An Inside Look at Mexico’s First Cartoon Character Resort

Are US entertainment brands embracing the international resort travel space?

At the March 31 official opening of Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Riviera Maya, the first character-themed resort in Mexico, Paramount Global announced a forward approach to bringing its portfolio of iconic kids and adult assets to the vacationing masses.

First out the gate is a subset of famous Nickelodeon characters. The 280-room all-inclusive Nickelodeon Riviera Maya Resort and Aqua Nick bring iconic characters from the Nickelodeon constellation of TV game shows, cartoons and cultural touchstones like slime and the orange carpet.

“We are going to globally grow this business. Our goal is to always bring kids and families together to have fun and relax. To quote Sponge Bob, ‘you never really know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory,’” said Pamela Kaufman, President, Paramount Global Consumer Products and Experiences. At the formal opening, she was accompanied by Quintana Roo governor Carlos Joaquin, Grupo Lomas founders Doris Lopez Lira and Jose Luis Martinez, and Karima Hotels and Resorts executives.

Kaufman continued, “This resort builds on the overall mission to give kids and families an opportunity to engage with our amazing portfolio of shows and characters – onscreen and in real life, through incredible experiences at all touch points.”

Located south of Puerto Morelos and part of the Grupo Lomas cluster of mangrove-backed beachfront resorts, the $340 million dollar development had its soft opening in August 2021. Built during the COVID pandemic, the developers had to take special safeguards like housing construction workings in COVID-free workspaces.

The resulting resort, operated by Grupo Lomas, has three physical spaces. A six-acre, character-themed water park (access is currently limited to resort guests only) brings the very latest in scintillating water slides, two lazy rivers, food stations and group SLIME sessions. A short walk away is the main lobby and entertainment centers (a theatre, gift shops, sports lounge and two of the resort’s six restaurants).

To protect the property’s vast coastal mangrove, the second main feature is a swath of natural space – left intact, but for a single road that cuts from the lobby into a dense forest that’s home to native wildlife. The winding lane leads to the resort’s third space, a six-story hotel room complex.

Apart from the natural space, the resort deploys artistic accents in creative ways. Wall hangings include original story-boarding cartoon concepts, base-relief stylized hieroglyphs of Nick characters and green slime accents. The look and feel are surprisingly elegant and refined, while also colorful and playful.

Character focus leans toward four main brands: SpongeBob, Ninja Turtles, Dora the Explorer and Paw Patrol, all roaming the resort grounds at specified times of day. Boldly going beyond simple character meet-ups, the resort’s heart and soul is a team of highly talented, bilingual and bubbly dancers who act as character facilitators. This troupe of young performers pop-up at Aqua Nick, evening theatre performances and impromptu lobby meet-and-greets for resort guests and the Nickelodeon gang. There’s nothing like it at any other Mexico resort.

Aiding and enhancing the resort is the Karisma “Gourmet Inclusive” theme and the company’s longevity marketing resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean. Mandy Chomat, President of Premiere Worldwide Marketing, noted how the Nickelodeon Resort brand has evolved. “After opening the Punta Cana Nickelodeon Resort, we had to create a different concept for the rooms. We had to change to cater to larger families. Here, all the rooms are available for two plus three (kids). We also added more closet space and room for luggage. The units also have two full bathrooms,” he said.

Ty Granaroli, Executive Vice President of Themed Entertainment for Paramount, said, “We took an elegant approach to the brand. One of the things you’ll notice is how the characters are etched into the surface, into the rock. We want to play with how people interact with our brand in markets around the world. And it’s not always the same.”

Uniquely, all 280 rooms have individual infinity pools, facing the resort’s oceanfront. Bottom floor units (“swim-up ocean front”) lead directly into the beach-facing pool (with two swim-up bars) that runs the length of the sleeping room tower. There is a white sand beach, but its Caribbean shore is rocky and not swimmable. Swimmable beaches are found a short walk to the south.

Is this a kid’s only resort? Not so much says Chomat: “We have a lot of visitors who come without kids. They grew up with Nickelodeon and they want to experience it again.” Pam Kaufman expands saying, “We are targeting kids and families. We have the first generation of kids who grew up on Nickelodeon that are now parents and in some cases grandparents. Sponge Bob is 21 years old.”

As for the future of Paramount Global and the resort space, Kaufman said, “We are talking about building other amazing properties, the question is where and when. We have an unbelievable portfolio. Paramount has of course Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and has opened two hotels in Dubai.”

“A third of the audience watching Sponge Bob is 18+ with no kids. We’ve all been through a lot with the pandemic and there is tremendous comfort in watching something that makes you feel so good, and we are well-positioned in the space. Nickelodeon has never talked down to children. If you watch the brand, we’ve always treated kids and families alike. It’s one of the only brands in the world that respects kids for who they are.”

With rates currently at $450 per adult (all-inclusive), this resort certainly raises the bar for family entertainment. Given Paramount’s vast reservoir of content, the popular cultural-themed resort may be here to stay—in the nick of time.