Dreams or RIU?

Hi,

Since I haven't personally seen either resort I was hoping to get some info from some fo you that have. I am in the early planning stages and it seems as though these two resorts stand out. What made some of you choose one over the other? I wouldn't mind my guests and I being closer to town and we like to have a good time which is making me lean towards RIU. However it seems as though there are so many Dreams brides I am wondering what won you over. Also I want my wedding ceremony to be nice and not have jet skis flying by or be disrupted by noise. Is this what will happen at RIU? I get the impression from some of you that RIU is a "party" location. What exactly do you mean by this because that could be good or bad depending on what you want.

Thanks,

Jessica

You've already said it best! lol

I've stayed at both places. I decided on Dreams because I wanted a more romantic, as opposed to party, atmosphere for my wedding. Both properties are gorgeous, both have great food, I had a fantastic time at both. Honestly I have to say that the service and staff at Dreams blows the Riu out of the water. The Riu is so large, you don't really get to know the bartenders, waiters, etc- and they totally don't want to be friends with you. At Dreams, we knew half the bartenders, waiters, etc by name and they knew our favorite drinks, snacks, etc. At Dreams all the staff we encountered went out of their way to please and seemed happy with their jobs. Not so much at the Riu. I hope some of the Riu girls can chime in, but I don't know if many of them have stayed at both places to make the comparison. I thought the Riu was the coolest place I'd ever been to...until I stayed at Dreams.

But, again, it depends on what you want. Maybe you don't care about making friends with your waiter- I handpicked the waiters for my wedding reception- we'd gotten to know them through the week and they were AWESOME! Maybe a romantic atmosphere is not what you're after- at Dreams, it's usally soft romantic music playing in the background- at Riu, it's usually top-40 or dance mix type of music. If you want to party, go to Riu- that's probably where we'd go back for a vacation. If you want to relax and impress your guests with great service- go for Dreams. Dreams doesn't have a nightlife, Riu does- and Riu is close to town.

Just some thoughts...let me know if you have specific questions about comparisons between the two since I've been to both.

Oh, and I did get sick after being at the Riu palace, and a friend of mine who stayed at the same time also did...I've never gotten sick at Dreams, although Edyta (another bride that just got married) did one night...

I have never stayed at Dreams so I can't compare the two.. I have stayed at the RIU before and really we thought it was what you made of it. It's a large resort, if you want a few quiet moments to yourself, you can have them or if you want the party, you can also have that. We did get to know our pool boy & the pool bartendars very well, and they knew what we wanted as soon as they saw us.

 

Good Luck deciding.

Again I think I am thinking too much about what other people might want for my wedding. I am thinking if people make a vacation out of our wedding woul dthey rather stay at Dreams or RIU rather than thinking where would I rather have my wedding.

You are right there- you have to want to have your wedding at whichever resort. Decide what you want, and the rest will fall into place.

i chose dreams over riu for a few reasons.

 

1. i think dreams photographs better and the photographers down there tell me the same thing.

 

2. i wanted a smaller resort so it felt like we were taking over and dreams is about 320 rooms and was the perfect size for us.

 

everyone knew our group...knew my dad...it was like our own resort.

 

3. i did NOT want a party atmosphere...i did not want to have my wedding with people in the background in bikini's etc.

 

4. dreams has a waaayyyy superior wedding department. Mariana is the head WC at Dreams i have to say she is probably one of the best wedding coordinators down there. she does not nickel and dime you and truly wants you to have a dream wedding. i don't think i have heard 1 bad thing about her....she consitently gets stellar reviews.

 

5. for my friends that did want to party (my sister), they hopped in a cab and partied but there is also a hotel sponsored party bus 1 0r 2 nights a weeks for the ones that want to go to cabo wabo etc.

 

6. Dreams is finishing their rooms renovations in August so all the rooms will be new...YAY!

 

7. Their wedding prices....i think their price for the reception is unbeatable...$24 per person for a 3-4 course meal and open bar....

No bikini's in the background. Just the name says it all I guess "Dreams". What more could you ask for. My wedding is going to be the party anyway or at least the only one I need to be concerned about.

its a hard decision and i was really torn too- email both the wedding coordinators at Dreams and RIU and see how reposnds fastest, seems easiset to deal with, etc- that is why i chose Dreams. it says a lot when the WC are quick to reposnd and honestly are willing to help you.

I chose Dreams - but haven't stayed at either of them. I mostly liked Dreams because it seems like a nice, relaxing, romantic atmosphere... RIU (from what I've heard) is definately more of a party place, and that is not really what Aaron and I are like (heck, I'm on the forum on a Friday night - does that not speak for itself?!). When I looked at everyone's pictures from Dreams, it had an incredibly romantic atmosphere. I too thought about what my family would think, and overall I think most of them will be happy (you can't please everyone), the food is pretty good, the staff friendly, the rooms RENOVATED ().

 

Also, when I contacted Dreams, Mariana responded right away - and she has every single time. Each time I e-mail her, she responds easily before 24 hours is up. That might not sound like a huge deal... but its so frustrating waiting to hear back from someone and it takes weeks! She responds quickly, and answers every single question perfectly. Plus, after reading what she's done for other brides, you really can't go wrong!!

I was just like you and trying to decide between the two without ever seeing them. What our decision came down to was this - we are party people and whether or not Riu is a big party place (I have heard both ends of it on all the travel forums and site reviews etc) we would be closer to town and that was important for my FI. Both have good and bad reviews of the rooms, the food, the service etc. I loved the gazebo at Dreams but at Riu you can have the rocks in the ocean behind you. Riu is overwhelmingly big - but its personality fits our group. Basically I would read a ton on tripadvisor, expedia, etc (take in to consideration that most people post if they hate it - more often than if they loved it) look at where you will be able to married, and think about the services that are important to you. Riu does not have 24 hour room service - Dreams does. Dreams mellows out at 10-11pm - Riu doesnt. Things like that helped us make our decisions. (On a side note - the menu options for your reception are much bigger and more glamorous at Dreams - the Dreams girls can vouch for that. and it is cheaper for a better reception from what I can tell.)