Sandos Playacar Brides!

[Chrystal]

I'm getting married here on April 15th!!! So excited, it's coming so quickly.

I decided to use Pierre Violle for pictures, he has some beautiful pictures on his website, and is quite reasonably priced.

[kansas city bride]

Hi All,

Does anybody have any information on the private reception. Like rental fees and cost of food and what type of food? Just looking into it. Thanks

[kbloco1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kansas city bride Hi All, Does anybody have any information on the private reception. Like rental fees and cost of food and what type of food? Just looking into it. Thanks

For private events these are the new prices for this 2009, i'll work with these prices at least until July 2010.
Private events are not included in your "All Inclusive" package, so they have additional charges because you will have a reserved area just for your whole group of guests. Available time is from 6.30 pm to 10:30pm. Place: beach or pool area far away from the beach.
Site fees= 500USD on the beach (minimum number 40 people)
Site fees by the pool= 400USD (minimum number 40 people)

Site fee royal elite palapa= 600USD (minimum number 40 people)
menu charge per person = since 39USD per person
open bar = since 10 USD per person per hour
Music.. DJ= 50USD per hour
15% service and 10% taxes (of the total amount of the event)

[Chrystal]

Hello, Has anyone had any trouble with using an outside photographer at this resort before? I emailed and asked and was told it is ok as long as they dress like civil people, which I think just means that they pretend they are regular guests at your wedding?

I was just worried because on the question list for brides it says that the hotel does not allow outside photographers and now I'm worried that they will arrive and I won't be able to use them.

[nmoreau]

We are bringing our own photographer with us.

There is a fee if they are not staying at the hotel, but we have ours staying for 5 nights at the resort so no outside fees.

[kbloco1]

i am using an outside photographer for my wedding. They told me we just need to pay for a day pass for them.

[Bride-chill-a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrystal Hello, Has anyone had any trouble with using an outside photographer at this resort before? I emailed and asked and was told it is ok as long as they dress like civil people, which I think just means that they pretend they are regular guests at your wedding? I was just worried because on the question list for brides it says that the hotel does not allow outside photographers and now I'm worried that they will arrive and I won't be able to use them.

Yes, I used an outside photographer and it was fine. The hotel does not want you doing this and has a policy against it. All they have to do if asked, is say they are a guest at your wedding who just happens to be taking pictures. The WC's just can't say it's ok for you to do it, even though they know you are. If you are using a photog that does DW in the area, they will know the drill. You do have to pay for them to have a day pass, like you would any other outside guest. You pay a day or two before hand, Maria makes arrangements for the pass to be at the front desk and it's a done deal! Don't worry.

[Chrystal]

Thank you so much for your replies everyone. I wondered why Maria would just ignore that question in my emails :-)

[motbride]

Thanks so much for such a thorough review, Bridechilla!

 

It has been a while since I checked back here. My daughter is planning a wedding for Dec 21. The original rates quoted to us skyrocketed on the 20th through Christmas, because of Christmas, of course. They were nice enough to extend the more reasonable rates for us through Dec 23rd which we were very thankful for. Those of us planning to stay through Christmas plan to move to regular rooms at motels in Cozumel during those final days.

 

We are not using a travel agent, and are having a bit of a snag/confusion with the group contract. They are asking for a 20% initial deposit to hold the block which we are fine with. The deposit is based upon the number of nights blocked (4) times the number of rooms reserved (16) times the rate of 2 adults per room times 20%. No problem with $2,200 deposit to block and hold the rooms. But then they want a second and third deposit of 40% each... by May 1 and July 1! So, we are trying to work through this.

 

Perhaps a travel agency would/could do this, but we are booking privately. Who in their right mind would prepay 100% of 16 rooms five-six months in advance? Am I wrong? What do you all think? If the second and third deposits aren't received, the rooms are "subject to availability". I'm thinking the place is probably never fully booked, and we'd be fine, but I don't know that.

 

By previous email she said that we could pay a 20% deposit to reserve the block, and our guests could pay when they got here. The 20% deposit would apply to our own rooms or be returned. But, then we received the contract, and it is asking for a second and third deposit equaling 100% of the total cost. $10,000+

 

It is a bit frustrating because the email communication is a bit slow. We are always answered within a week, but it usually results in more questions. They are probably frustrated with me at this point, too. And I'm getting frustrated by what appears to be incomplete or conflicting information. Perhaps the contract is written for business with a travel agency rather than private party... ?? Perhaps there is a bit of a language barrier, too.

 

We are just looking forward to getting past this part. There is no turning back, nor do we want to. We are very much looking forward to my daughter's wedding at Sandos Playacar. Several family members have booked their air travel already. We are also watching airfare pricing, which shows hints of coming down. Did anyone who is still reading here travel during December last year, and what sort of rates were you getting? We are hoping to see rates come down to the $350 range flying out of the Midwest. My son managed to book at $300 roundtrip over a month ago, but rates recently were up around $450-500-600 roundtrip. Just today I a saw a big drop of rates for dates through September, down to the $350 range. Some airlines don't even have December schedules out... like AirTran.

 

Anyway... thanks for letting me vent... and let me know if you think it is unreasonable to expect someone to pay $10,880 six months in advance for a block of rooms. I just can't do that for a variety of reasons. And it worries me a little!

 

We also recently found some great deals through Expedia for combined room and air... but that doesn't help those who have already book air and are depending upon the group room rate. We aren't sure if we can include people who book through Expedia into "our group" ... but have asked the question.

 

Cara

[kbloco1]

cara,

I can tell you that you will almost always get a better deal booking air and hotel together. United vacations usually has good deals at diferent times depending on where you are flying out of and we also booked some of our stuff on travelocity. be patient and you see some good rates come out especially in the 4-6 month time frame prior to your trip. Also, if you book through a travel agent they will find you the best deals and will keep looking for it. Most don't charge anything as they make commision on everything they book for you and you don;t have to pay for most of your trip till it gets close to travel time.