwater bungalows due in Belize in our pick of the 13 Four Seasons hotels of 2027.

Five Central American countries in its sights

Roatán is part of a regional strategy. Meliá is targeting Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, drawing on the region’s growing connectivity, with its brands Meliá Hotels & Resorts, The Meliá Collection, Zel, INNSiDE by Meliá and Sol by Meliá.

In the Caribbean, the group has just celebrated in Mexico the rebirth of the Paradisus Cancún resort, after 50 million euros of works. Another Caribbean project: The Pyrmont Curaçao resort, due at the end of 2026 in Willemstad.