Can't decide on a resort

[~*Lisa*~]

HELP!!

 

We can't decide on a resort! lol Or I can't, I should say. The FH wants to go to ROR but I was just there in Feb for my cousins wedding. I loved the Riu. Has anyone been to the RMB, Riu Tropical or Riu Negril? We're looking for something amazing, yet affordable for his family. Any suggestions? I didn't think that it would be this difficult! lol

[pearlygirl]

I'm with you.....we went to the ROR a few years ago, and while it was an amazing resort, we wanted our wedding somewhere we've never been. We both loved Jamaica and we both wanted to check out Negril and it's beaches, so we decided on the Riu Negril.

 

We decided on the Riu Negril, which is an all-inclusive hotel, because of the cost (for us and for our guests) and because children are allowed. Originally, I wanted to stay at a fancier AI resort, but the two Riu's and Beaches were the only hotels I could find in Negril that weren't "adults only." (My son will be coming with us)

 

From doing tons and tons and tons of research & reading reviews online both here and on tripadvisor.com, it seems the Riu Negril is a mid-range AI. Some people really liked it, others hated it. We go on vacation somewhere in the Caribbean every year at an AI......all of the hotels have their ups and downs. I'm sure there'll be things about the Riu Negril I won't like, but I'm sure everything will turn out wonderful.....what couldn't be great about getting married somewhere tropical?!?!?!?

 

Anyway, if you are thinking Negril, you could also check into the Riu Tropical Bay which just re-opened this December as a "Palace," which means it is more up-scale than the regular Riu hotels. That's all I know about Negril. I don't know if this helped at all, but I guess I like to ramble. Oh well.

 

I'm sure wherever you choose to go, it will be absolutely perfect!!! Good luck!

[JenniferSS]

There is also Grand Pineapple Beach in Negril- it's a family all inclusive also! very cute and Caribbean located near the downtown area of Negril.

[~*Lisa*~]

I thought that I saw the that Grand Pineapple Beach resort was a 3 star? My fam won't go for that because they've had bad experiences with cheaper resorts. Maybe I'm wrong though, I'll have to check again.

 

Here's my problem. I really want to go to Riu Negril, but it doesn't have the free wedding package whereas Riu Tropical Bay does. RTB is more expensive though, so maybe it evens out in the end. I thought that I read somewhere on here (don't ask me where because I've been reading for days now lol) that RTB does not have a beauty salon. So if you want to get your hair/makeup done, you have to go to Riu Negril. Did anyone else see this?

 

Pearlygirl - what kind of information have you gotten from the resort?? I think this is where we'll be going, so any information that you may have would be great!! I hope that you post lots of pics!

[chicklet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisaloo79 I thought that I saw the that Grand Pineapple Beach resort was a 3 star? My fam won't go for that because they've had bad experiences with cheaper resorts. Maybe I'm wrong though, I'll have to check again. Here's my problem. I really want to go to Riu Negril, but it doesn't have the free wedding package whereas Riu Tropical Bay does. RTB is more expensive though, so maybe it evens out in the end. I thought that I read somewhere on here (don't ask me where because I've been reading for days now lol) that RTB does not have a beauty salon. So if you want to get your hair/makeup done, you have to go to Riu Negril. Did anyone else see this? Pearlygirl - what kind of information have you gotten from the resort?? I think this is where we'll be going, so any information that you may have would be great!! I hope that you post lots of pics!

Price/free wedding was one of the reasons I picked ROR.
Make a list of things you are looking for in the resort (ex price, golf courses, large resort or small, swim up bars etc) and weigh which one most fits your needs. This is what I did Do your research before deciding or you may end up disappointed.

[~*Lisa*~]

ROR would be great except for the fact that I was just there for my cousins wedding in February. A lot of the same people will be coming, so I wanted to try a different resort.

[pearlygirl]

lisaloo79.... I know the Riu Negril doesn't have the Free Package and the RTB does. But we decided on the Riu Negril because of cost....we are taking my son with us....he is so so so excited!!!

 

We have 15-17 guests total and we are doing the Royal Package which is $1,115. The Royal Package accomodates up to 50 guests (I'm sure you've already done the research on the packages). The cost for the three of us to stay at the RTB would have been more $$ than the extra cost of having to pay for the wedding package vs having a free package at a more expensive hotel. For our guests, each couple would end up having to pay an additional $790 to stay at RTB. Also, FH's parents stayed at the Riu Negril a few years ago and loved it.

 

Because there will be children traveling with us, I did research on the Riu Negril, RTB, Grand Pineapple and Beaches. As you stated, I don't think we would have enjoyed the 3-star Grand Pineapple, which I think is the hotel where their beach is across the street (I can't totally remember b/c all the research kind of runs together in my memory).

 

Beaches was more expensive per person traveling out of Minneapolis, but if you have 10 booked rooms, you get the free wedding package. So if you think you'll have 10 or more booked rooms, that would definately be an option. (Except one reason I didn't look much into Beaches is that it is very family oriented and I saw Elmo and other sesame street characters featured in their website. Not really my cup of tea....)

 

I have been in contact with Dionne, the WC at Riu Negril, via email. She is very good at answering any questions you may have. She takes up to 1 day to respond, but she is busy with everyone else's weddings.

 

I will try to attach the the things she has sent to me. I hope it works. One thing I found out that isn't attached is that the outside vendor fee is $80 and subject to change and anytime. I had asked if we could bring in an outside photographer.

 

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And I will definately post pics when we return because I know how much it can help others when trying to plan a wedding and/or decide on where to have the wedding! I hope this info helps!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riu Negril DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR MARRIAGE.doc

Riu Negril Hors'duevres 2009.doc

Riu Negril Example Optional Services 2008.pdf

Riu Negril General Information for Jamaica.pdf

[pearlygirl]

I just wanted to add that I wasn't sure how, exactly, they wanted all the documents notarized. Also, when sending the documents, I wasn't sure the address she provided was correct because it looks so much different than the way we address things here and because there wasn't any zip code. I know things are done differently everywhere in the world, but it as all new to me and I was totally stressing out that I would do something wrong. I also sent a letter to Dionne, the WC, asking her to email me when she recieved them. I sent them the beginning of December.

 

Anyway, I sent copies of our original birth certificates which were notarized when we were born (1980 & 1981). I didn't know if they had to be newly notarized as of this year, but I just sent the originals anyway. Also, I made copies of our passports and brought them to a local notary and she just wrote a comment on the bottom of each copy that "This a true and correct copy of the passport etc etc" and she signed and dated it.

 

I just recieved an email the other day from Dionne stating that she recieved the documents. She didn't say there was any problems with them so that is one big wieght off of my shoulders!

[~*Lisa*~]

Wow, thank you so much for all the information. I can't see all the docs yet, I guess I'll have to do more posting! lol

 

Anyway, I never considered the fact that even though the resort may be cheaper and have to pay for a wedding, that it will still be cheaper than a more expensive resort. So thank you for that, I will have to keep that in mind.

 

I find it hard to figure out pricing and that sort of thing right now because I look online for prices and all I get are the last minute deals, which obviously are cheaper. We haven't gone to see our travel agent yet (same one that my whole fam uses). We are planning on doing this after the holidays. Since the wedding is a year away, I'm not sure how much she can help us though.

 

Another silly question. How long in advance do I have to book the wedding at the resort? We're planning on going January 2010, so it's only a year. I guess I'm not sure of these things yet! lol

 

Glad to hear that all went well with the passports/birth certificates. It makes me feel better knowing that someone has successfully done this! lol

 

Anyway, thanks again for all your help, I'm sure I'll have more questions along the way!

[pearlygirl]

We were originally planning on January 2010, but just this November we decided to do it this winter, 2009, instead so I was worried I wouldn't be able to book a wedding date in only 3 months. But as far as booking the hotel, they had a lot of dates available for the wedding but the times I wanted (4pm-5pm) were already booked. The only times that were left were 11am-1pm. I didn't want to do it that early, so I emailed the WC at the hotel and asked her for dates available at 4pm. The only date she had was Feb 3rd, which is the day after my b-day and, ideally, I wouldn't have picked it, but I did anyway. Oh well, it'll be easier for FH to remember two special days I guess

 

I think that the sooner you book the hotel, the better your chances of getting a specific date and time are (obviously). And I've never booked a trip out a year in advance so I don't know how the TA's price check it. But I'm sure your TA will be able to help you price check things after the holidays and she may even have some additional advice.

 

Good luck choosing a hotel and I'll answer any other questions I can.

 

BTW-If you want to try to PM me, maybe I can send the documents directly to you. I'm not exactly sure how PMing works and I won't be back to my computer with the saved documents until Tuesday but we can try it if you want.