Tamarindo Wedding Review

tropicalchick · April 7, 2012

Hi everyone,

I browsed this site alot when I was planning our wedding so I wanted to post some info to help everyone else out.

This is my test to make sure the post works before I write it all and it won't load!

Leslie

tropicalchick · April 7, 2012

So it worked - here goes...

We traveled with a group of 55 people from Toronto, ON. I was the travel agent and booked with Sunquest Vacations, Thomas Cook. We chose to stay at the Barcelo Langosta in Playa Tamarindo. It is approximately 75 minutes from the airport. The price from Toronto was great, about $1200pp tax in All Inclusive. I chose this hotel because we knew there would be alot of drinkers so we definitely wanted AI but we also wanted something that was walking distance to a town. Tamarindo is alot of fun. Our group loved going surfing, ziplining, beach combing, and into the National Parks & estuaries to see the crocodiles.

The Barcelo Langosta was perfect in every way for our group. As I am a travel agent and have traveled alot - I have pretty high expectations. The food was really good, for every meal and snacks. The snack bar served the best onion rings and chicken wings! The drinks were yummy and plentiful. The rooms were clean and spacious. All in all it was a perfect resort for our group. We had alot of first time travelers so it was nice that everything was included. The area is perfect for surfing, right in front of the hotel. The resort however, was not our first choice for our wedding because we wanted something more personal where we wouldn't be the middle of sunbathers saying our vows.

We had our wedding at a small restaurant / hotel in Tamarindo called La Laguna Resto Bar / La Laguna del Cocodrillo. It was about 5 minutes drive from our hotel. The garden setting looks out over Tamarindo beach but is set back in an estuary so it is more private. It was important for me to be able to Skype our wedding back to my father who is ill. We wouldn't be able to do this out on the beach so we chose to do it in their sandy garden area which was lined with fuschia bouganvillias. My colours were fuschia and lime so it was perfect! My dad got to see it with the restaurants free WIFI.

We dined by candle light under the palm trees and stars, with beautiful lighting surrounding us. It was very tropical. The food we chose was a Costa Rican BBQ and it was very good. A plated meal was also an option. The did an open bar for us and the prices were reasonable. The meal & bar for 4 hours was somewhere around $75 pp (plus tax/gratuity). The staff at La Laguna were excellent and I would highly recommend it. Alicia Repetto is the owner/coordinator and she was easy to work with. I had hired Four Winds Weddings and I wish I had not. There may have been other planners in the area that would have been worth it but in my opion, they weren't.

For hair & makeup I used Maravilla Weddings - [email protected]

For cake/cupcakes I used Sarita's Bakery - [email protected]

For transportation I used a private company - [email protected]

I would not recommend my photographer so I won't provide his contacts.

The venue was not incredibly fancy, it was actually quite rustic. It created a perfect, tropical experience for us though, exactly what we wanted to represent us. If you would like more specifics, please let me know - I'd be more than happy to help. The best way would be to email me directly at [email protected]

Best of luck with all your wedding plans!!! It will be beautiful no matter what you decide....

Leslie