Forbes Travel: A Sustainable Luxury Experience
- Cari Mackey
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
We had the honor of being included in Forbes travel with this story written by journalist and playwright Michael Goldstein. We hope you enjoy the story!
Sometimes the story behind a destination property is as interesting as the
destination itself. Like many of us, Ryan and Cari Mackey dreamed of
creating a hotel in a tropical paradise and sharing it with guests and friends.
But unlike most of us, Ryan and Cari put in years of blood, sweat and tears
to make that fantasy real.
The Morrillo Beach Eco Resort on Panama’s Pacific coast has grown from a
dream to a retreat named one of Tripadvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Best of the
Best properties in 2024.
“The star of the show here is nature. Every day we go out and have human
powered adventures with our guests, says co-owner Cari Mackey. “For the
surfers among you, the waves go from knee high to double overhead. It all depends on the swell, but you can surf every day.”
“There’s a waterfall adventure, sandal making, basket weaving, even a
Panamanian immersion experience,” she says. “The ‘abuelos’ live in a self-
sustained property, raise their own animals. We buy our meat from them.
Our guests can hike in, explore, and enjoy the cultural experience.”
Ryan and Cari Mackey are two former ski patrollers from Colorado who
traded skis for surfboards. After looking for the right spot for years, they
pursued their dream of creating an eco-resort for visitors to experience.
The Morrillo Beach Eco Resort is a boutique destination located on
Panama’s Pacific Coast. With the Mackey’s goal to blend adventure and
sustainability, the couple just opened a Primate Rescue Center (Panama is
home to at least six monkey species) in March.
“It took us over 20 years to make the Eco Resort dream come true,” says Cari
Mackey. The Eco Resort , built in 2018, is on a jungle hillside overlooking an
estuary and the coast. It offers access to all levels of surfing, as well as a safe
area for swimming.
At the resort, you can “connect with nature and Panamanian culture, learn
to surf, and experience the raw nature of the jungle.” The Mackeys add that
guests can finish off their day “with a cold microbrew at the bar, healthy
locally sourced food prepared with love, and a peaceful nights rest in our
comfortable beds.”
The two-story hotel has six rooms, three on each level. Each room has a
private balcony and can accommodate up to 4 people. The resort also offers
a family suite option by combining a Double Queen and a Single Queen
room. Each room has A/C, hot water, French linens, and views of the ocean,
estuary, jungle, and gardens. The hotel’s restaurant has also been recognized
by Trip Advisor.
In The White Lotus, the Ratliff family whines about the lack of Wi-Fi at their
luxury hotel. But at the Morrillo Beach Eco Resort, “We have Starlink, they
can do remote work from here. You can use your smartphone,” says Ms.
Mackey. International Zoom calls have also been successfully conducted.
Guests typically fly into Panama City, which is about five hours away by
road. Ms. Mackey says, “We have shuttles, busses, and there’s an airport in
Santiago [about 90 minutes away] for possible charter flights. We can even
land a helicopter at the beach at low tide.”
As the Mackeys developed their resort, they focused on adventure,
conservation, and sustainability.
Guests can surf, hike, snorkel, and explore the biodiverse jungle. They can
learn about the region’s rich culture through immersive activities like
cooking and weaving classes with local artisans.
Visitors participate in eco-initiatives like planting trees, releasing baby sea
turtles, and learning about biodiversity on guided tours. A primate center
just opened so guests can learn from experts about Panama’s primates.
In terms of sustainability, the resort runs on renewable energy and supports
a farm-to-table dining experience. It partners with local farmers and artisans
to minimize its ecological footprint while supporting the community.
Ryan, originally from Oregon, and Cari, from Wisconsin, met while doing
ski patrol at the Keystone Resort in Colorado. Cari says, “It was supposed to
be a short-term thing before I went back to college.” Instead, “We worked
there for 10 years, then moved to Telluride for 12 years. We didn’t want to have kids but wanted to travel the world.”
Although the couple lived in small spaces and worked constantly, they
eventually were able to buy a small piece of land in Telluride. “After the ski
areas would close, we would go to Costa Rica and go kayaking, and to Mexico
and Ecuador. After 20 years, Ryan decided he was cold.”
“Panama was the next on the list,” she says. “We found the property in
2011.It was on the edge of an estuary, five acres. It’s very remote, it has trees,
it has a beautiful jungle. You can surf every day. There’s even a troop of
monkeys.
“It’s relatively safe and you can own the title to your property. The dreaming
started in 2005, we found it 2011 and finally opened the hotel in 2018. We
built everything.”
During their ski lifestyle days, Cari worked at a mountain gear retailer, while
Ryan worked maintaining properties. In 2007, a customer came in and
bought some clothing. It was Ralph Lauren, Cari says.
“One of my employees recognized him and saw his name on his credit card.
“It always amazed me that I could sell clothing to Ralph Lauren,” Cari says.
“I got to know him in Telluride. He had a massive ranch and we had a tiny
piece of land."
“Every time he would come into the store, he’d try to offer me a job,” she
says. “One day when Ralph and his family were in my store in Telluride, he
said for the third time: “You need to come work for me.”
So their dream of a tropical lifestyle took a three-year detour to New York, as
Cari was hired by the Ralph Lauren company. But instead of immediately
working in a tropical clime, “They moved me to East Hampton to run a store
and help relaunch Polo. The theme was Luxury girl moves to the
Hamptons,” Cari says. “We still liked the idea of living in a Spanish speaking
country someday.”
While Cari lived in the Hamptons, Ryan lived nearby, managing Christie
Brinkley’s properties and managing subcontractors. “Ryan is the kind of guy
who can build or fix anything.”
She says, “I worked for Ralph Lauren for two years then began the process of
trying to relocate to Panama with the corporation. Ultimately it didn’t work
out, but It was an amazing experience and served a purpose for us, earning
and learning. “
The Mackeys use their skills to train employees and run the resort. The
Morrillo Beach Eco Resort is the biggest local employer, with 14 employees
on contract. The funding for the resort came from friends and family. After
weathering COVID, it is finally becoming profitable, according to Mackey.
Working with Ralph Lauren, she says “My biggest takeaway was training my
teams by empowering them with the knowledge and skills they need to
succeed at their positions based off of what inspires and motivates them.
Being a General Manager in a tiny Colorado ski town versus the Hamptons
versus a remote jungle town in Panama are all vastly different cultures.
People’s motivations to be successful at work are as unique as you can
imagine.”
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