Grand Sunset Princess Resort

[Llama]

Congratulations to both of you )))

 

Thanks for the wonderful review Ashley, and looking forward to yours Amandseth!

 

I am getting married here January 21, and trying to decide if I am going to splurge for the beach party...you may have just convinced me Ashley!

 

Tlseege, I would love to see some pics of the resort!

[steveandjenn]

Just wanted to let everyone know that we were married at the GSP on November 16th, and everything went fantastic. We were both quite apprehensive about both the tour operator (Transat) and the resort wedding coordinators - but were pleasantly surprised by both of them.

 

We found that communication with Sandra was difficult from home (as much my fault as hers, I don't know Spanish) - but as soon as we arrived and met with her she went over everything with us, made lots of changes to the package that we'd booked, and setup a stereo system and microphone for us at no additional charge which was nice.

 

We had our ceremony at 4:00pm, and I definitely recommend that time... the lighting is pretty much perfect from 4-5 and you catch the sun setting. We opted to get a chuppa, or yuppa... I'm not quite sure on the spelling, as they spelled it both ways in different spots on our contract. Anyways, that's the sort of four post bamboo deal with the lace on it, and they placed it right on the beach. I'm confident that there is not a more beautiful background for a wedding, and heard the same from all of our guests. This was 500 dollars extra, but we felt it was worth it. The Gazebo is also really nice, and you will not be disappointed if you go that route. Upon arriving at the beach the resort did have a photographer there who asked about taking pictures and we turned him down as we had our own - they did not give us a hard time about this at all. Our ceremony took about 20 minutes, then we spent 30-40 minutes taking pictures at the site and then left. No one rushed us at all, and the resort staff were out of sight until we left.

 

We had our dinner at La Fondue which was great, they setup our own section in the restaurant and the service was fantastic. It didn't feel like we had people watching over us at all, they seated as many people as they could on the other side of the restaurant. The meal was excellent, and though we were told we only had an hour and a half, the staff told us to stay as long as we liked - and we did... about 3 hours. My wife and I then went for a walk down the beach to get a little break from everyone, and we found someone else having the beach party when we got down there. It looked quite nice, but I would suggest (depending on your taste) that you ask them to setup a bunch of tiki torches. They had huge bright lights that cast a football stadium sort of lighting over the groups dinner. We had asked about it earlier in our booking and Sandra said they could setup a bunch of torches and candles on the tables instead of the big lights. I didn't ask how much.

 

After our walk we went up to the main pavilion to join our group and we partied the night away. It was a great time, and they treated us very well. The only incident that we had, and I'm only saying this to pre-warn anyone to have their travel agent call ahead direct to the resort:

 

We asked for a King Size bed in our room (duh, it's for our wedding)... and they gave us a room with two doubles. After a 40 minute conversation with Jorge at the front desk that went from reasoning to just being angry - he miraculously found us our proper room, and then admitted that someone else had checked in to a room with two doubles and wanted a king so the resort had given them our room in hopes we wouldn't complain. All worked out in the end, but make sure you are adamant with your TA about this - ours told us that she'd made the request but the resort apparently had no record of direct communication with anyone regarding our room. Several people in our group were put into the incorrect rooms, but several of them also got upgrades - they just seemed a little disorganized at the front desk.

 

Aside from that little issue, everything was perfect. The food was good, the service was excellent, the beach was nice (bring water shoes though), and our wedding was amazing. You will not regret your choice.

 

Finally, one little aside: We brought nearly 50 people with us, and it was a little overwhelming after a while so a couple of days after the wedding we booked into the THAI Beach restaurant with just one other couple that was with us. It is not included in the all inclusive but I highly recommend it. It was the best meal we had while at the resort, and the atmosphere is awesome. Dinner in the open air right on the beach... we watched the sunset and had an amazing meal there. Totally recommend it.

 

Good luck and congratulations to everyone!

[sasse75]

Congrats Steve and Jenn I'm curious to hear what you think of the Thai Beach Club in terms of atmosphere for the actual reception. We are thinking of going this way instead of the Beach Reception. I love the idea of an open air restaurant on the beach!

[c and m]

Wow, great to hear 2 great reviews. We have been a little worried after reading some reviews on tripadvisor. Also glad to hear the beach party is worth it, as that is what we are going with. All that is left is to get suits made and bridesmaids dresses...

[c and m]

AshleyBrendan,

 

The cocktail reception you mention, is that something extra you paid for, or did you send your guest to one of the bars as part of being at an all inclusive?

[steveandjenn]

Sasse, I would say that the atmosphere at the Thai place would be excellent for a reception - other than that the layout of the restaurant is such that it would be hard for you to do toasts and be able to see everyone. There are several little "pods" with 5 or 6 tables in each, and they are close together but it would separate your group... however, if you were going with like 20 people or less I think you could fit in one "pod" and you'd really enjoy it. The ambiance is fantastic in the evening - one of the most memorable locations to eat, for me. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you go that route. FYI the spring rolls are excellent.

[steveandjenn]

Oh, and for C and M - I have learned to stop reading trip advisor. We were really upset after reading some of the reviews on there, and when we arrived I couldn't believe how much B.S. I read. Someone goes and has one bad thing happen to set them off, and they write ridiculous reviews that are very embellished. The other thing is, some people that haven't traveled much go to countries like Mexico and just expect it to be like the US or Canada - and it isn't. A 5 Star there, is usually a 3 star here... they just don't have the same amenities that we do, nor the infrastructure. I was actually pleasantly surprised at the amenities this resort offered, and there were no issues with cleanliness or service - nor did we have anything stolen from our room (aka lost it, but it's easier to blame someone else). Go into it with a positive attitude and you will love this place - I've received emails from nearly every one of our almost 50 guests saying how great of a time they had and how we picked such a nice resort. Have a GREAT time!

[sasse75]

I believe that the Royalty Package comes with a 1 hr cocktail reception

[annieanddaryl]

Hi girls,

 

We just returned from the GSP for our wedding on November 16th and everything was a success! I was quite nervous before getting there but the resort and their Wedding Coordinators have everything down to a science!

 

We arrived on November 14th and met with Sandra for an hour to go over the small details of our wedding such as flowers and welcome cocktails as well as music and favours for our guests.

 

We had our rehearsal dinner at La Hacienda and after trying several restaurants on the resort, this was by far the best one and all of our guests were pleased.

 

Our ceremony was at 2pm at the Gazebo, followed by champagne toast and photos for about 3 hours afterwards. We had the Beach party reception. The food was great and the drinks were overflowing (the waiter kept coming by with colourful cocktails we didn't order!). After dinner we danced barefoot in the sand and headed to the disco afterwards.

 

The week was quite busy for me and my groom - planned a couple of group excursions - to Coba and Cozumel, and also went to a popular club downtown Coco Bongo. Let's just say we didn't get much rest.

 

If you have any questions feel free to PM me! Girls, no need to worry, everything works out perfectly!

[sasse75]

Quote:

Originally Posted by annieanddaryl Hi girls, We just returned from the GSP for our wedding on November 16th and everything was a success! I was quite nervous before getting there but the resort and their Wedding Coordinators have everything down to a science! We arrived on November 14th and met with Sandra for an hour to go over the small details of our wedding such as flowers and welcome cocktails as well as music and favours for our guests. We had our rehearsal dinner at La Hacienda and after trying several restaurants on the resort, this was by far the best one and all of our guests were pleased. Our ceremony was at 2pm at the Gazebo, followed by champagne toast and photos for about 3 hours afterwards. We had the Beach party reception. The food was great and the drinks were overflowing (the waiter kept coming by with colourful cocktails we didn't order!). After dinner we danced barefoot in the sand and headed to the disco afterwards. The week was quite busy for me and my groom - planned a couple of group excursions - to Coba and Cozumel, and also went to a popular club downtown Coco Bongo. Let's just say we didn't get much rest. If you have any questions feel free to PM me! Girls, no need to worry, everything works out perfectly!

Did you use their salon services? Hair? Make up? If so how was it?