We returned a week ago from our wedding at the Grand Palladium Resort and Spa. We had the time of our lives there and look forward to coming back.

Here's my review:

Travel Agent

My first advice is to shop around for a travel agent. Our TA was recommended by a friend, and we really didn't shop around. We had some issues here, I think mainly because we had a larger group than she's used to dealing with. A few people were overcharged and had problems communicating with her, since she prefers email to anything else and some of our guests don't even have an email address! Make sure you choose someone who specializes in DWs. Our TA did find us a great deal for our resort for our guests, and that's what was most important to us when we originally chose her.

Air Transat

There's not too much to say about our trip wholesaler. Air Transat offered a great deal for our group. Every 21st who booked meant a free trip for us. We were able to give two trips away to family members who couldn't afford to come, otherwise. Air Transat also offers a price-drop guarantee. Our price never dropped, so it did nothing for us, but it was nice to have that reassurance. Our flight down was fine. There is a compartment at the front of the plane for wedding gowns, which was nice. When we arrived on the plane they upgraded us to "club class". We were having too much fun in coach with our family and friends, so we declined, but they did give us a small bottle of champagne and free earphones! LOL!

We had a great trip from the airport to the resort on two nice coach buses that Transat had provided. Each bus had a rep who was a lot of fun. We ended up getting on the mic at the front of the bus and doing some icebreakers. There was also beer and other drinks for us to purchase. All in all, it was a good start to the trip. The ride back to the airport was much of the same, except for the fact we were all exhausted/hungover/sad to be returning home!

The Transat rep at the resort, Christian, was great. On the second day at the resort we were asked to attend an information meeting. About half of our group went. We got some useful information about the resort - which was great since it is HUGE. Christian gave tips on all the best pools, restauratns, things to do, things not to do. He also did a big spiel on excursions. A number of us participated in different excursions that he mentioned. Some of them were more expensive than others, but EVERYONE said that they were worth every penny. The best ones: swimming with sea turtles, chichen itza, exploring the new ruins (can't remember the name - but this is the newest tour), COCO BONGO!, shopping at 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen.

Christian was a good person to have on the resort. A good friend organized a "resort rally". It's like a car rally or scavenger hunt. 35 people participated in this and it was complete chaos. We were all racing around the resort, finding random items, taking pictures doing stupid stunts, etc. It was so chaotic that resort security was keeping a close eye on us. WEll some of the items on our list got us into trouble - fire extinguishers, wall art from the rooms - and the resort police were not happy with us at all! Good ol Christian bailed us out! Make sure you get to know your travel rep when you get to the resort!

Food

The food was okay. I am a picky eater, and I thought that for the most part, it was pretty decent. The real "foodies" in the group thought the food was great! The best restaurants, in my opinion, are the steakhouse, brazillian, asian and japanese. La Hacienda or Tikal buffets have the best breakfasts. Get a  made to order omelette and smoothie! The beach bar has great chicken wings, nachos, fajitas, quesidillas, etc. The beach bar is open 24 hours. I;m ashamed to admit that I probably ate here the most! It is right beside the pool and beach :)

I was under the impression that upon arrival guests can make reservations at the a la cartes. This is not the case! Each restaurant - except Japanese - is first come, first served. If you arrive at 5:30, you will have no problem getting a table. If you arrive at 8, this is a different story - hyou will probably wait 1.5-2 hours for a table. Luckily, there are bars everywhere and you can sit and have a drink while you wait. They will give you a beeper to tell you when your table is ready. later in the week I found out that people staying in the royal suites were able to make reservations, so when you look in and see empty tables and a huge line up, it's because people have made resos and not bothered to show up!

Accomodations

We were upgraded to a Mayan Suite upon our arrival. This room was very nice. We had a king size bed, sitting area, beautiful bathroom with jacuzzi tub and outdoor stone shower. We had no complaints with our room. Since this resort is "eco-friendly", you will notice that the rooms are not very cool. You need to have your key card in the slot near the door to use electricity during the day and to have the AC running. Also, the water isn't super hot; if you need it hotter, a call to the front desk should fix this. Our room was cleaned daily and our maid would leave nice towel sculptures for us. We tipped daily. Our guests who didn't tip daily did not get the fancy towels, but still had a decent cleaning. 

For the most part, our guests were happy with their rooms. Since the resort is situated in dense vegetation, some rooms were a little musty and damp.

Excursions

We booked a private excursion through a company called Edventure Tours. Do not book through this company. I have read on here that other brides have used them and have been happy with their services. I don't recommend them. They were very disorganized when we arrived at Tulum for our private tour, and I believe that thy used this disorganization as a way to overcharge us. There were 25-30 people on our tour. When we arrived at Tulum, they immediately gave everyone bracelets. Then they asked everyone to go into a hut and pay for the tour (it was 42 USD). The guy taking the money had a piece of paper and was "ticking" off who had paid. Right when we were about to start, they said that 2 people hadn't paid. My FI went in and covered the cost. We are CERTAIN that everyone on our group paid and this was a scam. They should have had people pay then given them their bracelet. Lesson learned: book tours through your resort rep!

About 35 of us went to Coco Bongo. I HIGHLY recommend this club. It is like cirque de solei and a crazy musical in a crazy club-like atmosphere. Christian organized a bus to pick us all up at the resort and take us all home. The club closes at 3:30 am, so it's a late night. Since there were so many of us, we had a private section at the bar. It costs 50 for girls and 60 for boys. All of your drinks are included. It was a ton of fun. Don't go the night before your wedding! You will be hurting the next day.

Wedding Services

We worked with Rocio and a new staff that is training named Vanessa. My only negative comment about the wedding services at the resort is the communication prior to arrival. We booked our wedding at the resort a year in advance. At times, it would take Rocio weeks before she would respond to an email. When I arrived at the resort I realized why - she is so busy! There is usually a wedding a day at the resort, sometimes more. Once you get there, you have nothing to worry about. Vanessa is a sweet heart, and I've heard from other brides that she is actually quite good at responding to emails.

We arrived on a Saturday and on the Monday we had our meeting with Rocio to go over all the details. This was quick and easy. Bring everything you need to give her for the wedding day to this meeting. We brought my dress and DH's suit to be steamed, place setting names/favours, card box, cake topper, reception dress. I showed Rocio a picture of the flowers that I wanted and she got them for me, no problem. She arranged to have great corsages and bouts to match. We were able to make substitutions to the menu and also told her about alleriges and vegetarians. The day of the wedding the servers approached these people and took separate orders.

After our meeting I realized that I forgot to order a flower for my hair. I sent Rocio a quick email and she took care of everything! They arranged for transportation to pick us up separately at our different locations with our bridal party. They also arranged for carts to transport all the guests from the Colonial lobby to the gazebo at White Sands.

When we arrived at the gazebo, Rocio and Vanessa were waiting for us and gave us the cues to walk down the aisle. Vanessa translated the ceremony. After the ceremony, everyone received champagne and we took some group photos. Rocio and Vanessa helped organized all of this.

At the reception, Rocio and Vanessa were both there at the beginning to make sure everything was running smoothly. Vanessa ended up staying for the entire reception. They were both fantastic.

When I arrived at the wedding offic ethe next morning to pick up the card box, wedding topper and my dress, Vanessa had everything packed up and ready to go for me. I can't say enough about how professional and efficient these ladies are!

Wedding value - this is the lowest rating of my review. If you have having a big wedding at this resort, beware - it is expensive! The resort packages range in price from 2000-2400 (for a legal wedding). You must pay 20 USD on top of that for every guest you have over the 8 who are included in the cost. This goes towards the set up of the ceremony site and champagne toast. I know at some resorts you pay for chair bows, etc, so many this is comparable. The reception costs can be very expensive. If you have over 40 guests, you MUST have a private reception. The meal is plated, which is very nice, and the dinner was one of the best of the week. La Laguna was decorated beautifully. Rocio arranged for white drapery to hang from the ceilings. We didn't pay for centrepieces because their included setup was quite nice. The cost per person was 50 USD. All in all, our wedding day ceremony and reception cost us over 7000 CAD. I am certain that other resorts have better wedding packages. What we had was beautiful, but quite pricey.

Photographer

Sascha Gluck - I found Sascha through this website. I loved his photojournalist style. He has been fantastic so far. I haven't received my photos yet, and I will write a review once I receive them. I had no problem communicating with him. He even agreed to meet us at the resort 2 days before the wedding to discuss the plans for the wedding day. He and his assistant arrived 30 mins early the day of the wedding and stayed late. He said that since most of the sunlight was gone, he would rather take a break before the reception and stay later so that he could get some shots of the first dance. We could only really afford 5 hours of his time, but he ended up being with us for a total of 6 1/2 or so. We were very luck to have him.

Overall

Overall, my DH and I had the time of our lives. Many of our guests have told us that it was thebest wedding they have  even been to and the best vacation they've been on. I wouldn't change a thing. This is a great resort choice for your guests: it is reasonably priced, good food, lots to do all of the time, great pool, night life, beach. It might not be the most economical choice for a wedding, but it will be a beautiful wedding, nonetheless