ceiba del mar hotel and spa

I posted a short version of all the miserable things Ceiba did to ruin my wedding and honeymoon (yes, they managed to ruin both) in another Ceiba post. I will also be doing a full write up when my schedule calms down a bit.

Matt- I have not posted anything on trip advisor, so obviously this was not a unique experience and others have had terrible visits there too.

One more thing-- Matt- I have no doubt its a great place to shoot. No one will deny that the location is beautiful and makes for great pictures. However, and please don't take this the wrong way, shooting at a hotel and planning a wedding there/getting married there, are two very different things. But when its your wedding, the details are more important and you want it to go well. Some of my guests (clearly not those who came home with bed bug bites, bacterial pneumonia, a missing tooth, less cash b/c theirs had been stolen out of their in room safe) were not aware of all the disasters and thought that Ceiba was just not a good place to stay. They were not aware of all the services that were supposed to be provided and how things should have gone. BUt no one should have to go through what I did (and apparently I am not the only one) for their wedding. I think everyone can agree that your wedding should be special and wonderful and you want to go to a resort where they treat it as such.

 

 

I totally agree that Ceiba is a beautiful place. Breathtaking really. And if you are aware of the fine print when you book your wedding there... by all means have the wedding of your life! The turnover in staff is the brightest news we've had in this craziness. The new rooms manager has been wonderful in trying to figure things out. Which seems to be that the resort owes us some money...

I had to cancel my wedding. Embarrassing enough, right? I did so months in advance. Then I had to explain that my friends and family were financially responsible for half of their ENTIRE STAY. Because of the poorly explained and written cancellation policy... I had to be embarrassed over and over again trying to explain to my guests why they had to pay thousands of dollars for nothing! Then after that was pretty much settled...let's just say that my family was taken advantage of by Denise and the old accounting staff. They used an unauthorized credit card of ours (the one my parents used to reserve their personal room) to try to draw blood from a stone when some of my guests refused to pay. They contested it with the cc company and won. Then four months later... they tried to post the charges again without informing us. They contested again and won AGAIN. We never gave a "master credit card". My guests had no idea about the cancellation policy. The posted cancellation policy on the web site states something entirely different than the group cancellation policy. When I asked Denise about that policy she neglected to point out that the group cancellation policy trumped the individual cancellation policy which I though was kind of shady.

Now just to be clear... I'm not saying I wasn't at fault. And I'm not saying that the resort was entitled to nothing... but fair is fair. They kept over $5000 of our deposit and came back for more! The way they handled our situation was anything but hospitable. And I'm being nice. Ask my father, who's had to deal with the countless phone calls and emails, and he'll be a bit more colorful in his description of Ceiba del Mar's customer service.

Ask9999 - The TripAdvisor comment that Matt made was not about actual TripAdvisor reviews on Ceiba del Mar, it was simply an analogy. He was saying how you often see things on TripAdvisor saying they don't suggest going there and not giving reasons for why. The reviews on TripAdvisor are actually incredible, they're rated #2 in Puerto Morelos and there are many reviews about weddings being perfect as well. With your bad experience, it probably would be a good idea to write a review on everything that went wrong (which I read in the other thread, and I agree that you are totally right to be upset!), as opposed to just saying that Ceiba is bad and don't go there. People need to know these reasons why you weren't happy with it.

 

Madbride - That is a horrible situation! Luckily, we used a lawyer to review our contract and we are protected against all these extra payments. Fine print is important in any contract.

Glad somebody got that...I guess I'll preface that I'm making an analogy next time I use one

Sorry they actually treated you that way. I think this forum is a great resource and the root of my posts was investigatory. I have no doubt you had a bad experience and apologize on their behalf because we love the place... we have stayed there on several occasions and haven't experienced any problems with service, shady regulations, etc.

Just to bring light to this thread, I know that there are always going to be dislikes and compliments from just about every venue out there for many different and personal reasons. We must concentrate on advising the future clients of the problemas experienced so new clients can look out for them when it is their turn.

As a business owner, I want to know if we have a problem with our customer service and will flip over backwards to correct the issue and move on. In some cases out there, especially in Mexico and in our experience, some of the bigger hotels take on a David VS Goliath attitude when problems occur....Guess what? They are no longer able to hide from situations that may jeopardize future sales. WHY? Because of places like BDWF where problems become transparent. Its the perfect chance for them to address problems in their policies and move on to correct the issue.

My post was intended to enlighten and educate and keep constructive, vs hating. I'm not literally calling anybody a hater here, just generalizing.

The voices of people participating on BDWF will be heard, and in the end, I believe we will all have a better experience because of this resource available.


Can't wait to see your photos from Morgan Lynn, she was our guest during the week of your wedding!

Cheers!
matt

I know there are a couple of Ceiba brides lurking around here....

 

Just curious if you have selected your florist/event decorator yet? If so, would you mind sharing what kinds of decorations you're getting and the pricing?

 

I've received some quotes but am not keen on spending $1,000 for one sad little lounge set up!

 

Also, where are you having your reception? Rehearsal dinner?

Confused!

 

I have been looking at their site and I like it . Almost all my guests will be flying in from the us and i´m wondering if there will be enough accomodation for everybody. Will it be possible to get a mayan wedding in their gardens or at the beach? do they organize the wedding too or just the hotel?

Marifer - if you contact the wedding coordinator (info posted above), she can send you basic information and answer your specific questions. Alternatively, you can call the hotel (they have a US line posted on their website) and try talking to the coordinator directly.

 

I'm not sure how many guests you're expecting but the hotel can give you a maximum capacity amount. The hotel has 80 rooms plus 8 penthouses. Also, mayan ceremonies are usually contracted through third parties which I'm sure they can help you coordinate.

Ceiba bride-to-be here:) May 2011, so I have some time. I haven't booked any vendors yet other than my photographer (Moments That Matter). I have been in contact with Lillia and she said she is updating the vendor list and will send it to me, so I'm interested to see what changes she has made.

We are currently undecided about our ceremony location, and we're hoping to do a site visit in the fall to see the different locations and be able to better choose. My fiance's first choice is the pier, but I'm nervous about a) the loooooong walk down the pier, and walking through the sand to get to the pier (I LOVE heels and plan to wear a great pair for the wedding, they won't be beach-friendly). If the pier doesn't work, then we'll do one of the terraces (apparently there is one on the side of a restaurant, next to the beach, and one that is on the rooftop? That's what Diana has told me)

For our reception location, we'll also do one of the terraces. I LOVE the pictures that Del Sol recently posted with a wedding where the reception was on the terrace next to the beach... then they had a bonfire and lounge chairs set up out in the sand as well. So that's one idea I want to look into!

I would love to see your pictures, I am really considering this hotel. My e-mail is [email protected]