It’s a scenario that every Canadian travel agent is all too familiar with: You have a multigenerational group heading down to Mexico for some sun. The kids want fun and games by the pool all day long, but Grandma and Grandpa want their margarita served up with a little slice of beachy peace and tranquillity.
And in the middle of this conundrum, Mom and Dad want to keep everybody happy – and so do you!
The All Playa Experience enables guests to plan their day based on the mood they’re in – ‘Chill’ mode or ‘Activity’ mode.
This is where Sandos Playacar in Playa del Carmen comes in. Not only is this resort located on one of the most breathtakingly-beautiful white sand beaches on the Riviera Maya, but those clever people at the resort have come up with the ‘All Playa Experience’ – a resort concept that manages to keep the kids, grandparents as well as Mom and Dad happy.
The All Playa Experience enables guests to plan their day based on the mood they’re in – ‘Chill’ mode or ‘Activity’ mode.
“Chill mode can be on the beach or around the pool,” explained Heidi Verschaeve, VP of sales for North America at Sandos Hotels & Resorts. “You can have some quiet time to just talk with your companions, read a good book or simply be present. Be in the moment. Taking a yoga class or meditating on the beach: that’s Chill mode.”
So, while the chilled-out members of your multigenerational group are quite content to immerse themselves in sublime tranquillity, the livelier members of your group can be merrily living it up in Activity mode in a different area of the resort or the kilometre-long beach.
“There are activities on the beach, around the pool and in the water,” enthused Verschaeve. “There’s beach volleyball, rope-pulling and live music. And the cherry on top is that at night we have our outdoor theatre with live music and special shows. It goes from sunrise to when the lights go out on the stage at night.”
It’s a novel concept that works like a charm at a resort that boasts almost a kilometre of beachfront, so activities, be they boisterous or relaxing, can be spread out in order to keep everybody happy – from an energetic seven-year-old who wants to run wild in the waterpark before checking out the Cupcake Cafe, to Boomers who want to catch a tribute show after a peaceful afternoon of snorkelling.
It’s also a concept that makes reassuring your group clients and closing the sale just a little bit easier. So how did Sandos come up with it?
“It comes from talking to our guests,” added Verschaeve. “We have a mix of guests as we have a family part of the hotel and an adult-only part – and they all have different preferences.
“Listening to them we learned that they don’t always want activities or music by the pool, sometimes they just want to have a little quiet time. So, we created these micro-environments for our guests.”
