Pueblo Bonito Founder Joins Mexico’s Shark Tank

The multi-Emmy® Award-winning reality show that has reinvigorated entrepreneurship in America has begun its seventh season in Mexico this month. But when the show begins, its tribunal will feature a new face, one all too familiar to those who know the story of Pueblo Bonito Resorts' remarkable and inspiring beginnings.

When Shark Tank Mexico’s much-loved shark, Arturo Elías Ayub stepped down from the role at the end of season six, he was immediately replaced by award-winning businessman, and founder of Pueblo Bonito Golf & Spa Resorts, Ernesto Coppel Kelly. The role of shark makes perfect sense of course, given Coppel Kelly’s personal story and successive philanthropic efforts to do for others what he worked hard to accomplish himself.

Coppel Kelly was just 38 years-old when contractors laid the first stone of Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán. It was inaugurated two years later in 1987 and marked the beginning of the development of luxury hotels along that shoreline. Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos (also fondly called “Blanco”) opened in 1994 before Pueblo Bonito Rosé in 1997. In the first decade of the 2000s, Coppel Kelly oversaw the opening of Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay in Mazatlán, Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach in Los Cabos, Montecristo Estates Luxury Villas, as well as Pueblo Bonito Pacifica in Los Cabos. More recently, his development project, Quivira Los Cabos, has become one of the most exclusive developments on the Peninsula, with its complex extending 728 hectares to include more than 5 kilometers of pristine beach. Coppel Kelly is now also expanding his hotel empire to include San Miguel de Allende with a property scheduled to open during the first half of 2023.

In the 1990s, Coppel Kelly won the Entrepreneur of the Year award for the National Chamber of Commerce and Tourist Services of Mazatlan. He was also awarded Entrepreneur Major Generator of Jobs by the CTM of Sinaloa. But the awards didn’t stop there. In 2004 and 2005, Coppel Kelley won the Five Star Diamond Award from The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. Also, in 2004, former Mexico president, Vicente Fox, named Coppel Kelley Entrepreneur of the Year and appointed him to a six-year term as PAN tourist advisor. In the same year, Coppel Kelly and Letty Coppel created the Letty Coppel Foundation—a non-profit organization with the mission to improve the quality of life and development of the communities in Los Cabos and Mazatlán. 

Having dedicated his entire life to the growth and advancement of the hospitality industry, Coppel Kelly’s role as shark presents an opportunity to literally “share the wealth.” His underlying desire is to support those most in need and their environment and positively influence what happens to them and their development. Any efforts to provide support to social assistance, community development, culture, and traditions must not be in vain.

Coppel Kelly has authored three books: The Road to the Promised Land, which details the story of his family’s journey to the “promised land” of Mazatlán; The Cuisine and Art of Pueblo Bonito, which features photographs of the original works of art that enhance his hotels along with recipes from his resorts; and The Creation of Pueblo Bonito, an inspiring account of his life and rise from poverty to become a successful owner of a billion-dollar company.

To get your hands on any of Coppel Kelly’s publications, contact any one of our concierges or click on the links embedded above to purchase. The books are guaranteed to enlighten past guests to Pueblo Bonito’s properties as well as inspire inaugural visits from those who wish to see Coppel Kelly’s vision realized. Shark Tank Mexico is available to stream on Hulu after episodes have already aired.