The new Dreams Tulum thread! (Post all DT Qs&As here)

Hey Sunbride! THank you soooo much! That is super helpful since I was wondering what the dreams restaurant policy was for large groups. For the buffet, what are the food options like? I want to have a really nice sit down dinner where we are served - rather than having to go through a buffet line. That's why I was thinking probably SSG for wedding dinner, but we can't make reservations for a group table can we? We would just have to wait until a table for 10 opened up?

Not long now Erinrachael We were only 15 in total and we ROCKED the place!!! I was really worried about having such a small group but our day was perfect. I would say the great thing about having a small group is being able to think and do things a bit differently without feeling you need to be super formal, you get to spend quality time with each guest and everyone can be relaxed. All our guests said it was the best wedding they had ever been to. Our resort photog Teo was gobsmacked at the atmosphere at our reception and kept saying how much he had enjoyed it. You will have the most wonderful time.

With regards to restaurant reservations our party ranged from 15 the first week to 10 the second week. The restaurants always tried to be accomodating but are really not set up for groups. We ate all together at the same table 4 times in a fortnight, this included the wedding reception. The rest of the time was a mixture of 2-3 tables in the same restaurant but not always together.
Dreams have a "No reservation" policy which means you are assigned a table as and when one becomes free. You are asked if you wish to be added to the waiting list which you are sometimes told may be 2 hours long, sometimes you are given a pager and asked to go to the nearest bar to wait to be called, sometimes you are told to come back in an hour.

They often seemed to over estimate the wait times, sometimes I feel in a bid to dissuade you from joining the wait list. I would recommend either staying around the restaurant or that you return much sooner than they suggest, whenever we did this we got seated pretty much straight away on our return.

We were always pleasant and friendly and sometimes even after being told it may be an hour wait just loitered around the entrance or bar, not in a hassling kind of way, more a touristy, not sure what we are supposed to be doing kind of way and often within 15-20 mins, before we had finished our first drink they seemed to have found us tables, not sure if its because they realised they weren't getting rid of us, ha ha

It often helps to mention you wish to sit with your "wedding" party and a smile and a few phrases in Spanish do wonders!

When we were there (22nd march - 12th April) the following were fiesta nights
Tuesday = 6.30pm Mexican fiesta night, open air buffet and entertainment at the patio, world cafe closed.

Friday = 6.30pm Caribbean Party night, open air buffet food was really good and decorated really nice, world cafe closed.

Be there much earlier than advertised to get in. Tables seat 8-10.
We waited in line for these on our 2nd week from 5.30pm because on our 1st week we got there at 6.45pm and were refused entry cos the place was full!
The patio doesn't seem to be able to accomodate the amount of people requiring seating.

Saturday Night = Capioera show 9pm at the plaza. Events at the plaza are entertainment only with rows of chairs set out as if to face the "stage".
On this night your option would be The World Cafe or ask your WC for assistance but this will likely result in being charged the group fee. If you are happy to wait and poss be seated seperately then any of the a la cartes will be fine.

The buffet is nice but food temperature varies, the waiters in world cafe seem to really take care of larger groups, bringing shots of tequila, replenishing drinks etc but you will have to go through the buffet line.
Our nicest experience of the buffet was at the Caribbean party night on fridays.
If you wish for something sit down I would ask to speak to the restaurant managers ahead of time, hubby's mum did this and managed to get us all together into the wine cellar of portofino which was nice and private. The condition of this was that we bought wine from the cellar rather than drank all inclusive. The cheapest was $20 a bottle, we were a group of 12 and we just bought a few bottles at $25 each. Im not sure if this would have worked out cheaper to go through the WC and try to have her organise a group booking but his mum did it as kind of a gift so we didn't enquire. Our only issue here was that the service was painfully slow and they seemed to have accepted our group booking, and of course our money, without having the staffing available to cope. From past positive reviews I assume this was a one off, maybe staffing issues, but I would hate for it to happen on your wedding or rehearsal dinner.

If you want SSG for your wedding dinner I would say definately get your WC involved to ensure the level of service is up to scratch.

Hey Northernflasher! Thanks! I was assuming that if I paid the extra fee for setup in a restaurant for a group of 10 people, that that meant, they would just basically make us a reservation, but that we wouldn't have special servers or waiters, special private area, etc., which is why I absolutely refuse to pay for that, seeing as it's something that is part of the all-inclusive. However, if there is special service that we get for being a wedding party, I may consider paying extra for the WCs to set that up. If I get poor service though, and I paid the extra, I would be extremely peed off! LOL!

 

I have considered just having my mom or someone else go right when the SSG opens up and request a table for 10, that way we would be one of the firsts in line and should be able to get in right away. My mom, like me, also thinks it's ridiculous to pay just for the WCs to tell the restaurant servers to push a few tables together for our group.

 

Our whole group will be there for pretty much the full two weeks, so I hope we don't have too much trouble getting tables at restaurants for 6,8,10 people. I understand that some places don't have the seating for that many all together, but even tables close together would be sufficient. I think that is not too unreasonable of me to expect, considering the price we are paying to stay there for 2 weeks!

 

Sorry, I don't mean to sound b*tchy, because I'm very generous and gratuitious, however, I expect something in return such as being able to enjoy my dinners with my guests who have travelled half way around the world to be there for my wedding and vacation. Sorry, just my vent....

Hey ladies,

I'm curious on a few things. I'm wondering if we should go through a TA or book seperately with the hotel and airline. It almost seems cheaper to go through them seperately and go straight through the hotel but that makes me nervous in terms of cancellation insurance and how I'm going to get my guests to the hotel since I won't have the tour company's busses from the airports if i book seperately. Any opinions? What did you guys do?

And can you book your wedding date before you book your trip? Or do you have to pay for the trip and then pick a date?

 

Thanks everyone! Much appreciated!

We booked with a TA. Not sure about the cheaper aspect, but we booked early enough that we got a fantastic deal through AC Vacations. Using a TA and a charter also meant that we (us and our guests) were guaranteed to be on the same flights (the party will start at take-off!). This was important as my parents are bringing our kids back for us as we are continuing on to Belize the week after the wedding for our honeymoon It was far less headache for us, plus it is nice for the guests who don't have much time to web search to find the best deals, they could just call and give a credit card # and they were booked.
We did have some friends book separately, some have used points for flights, some booked through expedia, etc. The majority used the TA though. Just a thought, the people who booked flights separately had to worry about transfers, baggage allowances (if they booked through certain US companies), it can just create a bit more work.
As for booking a wedding date, we decided what week we wanted, and a general idea for date, booked our trip and then solidified the date.

hi we are doing the legaly at home hopefull on 5/5/11 and doing symbolic on 5/10/11 in mexico

I just finished reading through all the posts on this thread and I am so thankful I did! I got a lot of questions answered and a lot of good ideas! Thanks so much ladies! Quick question. I wanted to do maracas for the wedding, is there anywhere to buy them in Mexico? I don't really want to bring them with me. Thanks!

Hiya, we took a trip to Playa Del Carmen where you can buy maracas everywhere! They are the really nice round authentic ones in a wide varietyof colours, assorted shapes, most with cute handpainted scenes on one side such as fish, birds, flowers etc. They range from $1 - $2 each and you will definately get a better price for bulk orders.
If I were to change one thing about my pre wedding planning it would be to schedule in a shopping trip prior to my wedding and buy my maracas in Mexico. I wasted so much time, stress, energy not to mention valuable luggage space bringing them from home. Save yourself the hassle and go authentic when you get there.
Happy shopping
Michelle

Are you able to buy other things there at playa de carmen? I am thinking of doing the whole Mexican thyme with Maracas and the colored small blankets for the tables as decorations and was wondering if we could also purchase those there. Or what other cool thing you saw to purchase as decor. Thanks

Thanks for the tip on buying the maracas in PDC! I'm getting nervous thinking about all of the stuff we have to take with us just for the wedding.

 

I do have a random question if anybody can put their two cents in.... I have been reading that people recommend water shoes for the beach at Dreams Tulum. Do ya'll agree who have been there?