Dreams Riviera Cancun - Brides post here (new thread)

I noticed this awhile back in this thread and thought I would bring it forward. Feel free to edit/add on!

 

Christine & Brandy - 11/2/2009

Laura & ? - 2/26/2010

Carina & Ari - 2/27/2010

Pam & Kevin - 3/9/2010

Ashley & Perry - 4/4/2010

Kcgcristyn - 4/17/2010

Stephanie & Jamie - 4/24/2010

Jennifer & Michael - 5/7/2010

Jessica & Robbie - 5/15/2010

Margaret & Matthew - 5/15/2010

Megan & Jason - 5/21/2010

Ashley & ? - 5/30/2010

Rachelle & Randal - 6/3/2010

Nancy & Bruce - 6/11/2010

Erica & John – 6/19/2010

carlychristine - 6/22/2010

Evelilna & Phil - 6/25/2010

Allison & ? – 7/24/2010

Casey & Ron - 9/18/2010

Vix1383 – 10/16/2010

Emma & ? - 10/23/2010

wisconsionbride - 10/28/2010

Rachael & Alex - 10/31/2010

April & Reggie – 11/6/2010

Tracy & ? -11/26/2010

lnf_munchkin - 11/27/2010

Angela & Craig - 12/8/2010

Aahhh...this is making me so nervous! My wedding is in 3 months! I hope they can do something by then.

I saw where the location is going to be and if people are sitting under the palapas it is not private. I will post a photo of it as soon as I transfer my photos from the camera. I sent an email to Ana asking if we could block off the use of the palapas for about 1 hour...but she has not responded yet. There is another option that is used as a backup in case it rains. This one is more private but is not near the sand or water...and so I would imagine it wouldn't interest anyone. It actually wasn't bad as a backup. It made me a little more comfortable in the event that it rains. I was nervous about that.

Hey Rachelle, I know we're going at different times but I have received room only pricing from my TA which is $860 USD per person for a 7 night stay, including airport transfers.

We were totally convinced that we wanted to do an all-inclusive package with one of the Canadian tour operators, but were quoted at around $1900 per person per week for this! So, we're actually going the route of booking the rooms separately and letting people figure out airfare on their own... we figure it should definitely be cheaper for people this way, allow for better flight times and flexibility (some of those tour operator packages offer brutal flight times), plus if they want to use airmiles or whatever for their flight then they can do that. We're also getting some group perks at the resort level which the Canadian tour operators weren't offering, so we're pretty happy!

I just read all of the reviews on trip advisor and now I am really really really nervous! Although, the biggest complaint seemed to be about kids and someone said that kids are staying free until the end of the year. I know that during the time I will be there, kids are not free because my sister had to pay for my nephew. So, hopefully this will not be a huge issue.

 

SDbeachgirl...I will be very interested in hearing your reply from Ana about saving the palapas the day of the wedding. I think that is a great suggestion! Does the new beach location have the climbing wall and trampoline in the water as a backdrop? I read something about that on trip advisor. And one more question- After your trip....are you still happy with your decision to have your wedding there?

I didn't see the trampoline in the water while I was there as the water was a little choppy. I did see the climbing wall though and I would imagine they are right near eachother. If that is the case, it is on the other side of the resort. So it shouldn't be in the background of the ceremony unless the photographer is filming at an angle. I would also think that Ana could arrange to have these brought in if they were in the background.

I was happy with the resort with the exception of the chair reservation thing. That really annoyed me! But now that I am back and keep reading up on the reviews, I am liking it less and less. I'm letting the reviews influence my opinion even though I was there and thought it was nice. I need to not do that! There is no turning back. 29 people have already booked. We need to keep reminding ourselves that even the best hotels get some bad reviews. This is why I was having such a hard time picking a resort. Everytime I found one that I liked, I came across some bad reviews and would change my mind. I think that is why I liked Dreams RC...there were no reviews and so I couldn't get discouraged. As it is the resort still has way more good reviews than bad reviews. My hope is that the few growing pains it has are worked out by May. The resort is beautiful (at least I think it is). Since they have so many weddings there, they should figure out a better place for the ceremony or a way to make it more private.

Some other info that I have:

 

- Ana confirmed that you do not have to have a party of 40 in order to have the buffet

- Ana mentioned that the current hair dresser came from the Excellence Riviera and that when Ana worked with her previously, she heard nothing but good things about her. For those of you planning on using the resort hair stylist, this might interest you. I don't know if ther is more than one, but you may want to follow up with Ana to make sure you get that person she was referring to.

Tara and Kenny - 9.26.10

So funny...that's exactly why I picked this resort too! I spent countless hours going through millions of reviews of different resorts and every time I read a bad review, I thought, nope not that one. I have 30 people booked already also, so it's not like I can change my mind now either! I was thinking that maybe the bad reviews were coming since it was a holiday week and their first time being really busy...they should have more practice handling that with Christmas coming up, so hopefully they work things out. For now, I think I am going to stop reading trip advisor and stressing myself out...ha! Thanks for all of your input...it's very helpful!

I've been the same way... have considered SO MANY resorts but tossed them aside because of one thing or another, but mainly concerning reviews! Trip Advisor can be so helpful but also so upsetting! And some people are so critical, it's hard to know what to believe.

After all of my research I was really surprised to decide on DRC so quickly... part of it of course was just being sick of researching and needing to just pick a place already, but part of it was also that it is a Dreams resort and they have such a great reputation overall, and seeing all the initial amazing reviews was just confirmation of that and such a relief! I think that probably everyone's expectations of this new resort need to come back down to reality... it's not surprising to think that they need some practice with handling large crowds, etc. Hopefully they will get it all sorted out. I have to have faith that Dreams is not going to allow this brand new beautiful resort to be a disappointment to travellers! And I agree with another poster who said that Dreams is KNOWN for their weddings, so I am also a bit surprised at the lack of good ceremony locations. That being said, again, I have to have faith that they will do something to address this. They have a reputation to uphold!!!