Jeroen Hanlo, Karisma's V.P. Food & Beverage Operations
The El Dorado Royale
A room with a view at the El Dorado Royale
As the all-inclusive sector matures and raises its own bar higher and higher, it appears Karisma is determined to take the lead in the gourmet food and beverage department.
The chain, which currently includes 11 “gourmet-inclusive” properties in the Riviera Maya, announced this month that it has partnered with California-based Jackson Family wines to import more than 30 different labels of super-premium and luxury wines to each of its properties.
“We focus on food and service – not the rah-rah,” says plain-spoken and charming Jeroen Hanlo, the chain’s Vice President of food and beverage operations. “We look for people who want excellent food and wine, not beach volleyball or sitting at the swim up pool bar to drink all day.”
Yes, long gone are the days of Jack Tar Villages where there was no problem as to which resto to dine at, because there was only one (and you had to wear your resort-issued photo ID around your neck to get in). Hanlo himself remembers his 1st experience at an all-inclusive, having worked at Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe, as “miserable”.
The wines – some costing upwards of $500 a bottle, will come from California, France, Italy, Australia and Chile. Some 9,000 bottles have been ordered so far, and judging by the sampling we had last week at Sazzafraz in Toronto’s swanky Yorkville neighbourhood, they’ll be worth the trip to Mexico.
In addition, Karisma’s El Dorado Royale will feature the Jackson Family Wines Culinary Series spotlighting Karisma’s team of Michelin star resto-trained chefs and sommeliers. They’ll be providing guests with interactive experiences during the 1st week of each month including, for example, a “Meet and Greet”, a wine class, a cooking class and a sure-to-be-memorable Guest Chef and Winemaster dinner in the resort’s culinary theatre under a 90 foot thatched roof. The fee for the series is $300; and other Karisma guests who care to make their way to the El Dorado are welcome to attend at a $25 per person fee.
“Dancing around the pool has no ‘memory’ ingredient,” insists Hanlo. “But seeing the a world-class chef prepare a meal for you – standing next to you – now there’s a memory!”
Not surprising then that Karisma has been included in such elite lists as Condé Nast Traveler’s Top 100 Hotels in the World and Gold List and Forbes’ Top 10 Most Romantic Hotels. Photo ID definitely not required!
