The Mack family and Europa-Park have mastered the theme park resort model in Europe. The German venue, which sits close to the French and Swiss borders, opened its first hotel on its 20th anniversary in 1995. The Spanish-themed El Andaluz was an instant hit, followed four years later by Castillo Alcazar.
Second in Europe only to Disney, Europa-Park, Germany’s busiest theme park, now offers six hotels, all of which are of 4-star or 4-star superior quality, and Thomas Mack believes there could be scope for more. Once the park closes each evening, up to 5,8000 overnight guests need somewhere to eat, drink, and do something.
How about a dip at Rulantica? A dinner show or a VR experience, perhaps? In addition to restaurants in each hotel, Ammolite—The Lighthouse Restaurant offers Michelin-starred dining. Fine dining while riding a ‘floating’ chair? Eatrenalin has you covered.
Europa-Park Resort also offers a seasonal event programme, feature-length 4D movie screenings, and a golf course—a big operation for the small Baden-Württemberg town of Rust.
Of course, it wasn’t always like this.
“When we opened the first hotel in the 90s, we were searching for a big chain to operate it for us,” says Mack. “But back then, the park was closed five months a year. No one believed it would work.”
Europa-Park’s Thomas Mack: a journey from roller coasters to restaurants
The middle child and younger son of Europa-Park founder Roland Mack, Thomas Mack worked as a teenager in the park’s hotels, cafés, and restaurants. He also interned at other theme parks, hotels, and hospitality businesses. After the success of Europa-Parks’ first two hotels, he was encouraged to study for a degree at the renowned Swiss Hotel Management School in Lucerne.
“As little boys growing up in an amusement park, it was always something special for my brother [Michael Mack] and I to ride a new coaster with our dad,” he says. “We would also sleep some weekends at our grandparents’ house and visit the [Mack Rides] factory in Waldkirch.”
“So roller coasters were always a big part of our lives. But of course, as you get older, there are discussions about what you would like to do next. In 2006, our gastronomy guy passed away. So my father asked me, ‘Are you interested in the hotels?’”
Now aged 43, Thomas has been responsible for all the gastronomy, hospitality and entertainment operations at Europa-Park Resort since 2007. In 2016, he was made a managing partner.
Hospitality hindsight
Being snubbed in the early years by the industry’s established players and learning the hotel trade themselves has been a challenging but ultimately fruitful experience for the Mack family.
Some of the big boys are now outside looking in. On the other side of the Autobahn in Ringsheim, Holiday Inn Express and five smaller hotels do business. More recently, Marriott introduced its Moxy brand to Rust, just steps from Europa-Park’s Bell Rock property.
But inside Europa-Park Resort, this and the other five themed hotels are operated with the same attention to detail that makes the rest of this Black Forest destination such a rewarding visit for thousands of families.
Previously, all Europa-Park guests could find in the area was what Thomas Mack describes as “Normal bed and breakfast hotels without any emotion. I think it was the right decision to start the hotel business and use our imagination. Because when they are themed, you always stay in the fantasy world.”
Even the Mack family was cautious at first:
“It was quite clever of my father to build the Spanish hotel so close to the park. Not knowing at first if a hotel would work, he said at least let’s build a restaurant. So people could walk around the Spanish area in the park and use the same restaurant that hotel guests used in the evening. It’s double usage.”
See also: Michael Mack makes his mark at Europa-Park
The catalyst effect of theme park hotels
As more hotels have opened at Europa-Park, three things have increased: attendance, the resort’s catchment area, and the length of the operating season. In 2000, when there were two hotels, 3 million visited the park.
“The driving distance was always about two hours for a day visit,” says Mack. “But now people are coming from Germany, Switzerland, and France, as well as other European countries and overseas.”
He remembers the first winter season in 2001, after a single test day the previous January. “We opened just two or three areas of the park, but then it got bigger and bigger each winter. Nowadays, I think it’s the most beautiful and wonderful season”. Also popular is the Halloween season, with October being the park’s busiest month after August.
Hotel Colosseo opened in 2004. It features a courtyard surrounded by building facades evoking Italian architecture, including the Coliseum from Rome. This acts as a hub between the other three Southern European hotels, including Santa Isabel, added in 2007, and Bell Rock, which arrived in 2012, complete with its signature lighthouse.
Uniquely for Europa-Park, the 225-room property has an American flavour. However, Thomas Mack offers a well-rehearsed reply when quizzed about its New England theme. “It’s where the first Europeans landed when they moved to America. And if you look around New England, it’s quite European. I think the theming is very beautiful.”
See also: Europa-Park’s Roland Mack reflects on 70 years in the amusement business
Gastronomic and attendance landmarks
Thanks to the efforts of head chef Peter Hagen-Wiest, Bell Rock’s Ammolite—The Lighthouse Restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars and 16 Gault&Millau points in 2014.
“That was a really big thing for me personally and for Europa-Park,” says Thomas Mack. When Ammonite opened, however, he was careful not to include the family business on the restaurant’s website. “Because I didn’t know if Michelin would give a star to an amusement park. But I was thrilled when the first star came.”
Michelin-star dining may not be to everyone’s taste. However, Mack has watched the scope of Europa-Park’s gastronomic operations increase in line with its resort offer over the years.
“Even early on, I think we had more diverse cuisine than other amusement parks in Germany: pizza and pasta in the Italian area, Spanish food when we opened the Spanish hotel. We’ve always tried to focus on authentic food from the different countries in each area of the park.”
By 2022, the first full season after the opening of Krønasår —The Museum Hotel and Rulantica due to the coronavirus, Europa-Park’s attendance surpassed six million for the first time. So, one million park guests per hotel. Eatrenalin launched in November of that year. This bold culinary ‘journey’ is unlike any other fine dining experience or multi-sensory attraction.
Thomas Mack on Europa-Park’s Eatrenalin – a culinary journey for all the senses
With high-end concepts like Ammolite and Eatrenalin, “We have a new target group,” says Mack. “Normally, if people do not like rides and shows, they would not go to an amusement park. But we have changed people’s minds with a Michelin-star restaurant, our hotels, and everything else at Europa-Park Resort.”
He explains the genesis of the Eatrenalin concept. “I’m a great fan of travelling and experiencing different foods and cultures. But why does the wine taste better when you are in Italy on a sunny day, for example? I wanted to create a restaurant where all your senses are touched.”
Initially, the plan was to do something in the pyramid building that now houses the FoodLoop restaurant and Europa-Park preview centre.
“But that was boring,” says Mack. “After the opening of the Voletarium [flying theatre], I said, ‘How can we move people from one country to another?’ It took a long time, but then Mack Rides came up with the concept of the floating chair. With Mack Animation, MackMedia and the food & beverage guys, I think this was the first time all the different Mack companies and departments came together.”
Guests glide through the 8-course dinner experience on a trackless ride vehicle. The cuisine and the environment change every 28 minutes, and the menu changes every three months.
“You don’t know what’s coming next. One moment, you could be sitting around a big table with other people, and then in the next room, just two of you are sitting together.”
The Europa-Park experiences that are not for kids
Bookings for Eatrenalin, which sits in a purpose-built building alongside Krønosår and Rulantica, start at €255. The distance from the main theme park, both physically and in terms of price point, is an integral part of its positioning.
“We always wanted Eatrenalin to be recognised as a restaurant. For people to come for the food, not only the experience. The food is very fine dining. We didn’t want to offer a kids’ menu because that would somewhat destroy the concept.”
Mack now plans to export this “restaurant of the future” to other locations around the globe. “We have the patent in almost every country,” says Mack, who has already spoken to potential investors and operators in the USA, Middle East, Asia and Australia.
Europa-Park’s after-hours Halloween event, Traumatica—Festival of Fear, is also an adults-only offering. Special events, like those at fine-dining restaurants, generate good hotel business.
This overlap is convenient to Thomas Mack for several reasons. “My second passion, after hospitality, is entertainment. I am also married to a very creative person who is very much into shows.”
Katja Mack is the founder and head of Europa-Park’s Talent Academy. She works with around 40 international coaches and 350 academy members to develop dance, acrobatics, music, art and mindset skills.
Thomas Mack talks live entertainment, ‘confertainment’ and glamping at Europa-Park
From street animation and parades to live shows, ice-skating and dinner shows, “entertainment is everywhere,” at Europa-Park, says Mack.
In addition to its own productions, the venue provides the backdrop for many other events and TV/film productions. Miss Germany would have been in town if I had visited one week earlier.
These, along with various meetings, conferences, and corporate events, are grouped under the banner of ‘confertainment’. This is another important source of business for the hotels, delivering high-spending guests outside the main park season. The year-round potential of Rulantica’s indoor offering should not be underestimated either.
“We are definitely a resort because we have all these different offerings,” says Mack. “Are you a resort if you are a theme park with only one hotel? Maybe it makes you feel bigger than you are!”
In addition to its six hotels, Europa-Park’s Western-themed Camp Resort offers tipi, wagon, and log cabin accommodation. Next door are 300 camping pitches for mobile homes, caravans, and tents. Already home to a saloon and show bar, construction will start soon on an expansion featuring a brewery, small hotel, and holiday houses.
“We started very simple with the Camp Resort, but the glamping has been a huge success,” says Mack. “It’s a beautiful, affordable location to spend time with the family and kids.”
A 17th land (and a seventh hotel?) for Europa-Park
According to Thomas Mack, a seventh hotel is possible for Europa-Park Resort. “There’s room for more, yes. The big thing at the moment is the staff. We must build more staff housing before we can have new hotels.”
A new accommodation block and welcome centre have already opened in Rust, where many park employees already live.
Right now, excitement is mounting among theme park fans far and wide for the launch of Voltron Nevera. The multi-launch coaster from Mack Rides will officially open on April 26. Guests can expect seven inversions, four launches—forwards, backwards, and the world’s steepest at 105° —plus 2.2 seconds of continuous weightlessness.
Voltron is sponsored by the electric vehicle manufacturer Rimac. The ride’s theming celebrates the pioneering experiments of inventor Nikola Tesla, who was born in what is now Croatia. This becomes the 17th European nation to get its own themed area within Europa-Park.
The scenery surrounding the new coaster may evoke a holiday atmosphere. But make no mistake: the ride experience is intense. Some guests may even want to lie down afterwards. Luckily, a bed is never far away at Europa-Park Resort.
