Dolores López Lira never dreamed of running a hotel. Forty-five years after she and her husband, José Luis Martinez Alday, founded Grupo Lomas as a destination management company, it’s now a hotel group with eight beachfront properties in the Riviera Maya, and she has something to celebrate.
Despite a region-wide tourism industry downturn, the Mexican-owned business invited more than 300 travel advisors to Lomas Appreciation Week, its 45th anniversary celebration honoring top agents from Mexico, Canada and the United States. For López Lira, celebrating these agents was non-negotiable. During the event’s marketing forum addressing the invited travel agents and tour operators, López Lira expressed her gratitude. She credits the agents and their clients with Lomas’ success over the years that fulfilled her Mexican dream.
That success is not without its challenges. Several years ago, Martinez Alday suffered a stroke, which led to López Lira emerging as the face of Lomas Hospitality. She found that she had to prove herself competent in a male-dominated business, a hurdle she proudly overcame.
Occupancy is down across the Riviera Maya due to a combination of post-pandemic issues. These include highly publicized crime in some areas of the country, sargassum inundating the shoreline and reduced air transit. About 293,000 fewer international air passengers arrived in June 2026 compared to last year, according to Mexico Business News. López Lira found strength in her colleagues and family and faced each issue one by one.
All in the family
As Martinez Alday stepped back from his role, Samantha Frachey, López Lira’s daughter, rejoined the family business to support her mother and ensure the completion of the Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Riviera Maya. The newest addition to the Lomas family of properties, the all-inclusive family resort opened in 2021. It includes a water park accessible to guests staying in any of the Lomas resorts, another family travel option.
López Lira’s son, Rogelio Frachey López Lira, is the retail director for Grupo Lomas Travel & Nickelodeon Resort Riviera Maya. He focuses on infusing the family’s Mexican hospitality into the brand.
To López Lira, the staff feels like family too. “They are the reason that we are here, because they are the ones that face our clients,” she said. “They are the most important part.”
Speaking via translator, Celestino Quijada Tun, a waiter at El Dorado Royale who has served guests at the property for 25 years, remarks on his time as an employee. He remembers first working at the resort, when it was much smaller: “I have the opportunity to know Ms. Dolores, and her daughter and Mr. Martinez. And because of all the time that I have been here, they know me as well,” he said.
Now, his own son also waits tables for the hotel group. “It is a really good company. That’s why I bring my son to work here, because it’s a good company. They allow me to be myself, so I’m happy that you’re happy, clients are happy, everyone is happy,” Tun added.
Safety first
Keeping guests safe is a high priority. The properties are gated with guards checking vehicles in and out. Grupo Lomas owns a fleet of vehicles to transport guests wherever they need to go, from dedicated SUVs or vans from the airport to golf cart shuttles to transport guests throughout the resorts.
López Lira said that each driver must pass blood pressure, blood sugar and alcohol tests each day before being given the keys for their shift. Most Lomas Hospitality resorts are adults only. However, the family-oriented Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Riviera Maya has a lifeguard every 30 meters at its pools. Each property also has its own doctor’s office.
More inclusive
Standing out as an all-inclusive resort in Mexico is no easy feat. For Lomas Hospitality, the unique concept of “More Inclusive” is an initiative that begins with transportation from the airport and includes everything from food and drinks to entertainment and wellness activities.
Beyond the typically included food and drinks, park entrance is also included at four locations. Guests of any of the eight resorts can visit Aqua Nick Riviera Maya water park, Maroma Beach Club, Bonanza Ranch ecotourism ranch or Aktun Chen nature park and cenote at no additional charge. Additional shore excursions like catamaran snorkeling trips, wave runners, kayaks and paddleboards are also available for free. They have also added specialty mocktails to the drink menus and a sargassum barrier at Maroma Beach.
For López Lira, Mexican hospitality starts with her family and carries on through every facet of the business, from transportation to the guest experience. It’s an extension of her desire to invite people from all over the world to experience the Mexico she knows and loves.
Her philosophy traces back to the earliest days. “As the company started with nothing, so we decide that all we have to do is provide jobs, decent salaries and a way to have their dreams come true,” she said. If the past four decades are any indication, Lomas Hospitality will be waiting to welcome dreamers with open arms for years to come.
Andrea Updyke is a food and travel writer at Just is a Four Letter Word, where she shares easy recipes and family travel tips. When she isn’t traveling, Andrea loves spending time with her husband and two teenage sons in Raleigh, North Carolina.