Boycott El Dorado Royale & Karisma Resorts

[lucy106]

I have to agree that it is great to share what has been going on. Constantly changing policies, a current policy of nights stay plus $500 fee is nuts. Tammy is not saying EDR is bad, just that their policy sucks. Which it certainly sounds like it does. I can understand the shock of the EDR brides when they saw a sticky saying to boycott their resorts but it is not a personal thing. It is meant to help future brides and grooms from heartache and more importantly a big PITA.

[can't wait!]

Originally Posted by beyondsmitten

You know Tammy this policy seems to be pretty common for most resorts, high end or not. Some either restrict outsiders or charge you a fee just to use them. You have to really weigh what you want and if the LOCATION is what matters to you more than PHOTOS then this is the place for you, if not keep searching until you find a place that meets your needs. I don't know what you hope to get out of a BOYCOTT?

My location is beautiful, but provides a minimial level (virtually none) of communication before the wedding and charges $300 fees for EVERY outside vendor. I have to keep my fingers crossed that once I arrive things will go smoothly since I can't really talk to them beforehand AND I have to pay for my own uncle to officate my wedding, but that is the choice I made to have a lush, intimate property to myself and my guests for the weekend. I could have chosen something else but weighed my options. That is what you have to do too!

Things you need to know.

This isn't a TAMMY thing. It's a thing many of us have chosen to take a part in. And as you can read in the posts, many girls are glad to hear the news BEFORE they book their site.

I know but a handful of resorts that charge to bring outside vendors in. MOST DON'T. My location is also beautiful and is extremely flexible and free of extra charges. I could bring the pope to officiate my ceremony and they wouldn't charge me a dime. Now getting him to agree is another thing.

So please, before you go singling out Tammy, understand this is a forum to exchange information so that we are better prepared for our weddings.

[TA Jill]

Originally Posted by beyondsmitten

You know Tammy this policy seems to be pretty common for most resorts, high end or not. Some either restrict outsiders or charge you a fee just to use them. You have to really weigh what you want and if the LOCATION is what matters to you more than PHOTOS then this is the place for you, if not keep searching until you find a place that meets your needs. I don't know what you hope to get out of a BOYCOTT?

My location is beautiful, but provides a minimial level (virtually none) of communication before the wedding and charges $300 fees for EVERY outside vendor. I have to keep my fingers crossed that once I arrive things will go smoothly since I can't really talk to them beforehand AND I have to pay for my own uncle to officate my wedding, but that is the choice I made to have a lush, intimate property to myself and my guests for the weekend. I could have chosen something else but weighed my options. That is what you have to do too!

As others have mentioned, not all resorts charge for vendors. And this is not Tammy trying to boycott EDR, its a lot of brides trying to ban together to make them realize that their policies are crazy and that there are lots of other beautiful places to get married that aren't trying to extort more money from their brides.

[Joseph Kohn]

Hi Everyone,

First of all, thank you for starting this post. If can just state: this is almost a "life saving" knowledge for many brides. I am sure not everyone thinks this way, but I happened to see brides crying in front of me asking if its possible to fix what was done by a "resort photographer". I am a photographer so this post will be more related to photography standpoint. I won't relate it directly to those particular resorts but write in general.

I've recently discussed this trend with my friends (photographers) and we agreed that this is growing issue those days. What happens is simple: hotel signs an agreement with a photographer behind the scenes in order to give you an all inclusive package. They are well aware that good photographers cost thousands in US and recently realized that uneducated couples will pay similar rates to a "resort photographer". Clients in fact receive photographers who "at least" don't care about who they shooting for. There is no personal commitment, but just a standard routine of having few posed shots here and there. What can you expect from a photographer who gets $100-$200 for a day? At most, you will get a bunch of portraits in front of palm trees.

Many will sacrifice a lot, just to have a wedding at a beautiful resort, including vendors they want to have, and thats helps resorts to dictate their rules.

I personally think this is BS and for those who are "stuck" with the resort that way, I would still suggest trying to bring a photographer as a friend.

I believe that if agreement has uncommon and unreasonable terms, this should be highlighted. This is totally unethical and simply a way to cheat clients who don't expect such terms and overlook them.

Bottom line, if the hotel won't give you a freedom of choice, consider getting married somewhere else, no matter how hard it is. There are plenty of resorts and new ones getting built every year. I will be shooting in Dreams Resort in Tulum and will post pictures and review later on in June.

In many cases, if this stated upfront, resorts tend to be much more flexible.
I wish everyone on this forum to have a wedding of their dreams.

Joseph

[heatherjane]

I just came back from my wedding at the EDR in early April. I had booked an Associate from Sol Tamargo and yes I had to pre-pay for $500. What really annoyed me was that when I arrived with 63 of my guests they informed me that my photographer was banned from their property and I was the only bride to allow them to come in. In other words they were making an exception for us. I spent nearly $20,000 on extras for my wedding including a private cocktail reception and private dinner & dance. They did an amazing job but you do feel like even though you are the customer you don't have any say in anything....

Another policy they should change is their policy for outside guests. They charged us around $100 per guest to come in for our wedding even though we already paid for a private dinner.
Heather

[TA Jill]

Originally Posted by heatherjane

I just came back from my wedding at the EDR in early April. I had booked an Associate from Sol Tamargo and yes I had to pre-pay for $500. What really annoyed me was that when I arrived with 63 of my guests they informed me that my photographer was banned from their property and I was the only bride to allow them to come in. In other words they were making an exception for us. I spent nearly $20,000 on extras for my wedding including a private cocktail reception and private dinner & dance. They did an amazing job but you do feel like even though you are the customer you don't have any say in anything....

Another policy they should change is their policy for outside guests. They charged us around $100 per guest to come in for our wedding even though we already paid for a private dinner.
Heather

It amazes me that someone can go down there with such a large group, spend a ton of money, and have them give you a hard time about your photographer, its just ridiculous. You are the customer, you are spending your money there, they should be bending over backwards to make sure you are happy and you are going to recommend them to your friends.

[Christine]

Originally Posted by heatherjane

I just came back from my wedding at the EDR in early April. I had booked an Associate from Sol Tamargo and yes I had to pre-pay for $500. What really annoyed me was that when I arrived with 63 of my guests they informed me that my photographer was banned from their property and I was the only bride to allow them to come in. In other words they were making an exception for us. I spent nearly $20,000 on extras for my wedding including a private cocktail reception and private dinner & dance. They did an amazing job but you do feel like even though you are the customer you don't have any say in anything....

Another policy they should change is their policy for outside guests. They charged us around $100 per guest to come in for our wedding even though we already paid for a private dinner.
Heather

I know a lot of resorts charge the day pass fee, but honestly the outside vendor thing is crazy.

[AnnR]

Christine is right - I think all AI resorts charge a day pass (though $100 is a little high, from what I've seen) - but it's the outside vendor fee that is the real issue here. They are going to start losing even more business if they don't change their ways!

[Alyssa]

Originally Posted by heatherjane

I just came back from my wedding at the EDR in early April. I had booked an Associate from Sol Tamargo and yes I had to pre-pay for $500. What really annoyed me was that when I arrived with 63 of my guests they informed me that my photographer was banned from their property and I was the only bride to allow them to come in. In other words they were making an exception for us. I spent nearly $20,000 on extras for my wedding including a private cocktail reception and private dinner & dance. They did an amazing job but you do feel like even though you are the customer you don't have any say in anything....

Another policy they should change is their policy for outside guests. They charged us around $100 per guest to come in for our wedding even though we already paid for a private dinner.
Heather

Heather - your pictures were SO amazing - I can't imagine how different your wedding memories would be if you were not able to use Del Sol for your photos.

63 guests is a big DW - these resorts are crazy - not only are they jeopardizing losing DW's, but all the crazy upgrades and extras from the bride/groom and ALL of those guests eating lunch, buying drinks, upgrading their rooms, having a good experience and coming back, telling other people.

It seems like somewhere in the chain of command, one of the executives is not looking at the big picture!

[heatherjane]

just a quick reply on the day pass issue. I agree that a person should have to buy a guest pass if they are coming into the resort since that entitles them to eat 3 meals however in our case they still charged us for guests that were coming in for our wedding. We had to pay a lot of money for a private event meaning we paid out of pocket for the dinner for our 63 guests even though it is all inclusive.