Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive offers 540 spacious rooms. (Photo Credit: Valentin Fuentes)
Located along 199 yards of private beach, Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive Resort is the new jewel of the international hotel chain, offering 540 spacious rooms facing the magnificent Mexican Caribbean.
“It allowed us to return to the hotel zone where Hilton had left near 2005. We have 81 suites and a fantastic dining experience. We’re redefining how we run All-Inclusive within the industry,” Jorge Giannattasio, Senior Vice President and Director of Caribbean and Latin America Operations at Hilton, told TravelPulse.
With this launch, Hilton breaks the myth that the All-Inclusive model is unsuitable for large hotel chains. “We decided to enter this segment, and the proof is in the pudding. In a very short time, we have gone from not having any All-Inclusive hotel in Latin America to 10, of which we operate a good part,” Giannattasio says.
Mexico has one of Hilton’s most extensive portfolios, with 90 hotels open and about 30 more in development.
“Everything differs from a traditional hotel, but we could do it because it was a priority. We hire new full-time employees incorporated into sales, operations, revenue management, brand, marketing, and everything. We learned to manage the category, we didn’t treat it like one more hotel, that’s a big difference why we’ve been so successful, and it’s part of our DNA,” says Nicole Tilzer, Vice President and Strategy Director for Resort & All-Inclusive at Hilton.
It is worth noting that since this is a conversion because the hotel used to belong to another brand, 95 percent of the team members were retained.
“The excitement they have for being part of Hilton is a big thing that we bring because we provide a space of confidence and reliability to guests, but also to team members. We provide new opportunities for them, for the community, for suppliers, and we provide jobs. We help to grow with the Hilton effect, and we bring the All-Inclusive category to different locations like this one, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and more to come where we want to bring Hilton new guests and team members,” explains Tilzer.
The hotel has swimming pools for guests of all ages. (Photo Credit: Valentin Fuentes)
According to Tilzer, Hilton has been constantly evolving because they have considered the changing needs of guests. “We’ve seen the trends of the younger generation that have to do with experiences. They want more technology skills and need team members to help them do their things. After the pandemic, we have seen that guests are looking to get to a place where they don’t have to make all the decisions,” she says.
Giannattasio says it’s easy to evolve when the company is used to innovation, another element of Hilton’s DNA. “The first airport hotel was a Hilton, the first one with air conditioning in all the rooms was a Hilton, Brownie and Aruba Arriba (Aruba’s national beverage), were invented in a Hilton.”
For Alejandro Larrondo, General Manager of Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive Resort, the most critical asset behind Hilton’s success in the industry is the quality of its human resources. “The added value of this hotel is its working team. For us, human resources are essential. Constant training and empowerment are vital to be successful,” he says.
He explains that the hotel has nearly 600 team members. “We are not one of those companies that fill up with human resources and that when things don’t go well, they let people go. We’re hiring as the business grows. These 600 team members are considered for a 45 percent occupancy. The first week of October, we were at 27 percent occupancy, and in November, we are close to 50 percent,” says Larrondo.
The employees’ expertise allows them to meet the needs of guests who, while enjoying their stay at the hotel, also seek various experiences of water sports, nature, culture, and entertainment. Larrondo says that the guest of Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive Resort is characterized by being a discoverer. “Many of our guests come to the All-Inclusive because they want to enjoy the amenities, but also to know places. They want to visit the ruins and learn the local culture, for example.”
World-Class Gastronomy
Restaurants at Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive offer high-quality cuisine with different specialties. (Photo Credit: Valentin Fuentes)
Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive Resort’s culinary experiences are highly varied and of excellent quality, overseen by the talented executive chef Leonardo Trujillo. FLAMA STK offers a menu of dry-ripened and certified Angus meats, as well as a fine wine collection.
La Luce offers Italian and Mediterranean dishes; Maxal pays homage to traditional Mexican flavors; Nariku Asian offers show cooking; Vela, a family buffet; CHALA Skybar offers seafood dishes overlooking the beach and pools; and Seasalt, is a relaxed poolside restaurant. In addition, the hotel has six bars where guests can enjoy unlimited Caribbean cocktails, fruit juices, beer, wine, spirits, soft drinks, and water. In addition, the resort offers daily room service 24 hours a day.
One of the distinctive advantages of the hotel is that it has exceptional quality in the supplies that it offers in the different restaurants and bars. “We have a specialized office that approves suppliers with different quality standards, which I call best, good, better. This ensures a standardized supply chain. All our suppliers go through due diligence to ensure they meet the standards we demand,” says Juan Corvinos, Senior Vice President of Development, Architecture, Design and Construction for the Caribbean and Latin America at Hilton.
Corvinos underlines the importance of the values of a company like Hilton, which is summarized as follows: H (hospitality), I (integrity), L (leadership), T (teamwork), O (Ownership), and N (now). “All our letters have a meaning.”
Giannattasio, meanwhile, explains that the standards of the various Hilton brands are perfectly defined and consistently applied. “To set a global standard, the brand does extensive research to determine what is needed, what the economic impact will be on our owner, the guest, and the expected return. There is an area where we train our people to implement the standards. Then there is a quality assurance where we inspect each of the 7,300 properties of the system on a regular basis and verify that the standards are met,” he says.
Tilzer says that while there are always regional differences, “we have the same levels of standards around the world.”
Fun and Wellness
At the Spa, guests can enjoy facials and body treatments with natural ingredients. (Photo Credit: Valentin Fuentes)
The hotel offers a wide range of activities during the day and night, such as yoga and cooking classes, as well as dancing with DJ music, to name a few. Additionally, swimming pools are focused on all ages and include a children’s slide and areas reserved for adults only.
Supervised crafts are available at the Beach Bunch kids’ club, while the teen club offers video games and a billiard table. Another space is the Family Room, where guests enjoy board games, movies, and storytelling.
Another favorite area for guests is the gym, which features state-of-the-art cardio machines, weights, and personalized trainers. In addition, there’s a modern boutique spa offering indoor and outdoor relaxation areas, cottages, a hydrotherapy circuit, and a steam room and sauna with an immersion pool. Personalized massages and facial and body treatments using traditional Mexican healing herbs are also available.
In addition, Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive Resort has perfect oceanfront spaces for memorable events such as weddings, bachelor parties, family reunions, and celebrations in which the client can hire tailor-made services such as photographic and video coverages, as well as offers of treatments at the spa, among others.
Enclave, Maximum Exclusivity
Guests of Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive Resort have the opportunity to access a level of maximum exclusivity by booking one of the 62 Enclave rooms and suites that include lounge for private check-in and check-out, lobby with food and drinks, private pool areas, personal concierge service, complimentary welcome items, beach bag, superior minibar, premium wifi, superior coffee brewing area, robes and slippers, and nightly courtesy service, among others.
The exclusive Enclave rooms feature a private pool and direct access to the beach. (Photo Credit: Valentin Fuentes)
“Enclave guests can consume different foods, premium liqueurs from international brands, breakfast and snacks dedicated to them, and in the afternoon, we offer a variety of Spanish tapas,” says Larrondo, adding that, in the Chala restaurant, they can enjoy a variety of ceviches and premium liqueurs in a space surrounded by four pools. “On the beach, we have nine Balinese beds dedicated to our Enclave guests and more than 60 deckchairs that do not have to pay extra.”
Commitment With the Environment and Society
Regarding environmental responsibility, Hilton has several goals to meet to reduce the carbon footprint with the plan called More Means Más. “Also, with the LightStay program, the hotel reports on all its initiatives in sustainability and volunteerism. So people know what we’re doing to create a sustainable impact on the environment and the community,” says Tilzer.
“We have reduced our carbon footprint by 35 and 41 percent in water and electricity due to our environmental commitment. Our guests ask us to be responsible citizens of the planet,” says Giannattasio.
Larrondo explains that Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive Resort has a centralized irrigation system that controls the property’s water. “We have three clear policies: reuse, reduce, and recycle. We are reducing plastic consumption and hope to make the end of the year using only liquid and reusable soaps,” he says. In addition, once a month, the hotel invites artisans from the region so that, at no cost, they can offer their products to guests to benefit their communities.
Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive is located in the heart of the hotel zone. (Photo Credit: Valentin Fuentes)
Hilton Honors
One of the most attractive products for guests is the Hilton Honors loyalty program, which offers the opportunity to get preferential rates, rewards, and discounts, plus privileges such as free wifi during the stay and earning points that can be used for free nights. Elite category members earn more points and the chance to get the fifth night free on reward stays.
With all these powerful assets, Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive Resort expects, from this season, an increasing arrival of tourists, mainly from the United States and Canada. This property represents the company’s 90th hotel in Mexico and the 10th All-Inclusive resort in the Caribbean and Latin America.
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