RIU RM Palace Brides??

greysgirl · July 20, 2010

We are ready to book at the Riu Palace RM:) We were just there last week for a site visit/engagement celebration and LOVED it. The food was amazing, the beach was gorgeous, and the pool was so much fun. Our guests will love it. We even met with Nancy, the wedding coordinator. I have a few questions for you girls:

1. When you book online through weddingsbyriu.com, are you bound to the package you pick and number of guests?

2. How long did it take for them to confirm your date?

3. Are the coordinators responsive to emails?

4. Did you girls get any special rates for your groups?

Thanks SO MUCH and I'm super excited that we've made this choice:)

vlvetter7 · July 20, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by greysgirl

We are ready to book at the Riu Palace RM:) We were just there last week for a site visit/engagement celebration and LOVED it. The food was amazing, the beach was gorgeous, and the pool was so much fun. Our guests will love it. We even met with Nancy, the wedding coordinator. I have a few questions for you girls:

1. When you book online through weddingsbyriu.com, are you bound to the package you pick and number of guests?

2. How long did it take for them to confirm your date?

3. Are the coordinators responsive to emails?

4. Did you girls get any special rates for your groups?

Thanks SO MUCH and I'm super excited that we've made this choice:)

So glad to hear your site visit went great! Hearing things like this make me even more excited!!! Did you get any pictures you'd be willing to share? How was your meeting with Nancy? Did you get to see any weddings?

1. When you book online through weddingsbyriu.com, are you bound to the package you pick and number of guests?

I booked online to get a confirmation date and just put in 40 guests which was a total guess. Then when I had my first real correspondence with the sales department I told them that I was not sure on the guest count. They said no problem.

2. How long did it take for them to confirm your date?

It took about a week to get the confirmation email back from Riu. Once we had our confirmation code then our Travel Agent used the code to book our room. I think you need your room reservation code in order to fully confirm the wedding date, but I could be wrong about this. Are you working with a Travel Agent?

3. Are the coordinators responsive to emails?

The sales department is VERY responsive to emails. I have not had much interaction with the wedding coordinators because the sales group has been able to answer all of my questions.

4. Did you girls get any special rates for your groups?

I ended up signing a group contract and got rates for almost Â½ the price that the Riu reservation website is quotingâ€¦and our TA also has a price match, just in case prices drop below our contract rate.

greysgirl · July 20, 2010

Wow! Thanks for the quick response! I did take LOTS of pics that I'll post hopefully tomorrow (if I get any sleep tonight...on call. Blah!) of the grounds, the rockin' pool area, the gazebo, the beach where weddings are held, the resturants, etc. My FI and I loved it, and know our guests will too. We did see one small wedding in the gazebo that was held at 2pm-ish. The meeting w/ Nancy went well, especially since we didn't make an appointment and just walked up to her desk She seemed very nice and eager to help. Thanks again for your quick answers!

Is the group contract rate you signed with the Riu through the sales dept? That's awesome you got such great rates! I'll look into that...

Nicyx · July 20, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by greysgirl

Wow! Thanks for the quick response! I did take LOTS of pics that I'll post hopefully tomorrow (if I get any sleep tonight...on call. Blah!) of the grounds, the rockin' pool area, the gazebo, the beach where weddings are held, the resturants, etc. My FI and I loved it, and know our guests will too. We did see one small wedding in the gazebo that was held at 2pm-ish. The meeting w/ Nancy went well, especially since we didn't make an appointment and just walked up to her desk

She seemed very nice and eager to help. Thanks again for your quick answers!

Is the group contract rate you signed with the Riu through the sales dept? That's awesome you got such great rates! I'll look into that...

Cant wait to see pix, Like V siad, it makes me more and more excited when I hear things like this :-) Hope to see your pix soon, Also its great to hear than Nancy is friendly like that, brilliant that she spoke to you when you went and was very helpful, Im not in contact with Nancy yet but this has reassured me lots and lots, Thanks again xox

vlvetter7 · July 21, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by greysgirl

Wow! Thanks for the quick response! I did take LOTS of pics that I'll post hopefully tomorrow (if I get any sleep tonight...on call. Blah!) of the grounds, the rockin' pool area, the gazebo, the beach where weddings are held, the resturants, etc. My FI and I loved it, and know our guests will too. We did see one small wedding in the gazebo that was held at 2pm-ish. The meeting w/ Nancy went well, especially since we didn't make an appointment and just walked up to her desk

She seemed very nice and eager to help. Thanks again for your quick answers!

Is the group contract rate you signed with the Riu through the sales dept? That's awesome you got such great rates! I'll look into that...

I acutally booked my group contract through Destination Weddings...we had to put down a deposit for each room ($200 per room that will come back to us when guests book) but in the long run we feel it's worth it...

JNagan2011 · July 21, 2010

Hey ladies... sorry I have been not too helpful with any questions lately! I have been soo busy where I just come on and quick check this thread to keep posted and then sign off without looking at anything else or writing.. But I wish everyone the best of luck with planning and hopefully life settles down soon so I can get back to my planning

dana · July 21, 2010

Hi Girls,

I have been away for a while and only checking periodically. I've seem to do nothing for the wedding in so long and I'm only about 3.5 months away. As it gets closer I keep deciding to do less and less.

My FI still has nothing to wear, well except for the flip flops I just found this weekend at Macy's. He still has no wedding band. We are in the middle of a big addition on our house and he is doing alot of the work himself so he hates to dedicate weekends to ring shopping. When I ask him what he wears he says he doesn't care whatever I want. That would sound great except I can't decide between a suit or linen shirt and pants

So I was thinking of doing luggage tags in the next month. I saw another bride use these luggage tags which looked really nice. The only problem is they come with 100 in a bundle. I will only need about 55. Does anyone need 45? Here is the link. I am going to get the clear ones. Luggage Tag 1840-620x Colored Molded Rigid Plastic

They cost about 47 cents a piece so it would be about $21 for the 45 and then whatever shipping is. Let me know if anyone needs any. If not I'll order them and then post them on the forum.

Welcome to the group greysgirl, I stayed at the Riu Palace last year and agree it's a great place!

greysgirl · July 22, 2010

Okay ladies....here are the pics of the Riu RM from our site visit. From my meeting w/ Nancy, I understood that the two options for restaurants were Chilis or Botofogo. Here are those two spaces:

Botofogo

Chilis

food area at Chilis

upper deck of Chilis

I also thought this area would be great for a smaller reception after the pool closed. It's on the opposite side of the pool bar.

Some pool pics. We LOVED the pool. It was huge and has great built in loungers, fun little cubbies in the bar area, fountains, a volleyball net, and an infinity part.

LadyTrunck · July 22, 2010

I'm so sorry that I've been such a bad bride after the fact!! I promise I will get my review out soon!!!! Thank you SO much greysgirl for posting pics- I just got all sad that I wasn't still there!!!

I had our dinner at botofogo, and we had a group of 40. Even though they said it was semi-private, we had a whole big room to ourselves. Also, we thought that in the heat (other ladies may not have this problem) it would be nice to be in an airconditioned space..... but they are both fab!