Where And Why Did You Choose Riviera Maya/cancun!

Hey everyone! Looks like I am a few months late for this post but Ill add anyway. We are going to Cozumel because we LOVE it and my family goes there every year (at least once). All guests and us and our families will be staying at Iberostar Cozumel because it is a GREAT hotel with a lot of fun stuff to do, lots of restaurants, fun night shows, great beach, etc.

Next door to Iberostar is a huge house that rents out and we want to rent that for 2 nights (1 prior to day of wedding to set up and get all the stuff we need there), and it is walking distance down the beach or a cheap cab ride from the hotel. We wanted to rent a house to have a more private beach ceremony than at the hotel and to have a reception afterwards. Last year I witnessed a ceremony at the beach and there was a bunch of people watching and some old women with NO TOPS ON hanging out, so that kind of changed my mind about having the wedding AT the hotel.

I love Cozumel and Ive never been to a place that makes me more happy and its so incredibly safe.

Well I'm going back to Iberostar Cozumel June 1 and I have been there twice before so if yall have any questions let me know. Also I have been to Occidental Grand Cozumel twice, Plaza Las Glorias (now Cozumel Palace), and Riu Cancun. My mom also just got back from El Dorado Royale in RM. I have tons of pictures of all of these places.

oh yeah... i also picked Iberostar Cozumel because we always get great deals there, we are going June and it costs $800 per person for 7 nights all inclusive including airfare. Plus, its only about a 2 hour flight from Austin. The island is small so once you get there, you take a van to the hotel which takes about 15-20 minutes to get there.

So I'm not getting married in Mexico but I can tell you why 8 of us choose Moon Palace for a New Years vacation:

1. my friends FI had never seen the caribben ocean

2. we wanted a large resort so we could meet other people

3. lots of restaurants and some a la cartes as well

4. it was affordable

5. pics from that resort were awesome

6. reviews for the resort were awesome

7. no matter how much we looked we kept going back to Moon Palace

8. oh and the liquor dispensors in each room intrigued us

The previous year we choose a resort in Puerta Vallarta and it SUCKED so I was nervous about picking another resort. ALL of my worried disappeared once we walked into the lobby. I got a flower and a glass of champagne, our room was upgraded to a golf villa and was ready at 11am, we were promptly escorted to our WONDERFUL room (villa 101). The room itself was stunning, clean, modern, comfortable and georgous. the fridge was stocked with Dos Eques (sorry about the spelling!) I could go on and on about how much I LOVED MOON PALACE.

I would totally get married there, but Joe really wants it to be a new place that we've never been before.

cool dos xx in the room fridge may have to choose the Moon! Still undecided on location but do know somewhere in RM

I must have missed this the first time around. But better late than never

We chose Dreams Cancun for several reasons.

1. Easy and fast to get to from the Chicago area! Direct flights from Chicago to Cancun and resort is close to the hotel. This way our guests that can only come for the extended weekend can maximize their time at the resort and minimized time spent traveling.

2. All-inclusive!!! We are all from WI...we drink lots of beer! I know our guests will get their money's worth!

3. Kids can come. The love of my life (along with my FI of course!) is my niece. One of the things I am most looking forward to is having her as my flower girl. I can't imagine our big day without her.

4. We vacationed at Dreams last Oct., and saw a beautiful wedding while we were there. That's when we decided on a DW (before we were officially engaged). It was our first real vacation for just the two of us, so it's a special place for us. Plus we feel familiar with the place and are able to inform our guests from a first-hand perspective.

5. The gazebo is gorgeous!

6. The service was phenomenal when we were there. I've never experienced better service, and I've been to lots of AIs!

7. Just the right size for us. We didn't want a "mega-resort" where we might not even see our guests. It's mostly our friends that are going, and we have been talking about doing a big group vacation for awhile now...this is our chance. We can't wait.

7. Bottom line, we loved Dreams when we were there and can't wait to share the experience with our friends and family!

So I finally chose the Xcaret - (well, we'll see if Edith gets back to me giving me a 'yay' for the date)

1) Caribbean ocean! (considered PV for awhile, but the sand wasn't doing it for me..)

2) Snorkeling in a lagoon - that's hot..

3) AI

4) wedding packages seem straight forward

5) good reviews about Edith, even though she may not give full attention until closer to dates

6) I like how I have no idea how to pronounce Xcaret and it may cause some mild chaos

seriously, this forum is awesome.

The main reason for my choice was the beach. The stretch in front of this hotel is suppose to be one of the best, especially right now with the way the sea is taking over most beaches in Playa del Carmen.

Kids are allowed

All inclusive - top shelf drinks and good food

I really like the thought of looking out my balcony and seeing monkeys.

The price is fairly reasonable.

My fiancé chose to get married at the Riu Palace Riviera Maya because of the following:

1. It's all-inclusive

2. It's within walking distance to the town of Playa del Carmen (so fun at night and a great option for those who want to leave the resort and check out the area)

3. It's not too far from the airport (it's about a 45 min cab ride from the airport which is as long as we were willing to have our guests trek)

4. It's kid friendly (we may not have many kids, but we needed that to be an option)

5. The resort is big, but not too overwhelming (there are @ 400 rooms and it is not too spread out)

6. They had good reception options (we'll be able to have a private welcome cocktail hour the night before by the pool, a private section for the rehearsal dinner, a cocktail hour with passed apps before the reception, a private reception with dancing and a DJ)

7. I love the ceremony area and gazebo (we didn't want to get married on the beach in front of everyone)

8. The lobby is amazing (all these resorts are beautiful...but this one blew me away as soon as we checked in)

9. The food is very good

Those are the things that set it apart from the others for us. However, all the resorts down there are gorgeous and as long as your family and friends are there, I can't imagine anyone not having a fabulous wedding!

You said Everything I want - That sounds great!

Did you go for a site visit? Do you have any pictures