Sunsierra

Quote: Originally Posted by El Dorado Royale El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels and Azul Hotels, by Karisma strive to provide exceptional wedding services and meet our guests' every need. As such, we have listened attentively to feedback provided by the bridal community and have updated our outside vendor policy. Outside photographer and videographer vendors are welcome at the property for a charge of $500 per day. It is no longer a requirement for them to stay at the hotel but are welcome to do so if they choose. Vendors must be pre-approved in advance by the wedding coordinator and must abide by all Mexican governing laws which require foreign workers to obtain proper licensing and work certificates while in Mexico doing work for themselves or on behalf of others. The hotel reserves the right to request proof of such license and/or work certificate. We place a great deal of emphasis on our overall wedding services, guaranteeing the highest level of guest satisfaction such as offering U.S. based wedding planners, on-site professional coordinators, unique beachfront ceremony locations (including seaside chapels), gourmet cuisine, blood work done on property, customized weddings and amenities, and affordable prearranged wedding packages like our Free Sweet Wedding Package, to name a few. At El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels and Azul Hotels, by Karisma, we take pride in our wedding services and ensuring couples experience the ultimate day of celebration, romance and a lifetime of memories. We look forward to continuing to work closely with you, creating perfect destination weddings. Don't you think the fees are a little ridiculous? Other resorts in that area charge way less ($100 USD) and some don't even charge at all. I will definitly not be recommending this resort to ANY of my friends and family because of the overcharging that this resort does.

Quote: Originally Posted by nde062010 Does anyone have pics of the private poolside reception on the Tulum side? I saw they were posted in the first few pages of this thread but I can't view them, they have X's in the boxes. The only pics of pool receptions I've been able to find are Akumal ones.... Sorry about that... I posted them before but I must have changed the links. I fixed them now so you should be able to see them Drai - Where are your wedding pictures

Quote: Originally Posted by drai I would definitely go the private reception as oppose to the disco. I totally agree - if you can afford it. We couldn't, so I just wanted to point out that we went to the disco and it was still amazing. We had a great time - the service was awesome and the DJ played great music (we brought 2 burnt cd's in case their music wasn't all that good (and for our first dance songs) but it was great). Good luck!!

I think it's easier to think of the Gran Bahia as one resort that has three different sections or hotels (Tulum, Coba, Akumal).

Quote: Originally Posted by drai Hi there, my WC was also Jazmin. You cannot reply to her address because her e-mails are sent on behalf of another address. I hope that makes sense. I thought she was really good, she never took more than 2 days to reply to any of my questions, unless I happened to send it on one of her day off. The correct address is [email protected] I second this! Replying does not work... always copy and paste that address and then it'll work. I really liked Jazmin - when you meet her, you find out she's kind of a no nonsense kinda gal.

Quote: Originally Posted by jkcz0702 Did you find the real flower wilted from the heat or did it hold up pretty good? Nope it didn't wilt at all during the day. I took it out for some of the pictures (cause it started coming out on its own). I brought my own bobby pins to put it in but they didn't hold up too good (but I was also running late before the wedding - so I didn't have much time to put it in).

No bother at all.... that one was real. I ordered it when I picked out the flowers. On the day of, they had actually given me two which was really nice the other one was a dark pink color.

We sure did. The added bonus is that they don't charge a fortune - very reasonably priced. and thanks everyone for all the wonderful comments!

Quote: Originally Posted by allianne611 I'm getting married at the Tulum property on May 24th 2008! Less than a month! Yikes! Stacy, is there a link to your pictures anywhere? Who did you use? We're using Claudia Rodriguez. I'm so excited! We are having the dinner at the Tequila. How did you keep in touch with all of your party since everyone arrives at different times? Congrats! You'll have a great time there for sure. (I think you already found my pics, haha) We used Citlalli from Claudia Rodriguez and we loved her! Dinner was abosulutely delicious - what is your menu? We didn't have to worry about keeping in touch cause we were all on the same plane... but a good place to meet up would be the lobby bar - that's where we usually met up with people before going for supper at the buffet.

I'm pretty sure the diamond section for Tulum is the most nothern buildings.

The fee for us to bring in an outside photographer was $90 USD. She brought an assistant but we were still only charged $90. On the Tulum side - the inside location is the Tequila restaurant. Here are the pictures they sent me: Sorry they're so dark. Right in front of the couple is a small garden and a little pond/fountain - it's actually very pretty. It is in the middle of the restaurant. It's the first thing you see as soon as you walk in.

Quote: Originally Posted by Tlseege So although I truly think it's quite nice to tip... it is NOT necessary at this resort. I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. I think you should tip no matter what (if you get good service). These people work their butts off (some waiters would work the pool bar all day, then move over to the lobby bar to work) and deserve any extra they get. Quote: Originally Posted by RyanAmanda Is there an age limit to the Hacienda? No. But technically there is an age limit to drink at the disco and everywhere on the resort (18 ). My sister was 17 when we went and when we checked in, she got an adult bracelet (they didn't ask - we didn't tell). That way she had no problem drinking wherever we went. I wouldn't suggest doing this if the girl has a hard time knowing when to stop - cause it's still illegal - but my sister isn't a huge drinker anyway so it was no big deal.

We kinda did... but we did them on our own - not through the tour operators. We would walk to the main road and catch a collectivo to wherever we wanted to go. We went to Xel Ha, Xcaret, Tulum Ruins, Tulum, Akumal (reallllly good snorkelling - especially if you want to see turtles - and eat at Lucy's Tacos, mmmmm!), and Shopping in Playa. Oh, we did go on a snorkelling excursion through the resort - they brought us to Akumal Bay by boat. It was cool but we did it again on our own another day and it was cheaper and we stayed for the whole day. If you have to choose between Xel Ha and Xcaret, my vote is for Xel Ha (and go for the whole day - you'll need it). And Xel Ha is cheaper too so that's a bonus. A few from our group did book excursions with the resort (Coba Ruins, Ziplining, and ATV tour). I'm pretty sure they liked them.

Quote: Originally Posted by steph77 Hi there, just about to burn a CD but I'm not sure how many songs I need. Is one enough for people to sit? We have a small group. How many songs am I going to need? I was thinking 3 - 1 for guests and groom, 1 for me to walk, and 1 for us together... am I forgetting anything? We had five songs... one for each of the following: Guests Sitting Groom & Groomsmen Bridesmaids, Flower Girl & Ring Bearer Bride Bride & Groom

We kept our valuables in the safe. There is one in each room. You have to ask for a key at check in and it costs $5/day. (But I do know that with some tour operators the safe is included - it wasn't with signature vacations). We never had any problems at all - and we even forgot a few things out some days (money, camera, etc.) All of the water is filtered at the resort (except in the bathrooms - facets, showers, etc). You can get water from the bars (it's not bottled, but it's filtered) and restaurants. You also get 2 huge and 4 small bottles of water in your room. They replenish these everyday or every 2nd day (don't forget to tip the fridge guy!).

Guys, please don't worry about the room requests too much. We tried and we were told by numerous people (our TA, the resort, other people that have stayed) that you can request, but it really doesn't mean anything until you get there. My TA gave me this tip: When you get off the bus (if you're travelling through a tour operator), try to be the first ones to check in (leave FH to collect the bags) and make your request there - that way you'll have the option of different rooms before the rest of the bus does. But really, I don't think there's any really bad rooms (unless you're staying at the Coba - there are some that are very very close to the highway). Your wedding is soooo close - I can't wait! Haha

Carrie - we did really like all the restaurants. For our wedding supper we had the Mexican Platter for Appetizers, the Azteca Soup (which is a very spicy tomato based soup), Stuffed Chicken Breast Medallions and Tres Leche Cake for dessert. I suggest getting something different for your appetizers/soup but sticking with something more traditional for the main course. Jenny - Our ceremony was at 3pm (we had originally planned for 2pm - but changed our minds as that would leave a lot of time in between the cermony and dinner). This was perfect for us as we only had our photographer for 3 hours (she came at 2pm and stayed until 5pm). Supper was at 6:30. It worked out great. I can't remember exactly what time sunset was - but it was still quite light out when we went for supper. But probably not the best or enough light for pictures... but I'm no pro either. Sorry. I do know that while we were waiting for the main course it was already completely dark outside.

Sarah - I don't think there is a charge for extra seats (but please don't quote me as we only had 12 or so seated). You will need to pay extra for the champagne though (we did) and I believe the cake (if you have more than 18 people) - but our cake was huge! We didn't even eat a quarter of it with 20 people.

The decor is about as good as any of the other restaurants. (Like the Tequila - where we had our dinner). It's not super fancy, but they dress is up nice for your reception. You may want to bring or buy extras to dress up the tables - we didn't, so the only things we had were the flower centerpiece (used at the ceremony) and then they had our menus printed out, rolled up and tied with a ribbon - very nice especially as I wasn't expecting it. We were happy with it. So I assume they would do the same thing at all the restaurants... but you might want to ask. You're not going to get a super fancy restaurant if you're not having it at the gourmets but you will get better service for sure. (And I mean that the other restaurants are very nice... just not as fancy as the gourmets). If I could do it again - I would definitely pick the Tequila (again) or the Mediterrean.

I can't tell you about Portofino... but the Mediterranean was our favorite restaurant! It was verrrrry good and the service was amazing (the service was even better than the gourmets)!

Quote: Originally Posted by drai We also want to have a welcome reception for a meet and greet for everyone prior to the wedding. Does anyone know of a good area on the resort? Would the lobby bar be ok? We also want to bring our gift bags for that event, so will need tables and such. The lobby bar would be a perfect location! Just make sure you start a bit earlier (like 7 or 8pm) cause it seems to fill up when the band starts playing.

Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! I think it really depends on what you order there... a few in our group ordered the Grilled Seafood and liked it (while some didn't) - it could just be that it's a seafood restaurant and some didn't like seafood though. For me, it was the noodles and sauce that was off - the shrimp was delicous.

Yup, we did... and we got to keep our upgraded room so we were very happy. It was just the two of us for the extra week and we loved it!

I have a few of my son... he was not a happy camper - didn't want his picture taken so her ran away: And then there's the classic "humph" expression:

Quote: Originally Posted by Tlseege Yeah, Carrie can have her reception at the Le Gourmet. It all depends on the resort that you are staying at. Which, stinks... but makes sense. You MUST eat at the place that you stay. Here are the options: Tulum- Tequila (Mexican), La Gran Tortuga (Grill) Akumal –Dolce Vita (italian), Frutos del Mar (fisherie) Coba – Le Gourmet (gourmet), Mediterráneo (mediterranean food), Pescador (fisherie), El Charro (Mexican) That's weird cause Akumal (Arleguin) and Tulum (Don Pablo) both have a gourmet restaurant but we were only given the option of the Tequila and Tortuga. So why do you get to pick ANY of the restaruants (in Coba)if you're staying on the Coba side, but if you're staying at the Akumal or Tulum you don't get to pick their gourmets? Jenny - We ate at the dob pablo. DH and I both had Filet Mignon. The menu for that restaurant isn't completely correct on that website - it's not really a seafood restaurant. Most of the other menus are right though (we ate at the Arlequin, Don Pablo, Tequila, Meditereano and - I forgot the name - a seafood one - I think at the Coba, or maybe it was akumal...) They were all VERY good - except for the seafood one - which was quite disappointing. EDIT: Now that I think about it, the disappointing one was the Frutos del Mar. Do NOT order the shrimp fettucine... not good!