Picked a place!! Riu Merengue

[saraece]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmmdee Saraece, I have stayed at this RIU complex several times, at both the Merengue and the Bachata. (The bachata has a nicer pool, the Merengue has nicer hotel rooms). It's a lovely complex. The only thing I will tell you offhand is that if your guests stay at a different RIU within (eventhough, you can use all 3 different resorts), i.e. The wedding is at the Bachata and they are staying at the Bambu or Merengue, you still have to pay "day passes" for them to be at your resort PER PERSON to be at your wedding. So make sure everyone stays at your resort because you will have to pay. I have a ton of pics if you'd like to see them.

I am surprised at this. Why would they say stay at one play at three if I have to pay for a day pass for them? Is it because they prefer you to eat on their own resort and they will be eating on the Bachata? Thanks for the heads up about this.

[Copita]

^^ I'm not sure why that is chain resorts do this.

For instance, I'm getting married at Iberostar Punta Cana, which has two other resorts adjoined and if our guests stay at another one, we have to pay a 'day pass' for them. It IS strange.

Ask the WC about it.

Glad I could be of help!

Oh and those day passes also go for any guests staying outside fo the hotel. i.e. if your guests stay at a different hotel in Puerto Plata and come to your wedding, you have to pay a day pass for them. Strange but true! So encourage all your guests to stay at your resort!

[shellb]

I think with Riu's the rule is you get married (ceremony, dinner) at the hotel where 80% of you guests are located. I think it is the only chain that does it this way. We originally looked at get married at the Riu Palace Punta Cana, but most of my guest would have end up staying in the least expensive hotel due to budget. So we would have had to probably get marreid at the Naiboa which is away from the beach. See http://www.weddingsbyriu.com/, there's a section in there in bold when you look at the packages.

 

I'd also talk to your TA to be sure. It might be different where the Bachata has that lovely gazebo out on the penninsula.

[Beach Bride 80]

We have stayed at the Merengue and visited Bachata. They both are great, the greenery is so beautiful in DR and the beaches are very relaxing. We enjoyed the pool area at Bachata and felt there was a livlier crowd there. You will have a terrific time!

[Varia]

Hi everyone,

 

Me and my associate photographer recently shot a wedding at the Riu Bachata, where we also stayed for the whole week.

 

I really liked Riu Bachata in terms of the location (we where so close to the cliff with the gazebo and the beach), but if you are a beach person - Riu Mambo has a better beach (almost no rocks). Riu Merengue had a great entertainment, where we spent most of our nights.

 

The couple that we photographed had their ceremony at the gazebo and it was beautiful. You can also walk around the gazebo and take pictures with ocean as backdrop.

 

I also really liked the small beach at the Bachata (place for water sports), which was almost private and is has a bunch of palm trees and almost no people around.

 

In my opinion this resort has a lot to offer in terms of locations for photos. I liked the cliff gazebo and the small beach at the Riu Bachata.

 

For Trash the Dress pictures we went up in the mountains at the end of Riu Mambo to shoot at the sun rise around 6:30 am ( pictures to come).

 

If anyone has any questions about this resort do not hesitate to email or pm me.

 

Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BachataBride]

I am getting married at the RIU Bachata too!! January 22!! We leave Toronto/Halifax/Ottawa/Edmonton on the 18th of January!! Any tips/ideas that you have come across?? I have to choose my MOH dress & I'm wondering if you have come across any info for flowers?? I'm just wondering what they offer!

So, are you getting married at the gazebo on the point? Or the beach??

[landolfe]

I stayed at Riu Bachata in late 2006 and loved it!!!! The resort has EXCELLENT food, tons of activities (free watersports), nice rooms (the bachata was fabulous, even if it was the "lower end resort" of the 3) and very friendly staff. It's fun b/c u can go through the 3 different resorts, including the different specialty restaurants. The most beautiful gazebo in DR is in this resort, it juts out into the ocean on a hill and your guests will have a view of the ceremony and the ocean right behind. It is GORGEOUS. i wanted to get married here but my family and my fiancee's fam really want to goto Punta Cana so I'm looking into weddings there. keep in mind though that i never actually SAW a wedding here, i just imagined what it could be like. summary: if it's anything like my stay here, you won't regret it!

[saraece]

My tips so far...1)Any guests staying at the Merengue or Mambo will be charged a day day pass to attend the reception. Our first quote was $100 each, then they said $39 each. My TA fought this and now they can attend for free. 2) we chose the free package (well $580 for legal fees) if you get married at the Gazebo the minister will charge you an exra $80 for the walk I supose amd if you get married on a Saturday (like me) the minister will also charge you an extra $150 for working on his day off. So my free wedding would have cost over $1000 and I haven't gotten anything extra yet.

BTW how did you get flights out of Halifax? When we looked into it in May they said Sunquest won't fly out of the east coast until Feb/March.

[BachataBride]

We booked in March & Halifax was available then! St. John's was not/will not be until February. Both of us are from Newfoundland originally, so most of our guests are coming from Halifax.

Wherewhen did you get the prices for the wedding. The last I received from the resort was $560 for the judge and an extra $60 for the gazebo. Luckily...I'm getting married on a Thursday...so no extra $150 for me!!

It's funny how a "free" wedding can cost so much! You still have to get all your documents in order & translated...another couple hundred dollars!!

As of right now, we do not have others staying anywhere but the Bachata, so we do not have to worry about that extra cost...and if anyone books too late & can't get a room at the bachata they can pay for their own pass!! We gave them MORE than enough notice!! (we booked in March for a January wedding!)

Have you heard anything about having a reception? Can we do that?? Have access to an area for it, ie, staying after dinner at the restaurant!? I was thinking about just bringing an ipod stereo so we could have some tunes...first dance...that sort of "normal" wedding stuff! maybe we'll just do it on the beach!

Any ideas for flowers?? How many in your wedding party? What are your colors?? What are you doing for gifts?? (or are you?)

I'm not sure if you heard (or care)...but the gazebo can be very windy and people (even the b&g) have complained that they could not hear anything going on during the cermony. Not sure if this is something that concerns you, but I thought I would mention it!

Also...I think that the extra cost for the guests is if they are coming from off the RIU complex. And if they are at the Mambo or Merengue they will be charged $35 (my last correspondence) for the dinner (since they are not permitted to eat at the Bachata). You should maybe have your TA clear that!

 

Yay!! I'm so excited to have someone to compare notes with!!

[saraece]

My TA says that we can't pick our reception site until a couple of months before the wedding. I am not sure of all the options. I think it is just one of the resturants. Any idea how many weddings they do a day? I just don't want to be given what's left. We chose not to have our wedding at the Gazebo as it was very windy up there. i was torn because it is such a beautiful location but we did want to get married on the beach. So we will go up there for photos after. I had the same idea about the Ipod and hope they can help us with that. I have no idea if they have a sound system we can hook into or what.

I did see the flowers somewhere but can't remember where and of course I can't find it again. If I do I'll PM you. I hope to get all the flowers there as I am basically looking to have a worry free, just show up type of wedding. The ONLY thing I am doing extra is the OOT bags. I am not bringing decor with me, i am not bringing little gifts for everyone at the reception (chartiy donation in leiu of) I am not going crazy on details. I want to travel with my friends and family and somewhere along the line get hitched.

I am excited to have another bride on here.

We got our rates in May originally for leaving on Jan1/09 @1499 taxes in, then they changed our flight to the 29th of Dec and tried to up the price but my TA fought it. So I am happy. We get to be there for New Years and at a reasonable rate.

Hope they upgrade our room. What wedding package are you picking? What extras are you thinking of getting?