Pryzeless's EDR review

[pryzeless]

Now that my AHR is done I can finally write my review. Here it is:

 

El Dorado Royale: A++++++

I can not say enough good things about this resort. Anyone even considering it should absolutely not hesitate. We had 36 people including us with a variety of rooms. We stayed in a swim-up casita and loved it. We had an opportunity to upgrade for a small fee but chose not to. The room was spacious and loved the swim-up. We did get a noise complaint around 2 in the afternoon by someone when we had about 8 people there. We really were not that loud but I guess someone had a problem with us. So we took it to the bar and were fine. There was a problem with the toilet that was fixed quickly. Otherwise, I highly recommend it. We stayed in the 28 building and the only real drawback was there was a 10 minute walk to get any where. We did catch the shuttle sometimes but we did get a lot of exercise. The resort is large, there is no question but I loved it. We had enough space away from our guests. The resort was full but you barely noticed. Everyone loved there room and there were no complaints that were not dealt with quickly. The resort is well maintained, clean and everyone is friendly. The food ranged from good to excellent. There was a wide range of choices and we loved Kampai the best. I can go on and on….

 

Wedding coordinators PRE: B+

I planned my whole wedding over email, which can be hard to do. Valeria did a very good job but sometimes things were lost in translation. They were quickly fixed. I gave a B+ because they did change the photographer policy after I booked which I felt was bad business and should not apply to already booked guests. However, this did not effect me as we had a guest of our wedding as a photographer.

 

Wedding coordinators On-site: A+

The on-site team did an amazing job. There were absolutely no issues that came up. I brought my own centerpieces and décor and they set it up exactly how I wanted it. The girls are so sweet and went out of their way for us. They even offered to buy my centerpieces afterwards. I was nervous about the blood test but the needles were new and it was very quick.

 

Ceremony – Gazebo 55: A+

This is my favorite of all the gazebos. There was a nice breeze to keep everyone cool. My veil was blowing but we just switched sides so it wasn’t in my face. It made my veil and dress look great in the photos. I added the hands poem and the sand ceremony and I think I had about everyone crying including myself.

 

Cocktail party - Health bar: A –

We did not get to the cocktail party as we were taking pictures. And we did not eat any food as it was all gone by the time I got there. People said it was good so I will take their word for it. We had Sonma Tharpe play and they were ok. Not worth the money we spent on them.

[pryzeless]

Dinner reception - Tuscanes: A-
We enjoyed the location and the staff were excellent. But as soon as we got there the mosquitoes came out and ate us for dinner. It took a few minutes to get some bug spray so it was a little rough. We had the family style dinner and everyone enjoyed it. I will tell you, the drinks were flowing. The cake looked great and tasted pretty good. We brought our own IPod so I LOVED the music. My husband was thrown in the pool about half way through and ended up in his boxers. There is not a lot of breeze here so it was warm but we danced away anyway.

Hair: A
They did a great job going off my picture. Not 100% what I wanted but it did not move at all. It took about an hour and 15 minutes. Also, my MOH and I got a sky cabin massage in the morning which was very good too.

TTD: A+
We did this the next day at the resort and loved it. I only have a few pictures from my mom who followed us so I am excited to see more. It was so much fun and our photographer loved the idea. I would recommend our photog. (Once I find out if I can put his info up here) He is a friend of the family and we had soooo much fun. I wore my dress, which happens to be my mom’s when she got married 5 years ago. She had fun too and did not mind at all what I was doing. My dress was filthy from the wedding and it actually washed it going into the water (ocean and pool). There does not seem to be any stains or issues with it.

Destinationweddings.com: B-
We had a rough start with them as our first agent sucked. I complained, spoke with the boss and got a much better agent. She was not always the cheapest but it was easier to deal with one person to organize everyone. I made sure I was in the loop with everything so I knew to follow up with people if the quotes were high. I had a hard time finding another travel agency who was willing to work with me and who was not boycotting EDR. Overall, because I am a control freak, everything worked out fine.

Welcome dinner at Fuentes: B+
Food was decent but the pork was dry. We took up 3 large tables. Not much else to say about it.

[pryzeless]

OOT Bags: A+

Everyone loved these and thought we were so considerate. The best thing I put in there was the travel mugs. Everyone used them, in the pool, at lunch etc. I bought them on ebay and decorated them myself with rub ons so each on was different. Everyone knew who was whose and that we were a group staying together. People had a lot of fun with the disposable cameras too.

 

Shipping USPS: A

I shipped 2 boxes down there for around $100 and everything arrived in one piece. We also carted stuff down with us and others so it would have been too much if I did not. I would definitely recommend it!!!!!

 

Hotels.com: D-

We booked our hotel in Fort Lauderdale before our cruise honeymoon and they lost our booking. They were not real helpful in find us a place to say but did refund our money. Will never use them again.

 

Honeymoon cruise on Holland America: C-

I could go on and on. We had a great time but would not recommend HAL to anyone. Short version: they canceled 2 of our ports for no good reason and our A/C did not work for 4 days. They did nothing for us. If anyone wants to hear me rant, pm me.

 

I loved my wedding and had the time of my life. There was very little that went wrong and I was expecting much worse. The tiny things that did go wrong like the shuttle to take me to the ceremony was 10 minutes late…not a big deal. EDR did a great job and I hope that anyone considering this hotel picks it. If anyone has any questions, please let me know. This was only a small portion of what I could write. I am waiting on the professional photos but have some more non-pro picts if anyone is interested.

 

The ceremony:

 

 

 

[pryzeless]

I love this picture of my MOH and I:

 

Dinner table:

 

 

The cake:

 

TTD:

 

 

My AHR:

 

Crystal name card tree for the AHR:

[Rhonda]

Thank you so much for your review! It looks like you had a beautiful day! Congratulations! It's great to hear such positive things about EDR! I'm looking forward to my own wedding there in May.

Just wondering...is there anything that you might have done different? Also, did you have a welcome party for your guests?

[pryzeless]

We had a meet and greet on Thursday at the beach bar, very informal. Just cocktails before dinner. Friday we had a welcome dinner at Fuentes which was the free dinner.

 

The only thing I would have done differently is not listen to the negativity. It was perfect and amazing. Don't let it get you down. The on-site team were really great. I am a bit of a control freak so I mapped everything out, brought down my own decor and flowers etc. I am not sure if that helped but I knew what I wanted and they executed it well. Good luck.

[weddingchick]

Congratulations! Everything looks wonderful. Can't wait to see the professional pictures!

[Dreamgirl08]

EXCELLENT REVIEW!!!!

 

THANK YOU SO SO.. MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO GIVE US BRIDES-2-B ALL OF THOSE JUICY DETAILS ON HOW YOUR WEDDING WENT. YOUR WEDDING PICS ARE ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, I CAN JUST IMAGINE HOW GORGEOUS YOUR PRO PICS ARE GONNA BE. I LOVED YOUR DRESS, AND CAKE, & YOUR DH LOOKED EXTRA COOL IN HIS HAT. I'M SO GLAD THINGS WENT GREAT FOR YOU GUYS OUT THERE. AND I GUESS EVERY BRIDE HAS AT LEAST 1 ISSUE ARISE THROUGHOUT THEIR WEDDING. IT'S GREAT THAT YOU KEPT YOUR COOL THROUGH IT ALL. I'LL REMEMBER TO DO THE SAME

 

below are my questions..

 

1.I'm not 100% sure but I think Valeria had told me that I couldn't order my flowers from anywhere else besides their LOMAS TRAVEL SITE. How did you go about ordering yours, and are they expensive? How did you manage to take them back to the states and keep them fresh?

 

 

2. In regards to the OOT BAGS, when and how did you go about giving your guests their OOT BAGS? Is it possible to have the bags delivered to each of your guests rooms before they arrive? I'm thinking I can either give it to them during our little "informal meet & greet" at the beach bar, or just surprise them with one when they arrive to their rooms. Hmmm

 

 

 

thanks

[BandE2008]

Thanks for posting your review

Its sooo nice to hear! I apprecaite what you said about the negativity and not getting caught up - its easy to do when there is a boycott on this very site even. It has definately stressed me out at times, but with 2 weeks left to go for me ... your review could not have come at a better time.

Is there any way you can PLEASE PM me the sand ceremony wording you used (the one that made people cry!) hahaha. I just learnt we have to do our own sand ceremony, and I am soooo swamped with things to do, I am not sure I have a ton of free time to write one! If your willing to share, that would be soooo apprecaited.

Thank you again.

Your wedding looked beautiful and I am so glad to hear you had a lovely time!

[BandE2008]

I forked over the million dollars EDR charges for real ones that will wilt from the heat! hahaha.

 

As for guest bags, there is an option to have them delivered, but I think EDR charges $5 to do this.

I am not sure what prizeless chose to do. I personally am giving them the evening of the informal meet and greet.

 

 

All that said

NOW I WANT MUGS, I WISH I GOT THESE! Any tips from anyone how to do this with only 2 weeks to go!??!?!?!!