Kacengg's RIU Palace Cabo San Lucas Wedding Review (very long!)

[Tammy Host]

kim, i am honestly pissed for you. what a horrible experience?! i would definitely have your TA write them a letter. I do this for my brides when they have small problems...if anything like your wedding happened to one of my brides i would LOSE IT!! maybe you can forward her and the GM a link to this post so they can see how many people read it.

[Abbie]

oh kim, that is so awful. i'm sorry you had to have that experience that we all dread. to look on a positive note, at least it gives you a very good excuse to "try it again" with vow renewals down the road, at a loaction with a much more qualified WC! i hope you get some sort of retribution for all the trouble and heartache this has caused you
does mexico have a version of the BBB? (Better Business Bureau) they need to know this, if so!

[coreyphil]

Thank you for posting such a thorough review! As I was reading it I kept thinking, "I just can't believe that!" You are so sweet and I could tell from reading that you tried to give Daniella the benefit of the doubt in the beginning, and tried to "go with the flow" as much as possible. However, she was unprofessional and her service unacceptable, as was the resort's failure to respond to your complaints.

I am sure that Riu is a beautiful resort - and it sounds like they have other wonderful employees. But, there are a zillion beautiful options in Cabo - and weddings are big business. If I were a bride still searching for a location, not only would I never consider Daniella, but I wouldn't even think about the Riu since they have failed to take responsibility for her actions. The bottom line is Daniella is a Riu employee and they should compensate you for her terrible service. I agree with Julie - you should spread the word --- unfortunately, that seems to be the only thing that might get their attention.

Enough of that - you handled yourself beautifully - true grace under fire. Having to move the ceremony, guests standing, etc ... I think I would have been in tears from the make-up!!!

Congratulations on getting married! And, again, I'm so sorry for all that you went through!

[JaimeLynne]

Wow, I am so sorry Daniella was such a horrible wedding coordinator for you!!!!

Have you (or your TA) tried contacting the General Manager? I cannot believe how unprofessional she was!!!!!! That is absolutely ridiculous. Her nonchalant attitude reminds me of the WC we met at the Iberostar Mayan resort in the Riviera Maya. I am so glad we got to do a site visit to avoid something like this.

It sounds like Juan was a great support for you - kudos to you Juan!!!!

Thank you for your extremely thorough review ~ I am sure it will help future brides!!!

[Sarah]

Wow Kim. I absolutely couldn't believe what I was reading. I can't even imagine all these things happening to me on my wedding day. I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. No one should have to go through that type of experience, regardless of how much was planned in advance, how many details had already been ironed out- that is just incompetence on the part of the hotel wedding coordinator. That woman should be fired. I hope you take this all the way to the top at the Riu. It is a beautiful resort, but unfortunately their lack of organization and customer service is quite disturbing.

This is in no way a lecture to you, but I just want to remind future brides: You can not be too organized. And yes, despite your organization some things still can go wrong. But- if you have everything as organized and pre-arranged as possible it's much less likely. Save EVERY email, print them out and have them with you. I was able to dispute some charges (although small) that I wouldn't have gotten out of without my email proof. Write down EVERYTHING you want the resort to do for you, email this document and have the WC agree to it ahead of time. Ask specific questions throughout so that you will know she actually read it. I made powerpoint documents of my table layout- showing exactly where each placecard should be, where very votive candle should be, where each centerpiece, etc. I had a 5 page document going over every detail of my wedding (and gave a copy to everyone involved- my mom, MIL, friend, and WC) from the timeline, to the setup of the ceremony, reception- down to how many chairs were on what side of the aisle, on which side of the table, where I wanted the luminarias, etc. I was soooooo extremely anal in my planning, but I think it served me well. Yes, at many resorts you may be able to get away with minimal planning, but I don't think the Riu is one of them. That was a large reason why I decided not to get married there in the first place- I had such a poor first impression of the WC and planning people.

[olisa6]

Kim - I am so sorry to hear about your wedding dramas. I have been on this site for 8 months watching you plan your wedding. No bride needs to go through that on one of the most memorable days of her life. I hope you do talk to management and express your opinion. I would also call the corp office. Riu is a chain. Let them know you have posted your reviews on sites such as this and you plan to keep posting on the knot, tripadvisor.com etc. I'm sure even though you had all that drama, your wedding still was beautiful and you had a great time.
This is a grreat review for all the other brides to be to read and be cautious. I had my wedding at Dreams last month and read an AWEFUL review on tripadvisor about the resort and her wedding. I was so upset, but the day came and went without any issues. So just as you said, this was your wedding experience and not everyone elses!!

[CourtneyV]

Kim, I'm so sorry you had such crap treatment on your wedding day. My jaw just kept dropping as I kept on reading. Daniela's attitude was unacceptable, I don't care what excuse she tries - the customer is always right, right??! ESPECIALLY on her wedding day. She should have been bending over backwards to make sure your wedding was flawless. She should have been a million times more organized, SHE is the wedding coordinator, not you... if something is forgotten, that should be her responsibility to make sure everything is the way it should be. She should have gone through an extensive list instead of an 8 minute meeting.

I agree with Tammy, send them another e-mail and include this link; see what kind of an impact one review can do on a bride's plans. Yes, your review is only one of many, but the continuous complaints about Daniela should be a red flag to RIU. Personally, if I saw a review like this, I'd definately think twice.

Oh and Kim, whatever you do, don't give up. You deserve compensation not only for your iPod, but for that sudden $1000 privacy charge, your trashed decorations, any many many other things.

[destaney22]

WOW....that is so crazy! I feel so bad for you! Something needs to be done I hope you get some compensation for your troubles. I was thinking of getting married at RIU ochos rios or Negril. I wonder if that is any better!? Hmmmmmm!

[KACENGG]

Sarah, your comments and recommendations to future brides are absolutely correct. I can honestly say that we, as brides, can only do so much. At some point you have to hand everything over and give the responsibility to someone else - our wedding coordinators - no matter how difficult that is for some of us!

There was no reason that any of this happened for my wedding I can honestly say. Everything was written out for Daniela so clear that I felt I was be overly anal as well. The way things were set up and the candles and decorations being on all of the wrong tables was her lack of attention to what I wrote. I told her to put the luminaries on the floor and table and there were none on the tables. The candles that were supposed to be on the dinner tables were crowded on the guestbook table with the 'LOVE' letters that were supposed to be on the cake table. It was a matter of inattention in my opinion. Also, we had maraca favours with tags that had our logo on one side and a 'Thanks for shakin it with us' note on the other. When everything was set up, only 2 marachas had the tags on them. I have no idea why! They were wrapped tightly with raffia and everything. All we can do is continually review things with the wc's to ensure they understand every detail of our vision....apparently notes as requested are not enough. Ladies, review review review!!!

[Sarah]

Originally Posted by KACENGG

Sarah, your comments and recommendations to future brides are absolutely correct. I can honestly say that we, as brides, can only do so much. At some point you have to hand everything over and give the responsibility to someone else - our wedding coordinators - no matter how difficult that is for some of us!

There was no reason that any of this happened for my wedding I can honestly say. Everything was written out for Daniela so clear that I felt I was be overly anal as well. The way things were set up and the candles and decorations being on all of the wrong tables was her lack of attention to what I wrote. I told her to put the luminaries on the floor and table and there were none on the tables. The candles that were supposed to be on the dinner tables were crowded on the guestbook table with the 'LOVE' letters that were supposed to be on the cake table. It was a matter of inattention in my opinion. Also, we had maraca favours with tags that had our logo on one side and a 'Thanks for shakin it with us' note on the other. When everything was set up, only 2 marachas had the tags on them. I have no idea why! They were wrapped tightly with raffia and everything. All we can do is continually review things with the wc's to ensure they understand every detail of our vision....apparently notes as requested are not enough. Ladies, review review review!!!

You're absolutely right Kim. At some point we have to be able to hand everything over to the WC and trust that things will be done right, despite how hard we've planned. And that's exactly why I hope you take this all the way to the top to get compensated for your losses- IPOD, "privacy charges", loss of decorations, etc. The way you were treated is just absolutely unacceptable. I'd also make sure you mention this forum and the thousands of members we have...I will definitely remember this thread if people ask about pros and cons of Riu vs. Dreams. I'm so sorry you've had to go through this- you seem to have handled everything with an amazing amount of grace. I would have been an absolute basketcase!