I felt strongly to write a review, because during my planning process these reviews were very helpful to me. I got married on Sunday, 12/14/14.  We had 55 guests attend our wedding from all over the country and even some guests from Israel. We arrived to Playa Del Carmen on Thursday, 12/11, which was perfect because a lot of our guests arrived that day and Friday, 12/12. It also allowed us to prepare our OTB bags for our guests.

Room

We received a free upgrade with our wedding package (Mexican Wedding Package), which gave us an Oceanview Swimup Suite from an Oceanview room. A few days before we arrived, I was reading reviews and got really nervous about the construction on that side of the resort, so I inquired about another upgrade for a fee and we were able to upgrade to a One Bedroom Oceanfront Room Suite (Room 530). Totally worth the money for the 8 nights we stayed. We highly recommend the spring for the upgrade. The room worked perfectly for having lots of guests hang out in our room.

Travel Agent

We selected the Royal Playa Del Carmen through DestinationWeddings.com. They were our travel agent and recommended the hotel. The hotel itself was beautiful and steps away from 5th avenue, which all of our guests loved. DestinationWeddings.com was a good travel agent, but there prices were not much cheaper than other travel sites, so a lot of our guests booked on there own instead of using the travel agent. We did not do a group rate because we would have to guarantee a number and it seemed to complicated, so they just offered competitive rates, price match (which was great) and an easy payment plan. By selecting that option, we did not receive any perks for all the bookings and had to book through them as well.  

Pre Planning

Communication was difficult at first. You have to be patient with a quick response, sometimes a response will take a few days.  My offsite wedding coordinator was Katia Nunez and she was great.  Don't worry, they will get back to you.  I must of drove her crazy with all my questions and requests, but she was very helpful.   About one month before the wedding (and after you pay your final invoice), you will be given your onsite wedding coordinator. My coordinator was Anat Rosengaus Strygler and she was wonderful. She set up a meeting with me and my husband the Friday before our wedding to go over the details for the wedding and then she came to our room to coordinate with concierge to pick up all the stuff I brought down to Mexico with me. 

OTB Bags

We gave each guest a beach bag with a hangover kit that included: Tylenol,Advil, Alka Seltzer, Tissues, Anti Bacterial gel, Lip Balm, and Sunblock packet, Do not Disturb Sign, Playing Cards, Beach Ball, Waterproof holder (for keys, money), notepad, Wedpic card, and a small Frisbee. Our concierge delivered each bag to the rooms for $5 dollars per room. There were some issues with the deliveries because of room changes, but they all worked out in the end.  All of our guests loved the bags!!! We also brought bubbles, coaster (as favors at each place setting), sunglasses & flip flops for all of our guests to take home, but gave them out during the ceremony & reception. We had 6 pieces of luggage bringing all this stuff down to Mexico!!

Welcome Drinks & Rehearsal Dinner

We setup a mutual place for everyone to meet on the Friday before the wedding. We had our guests meet us at the Lobby Bar @ 5pm for welcome drinks. We did not have to reserve this area, we just go there a few minutes early and everyone started to arrive. We had about 1/2 of our guests make it down to the bar. Our Rehearsal Dinner was at Asiana on Saturday and we had 30 people attend. That was the max there. It was a semi private reception and they gave us a nice private place upstairs. It was setup nice. We even had a custom menu off the wedding menu. The only issue I had with the Rehearsal Dinner, was that they delivered chocolate cake and not the tres leches that I selected on the menu. I told them immediately and they brought out a second dessert, which was the tres leches. It did take about 20 minutes, but they were very accommodating. Tres Leches cake was amazing!!

Spa

They did an amazing job. I got my hair & makeup done by Adriana. A lot of my bridesmaids also got their hair done too. They had champagne for us when we got there. That was a nice surprise. The spa was was very busy that day with all of our guests.

Flowers

I ordered 6 centerpieces through the hotel (cream roses) and they were beautiful. I also got a flower for my hair!!  I got boutonnieres for the groomsmen and my bridesmaids walked down the aisle with parasols (that I brought with me). My bouquet & husbands boutonniere were included in our package. Anat delivered my bouquet and flower for my hair to the spa the morning of the wedding. 

Vendors

We brought in an outside Photographer/Video: Claudia Rodriguez /Mike Cartell.  They were AMAZING. We did the first look pictures and did pictures during the cocktail reception. 

We decided to bring in an outside band: The shine band. They were AMAZING. They kept the party going all night.

There were outside vendor fees of $350 dollars per vendor/service, but well worth the money.

We invited our rabbi to dinner with his wife and the hotel required us to purchase a day pass for them at $149 each. That was very upsetting to us, but we wanted them to stay for the reception. Normally a vendor pass to eat is $85 dollars a person. 

Wedding Day

We had our wedding ceremony on the beach (by the Gazebo) and the cocktail hour on the Gazebo Patio. Our reception was on the beach by Pelicanos. We were the only wedding that day so we had the entire beach (beside the watchers on the beach during the ceremony).  It is a public beach, so there is no privacy, but you will be so consumed in the nuptials, that the watchers won't bother you. They were a little annoying with pictures.   Our ceremony started at 4pm, Cocktail Hour at 5pm and the Reception from 6pm to 10pm. We added the extra hour for $10 pp and it was totally worth it. Everything was setup how I imagined. It looked beautiful and the weather was perfect. We had a mariachi band for the cocktail hour (included in our package). We missed it do to pictures, but our guests seem to like it. 

My only small complaint is that there was no lighting under the tables for the reception as indicated on the wedding checklist and there were no tikki torches. I brought votive candles for the tables and they couldn't be lit because of the wind, so the tables were pretty dark. It got dark around 5:30pm. We ordered 2 lightup dance floors, highly recommended. 1 dance floor is not big enough. The 2 dance floors were pricey but well worth the money. All of our 55 guests were able to dance all night!!  We also ordered 2 sets of lounge furniture which worked out great, because some of our guests got to chill out and relax. We also got the photo booth for 4 hours, so worth it!!  Food was good. We went with the Filet of Beef and Salmon, salad and soup,  We had to notify the wait staff who wanted beef or salmon on the place cards. Wedding cake was delicious. We upgraded the wedding cake to a three layer chocolate with strawberry cake. The following morning, we had our honeymoon breakfast in the room (included in our package) and they forgot my husbands order. They brought it up within 15 minutes. There will be some mistakes, but nothing to ruin your special day. Nothing is perfect and the staff at the Royal will work very hard to make you happy.  During the wedding reception, they kept making sure I had a drink in my hand.  

In Suite Dinner

Part of our wedding package, it was an in suite romantic dinner. They bring up a table and 2 nice chairs. 2 waiters stay in the room while you dine outside. Was a little awkward at first, but we got used to it.  You pre select your menu from the wedding menu in advance. It was very romantic :)

One quick tip, make sure you get everything you are supposed to get from your wedding package. There were a few things that we did not receive (like our bottle of wine and Mexican candies the night of our wedding) and our picture frame. There was no picture included.  I mentioned those items and received it our last night. Overall, it was such an amazing wedding and I hope this review helps you as much as other reviews helped me. If you have any questions during your planning process, please let me know. I will also try to post some pictures (unprofessional). I won't get my professional ones for a few weeks. 

Thanks for listening :)

Samara