TammyWright

Quote: Originally Posted by Ryjaxs19 Jillian, I know isnt it a buetiful looking resort. Something about it just catches my eye more than the other resorts in the same price range. I'm trying to dig up info on the Occidental and I will post whatever I can. We are also seriously entertaining the idea of doing a site visit in Sept/Oct 2007 where I hope to get tons of information first hand. I am going to try and e-mail the hotel and maybe give them a call also. Hopefully I can get them to reply. Jackie, for a 4-star it is very reasonably priced...they are actually having a sale for trips booked this year for 2007. out of boston for 5 nights in sept. 2007 it is about $880 per person. for 7 nights it is $1090... this includes airfare and taxes (but rates based on availibilty and can cahnge at any time).

Quote: Originally Posted by KACENGG Thanks for posting this Stephanie....hopefully, eventually I will have enough points to open it! haha. it is really easy to get pts... you get them from pretty much doing anything: joining posting reading posts having others read your post Starting a new thread playing video games uploading a siggy pic ...it adds up prety quickly.

Happy Birthday!

kash, here it is http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...alifornia.html about the game, sneak over to dreams only 2 hotels away...they play the games on a huge screen on the beach and have a bbq...super fun

Quote: Originally Posted by JOELLEN thanks, and you got your flowers thru what vendor? Angela from floreria pamela but i dont speak spanish so maye c my WC ordered them from me...they prob would've been a tad cheaper if i went direct. the info is here in the cabo vendor section...search "floreria"

found this on tripdavisor.com ============== My wife and I brought 37 guests to the Hilton the weekend of May 6th for our wedding and stayed another week for our Honeymoon, so I have a good sense of what the Hilton has to offer. As for the wedding, the Hilton and their coordinators did a fantastic job from start to finish. They are very good at organizing events, both personal and corporate (which I will get into later). The rooms are spacious and beautiful, with marble tile and ocean views. At check-in you are greeted with complimentary margaritas and any question or request is responded to immediately. I would definitely recommend the honeymoon packages (even if for a "second Honeymoon") as you receive more bang for your buck. Our 7 night package offered the lowest room rate and approximately $800 worth of free stuff (ATV tour, snorkeling, $300 spa credit, $100 dining credit, etc). In addition, we were welcomed back to our room each night with some type of "spread," be it wine and cheese, champagne with flowers, an assortment of chocolates, or rose petals spelling out messages on the bed. The weekend of the wedding we were blessed with good timing as it seemed we and our guests had the place to ourselves, from the spa to the gym to the 2 pools. This allowed for a special weekend with family and friends with unmatched service and left our guests wanting to return as soon as possible. There was a rumor that the Hilton family themselves were there that weekend attending a private event (including the infamous Paris and Nicky) but the only spotting was when one of our guests shared the jacuzzi with their mother, Mrs. Hilton. Two days after our wedding 650 corporate guests from an American oil company completely took over the hotel. The pool was closed for one day and they had several luncheons/dinners that took up the entire pool area or the entire beach in front of the hotel. The other days the pool was exceptionally crowded and the pool service went down dramatically due to the volume. This did not affect us too much (in fact we enjoyed the free mariachi and fireworks shows on the oil company's dime) but if large corporate events bother you be sure to call ahead. All in all, the Hilton is a magical place to enjoy some true R&R, and I willl leave you with one of the best examples of Hilton hospitality, which came near our last night when we took advantage of the $100 dining credit to dine at their 4-star Fenicia restaurant. We are not food critics and don't dine regularly at the world's fanciest restaurants, but for us the food was simply "awesome" and the service impeccable. At one point, the pianist began to play "here comes the bride" while the chef brought over a special dessert with the words "Happy Honeymoon Mr. and Mrs. L...." written in chocolate on the plate. The whole place broke into applause. There was a full moon out and our table was at the edge of the infinity pool overlooking the ocean. It could not have been a better moment to cap our stay. The amazing part is that we never told them we were on our honeymoon, they figured it out for themselves. Then the manager came over, said he accepted our $100 credit voucher and the rest of our dinner is "on the house." (To the tune of another $200). You cannot beat that kind of service without spending $850 a night at Las Ventanas, and they would definitely not comp the dinner. We highly recommend the Hilton and the old saying "you get what you pay for" holds true here. Most of the tourist corridor and Los Cabos in general is pricey, but at the Hilton you feel you are getting the type of service and attention to detail you expect when paying such high prices. Save some money, then go and enjoy yourself!

i found this on tripadvisor.com ============== My husband and I stayed at the Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Resort and Spa from June 9th to 16th. We had our wedding on the resort grounds on June 11th. About 30 of our friends who came to attend our also stayed at the resort for various lengths of times. Everyone thought the resort was beautiful and had a great time. The grounds of the resort are very well kept, there are winding paths and fountains, everywhere you go there are beautiful tropcial plants and flowers. We stayed for 6 days and still did not walk through the entire premise, which is 26 acres. The old Spanish architecture is beautiful, the villas are in shades of orange, yellow and light pink. The pools are large and very clean, we stayed by the Infinity pool most of the times, which attracts the most people since it's at the front and center of the resort and also has the best view. But it never gets overly crowded and we were always able to find a chair. The service staff at the resort were mostly very pleasant and helpful. Our events coordinator onsite Irma who coordinated our wedding is so sweet and did a wonderful job. Our wedding ceremony took place at the Palapa Fiesta and our reception was at De Cortez restaurant, which served delicious food! We had the best wedding we could have ever asked for and all our guests had a great time. There are many nice resorts along the Corridor in Cabos but I have to say the Sheraton is one of the best ones. Many other resorts do not have such nice grounds and interesting architecture as the Sheraton. When you are in the resort you feel like you are in this lush paradise, which is totally different than the dry, dessert like landscape of Cabo. The resort is also only about 10 minutes drive from the town Cabo San Lucas, which makes it so easy to just go and grab dinner. I can't imagine staying any further from town. We will definitely stay at the Sheraton again when we come back to Cabo, probably on our one year anniversay!

i don't want toa larm anyone. i have been reading in tripadvisor about a sewege smell. if you can, try to get on the east wing where supposedly it does not smell.

Quote: Originally Posted by HBBRIDE Thanks for the reviews Tammy. We looked at a ton of reivews on tripadvisor.com before we booked our honeymoon. We can't wait to see for ourselves. Everyone says how amazing the water is there. Matt and are leaving for our honeymoon on April 13th 2007. We will stay 1 night in Papeete, 3 nights at the Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort and 3 days at the Le Tahaa private Island Resort and Spa. We will take a helicopter ride from Bora Bora to Tahaa....we are so excited!! we are thinking of going late march/early april...i can't wait~

another tripadvisor review ===================== We arrive 2 days prior to our wedding and our room class was upgraded to honeymoon suite without asking and at no charge. Our room was a huge 2 room suite-beautiful, clean, great view and very well looked after by housekeeping. Food-we ate all the restuarants except Hitmitsu. Food was excellent. From poolside menu to our on the beach dinner everything was wonderul. Service was exceptional and consistent. Our wedding-prior to our arrival our wedding coordinator, Mariana, was a true professional. She was very quick to respond to questions via email. Upon our arrival, she met us within minutes-was very organized, detailed and ready. She was very accomodating to last minute wishes and made sure every detail was handled. Our wedding was flawless thanks to her. The Spa did a great job with Missy's hair. Wedding attire was pressed at no cost and looked fab. The minister and photographer Mariana arranged where awesome. We were in great hands. We have no idea where the negative reviews come from. This resort is wonderful. Between us we have traveled all over Mexico and the Caribbean. Daily resort activites were fun without being intrusive. Resort activity staff were fun and enjoyed working/playing with us. We did the resort sponsored snorkle and pub crawl-both were excellent, lot's of fun and exactly as desribed. We spoke with other couples who went on the sunset cruises and loved them! We would highly recommend and will return!

I found this on Tripadvisor.com today. ================= Traveler rating: Cabo San Lucas: Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort & Spa: "Married at Dreams" Oct 25, 2006 gmas1978, chicago, illinois My experience with this property took place in: October, 2006 Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend? absolutely! My ratings for this hotel are: I recommend this hotel for: An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Tourists I do not recommend this hotel for: Young singles, Families with young children I selected this hotel because ... Beach / Sun, Spa My age: 25-34 Traveling group: Spouse / significant other My visit was for: Personal event (wedding, ...) My husband and I chose 10 months ago to have a destination wedding in Cabo. We had been to Cabo 3 years ago, however not to Dreams. We were pushed by our travel agent in Dreams' direction once we knew we wanted an all-inclusive. We arrived 3 days prior to the wedding because we had to get blood tests to make the wedding valid in the US. That was my major concern...getting a blood test in another country. Originally we were to have the test in San Jose del Cabo, however now they have changed the policy and the test actually comes to you, which was a HUGE relief. So that was a great start to our trip. And yes, it was completly safe. Anyway, we stayed for 8 days at Dreams...4 for the wedding portion and 4 for our "honeymoon." We really had no down/alone time because we brought 33 guests with us from home, 20 or so stayed at Dreams. Everyone in our group is well-travelled. Let me tell you...there were NO complaints from anyone! From the food and drinks to the respect that you recieve from all of the staff, is just amazing. We were all treated like royalty...just the way you should. Oh, and on Monday, we even were able to see the Bears game on a giant screen they put outside by the chaise lounges....so seeing as though we are from Chicago, our guests were ELATED! Here's the breakdown: Food-wonderful! I come from an Italian family that knows how to cook. Their restaurants are great! We ate at all of them. And you have the luxury of ordering whatever you want...they'll try to accomodate you if they can. Every morning, we'd order room service...french toast, eggs, bacon, granola. We'd have shrimp tacos, ceviche, quesadillas, you name it, for lunch. You were never without a drink. Dinner, there was no waiting and no reservations. The presentation of all the meals was top-notch! Room-We did request the honeymoon suite, and recieved it, although opted out of it for another room with a better view. It wasn't big, but we wanted the view more than anything, and it was breath-taking! Being able to wake up to the sunrise was such a treat every morning. Also, our cleaning lady was so sweet. She was immaculate. We left her $5 every day on the bed...remember, they work so hard for so little. On our wedding night the room was amazing. They went all out decorating our room with rose petals, candles, a cake, champagne...everything. It was perfect! Wedding-We couldn't have asked for more. Mariana Martinez, our coordinator was so wonderful to us. I never had a conversation with her on the phone...everything via email. Our ceremony and reception went off without a hitch. The best part about the actual wedding/reception is it is your own. There were 2 other weddings there over the time that we were there, and we made an effort to go see them. It just amazed me how different each of ours were. So if you are planning a wedding there, just know that you can literally have it however you want it. It isn't staged the same for everyone. I didn't want the provided flowers, so Mariana just asked for what I wanted, and I told her over email, and the boquet was literally exactly as I explained. There were no problems. The day was perfect thanks to Mariana! I use Trip Advisor a lot in planning trips/vacations. The reviews about Dreams were very disappointing. This resort was literally the exact opposite of what some reviews said. Some of our guests stayed at the RIU because they couldn't get into Dreams because it was sold out at the time. They had such a bad experience with the food, the staff and their room. I just think there are no comparisons. Dreams go above and beyond here. Again, if you are looking to have a great vacation where you can relax and enjoy your company, its a great place. However, if you want to have food like you would have in the states or drinks a certain way, or think that you aren't going to see bugs....stay in the states. The fact is not only are you in another country, but you are in the desert. You will see bugs and the food won't be just like home. If you want to complain, stay home. They don't deserve it! The entire Dreams staff is top-notch. We will definitly be back for our anniversary! Thank you to Mariana!

I added a bunch of new avatars if you would rather have a fun one than a personal one...

Pick the one that fits you best for today's mood, and wear it proudly. I am going to upload them so when cranky you can pick one for your avatar

Quote: Originally Posted by gkashmira Sarah - You know what's funny? I was feelingso terrible about myself for going WAY over my points this week (see above regarding the plans that I did not manage to follow). I went 19 points over my Flex!!!!! I feel so embarressed I didn't even want to post it! Plus when I came into work today and weighed myself I'm actually UP from friday... sigh. But Thursday is weigh in and I am trying SO SO SO hard to do good between now and then. I would be very happy to lose but I have to accept that I may not after the terrible (i.e. "food terrible" but actually a very nice) weekend I had. OK, so even worse is that these days I just cannot motivate to exercise AT ALL!!!! I don't know what's wrong with me - I use to to exercise and nowadays I just can't make myself do it... Anybody have ideas on how to motivate? oh kash, i wish i could help...i have had my gym bag in may car for 4 months hoping it would motivate me to workout...this week is slow so i promised to work out today but didn't...i have this super exoensive gym member ship also. i feel like such a loser

todays winner is....SARAH (aqharider)!! SURPRISE!! i promise it is not rigged!

Quote: Originally Posted by AQHARIDER www.creativemontage.com I haven't ordered invitations from them, but I loved my monograms. They have really cute looking invites that look like they could also be used for stationery and ty's. She also does custom work. i love their stuff!

Quote: Originally Posted by AQHARIDER Thanks for the info Stephanie. It's always good to have different options when planning such a big project! I'm in the beginning stages of my SharedInk book. I am too much of a perfectionist, so I keep rearranging and deleting and starting over. Tammy, did you ever find your code for the 12x12? No hurry, I probably won't want to order for another couple weeks. By the way, how long did it take to get your sharedink book? OMG, thanks for reminding me...i kept on trying diff. pws but i don't have it so i need them to re-send one to me...this will be on my to-do list for this week.

Quote: Originally Posted by JOELLEN tammy- I love your bouquet? Do you mind if I ask how much you spent? I really want orchids. Thanks, you would think i would know off the top of my head...BRB...ok, $120 for the brides bouguet, $95 for the BM's bouquets...they also had orchids and their bouq. were beautiful...they were big as well...if you need to save $$ you can have those as the brides bouq. $15 for orchid bouts.

its going to take you months to envision what you want...then we can start working on the details...start looking at pics to see if any hit you as being what you want...i just posted more flower pics in the vbpicgallery

tahiti sounds so amazing...wish we could fit bora bora in but we can't so we are going to do tikihau and moorea.

I found this on tripadvisor.com i am staying at the sheraton on moorea for my honeymoon. YAY! ======================== I just got back from my two week honeymoon in French Polynesia and wanted to write up a review for everyone reading this site. I found this site to be very helpful while I was planning my honeymoon and I am hoping to return the favor by posting a thorough review of my time there. This might be a little long, but when you are planning such a big trip, more information is better than less in my opinion! MOOREA: My husband and I stayed at the Sheraton Moorea and COULD NOT have imagined staying anywhere else. The Sheraton Moorea is the perfect hotel. First, there are only 2 other "main" "well known" or "good" hotels on the island- the intercontinetal and the Pearl. We only stoped at the Pearl briefly to drop another cab passenger there so I didn't see the inside, but what I didn't like about the pearl was its location- closer to the airport and sort of near the main town. The Intercon and the Sheraton are further away near the bays, which is nicer. The Sheraton is in the perfect location, right smack between the two famous bays of Moorea. The Intercon is a little further along after the bays. We spent some time at the Intercon because we did the Dolphin adventure, so we saw the resort. The biggest difference between this and the Sheraton is that the Intercon is a much bigger, more resort-ish place. And I don't really mean in a good way. There's so much going on there (they have people in the huge lobby selling necklaces like at a flea market, etc) that it felt too crazy for us. The Sheraton is a gorgeous resort too, with all the resort amenities, but smaller so more honeymoon-ish to us. There were kids all over the Intercon when we were there, but not at the Sheraton. Anyway, the Sheraton's bungalows are AWESOME (#107 or 109 is the best- all the way out and faces the sunset for an un-obstructed view- we had 107). Really big, such comfortable beds, great deck for sunbathing and dining. There's also an overwater bar at the sheraton which is cool. The food is good and the staff friendly and very attentive. Best of all, there is unbelievable snorkeling right outside your overwater bungalow. We saw tons and tons of crazy fish. There is coral everywhere, we spent hours each day exploring. We even saw an eel. (gross). I really can't recommend this resort enough for its tranquility, beauty, location, service. There are tons of activities like jet skiing, kayaking, etc there, its just smaller and more relaxed than what's happening at the Intercon I think. On Moorea itself- rent a car or scooter and drive around the island and up to Belvedere point. Its really beautiful. Best restaurant we ate at was Aito (weird place, but great food) and Te Hono Iti. We didn't love Le Maghony or Le Plantation, but they weren't awful. BORA BORA: First, BB is beautiful. The island itself isn't as pretty or mountainous as Moorea, but it still has the one main mountain, Mt Otemanu, which is gorgeous to look at. But we weren't as interested in exploring the island in BB as we were in Moorea, which is fine since the point of coming here is the lagoon. And it really is something to be seen- Unbelieveable colors, truly remarkable. We went jet skiing (a must, because you get up close and personal with the island and lagoon more than you do in boats) and we did the shark and ray feeding tour. (This was Ok, not as cool as we thought.... but its definitely something everyone does on BB, so we felt like we had to at least go and see the rays. They do a circle island tour in the boat and then stop in one spot where they know there are sharks and rays and you can get into the water and see them, swim with them. Then there's additional snorkeling in coral gardens, which was OK). We stayed at the Bora Bora Pearl Beach. This hotel was good, but I won't say I think you have to stay here. Its in a good location- its on its own motu, so there aren't other hotels in sight, and you have a direct view of Mt Otemanu. BUT, you get a direct view on the other side of the island where the Thalsso is, and I think the colors of the lagoon looked better on that side. More varied- deep, to emerald, to clear. At the Pearl, the water all around the hotel is only like 3-5 feet deep so its all clear. This is nice, but I just think its more interesting to see the different colors. Also, the rooms at the pearl are nice but not spectacular. The bed is VERY hard and uncomfortable. VERY. The food is pretty good, service was good, the pool is very nice. The new spa is AWESOME, such a beautiful setting and great services. So really there are good and bad things about it. I'd say the location, view of the mountain, service, and spa are excellent but then like I said its not totally plush rooms, bad bed, and i think it may have been more interesting to see other water. I am not staying don't stay here, but also look into the Thalsso, 4 seasons (if affordable). The hotel bora bora also looked like it had great snorkeling and color water, when we went past it in the boat (but no direct view of Mt Otemanu and no pool). I wouldn't stay at the Nui, simply because of its location. Its on a motu but it faces away from the main island and beautiful view of Bora Bora. You just look out into the sea... can't you do that anywhere? Also, don't stay at the old Intercontental, it looked ugly and its right near a million other old hotels, too crowded. Restaurants: Villa Mahana was by far and away the BEST food we had in French Polynesia. GO THERE! Next best was Kaiha hut. Great seafood, and cute sand hut atmosphere. Top Dive is just like any New York City restaurant, so even though the food was pretty good I wouldn't recommend it. Bloody Marys was OK, I didn't think the food was good at all but its such a tourist thing to do that its hard not to go there, because you want to see what its all about, but I thought the service and food was poor. Tahaa: The whole reason to go here is to stay at Le Tahaa private island resort and spa. Not a lot of peope venture to the main island, because I don't think there's a lot going on there. I know they have activities like shark/ray feeding, etc but we didn't do any of that, we stayed at the hotel. AND WHAT A HOTEL IT IS. If you are even considering going here, DO IT. Tahaa is unbelievably gorgeous. I imagine it might be what Bora Bora was 30 yrs ago because all the development. This hotel is the only one on the island so you really feel like you are at the end of the earth, totally checked out in paradise. The color of the water is gorgeous, just like BB (not quite as spectacular but still unreal and gorgeous). And the hotel is unreal. The overwater bungalows are HUGE. HUGE! And so luxurious. The entire hotel is like this- gorgeous grounds with beautiful vegetation, a beach with palm trees, an open air restaurant in the main building, and an infinity pool with swim up bar. (the pool isn't huge but it doesn't matter, its beautiful and there's plenty of room). Its just a great hotel, GREAT service, great food. GO! Hope this is helpful to someone. Post if you have questions

great info...if anyone amkes a photobook can they post the results so we can see.

great info stephanie!