Review of our Site Visit June 2 - 6th

[milejilo]

I was almost done with this post, and then I was logged off.... uuuuugh! had to re-type everything

 

Let me start off by saying it was our first time in Mexico and we absolutely loved it, from the turquoise blue waters to the amazingly friendly people. However the purpose of our trip was not to enjoy a relaxing vacation (as tempting as it was), it was to find a PERFECT place to get married. As anything in life, we did not find a “perfect” place, after each visit we found ourselves wishing we could take a piece of each resort and make our own. We’re definitely feeling the pressure as family and friends continually ask us, “so when is the wedding?” (I’m sure we’re not alone on that one). So I’ll share with all of you some thoughts and pictures of the places we visited (though please note, as luck would have it, we kept missing weddings at all the resorts, so none of our pictures have any weddings, sorry)… I don’t want this to be a monster of a review so I’ll post a couple of pictures from each resort, if anyone wants to see more pictures or has any detailed questions please let me know. So here it goes:

 

Day 1

Paradisus Riviera

 

We arrived at the Paradisus and we met with Perla, she was an absolute sweetheart. She has an office right next to the main lobby of the hotel, small little room, but she has totally maximized the space to include samples of lighting, décor, tables etc. Weddings here seem to have tons of options, I was really impressed with the choices in table linens, (there had to be more than 50). We loved that they have one wedding a day, providing that its not a small wedding (meaning less than 10 people). We walked through the grounds of the resort and its absolutely lovely, the “royal service” pool was amazing, has its own pool butlers and pool side beds. We saw a really nice kids club and pool, which is important to us being that we have family and friends bringing children. Perla showed us the possible areas for our ceremony and reception. Our favorite was the Grill Terrace, though not totally private, it’s off to one side of the resort, overlooking the beach. The beach was very pretty, powdery white sand and the water was a very pretty turquoise. We envisioned a ceremony and cocktail hour on the beach and reception following right up the stairs to the Grill Terrace. Perla has pictures of this set up and it looks amazing.

 

The Mexican Patio, option for cocktail hour or welcome dinner. Not very private, as its right next to the lobby and I’m sure there’s tons of foot traffic.

 

 

I think this is the Caribbean Market Place terrace, again not very private being that the pool is to the left.

 

 

This was our favorite spot, the Tequila Grill Terrace. It’s not totally private but private enough, definitely away from any sun bathers, as you can see =)

 

 

The beach right in front of the Tequila Terrace

 

 

 

Samples of table décor in Perla’s office

 

 

 

Plan B in case of rain. This really broke our hearts, no other option for a private event in case of rain.

 

Iberostar Maya and Lindo

 

I apologize we took way to many pictures at the Paradisus and our battery went dead after a couple of pictures here. This resort is not exactly what we were looking for, I’m sure it will work for another couple but for us it’s just not what we envision. Here are some pictures:

 

Rooms

 

 

Pool

 

[milejilo]

Day 2

Moon Palace

This place is HUGE, I mean really, really big. They have big commuter buses taking you from one lobby to another. We were told they are building a new section with it’s own lobby, this place is going to be massive. It’s going to need its own mayor pretty soon, lol. We didn’t meet with anyone from the wedding department, however, we were told this in advance when we booked our appointment. We met with a public relations person who was very nice and showed us around the grounds. The moon palace seems very active, your guests will definitely not be bored. With upwards of 5 weddings a day, I think they have tons of experience, though we couldn’t help but feel it was impersonal. The resort is a bit older, over 10 years old but the renovated rooms are very very nice see below.

 

 

 

The gazebo was very nice, and we met a very kind gentlemen, who’s daughter was getting married that Saturday. He had nothing but good things to say about the resort and the staff.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, this is how the beach was. I’m not sure if this is normal, or if it was due to the fact that there was a tropical storm that had lingered 4-5 days prior to our arrival in Mexico

 

 

Not sure of the name of this terrace, but it’s not very private being that there are rooms right next to it.

 

 

 

Rain option

 

[milejilo]

Beach Palace

 

We loved the décor of this hotel. The beach palace was hit pretty hard with the last big hurricane, thus the new Beach Palace. Super modern décor and an amazing sky bar and lounge. Right above the sky bar is a big terrace, where they are having their weddings. Over looks the ocean on one end and the lagoon on the other end.

 

This is the one-bedroom suite, love it.

 

 

 

 

And this is the amazing sky bar

 

 

 

 

Area for weddings

 

 

 

I don’t have much more information on this hotel, being that we only met with a person from public relations.

[milejilo]

Grand Princess Riviera

 

We met with Damarys who was very, very nice. We did have to wait quite awhile due to the fact that the couple before us had arrived late (or so we were told). I must say that Damarys was very willing to answer any of our questions and was very patient with us even though she had an appointment following ours. I really do believe this poor girl is overworked, she asked if we could please meet by the bar so she could have a glass of water, being that she really didn’t have time in between appointments. (we found out that she actually lives at the resort). The Princess is a brand new resort, will have around 2 weddings a day. There were no vacant rooms available so we weren’t able to see any. They seem to be working out kinks with the weddings. For now one restaurant a night is closed to the guests, so these restaurants are available for private events, such as a wedding reception.

 

Hotel Lobby

 

 

The gazebo was very nice, but unfortunately there are beach chairs several feet away

 

 

 

I know a cocktail hour is offered here but not sure about the reception

 

 

The French Restaurant

 

 

More to come…………….

[nde062010]

yay! I love pictures

[Kryztan]

Great reviews of these places!

[Jen_S]

Very good review! Did you pick a place yet?

[can't wait!]

You are right about the Beach Palace! They really do have an amazing sky bar! If I would have seen it, I would have chosen that place for my reception! Good luck picking! sounds like you guys were really busy!!

[KLC77]

Thanks so much for the reviews. Did you decide what you are going to do yet?

[milejilo]

Dreams Cancun

 

We met with Claudia who's been the wedding coordinator at Dreams for two years. She had tons of pictures and printed information for us. Any idea we had she seemed to be able to pull off. Though none of the areas were fully private, I have to say the gazebo is out of this world. No pictures do it justice, the ocean in Cancun is ridiculous.

 

Inside the hotel

 

 

Rooms

 

 

The light turquoise color of the ocean water extended further than that of the Riviera Maya

 

 

The amazing gazebo

 

 

Option for a cocktail hour or reception

 

 

Beach and Azucar lounge, this bar is open until 3 am, so it's a nice option to finish off the wedding reception.

 

 

This is the terrace option for reception or cocktail hour

 

 

Plan B, rain option. It's nice because of the windows but not private at all, it's basically a little lobby next to the elevators.