This article originally appeared the April issue of AGENTatHOME magazine. Subscribe here to receive your free copy each month.
Palladium Hotel Group – a Spanish company with all-inclusive brands TRS Hotels and Grand Palladium Hotels & Resorts in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico – wants to delight its guests with what may be undiscovered treasures of the properties.
The company invests heavily in offering top-notch entertainment, fine international cuisine, extensive family amenities and continuous training of its customer service staff.
An Enduring Commitment To Advisors
Palladium Hotel Group is devoted to its loyal travel advisors.
Pilar Arizmendi-Stewart, Palladium Hotel Group’s VP-Sales and Marketing of the Americas, said the company is relaunching its travel partner program.
“We are about to relaunch Booking Pro on Palladium Connect,” she said. “This is a great, great tool, and we are making sure that travel advisors take advantage of it.”
“We are very grateful for travel advisors. We depend on travel agents almost 100 percent,” Arizmendi-Stewart added. “The travel advisor community is and has been the most important part of our success around the world. We consider them our front line when it comes to bringing business to our destinations.”
What’s more, Palladium offers a tiered commission structure, paying more as bookings increase. Plus, the base commission is 14 percent!
Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa
That focus will be exemplified in “Palladium Unveiled,” as the company uncovers the extensive refurbishments at Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa in Montego Bay and Grand Palladium Kantenah Resort & Spa in the Riviera Maya.
“I was in Jamaica recently and must say I was pleasantly surprised,” said Pilar Arizmendi-Stewart, Palladium’s VP-Sales and Marketing of the Americas. “We’ve invested almost $28 million.”
The Perfect getaway at Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa (Courtesy of Palladium Hotel Group)
Refreshed Rooms, Common Areas
The project refurbished common areas and all hotel rooms, which includes 48 suites in two new categories – 40 Superior Junior Suite Private Pool Ocean View and eight Superior Suite Private Pool Oceanfront View. These swimup suites offer a private pool and terrace with seating and some with a wooden pergola.
Arizmendi-Stewart said the new furniture in all rooms is more modern. Guest room bathrooms now feature a hydromassage bathtub and shower – some with open-plan bathrooms centered by the bathtub.
The project also updated the iconic Infinity Saloon Bar. The open-air terrace now has elegant awnings and lounge-style furniture with sofas and large armchairs. In this area, black-and-white stripes in the furniture fabrics mesh with a mural decorated with the image of the national bird – the hummingbird.
In the lobby, enhancements of the English Colonial style were made to the solid wood and furniture. The reception has been updated with white lattices and mirrors.
Culinary Offerings
On the culinary end, the MoBay show-cooking restaurant, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, has increased its capacity to accommodate up to a total of 286 diners. Divided into four areas by screens, the space now has two new food stations to offer more dishes and products.
In addition, all rooms have energy-saving systems with sensors for lighting and air-conditioning, and the swim-up pools are heated through an efficient system that uses heat pumps.
Grand Palladium Kantenah Resort & Spa
Meanwhile, in the popular Riviera Maya area south of Cancun, the Grand Palladium Kantenah Resort & Spa is undergoing a $48 million renovation, which Arizmendi-Stewart said would make it “basically the newest hotel in the destination.” It will include the company’s luxury Family Selection hotel-with-in-a-hotel that features a Family Host, or butler service, for families available 24/7. “Kids are the VIPs in Family Selection,” she said. “We have 64 amenities for them.”
Completion of the major project is expected later this year.
New Entertainment Options
Regarding entertainment that delights, Palladium is offering new options for the entire family, designed to be as noteworthy as the Chic Cabaret & Restaurant. Chic Cabaret is an almost three-hour, high-energy extravaganza with glittery costumed singers – some who have appeared on “The Voice” or “American Idol” – dancers, aerialists and more. Guests dine on a multi-course set menu during the show. The show is available at the TRS Hotels complex in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and at the TRS Hotels in Costa Mujeres and Riviera Maya, Mexico.
The new entertainment includes BRAVO Dine & Dancing Experience and Le Petit Chef.
BRAVO is a concept oriented to give a differential value to the Grand Palladium brand, and at the same time to innovate once again in the food-and-beverage sector as was done with Chic Cabaret, the company said.
Family Dining Experiences
Le Petit Chef is an interactive show, tailored for families to take the dining experience to the next level. The animated character is a seven-year-old cook from Marseille who seems to appear on the tabletop while showing the audience how to prepare the dishes they will later taste.
Other amenities unique to Palladium include the Rafa Nadal Tennis Center at TRS Coral Hotel and Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa. That resort has Maya ruins and an underground river on property, and also offers Maya ceremonies.
Palladium is entering 2024 on a high note, after experiencing huge demand this year.
“I’m happy to inform you that we are 22 percent over 2019 already,” Arizmendi-Stewart said. “It’s been an incredible year. There’s been a slight slowdown in the fall, but we’re very optimistic that if nothing happens, we will be surpassing 2019.”
Topics From This Article to Explore
