Newbie - Need Help on Finding a Great Tropical Resort

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the site and I am very excited to hear everyone's opinions and thoughts. FI and I got engaged in October at the Secrets Maroma, which I must say is really nice and exudes romance. The food was excellent.

The only thing we have decided on is a destination wedding, as we would like to have a smallish wedding (50 people or less) and we are thinking Oct or Nov of 2013. We are looking for somewhere warm with direct flights from Vancouver (Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica), affordable for the guests, and child friendly, an all inclusive resort that has somewhere a little more private for the ceremony. The privacy for the ceremony comes from the fact I watched 3 weddings while at SM, as the weddings are right beside the beach loungers. I also want the resort to have great food and a great beach. I don't know if this even exists. I am really hoping that it does, as I ideally would like to have everything in one location (i.e., stay at an all-inclusive resort, and have the ceremony and reception at the same place).

Alternatively I have looked into the Xcarat, but it seems maybe a little too expensive.

I have also looked into Al Cielo, as we went there for the day a few years ago and both the food and beach are amazing, but then I need to find an all-inclusive resort near Al Cielo. But ideally, I would love to find an all-inclusive resort that fits my criteria.

In advance, thank you very much for your suggestions and opinions and thanks for having me on the forum. 

Hi PickyBride!!!! Sounds like you need a travel agent. They will be your best source in finding a resort. They have one on this forum if unsure how to contact one. Wright Travel Agency.....

Hi there congrats on your engagement!!! I agree with MaryMack a travel agent will streamline the process for you, narrow down your options and make life and planning much easier. Good Luck

Welcome! You will find tons of useful information on this site to help you in planning your destination wedding.

I would definetly suggest working with a travel agent.  Also, what we found was helpful was to take a list of what we were looking for in a resort (such as things your mentioned, great beach, great food ect) with us to a travel agent to help her get a feel for what exactly we were looking for.  And make a budget and know what you want to spend and what you think is reasonable for guests. This will help narrow down your search to affordable resorts that fit the budget.

Do lots of research.  I think we researched for at least a month before deciding on where our wedding would be.  And read tons of reviews from brides on here which will help you get a feel for the weddings they perform at the resorts.

Good luck with your search!

I can't help you picking a resort, but I can tell you from experience that Al Cielo puts on a great wedding, and as you know, it's really gorgeous. Since there are only a few rooms there, our guests stayed at a condo building called Playa Caribe in nearby Akumal, which they really loved. Condos might be a better option if your guests are adventurous or at least somewhat comfortable being In a new country, though.

hi!! I think all of us brides are picky. rightfully so! 

have you considered one of the El Dorado resorts? I can vouch for their food - it's gourmet, and all delicious. Their service is top notch. I'm not as familiar with El Dorado Maroma or Seaside, as they are smaller resorts. But I do think they'd fit the bill for a more private ceremony. And EDM is close to Secrets Maroma I believe (at least, we saw Secrets from the boat when we went snorkeling from Marina Maroma!).

Our wedding/honeymoon was at El Dorado Royale/El Dorado Casitas Royale. We chose Gazebo 55 for the privacy aspect. It's at the far end (south), so is one of the more isolated areas. There is still a building of room overlooking the beach gazebo, and we did have onlookers who watched our ceremony from their balconies. We also had quite a few people on the beach, but they kept a respectable distance! 

here's a picture where you can see the building behind our ceremony: 

here's another where you can see our ceremony set up in the background - the people on the beach didn't get any closer than the sign you see. 

we had our reception/dinner at Tucanes, which was great! the lush landscaping really made it private. here's Tucanes in the daytime: 

hope that helps with some ideas. happy planning! 

Originally Posted by PickyBride2013 

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm new to the site and I am very excited to hear everyone's opinions and thoughts. FI and I got engaged in October at the Secrets Maroma, which I must say is really nice and exudes romance. The food was excellent.

 

The only thing we have decided on is a destination wedding, as we would like to have a smallish wedding (50 people or less) and we are thinking Oct or Nov of 2013. We are looking for somewhere warm with direct flights from Vancouver (Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica), affordable for the guests, and child friendly, an all inclusive resort that has somewhere a little more private for the ceremony. The privacy for the ceremony comes from the fact I watched 3 weddings while at SM, as the weddings are right beside the beach loungers. I also want the resort to have great food and a great beach. I don't know if this even exists. I am really hoping that it does, as I ideally would like to have everything in one location (i.e., stay at an all-inclusive resort, and have the ceremony and reception at the same place).

 

Alternatively I have looked into the Xcarat, but it seems maybe a little too expensive.

 

I have also looked into Al Cielo, as we went there for the day a few years ago and both the food and beach are amazing, but then I need to find an all-inclusive resort near Al Cielo. But ideally, I would love to find an all-inclusive resort that fits my criteria.

 

In advance, thank you very much for your suggestions and opinions and thanks for having me on the forum. 

Originally Posted by AllieH 

 

hi!! I think all of us brides are picky. rightfully so! 

 

have you considered one of the El Dorado resorts? I can vouch for their food - it's gourmet, and all delicious. Their service is top notch. I'm not as familiar with El Dorado Maroma or Seaside, as they are smaller resorts. But I do think they'd fit the bill for a more private ceremony. And EDM is close to Secrets Maroma I believe (at least, we saw Secrets from the boat when we went snorkeling from Marina Maroma!).

 

Our wedding/honeymoon was at El Dorado Royale/El Dorado Casitas Royale. We chose Gazebo 55 for the privacy aspect. It's at the far end (south), so is one of the more isolated areas. There is still a building of room overlooking the beach gazebo, and we did have onlookers who watched our ceremony from their balconies. We also had quite a few people on the beach, but they kept a respectable distance! 

 

here's a picture where you can see the building behind our ceremony: 

 

 

here's another where you can see our ceremony set up in the background - the people on the beach didn't get any closer than the sign you see. 

 

 

we had our reception/dinner at Tucanes, which was great! the lush landscaping really made it private. here's Tucanes in the daytime: 

 

hope that helps with some ideas. happy planning! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, your wedding looks awesome! I would love the El Dorado resorts, but we are having kids attend. We are considering the Azul Beach and Azul Fives. 

Thanks for the suggestion though. 

Hi Ladies, 

Thank you so much for your comments, they are truly appreciated. 

We do have a travel agent that we are working with and right now we are deciding between the following results: 

Azul Beach or Azul Fives - Pros: food will be great, small so no guest will be overwhelmed with the size, beach looks nice and you don't have to make reservations for dinner. Cons: resorts look a little plain and not very tropical (not as good for photos, and resorts doesn't look that exciting for kids.

Iberstar Parisido (Beach, maya, grand, or lindo) - Pros: beach looks nice, the resorts looks awesome. Cons: wedding might not be very intimate and I am very concerned about the food, as most people would not being staying at the grand. 

Barcelo Maya Deluxe: Pros: the resorts looks awesome. Cons: wedding might not be very intimate, not sure about the food, and I am not sure about the beach.

Dreams Puerto Aventuras: Pros: I think the food should be good, dolphin swim would be good for people with kids, small and intimate. Cons: Heard mixed reviews. 

I would loved to see pictures are hear people's thoughts about these resorts. 

Thank you

You're doing great already - just knowing what you want and working thru the options, evaluating their pros + cons, is already a huge step going forward - so no worries, you're going to have an amazing wedding, you'll see

wishing you all the best of luck with it all! team MTM asst, Lynda

Originally Posted by Moments That Matter 

 

You're doing great already - just knowing what you want and working thru the options, evaluating their pros + cons, is already a huge step going forward - so no worries, you're going to have an amazing wedding, you'll see

 

wishing you all the best of luck with it all! team MTM asst, Lynda

Thanks Lynda for your words of encouragement! Does the team at MTM have any favourite all-inclusive resorts? and pictures of recent weddings?