Meliá Hotels International has signed agreements for two new properties in Mendoza, Argentina, marking the Spanish group’s first entry into the province and bringing its total Argentine pipeline to 11 hotels signed within two years.
The two properties, Meliá Mendoza and Meliá Collection Valle de Uco, are both scheduled to open in 2028 and will be owned and developed by local partner Grupo Almarena. Their signing extends a strategic alliance between the two companies to five properties across Argentina.
Meliá Mendoza will occupy a central city location near Plaza Independencia and will operate under the group’s mid-to-upper tier Meliá Hotels and Resorts brand. The 140-room property will include a restaurant, bar and meeting facilities, serving both business and leisure travellers.
The second property takes a markedly different positioning. Meliá Collection Valle de Uco will be situated approximately 100 kilometres from Mendoza city, surrounded by vineyards and framed by the Andes mountain range. The project will focus on an immersive experience tied to wine tourism, wellness and nature, and is designed to function as a destination in its own right. It will offer 110 rooms, including ten branded residences available for private ownership.
The Meliá Collection brand is the group’s most exclusive tier, and its deployment in Valle de Uco signals confidence in the sub-region’s luxury credentials. Mendoza has consolidated its position as one of the most prominent destinations on the global hospitality map, earning Michelin recognition and featuring on Time Out Travel’s list of cities to visit in 2026. The region’s combination of high-altitude vineyards, Andes scenery and established wine culture has attracted sustained international operator interest.
That competition is intensifying. Marriott International has also confirmed its arrival in Valle de Uco with Casa Origen, a project carrying an estimated investment of US$25 million that will operate under the Autograph Collection brand and is also scheduled to open in 2028. The near-simultaneous entry of two major international groups into the same sub-market indicates the strength of institutional conviction in Mendoza’s premium trajectory.
For Meliá, the Mendoza signings deepen what has become one of its most active bilateral relationships in Latin America. Grupo Almarena has established itself since 2014 as one of Argentina’s leading emerging players across hospitality, gastronomy and real estate development. The expanded partnership now covers five properties, including two in Buenos Aires and a forthcoming project in Costa del Este.
Gabriel Escarrer, Chairman and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, described Argentina as ‘one of our priority growth markets in Latin America,’ adding that the Mendoza signings reflect the company’s goal to build a ‘strong, diverse and differentiated presence, focused on unique destinations.’
Meliá currently operates six hotels in Argentina, four of which have opened in the past two years, and has five additional projects in the pipeline, all signed during the same period. Beyond Mendoza, the confirmed pipeline includes a Gran Meliá in Ushuaia, a Meliá Collection project in Bariloche and the debut of the INNSiDE by Meliá brand at Costa del Este.
The group’s Buenos Aires portfolio already provides the operational foundation from which the Mendoza expansion will be staffed and managed. In the capital, Meliá operates Meliá Recoleta Plaza, Casa Lucía Meliá Collection and the Affiliated by Meliá properties Almarena Madero Urbano and Almarena Puerto Retiro. Gran Meliá Iguazú and Alejandro I Affiliated by Meliá in Salta complete the current country presence.
The scale of the Argentina rollout raises substantive workforce questions for hospitality HR leaders. Meliá has stated that its 2025 priorities in the country include a deepening of the hiring initiated in 2024. With 11 properties signed in roughly two years, the group faces a localised talent pipeline challenge: recruiting and developing staff across a geographically dispersed set of properties, from Patagonia to the Andes wine country, in markets where international operator presence has historically been thin.
The Mendoza properties in particular will require hospitality professionals fluent in wine culture, wellness programming and the experiential travel expectations of the high-value international visitor. The branded residences component at Valle de Uco adds a further staffing dimension, as mixed-use properties combining hotel operations with private ownership typically require more specialised guest services roles than conventional hotels.
Meliá holds a Top Employer designation across several of its key markets and operates a ‘Very Inspiring People’ employer brand intended to support competitive recruitment. Whether that positioning translates effectively in markets new to the brand, such as Mendoza, is a practical challenge that the company’s local development partners will be central in addressing. With two years until opening, the talent and operational groundwork begins now.
