BeachBrideToBe

I didn't know about this either (my wedding is in two weeks). After seeing your post, I asked my WC about it and she said it's better to work directly with her and she will add the items to my spreadsheet. This has worked fairly well, although it is a lot of back and forth and sometimes I had to wait a week or two for a confirmation.

I'd love to get my hands on that supervisors email if you're willing to share.... My wedding is in a little under 3 weeks and I have a lot of things that have been poorly managed and misrepresented. Not to mention the extreme prices my CANCUN based planner is now quoting me - after I was told differently at the BDR last fall. Thanks!

Quick question to you all. My fiance is figuring out the music for our welcome BBQ and cocktail hour. We have speakers for the welcome BBQ and a iPod dock for the cocktail hour. Our WC has specified that for both devices, we need an iPod with a 30-pin connection. We have an iPod with the lightning connection. Has anyone successfully used the 30-pin to lightning adapter with Lomas' equipment? It should work...but we're nervous that we could get down there and find out it won't!

Sorry to scare you. I'm definitely stressing over all these extra costs. My wedding is in exactly one month from today - April 25, 2014. When is yours? I'm getting to the point where I'm just going to give in and either not have some stuff I want or just eat the cost. I'm hoping the onsite coordinator is more compassionate and reasonable. What florist are you using? I already ordered mine through the resort but I'm curious how much I would have saved. Keep me posted on how your wedding goes and if you have any recommendations - I'm only a few weeks behind you. Good luck and congrats! So you were able to get your sparklers from the resort? My WC told me they are not allowed and they would not supply them.... Who did you work with? I'm wondering if I should reach out to someone else.... Oh and did you have to use them in a specific spot at the resort? Thanks!

Oh my gosh I totally agree! I am in wedding hell right now. They make it sound like having your wedding here is going to be such a wonderful, carefree, inexpensive experience. It has been anything but. Not only do my fiance and I feel like we have to hold our travel agent's hand - who is a Karisma GIVC Level 5 Diamond Wedding Consultant (so she should theoretically know her stuff) - but the resort nickel and dimes you for very last thing. They claim that your setup fee will be a MAX of $250, but NO NO NO. We are paying over $1000 for our setup. And it's really nothing extensive - and nothing they haven't done before because I have seen the pictures. Any little thing you would get elsewhere as a courtesy for booking your wedding there isn't provided. Here's how they break down the set up fees: - $250 for "general setup" -> this includes, menus on the table, setting guest book and picture frames out and programs - $250 to string lights from the Gazebo to the surrounding Palm Trees -$250 to hang the paper lanterns from the Gazebo (30 count - flat rate even if you have less lanterns) -$600 dollars to hang sheers from the Gazebo posts TO THE GROUND (Seriously, if I wasn't getting ready I could do it myself) I am beyond disgusted and they try to make you feel cheap if you ask them for more cost effective options or tell them the price doesn't seem to align with the value. They also will not allow anyone from your wedding party to help set up. I am bringing 80 people down with me for our wedding. Was hoping they would offer us a discount a price break since we are having that many people pay their outrageous prices for accommodations. Another poster asked if it is worth the price...In my opinion Absolutely Not. I would highly consider looking ANYWHERE else. Sorry for the rant. Is any one else dealing with this????

Thanks for the photos!

If anyone with >150 posts wants to perform a random act of kindness today, I would REALLY appreciate you downloading the templates and emailing them to me ericlizwedding at gmail dot com Thank you so much!!

YES!!!! This happened to us too! She actually went behind my back and sent a text to my fiance asking him if someone from their group of friends could come. She was even really pushy in wanting a response right away so she could book her ticket for her friend right then and there. I was a little offended by this as I'd like to keep it a small wedding for our family and friends - and they were already coming as a group so it's not like they wouldn't know anyone. We're still on the fence about it as we did allow other quests to bring dates, however, they didn't know anyone else we were inviting so we felt it was fair since they were traveling that far. Let me know what you end up doing. Ovbiously, we can't restrict them from coming to the resort but considering the extra fee for all the private events we're hosting, it would end up costing $75-150 for her to attend the wedding and events (Rehearsal BBQ, Wedding and Farewell Brunch). Good luck!

This is such a great idea! Can I ask you where you found the template or if you designed it yourself? Question for you ladies: when are you planning on sending out your pre travel info? Are you sending it separately from your invitations? I have a lot of this info on our wedding website, however, I'm not convinced anyone is reading it

Yes! It would be wonderful if you can get pictures of the new gazebo in Plaza Zavaz - assuming they have one up... Good luck with your wedding and keep us posted on how it goes. If you're doing OOT Bags, I'd love to know how that goes as well. I'm nervous about them getting to the right people at the right times...

Hi all! For those brides that have already had their wedding with Azul, what menu did you choose for your reception? We went to Mexico for the Bride Dress Rehearsal and were not impressed at all with the surf and turf option that they served for lunch. We thought that would be an easy choice but it was not prepared well at all so now we're looking at other options. We'd be interested in hearing what others had and if they and their party enjoyed it. Thanks!

Hello, Everyone, We just heard from our TA and our dates are also SOLD OUT at Azul Sensatori. We had 15 rooms in our contract and our TA was trying to book 27 rooms. They wouldn't give us any more than the 15 we had in the contract. We still have another 10-15 rooms (incl. family members and bridal party) that will need to be booked on top of the 27. We are frantically trying to figure out what to do. Does anyone have any advice for us? We want everyone to stay at the same resort as us. We're looking into how we can continue with AS. Murmel mentioned below that Canadian operators (we're in the US) may have availability. Can we book through a Canadian TA? We also went directly to the AS website and they show room availability, granted for 30% more, so I'm not sure why we can't get access to those rooms (our TA is going to call about this on Monday). Any other ideas on what we can do? Thank you so much! As a contingency plan we're also looking into Azul Fives to see if they have availability. We know they don't have our specific date for the ceremony but at this point we'd be open to moving it back a day. We don't know if they have rooms availability yet. Quote: Originally Posted by murmel That is always a stressful thing to deal with. First of all, don't panic. Often there are more rooms available, but may not be visable to your wedding planner/travel agent. What are the exact dates? (I can check a few places I know and see if there is availability) We have had other brides have the same issue, only to discover that there were rooms available through other operators. If you are in the US, try some of the Canadian operators, or vice versa. Often the hotel sells blocks of rooms to a charter company...so it looks like they are sold out, but you can still purchase them through the other operator. (the prices may vary from what you have currently though) And aside from that, there are other options. You guests could possible stay at Azul Beach, about 10 minute walk north on the beach (family resort), or Secret Silversands (adults only) which is right next door. Like Allie said, if you are hosting a private event, (ie. anything off their banquet menu), your guests recieve free entrance on the day of that event. So if you host a cocktail welcome night, they should be admitted free for that event, and then again for your wedding/dinner on a different night for free. (I think the only limitation is they are only suppose to be admitted 1-2 before the event begins and then up til 2 hours past the event. (but I am not sure of the exact details there)

So swee!!

Quote:Originally Posted by LilPumpkin Sneak Peak of our TTD Photo Shoot at the Cenote Try again I LOVE it! What Cenote was this in?

My next question is the credit that we are suppose to receive for our Anniversary Trip, can it be used at another Karisma Resort? I am not sure we want to return to Azul Sensatori in Riviera Maya. Not because the resort or it’s staff are not great, they are. The wedding department and my wedding has spoiled my opinion of them and I can never get that day back. Oh my gosh. This is so depressing. I am so sorry that your day wasn't perfect. We were there doing a site inspection the weeekend after your wedding and had the very same thought that they better update their alternative locations. We have chosen the same locations (your orginal ones) for our wedding next April. i really hope it goes smoothly after reading this. Personally, I think you should demand a refund for at least par of your expenses dince it was executed so poorly.

Quote:Originally Posted by Jennypert Hi Elizabeth, We are booked at AS for June 6 2014 with our wedding at the Sky Terrace and the reception at Zavas Plaza. While you are there, can you check out the Wedding Cakes? I really can't see a wedding without Wedding Cake but would like to know if they are as bad as others say. We visited last May while staying at the resort next door, Secrets Silversands. We thought it was a beautiful resort and the seaweed on the beach didn't bother us since we spend most of the time at the pool. Also, can you check how late the bars are open at night. My family tends to stay up late playing cards, drinking and talking. It would be good to do that in a bar instead of someone's room. Have fun! Let us know what you think when you get back. Jenny Hi Jenny, I'll definitely look into it and let you know. I'm hoping the night life is somewhat promising as well. Our party is growing by the day and, ironicallly, mostly with our firends. I thought is would be a lot of families with kids but only a few have committed so far.

Hi Ladies, My Fiance and I are leaving on Thursday to head down to AS for the Bride's Dress Rehearsal. We're very excited! While we already booked AS, we are looking forward to get a better idea of the options available to us for the wedding and reception: decorations, menus, spa services, etc. Does anyone have suggestions on how to best utilize our time down there? Questions to ask? Things to make note of? If anyone else is heading down this weekend let us know. It would be great to meet up! Thanks as always! Elizabeth

Quote: Originally Posted by jamilaimani Alright Ladies, I just got back from my sight visit at Azul Sensatori and Azul Beach. We were undecided and went to check out both resorts. We stayed at AS for our stay. I loved both resorts and am sad to say we are STILL undecided as to which resort we will chose. Here is my report on both resorts. ARRIVAL/TRANSPORTATION We arrived there with no problems. As soon as we walked into the airport there were transportation booths set up to get you to and from the hotel. We paid 52 dollars (total, not a piece) for a shuttle van to and from the airport. You could pay more, about 75 dollars, and got a private taxi thru the same company. Our travel agent looked into getting us transportation and told us it would be 80/pp!!! So glad we told her no and just waited until we got there. We arrived at the hotel very late, around 11pm and was tired and just went to the room and ordered room service. ROOMS When we got there we were upgraded to a swim up suite. We loved the swim up suite. It has a nice sized terrace with chairs and a couch you can relax and tan on. Eventhough we were not in the premium swim up suite there was still a personal waiter that came around and got drinks for us. The rooms were very clean. Housekeeping cleans the room twice a day. Every time they cleaned the room they left an animal design on the bed with roses. There was a bottle of champaigne on ice waiting on us in our room. I thought this was really nice. I will say that the room wasnt as modern as I thought it would be. The rooms at Azul Beach were much nicer. Azul Beach standard rooms werent that nice but there suites were wonderful!!! Their swimup suites dont have the terrace that AS has. The one thing negative about the rooms at AS was our room was located close to the sewer and had a egg like smell outside. You can not smell it inside the room so this wasnt really an issue for us. FOOD The food was the best food I have tasted at an AI resort. We ate at every restaurant except the Mexican restaurant and the Tapas restaurant. Every meal was wonderful!! We didnt get to experience Le Chique either which was dissapointing bc after November they are going to start charging 25/pp to eat there. So when we go back for our wedding we will have to pay. I will say that the lobster isnt included in the price and anytime you order lobster you have to pay. Also, you have to pay for wine other than the house wine. We loved Spoons and the Carribean restaurant and ate there most of the time. When we went to the presentation for the dress rehearsal we got to tast the menus for the cocktail party, reception, and deserts. Everything was AMAZING!! I can not stress how wonderful the food was. We tasted both Itallian and Family style menus. I loved the family style and this is what we will get for our wedding. Its so much food and options your guests have to choose from. I feel like you cant go wrong with this option. Lobster is included with this option at no additional price! At our site visit to AB we also tasted food from every restaurant and their food was amazing too. AB also has a sushi bar that we like. The desesrts were pretty good as well. We LOVED the tarimizu cake and the strawberry flavored wedding cake. Neither one of us liked the vanilla or chocolate cakes. The cupcakes were just average however, the icing on the cupcakes were delicious!! They used a cream cheese tasting icing and everyone at our table loved it!!! I did ask if it was the same chef that bakes all the cakes for weddings and they said NO! The chef we had only caters to the El Dorado Royale resort. With that being said there is no way to tell what the deserts will taste like at AS or AB. I have read past reviews from ppl that have gotten married and said that the wedding cakes and cupcakes were horrible. LOCATIONS We went to look at all the locations for weddings, cocktail hour, and receptions. We are set on the sky wedding!! We like the Zavaz plaza for the reception. Not sure where we would do cocktail hour. AB has a smaller sky deck which we liked as well but we didnt like the reception places too much. I will say that the beach at AB is WAAAAYYYY better than AS. The reviews of AS beach is true. It was a horrible beach and is absolutely not swimable. Black seewead all thru the beach and it has a brown color. I will say that they do clean it up thru the day but it doesnt really help. AB had a pretty nice beach. We walked there from AS and just a warning there is a nude/swinger resort inbetween and we got an eyefull! Just a caution for anyone wanting to walk down there to take pics or go to beach. ENTERTAINMENT We arrived at AS around 1100 1130pm and the hotel was dead. There isnt much entertainment and no club/disco. The Mojito Lounge plays lounge music but not damcing music and noone was really dancing. There really wasnt any excitement at the hotel. The adult pool was dead. We enjoyed the Family pool better. They had more action. They also had activities at the FAmily pool. There is PLENTY for children and teens to do. They have so much activities and game rooms etc etc. Adults will def have to make their own party!!! We are having around 60-75 ppl so we can be our own entertainment but small wedding parties might be bored at night. AB was even more dead as far as entertainment. Both places do have live shows everynight but they end around 930. after that you are on your own! AB VS AS better rooms AB better reception locations AS better beach AB more to do AS better beach ceremony locations AB(only bc their beach is prettier) better things for kids AS Both are great resorts and we feel we cant go wrong either way. I still like AS as our first choice bc i want my reception at the Zavaz Plaza. The good thing about AB is that it is a small resort so if we had it htere we would have the whole resort to ourselves basically. Also bc of the size of our wedding we would be the only wedding there that day. Oh i Forgot. The Spa's were great at both resorts. AB had a sauna and jacuzzi steam room in theirs, so i guess they win that category but both were wonderful! I will upload pictures sometime this weekend. In the meantime if anyone has questions please let me know!!! Sorry so long! This is super helpful! Thanks for sharing!

SO pretty! We just confirmed Samuel as our photographer for next April and I'm even more excited after seeing your pics! Just curious, when did you do your TTD? The day after? Also, are you planning to have your dress cleaned and preserved or what do most people do after TTD sessions? Is there any issue with it actually ruining the dress? Sorry...I'm trying to decide if I want to do it as I love my dress and want to keep it in good condition for any future kids haha.

Kaleigh, I'm really unsure about this as well. Our TA is recommending that we book 10 rooms (half of them premium or suites), however, I'm thinking it would easier to block out 10 basic rooms and then, I assume, our guests could upgrade. Does any one have any insight or experience with this? Also, how far in advance did you all block out your guest rooms? We are 9 1/2 months out and I feel like our TA isn't in any rush. Elizabeth

Oh my gosh so wonderful and helpful! THANK YOU! Good luck with your wedding coming soon! very excited for you

Hello there, I'm in the process of constructing my wedding website for guests and was wondering if any one had any good descriptions or photos that I could put up to show how wonderful the resort will be. I want to make sure I do a good job of showing my guests the value they are getting for their money! Any other suggested info you all found helpful to include on your websites that I can send people there instead of repeating it over and over would be great! Thanks! Elizabeth

Hi Leah! I'm getting married the same weekend! April 25, 2014. We should connect and discuss. Maybe we could split some of the outside vendor fees? I've heard of some other people on this thread doing that, although I'm not sure how it would work since we are different days. We should definitely talk though - if you're interested. Might be helpful for both of us. Elizabeth

Tammy Host, Missy Taddonio, Murmel, RachelTX, JMK923, AllieH -- thank you all so much!! Very helpful We are working with our TA now (she is a GI WC) to see what dates are available in April/May of 2014. Will keep you all posted!

Interesting...thanks for getting back to all of us. I guess that eliminates 1 choice. Do they have a similar policy for photographers now? That would also be a bummer.