Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — The MIA for a replacement hotel in a former central accident site of Playa del Carmen has been denied. The Secretaría de Medio Ambiente and Recursos Naturales (Semarnat) denied its approval saying it was not feasible to build a hotel on the same site.
In June of 2022, the developer submitted the MIA to the government for approval to rebuild on the same property. However, Semarnat suspended the building request in September of 2022, saying they were in need of additional information.
The new hotel development was to be named Mayan Monkey Playa del Carmen and constructed in the federal maritime-terrestrial zone where the former Kool Beach Spa and Hotel used to be.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) declined the Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) submitted by Mayan Monkey Holding SAPI DE CV this month.
The new project was to be a 60-room hotel divided into four levels with green areas and a perimeter acoustic wall across the 2,767 square meters plot of land. It also included an artificial dune and rustic pier. The project was pegged at around $4.2 million USD.
The Kool Beach Hotel was demolished after a kitchen gas explosion in March of 2022. Three hotel employees were killed in the LP gas explosion. The plot of sea-front land remains empty.
