Secrets Silversands and/or Maroma Beach

[mandalaybay3071]

Hey girl!!! I'm so happy to hear from you!! Sounds like you had a few glitches but hopefully everything turned out fine and you had an amazing time. Okay, something you could do for me. Dave and I are getting married under the massage gazebo on the beach. Can you tell me how far it is down the beach? In other words, when I come out of our room, how far do I have to walk? would you recommend getting married there? If you could take a few shots of that gazebo that would be awesome. Also, the other option is that gazebo right off the pool. Is that close enough to the beach to have a beautiful view of the ocean? Can you take some pictures of what our view would be if we got married under the poolside gazebo? Thank you Michelle! I can't wait to hear about your trip! Also, wedding present is in the mail as of today and you are gonna love it! It's TEXANY!

Mandy

[julielynn]

Okay guys! I tried to be as honest and helpful as I could. Let me know if you need any help! I have attached the free decoration for the gazebo.

 

•Resort-

oRooms- We were upgraded to a swim out suit in building 1600. This building was right by the walk way to the gazebo. Our guests had rooms all in the 1500 building. We had all paid for partial ocean view rooms and my guests were upgraded to full ocean view rooms. The rooms were beautiful. The pictures don’t do them justice! No complaints. From the other posts, I hear the rooms to stay away from are in buildings 2100-2400. These are supposed to be shaded rooms and have increased mosquitoes problems. I don’t have any feedback on this though..

oBeach- The sand felt so great on my bare feet!! It looks exactly like the pictures. No seaweed issues, just white sands and very blue water. We didn’t have issues getting chairs or finding shade on the beach as others have experienced.

oMosquitoes- I witnessed the resort spraying for mosquitoes on the side of our building the first night I was there. I didn’t have any mosquito issues at any point in the trip. The hotel also provides complimentary repellent and sunscreen.

oFood- The breakfast buffet was endless, though it is hard to get seated outside. I didn’t eat at any of the restaraunts for lunch. The hotel had a grill going on one side of the beach and a massive skillet with shrimp on the other!!! We only ate at the Mexican and Japanese restaraunts for dinner. The Mexican service was slow. The food was great but the portion sizes were small so don’t feel bad about ordering a little extra. The Japanese place was nice. We sat by the grill. They do not take reservations so if you have a big group check-in in advance. It’s a small place. But it is a good show.

oService- The service was great. Each building was assigned a concierge. I didn’t deal with mine much so have nothing to report. The staff everywhere is very nice! They accept not expect tips. This was a big change for me being in Mexico. They are very gracious when you do tip them. No matter how much.. They are genuinely a great group of people.

oEntertainment- I didn’t participate in any night entertainment though they did have a show every night at 9pm. I didn’t witness any shows by the pool, though I have seen pictures and know they exist. They have assigned activities people. Their responsibilities range from arranging volleyball games, salsa lessons, Spanish lessons, yoga, to kayaking. There is always something going on if you need to be entertained.

•Wedding-

oCecilia- Cecilia is very hard working. I don’t think she ever goes home. She most definitely needs help once this resort gets busier. She was very organized. I met with her when I arrived (1 day before my wedding) to review details. She had everything in order. She even made complimentary place cards to go with my wedding favors. I was very satisfied with Cecilia. She pulled everything off.

oDecorations-

Ceremony-We had complimentary decorations for the ceremony (I had the most basic wedding package). I requested a red carpet instead of the traditional white one. The centerpiece looked exactly like the picture, no surprises. Everything was very beautifully arranged. I will attach pictures once my guests send some.

Reception- I requested red bows, red napkins, and 2 lights under our 1 extra-large round table. The centerpiece was moved from the ceremony table to our dinner table. The wedding favors were on the table with name cards. There were complimentary white table clothes (layered) and white chair covers. In the light everything looked beautiful, not plain at all. However, as the daylight went away, the table was a bit dark. Cecilia brought some spot lights out, which did improve the lighting a little. I would suggest lights or candle on your table. Otherwise, everything was perfect!

oComplimentary night before room (for the groom)- I had to pull teeth for this room. Lots of following up with the front desk and I was a bit pushy with Cecilia. However she was always very nice about it. I did get the complimentary room. Checkout was at 12, and my wedding wasn’t until 3. My husband moved to my brother’s room (who was solo for the weekend) after 12 so it wasn’t a big deal.

oCake- The cake was beautiful. My wedding package came with a complimentary small wedding cake. However, to please my mother, I requested they make a special cake. I was surprised when they only charge me $130. The cake was VERY beautiful; however, the only real layer on it was the top. It was just enough for 10 people. Luckily, the dinner was so filling no one needed seconds.

oViolinist- WOW!! Yes, a bit pricey but he added that extra touch to the evening. Everyone enjoyed it. We used the resort violinist Mr. Molnar. He was very professional. He has you tube video.

oFood- The food was a bit late coming out. Enough so, that my mother started to complain to me that I should do something. However, when the food did come it tasted so great everyone forgot about the wait. The food presentation was very fancy; however, it was a bit dark at the table no one got to really enjoy it.

oPhotographer- Diego from Del Sol- Diego and his assistant were at my room on time for the prewedding pictures. He was very nice and professional. Gave us suggestions without being pushy. I am not used to having my picture taken. I normally hide from cameras. But the photo session was a ton of fun. Seeing the quality of Del Sol Photography and Diego’s personal portfolio, I am very confident I will be completely satisfied with the pictures. I can’t wait to see the photos!!

oDJ Bob- DJ Bob was very reasonably. He played all of my song requests and filled in the gaps with matching tunes. He is great at timing songs. He kept the wedding flowing and helped us with the live wedding schedule. EVERYONE danced at the wedding, which was unexpected. Anyone that can get my brother on the dance floor deserves kudos!! DJ Bob even checked out the resort for me before there were any pictures posted. Very good guy!

oSalon- First of all, if anyone got the $100 spa gift card with your room booking heads up!! You get a $40, $20 and $20 gift card for the salon that cannot be used at the same time. In addition, you can’t use it for hair, nails or make-up. It must be used for things like massages. I got my nails, hair and make-up done at the spa. Call the spa when you arrive to confirm you appointment if you make it before you come. It caused some confusion for those that didn’t confirm on arrival. Luckily they had room for everyone on my wedding day. I brought a picture of how I wanted my hair and make-up. They did a great job!! The other girls that got their hair done weren’t as happy with their do as I was with mine. Best advice I can give is bring pictures. There is a definite communication barrier so the more help you can give them the less stress.

oMinister- Mr. Monroy was our minister. We had a nonreligious ceremony. I expected it to be short like the JP ceremony but Mr. Monroy has a nice, eloquent ceremony about love and commitment. It was beautiful! He was very genuine when speaking the words to my husband and me. We also did a sand ceremony. I was disappointed after pictures the sand was taken away. I wanted to keep it..

 

I hope this helps!! If you have any questions email me!! I will attach pictures when I get them! Good luck ladies!! 

[julielynn]

I'm having issues attaching the gazebo picture. PM me and I will send it your way..

[Simistar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandalaybay3071 Dave and I are getting married under the massage gazebo on the beach. Can you tell me how far it is down the beach? In other words, when I come out of our room, how far do I have to walk? would you recommend getting married there? If you could take a few shots of that gazebo that would be awesome. Also, the other option is that gazebo right off the pool. Is that close enough to the beach to have a beautiful view of the ocean? Can you take some pictures of what our view would be if we got married under the poolside gazebo?

Hey Lady!!!
So nice to hear from you!
If I had more time on these computers, I'd just e-mail you:-)
I have taken some pics for you...It will be asier to explain what's what once you see the pics I think, but in a nutshell...
The massage gazebo on the beach is nice BUT they do set up a little gazebo-type thing for the weddings on the beach that's further away from all the sunbathers and it's really nice.
If you use the massge gazebo, it's nice too, but just closer to the resort and right in the middle of where people lounge. It is covered, which could be nice to ward off some of the heat in July.
BUT, again, I'll send you the pics and you'll see what I mean,

The gazebo by the pool is really nice too. You don't really have a view of the ocean from the gazebo though. You can see the ocean if you stand beside it though :-)
Also, it just depends on how much privacy you want. The gazebo is right by the pool, so depedning on what time of day it is, you may get lots of drunk people hooting at you.
Julielynn had her wedding here (I watched from beside the pool!) and it was beautiful. There were some rude, drunk people yelling, and someone from our party went over and asked them to keep it down for a few minutes for the wedding, and they said no! But Julielynn said she didn't hear them, so it was all fine:-) And the set-up was gorgeous as well.

The weddings on the beach, BTW, happen right in front of building 27. This is the building we're staying in. So if you've booked an ocean-front room AND you're getting married on the beach, maybe ask to be put in this building as it's a short walk. If you getting married in the gazebo by the pool, I don't think it matters...

Also, we've had NO problem with mosquitos! I guess it all depends on the weather, the wind the time of year etc...but no problems for any of our guests or us at all!

Lastly (for today, haha :-)), we used an outisde photographer, but since our package included an hour with the resort photog, we used that hour. We had him come for the reception to get our dance etc. His pictures were delivered to our room two nights ago, and they're quite nice actually! We were pleasantly surprised. I think they use associate photographers of Juan Navarro's (so Juan doesn't necessarily do your wedding) and I guess if you happen to get a good associate, you get good pictures..? :-) Not sure...But I'll ask what our photog's name was so maybe those using the resort package can ask for him. And yes OF COURSE! I'll post some of his pics so you can see:-)

Thas'all for now! One more day here kiddies, so get your photo/questions in now! :-)

[julielynn]

I could hear more pool noise walking to the gazebo than when I was at the gazebo. It all seemed to go away when I turned the corner and saw the gazebo with my now-husband waiting for me… Odd I know.. My guests didn’t seem to notice the pool noise either. And believe me my mother would have told me if she did. The sun set about an hour after the ceremony and the pool area cleared out completely. We had our dinner right by the gazebo; we had the whole area to ourselves!!

 

Simistar!! Have a great trip back!! I can’t wait to see your pictures!

[Simistar]

Okay, so we're (my new husband and I...god, that sounds weird!) REALLY dumb!

Just realized we've had access to the preferred club lounge the entire time we've been here...and there are computers, pastries, drinks servers...everthing! We suck :-)

 

Anywaaay, we're leaving this afternoon...have pics for Kits55 and Mandy...last call for anyone else...?

[Kits55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simistar Okay, so we're (my new husband and I...god, that sounds weird!) REALLY dumb! Just realized we've had access to the preferred club lounge the entire time we've been here...and there are computers, pastries, drinks servers...everthing! We suck :-) Anywaaay, we're leaving this afternoon...have pics for Kits55 and Mandy...last call for anyone else...?

Simistar: congratulations (again!) That's so awesome that you have access to the preferred club. Did you have to purchase a special room upgrade for that? I"m really interested in pictures of the resort at night...do you have any of those yet?

Travel safely!

[Kits55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simistar Hey Kits55! So, I went for a walk yesterday to the north...and kept walking and walking :-) I walked about 15 mins and could see what looks like a building under construction, so I took some shots I can e-mail when I get back. (I don't think this is where you meant...if it was, I'd suggest it's pretty far to walk in a dress on the beach...) But then I walked to the south and quite close to resort are a few abandoned buildings...I think maybe it was one of these. I took pics of them, though I couldn't specifically see a vine-covered door... One of the buildings looks SUPER creepy! Like from a horror movie :-) But I'll send you all the pics :-) We did do a TTD session the next day! It was super fun! And I was really happy we'd booked it since I could actually do my hair and make-up the way I wanted (long story I'll tell in my review...but my hair and make-up looked NOTHING like how I wanted it to for the wedding day!).. We didn't go to a cenote (for the TTD or any other day), just b/c we haven't had time mostly:-) There are LOTS of cool places around the resort for a TTD session though so don't worry if your photog isn't into travelling somewhere else :-) Okay...anyone..?? Any more pics....? Want me to ask Cecilia anything...?? We leave Monday, so let me know soon! :-)

Hey, sorry for having to post here twice in response to your posts. Sometimes I'm not so smart

Thanks so much for walking so far to get pictures for me!! I am very grateful to you! I can't wait to see the pictures! I also can't wait to see your wedding and TTD pics, I bet they turned out beautifully. I'm glad you posted that it wasn't Juan Navvaro who did all of your photos. I think we'll also use of one hour of photography for the reception. haha

Have a wonderful last night!

[Simistar]

Hey!

 

I'm baaaa-aaack!:-)

And SUPER busy getting unpacked, organizing thank you cards, work, etc etc:-)

 

I'll try to get my review up on the weekend, and of course, post pics!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kits55 Simistar: congratulations (again!) That's so awesome that you have access to the preferred club. Did you have to purchase a special room upgrade for that? I"m really interested in pictures of the resort at night...do you have any of those yet?   Travel safely!

Kits55 -- I think you have access to the preferred club lounge when you book an ocean-front room (buildings 17 and 27)...there may be other rooms that give you access as well, but I'm not sure...

 

We do have some pics of the resort at night! It looks amazing at night, the way they light up the pools etc...

I'll post at least one of those, but why don't you PM your e-mail (or did you already? I'm so confused as to whom I've e-mailed and who I haven't:-)) -- and I'll e-mail you the pics of the resort at night as well as the abandoned buildings etc... no problema!

[Simistar]

Hi Ladies!

 

Just posted my review...But I warn you -- it's LOOOOOONNNGGG!!! :-)

 

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t34046

 

Any questions after reading it -- just ask:-)