Villa and Hotel Construction in Cozumel

Turnkey new builds in Cozumel: design, permits, foundation, structure and finishes under one contract, one site manager and one fixed price.

Recrea has been building houses in San Miguel de Cozumel, the north coast and the southern coastal road since 2008 — 196+ completed projects across the Riviera Maya. Our architecture, electrical, carpentry and ironwork crews are in-house, so your build does not depend on subcontractors who appear and vanish.

What a Villa Costs to Build in Cozumel

Real budgets for a completed build, excluding land and furniture. The range depends on the finish level: economy, mid or premium (chukum, hardwood, designer kitchen, infinity pool).

Want the exact number for your lot and square metres? Use the cost calculator or ask us for an itemised quote.

See every zone in Playa del Carmen

What a Boutique Hotel Costs to Build in Cozumel

Construction cost per key (finished room, excluding land and operations), with island logistics already included. A 12 to 20 key boutique hotel is the format that works best on the island.

What a hotel needs beyond the build

• Municipal operating licence and Civil Protection sign-off
• Wastewater treatment plant sized to occupancy
• Water supply and storage: cistern, pumping and, where needed, a desalination unit
• Contracted electrical capacity with CFE plus a backup generator
• Kitchen, laundry and service areas to health regulations
• Hurricane protection: glazing, closures and a season protocol

Construction Process Step by Step

This is how we run every new build, with the timings we actually see in Cozumel:

Total: 8 to 14 months of construction plus 3–5 months of design and permits.

What the Price per m² Includes — and What It Does Not

Permits and Building Rules in Cozumel

Cozumel is its own municipality, with its own PDU and urban development office: land use and the licence with a DRO go there. The critical part is environmental: the reefs are the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park and the island forms part of a UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserve, so coastal projects are examined closely — there are precedents of licences held up and litigated over proximity to the reef. Beachfront requires ZOFEMAT; a hotel adds the operating licence, Civil Protection and tourism registration.

The lot: what decides your foundation

Highly permeable island limestone: whatever infiltrates reaches the aquifer and, on the coast, the reef. That is why the soil study comes with a serious wastewater solution — treatment plant or biodigester, never a simple septic pit — and runoff control. Structure and ironwork to marine spec, and power backup planned in: on an island a long outage is an operational problem, especially for a hotel.

On Cozumel materials come in only by ferry from Playa del Carmen and by the vehicle and cargo ferries: there is no road. That forces bulk purchasing, on-site storage and a scheduled delivery calendar, and adds 15% to 25% to the cost per m² versus the mainland. The island lives on diving and cruise traffic, so the real demand is rental villas and small boutique hotels, not mass developments.

Useful guides: House construction in Playa del Carmen · Commercial and hotel construction · Eco-lodges and retreats · Cost calculator

Why Build With Recrea

• 196+ completed projects in the Riviera Maya since 2008
• Fixed-price contract broken down by line item — no surprise overruns
• One company for everything — architecture, permits, construction, electrical, carpentry, ironwork
• Licensed DRO and architects — fully legal build, workers registered with IMSS
• Weekly photo and video reports — built for owners who live abroad
• Written 1-year warranty on structure and installations

Real Projects

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Frequently Asked Questions