vinarum

oops email is [email protected]

hello ladies, just got back from the hard rock last night and just wanted to write a short review of my wedding day. i would have to say it was a pretty dissapointing experience but it may be just my luck because all past brides had an awesome time. i had originally picked the eclipse terrace for the reception but due to bad weather it was changed to the one of the ballrooms. All of my guests had a hard time looking for this because none of the staff was able to help. the ballroom is so ugly and lots of deco is needed to make it look nice. All i had was the centerpiece and that was a ripoff in my opinion, we paid 43 per piece and it was literally 10 roses in some dinky vase. i didnt think too much abot decor bc the venue was goiung to be outside. Food was awful! we chose the bbq option with 2 additional items from the seafood selection, i couldnt eat anything except for bread and butter. we hired a dj for the night and he screwed up th entrance song for the bridal party but he was decent....had most songs. i had a trial and hair and makeup at the spa and it was not worth it, about 200 for both service. the best decision we made was to hire Micheal steingard a professional photographer. he was so easy to work with and captured some amazing pics. i think someone mentioned about a site inspection was necessary and i agree. Miami was a nightmare to deal with. however beware there is absolutely no communcation between onsite wc and miuami wc. we paid fr the collection in 2 instalments and upn checkout front desk said they have no records of both. lucikly i bought fax confirmations and had to shw my visa statement to prove that t was indeed paid for. if any one has any specific questions, email me at [email protected]

Tatiana - that's great that you're not experiencing any frustrations but I honestly think you're one of the few. I have honestly been very patient. I will make sure I write a post after my wedding.

I agree with you JJ! For all those brides who have not yet made their decision as to where to get married, I suggest you find another resort that has a better control of things. My wedding is excatly 2 weeks away and if I hadn't called and emailed every single day to find someone to talk to then I would probably be sitting here still with unanswered questions. Everything is additional for your wedding and i guess that's not a surprise when it comes to weddings but the fact that no one has a concrete answer for anything is the most frustrating thing ever. I really have nothing good to say about this resort but it's way too late to do anything about it.

this was the same excuse they use 2 months ago - I don't really think it takes that long to get your system up and running.

I bet the centerpieces are quite small though. We put a request in to have the recpetion at the element terrace. We are having a slideshow so we're going to rent the projector but was wondering we really needed a dj because of the price. We are way over budget and we cut back on a lot of things. Don't want to skimp on the entertainment because our guests have paid so much to be with us for our special day. We were going to go to the club and party there after the reception but if we have to pay for entrance and drinks, might as well take advantage of the free alcohol at the reception.

Hi Lala, We are still waiting for Maylen or whomever our wedding coordinator at this time is to get back on pricing for the table settings. But if it's $650 for the upgrade then I don't think we're going to pay for that, just too much. We did confirm the centerpeices, just a small vase of roses for $43. Where are you planning to have your reception? Are you hiring the DJ?

Tatiana - I did contact them and no one respond.

Sunlover - did you pay hrdc for the extras? I received an email from marlyn whom I believe is not with the wedding department about making the final payment for our sapphire collection. I was so peeved with the way things are ran at the hard rock. I'm sick of hearing some sorry excuse of having to transition to a new system and the overflow of work. For such a big resort and claiming to be or wanting to be the best in DR, they should be able to handle the volume. Hire some people. My reply was that my contract stated that final payment was due by March 14 and that I don't appreciate being demanded to pay and how unprofessional they were. I'm still waiting for Maylene to confirm about payments for the additional things we need to pay for. This resort is not cheap and our party is quite small compared to most of the brides but we're still giving hrdc business. It would take a miracle for them to make me change my mind about this resort even if my wedding runs smoothly. The planning process has been a nightmare. Sorry - had to vent

Sunlover -

Sunlover - I think I should be entitled to 35 chairs since I signed the contract 1 yr ago. It's only 5 chairs but at least that's better than nothing.

Tatiana - may I ask who gave you this information and when is your wedding?

Angcory - i read somewhere that it's quite troublesome with the civil ceremony and that it would be easier to have a symbolic ceremony and sign the wedding papers in your home town. Going with the symbolic ceremony will actually save you some money as well.

To all those that are still deciding on where to have a wedding, at this point I would not recommend the Hard Rock. My wedding is next month and I do not have anything in place. I can never get a response back either from Renee or Maylen unless I contact my TA. This is ridiculous. I will write a full review after my wedding but at this point I have to say that I am not happy with them at all. I had to pay for my photographer to stay there even though he has already made his accomodation arrangement else where. So basically we're paying an extra $800 for him to be there. What I'm pissed off about most is that other brides are able to pay a day pass for their photographer. There are ton's on additional expenses that you will be paying for so please beware. They will tell you that everything is subject to change so make sure you have everything documented.

Vane and LALA - When we thought we were able to have plated dinners, according to Renee the guests were able to choose anything on the list just as long as there's an appetizer, entree and dessert. They're able to choose 2 entrees if theyt wanted. You would only need to give her the table seating. Hope that helps!

oh btw - I requested for our reception to be at the element terrace and Renee never mentioned that we cannot have plated dinners.

LMcKenna2012 - I would have anervous breakdown if I was you. My wedding is not till April and still don't have anything finalize but i have a little bit more time with you. I called the resort and was going to complain about the issues I am having with Renee or should I say the whole damn department. Apparently, my wedding was given to someone else to handle. I will be having a conference call with her today, so if anyone has any questions to ask her...let me know. I'm still fighting to only pay the day pass for our photographer. Van

lalaj - was wondering how did you manage to get in touch with the onsite wc?

Ginamapi and Vane23 - Sorry don't mean to sound like a broken record but do you recall if the contract that you signed have anything about not allowing outside vendors to be on the resort grounds? Renee is not getting back to me. I really do not have the money to pay an extra 1k for my photographer to be there. Anything helps. Thanks, Van

r n k - i think i read about the club admission on trip advisor, but i asked my TA specifically about this and she reassured me that admissions are only for people who are not staying at the resort. They also have to pay for drinks which are 14 each......ripoff if u ask me. As for the amount of guests that you are able to have without incurring additional costs are 35 with the old collection. i think we signed the contract back either in august or september 2011. There would only be 35 chairs for the ceremony and for any additional chairs it would cost 5. i'd assumed since we would paying 400 for every table the reception would be until midnight. it makes no sense why it would only be for 3hrs. but at this point, i think im going to try to have everything documented in an email.

I just went to the hard rock hotel site to check how much it would be for one night and its coming up at $500 per night, that's ridiculous.

Hi Vane, I was wondering if I can mention about how you only have to pay a day pass or have the photographer stay for one night. I specifically asked her about having my own photographer and her response was that i cannot buy a day pass for him and that he would have to stay a min of 2 nights. I am also frustrated with all the inconsistencies with her answers. I would only get a reply from her when I contact my TA, HRPC is driving me up the wall. I posted a few weeks back about how there is an admission charge to the club and that drinks were not free there, that is incorrect. They only charge you admissions if you are not staying at the resort. Thanks, Van

ashli - i agree with you. i hate the whole process too. its so hard to get any questions answered, if it wasnt for this forum i would be in the dark for everything. My wedding is coming up and i still havent been able to even book the reception yet, afraid that the element terrace will be booked. its a nice resort n all but not sure i would choose this place if i had to do it again. i also just found out that the club is not free on the grounds. its a 30 cover charge n drinks r not free there. we were hoping that there would be no more additional costs for our guest but im beg to find all thesd additional charges. ginamapi - im not quite sure what package we want yet, will be meeting up with him next saturday.

reinita - apparently he travels to dominican a lot so he covers for his travel and accommodations. however we will have to purchase him a day pass for the resort. feb2013bride2b- we paid 1723 for a 7 day week, not quite sure what the breakdown would be for hitel n flight. mind you we are flying from toronto on a thursday. we didba group booking with flight center.

r n k - thanks for the info. However, I am a little bit confuse as to what you mean about being cost efficient? I only remember paying an additional of $20 if lobster was chosen. Ginamapi - thanks to your suggestion, we have decided to go with Michael Steingard as well. We are actually even able to meet him and go over the details since we're from Ontario. May I ask what package you have chosen?