Fiesta Americana Grand - Site Review

[jak27]

So I am several weeks past due on this site review, but better late than never! We traveled to Los Cabos on April 20-22, 2007 for our site visit.

 

Upon arriving at the airport, we were greeted by our Transcabo representative for transportation (see separate thread on Vendors for review). We stay at the Fiesta Americana every year, but in the Vacation Club (condo) side of the resort, so I was anxious to get the feel that our guests will receive in the hotel portion of the resort.

 

Upon arrival at the resort, our bags were quickly whisked away and I went to check us in. It took some time, due only to the fact that we had 4 rooms, 2 of which were being comped by the resort for our site visit (a nice perk). It took a while to sort everyone out, but in the end everything worked out well. To our surprise, the hotel placed me & my fiancé and my parents in the Grand Club portion of the resort, us in a Grand Suite and my parents in a standard Club room (I felt guilty about that for a few minutes!)

 

The Grand Club section of the resort is located on the lower level of the resort, on the south/west side of the property. It is a private area, and wonderfully quiet. Advantages of the Club section include complimentary continental breakfast (fresh fruit, juices, smoked salmon, bagels, cereal, etc), complimentary water and sodas all day (we definitely took advantage of this!), snacks, and a “happy hour†which is complimentary with alcoholic beverages and hors d'oeuvres which looked wonderful (sushi, shrimp cocktail, guacamole, etc).

 

The room we stayed in was a Grand Suite, which is a one-bedroom suite with a very large bathroom and Jacuzzi tub, wonderfully large closet, separate living area with L-shaped couch and a dining table, half bath and a wet bar. It actually looks just like the pictures on the website. I definitely gave FA some points for upgrading us to this suite, and comping it…it usually runs about $500/night. Also, a great touch, our room came complete with a pet – a beta fish in a large vase on the nightstand, with some food to feed him daily. Very cute.

 

My parents stayed in a standard room in the Club section, which is exactly like the standard rooms in the hotel, except located within the Club section.

 

For restaurant reviews of Edith’s and Mi Casa, see those specific reviews on the Cabo forum.

 

We met with Daniela on Saturday morning – she was on time and very prepared. We had previously requested to see every type of room we would be offering our guests (including suites), a property tour, ballroom tour, etc. She had the keys ready for the room tours and was ready to go. Since we had been upgraded to the Club level, that eliminated the need for the room tours, and my wedding planner was staying in a standard room, so we didn’t end up seeing any other rooms.

 

We started with the conference area, which I had never seen prior. Our event is large enough that I wanted to make sure we had enough space for dinner, dancing, etc. The conference area is wonderful! The rooms are all decorated in neutrals, with tall ceilings and great views. We have reserved the grand terrace which overlooks the golf course, and I was very pleased with it. We also decided to reserve a portion of the grand ballroom, for dancing. Note – the FA requires music to end at 10pm on the property, unless the band is located within a room, therefore, we will put the band in a ballroom which opens up to the large terrace. We will have dinner on the terrace, and then open the ballroom for dancing & dessert later in the evening.

 

The ceremony will take place on the “Whale’s Beach†– whatever that means. Basically, they will set up the ceremony site near the Peninsula restaurant, so that our guests don’t have to hike through the sand to get the site. Obviously, it’s a perfect location with the rocks and the surf in the background, so I wasn’t too concerned about the ceremony set up. We are either going to do all white, backless benches for seating, or white chairs or ottomans.

 

We will have cocktails immediately after the ceremony on the Whales Terrace – the large patio area located adjacent to the Peninsula restaurant. So the event will move from the beach, to the outdoor terrace for cocktails, to the upstairs terrace for dinner and then open the ballroom for dancing & dessert. I think it works out well, and allows our guests to keep moving and not get bored being in one location throughout the entire evening.

 

We were able to get a glimpse of the Imperial Suite, but only from the outside! It looks amazing, and had I have known what it was prior, I would have set our wedding date based upon its availability. Unfortunately, it’s booked for our wedding date (for another wedding!), but we will be using it on the Thursday before our wedding, since we will have guests in town that evening. We’re going to have our own Welcome Party at the Imperial Suite and just do light snacks, drinks and probably an informal tequila tasting. For those of you getting married at the Imperial Suite, you have a beautiful, secluded location and it’ll be perfect!

 

Overall, Daniela and the staff were great. Daniel speaks very good English and she’s funny, so communication wasn’t a problem at all. We are still a bit in shock with beverage costs and food costs, but we’ll negotiate as much as possible and probably just do everything based on consumption, since their Open Bar options are outrageous, and the corkage fees are as well. I should have negotiated all of that prior, but we needed to set the date and it was the higher priority.

 

For anyone who wants more information on fees, menus, extra charges, etc, I have it all! We also took like 50 pictures at the resort, so I can send those as well! Feel free to ask my questions if you have any!

[ancohen77]

I'm having my wedding at FA-imperial suite Dec 1, 2007. Thanks for the good info. I would love to see the pictures you took when you were there!

 

Also, did you do a food tasting? What are you planning on serving?

 

Thanks,

Alison

[jak27]

Alison,

 

I just realized I can't post the pictures as attachments, or in my gallery because the files are too big! PM me your email address and I'll forward them all to you!

 

We didn't do any tastings, I guess we'll be doing that on another trip down! But I think we're going to do a modified buffet (I'm not a sit-down dinner kind of girl and neither are our guests) with a few boutiques/stations. We basically are taking the Gala Dinner Buffet and eliminating the majority of the Gourmet Table, and adding the Italian Boutique and a Cheese Boutique.

 

Have you decided on your menu yet? The F&B costs are pretty high compared to where I live, so we're just trying to be reasonable.

[michelle08]

Hi Jill...

 

I would appreciate any pictures you could send me?? We are getting married at the imperial suite next May.

 

Are you using a wedding planner?

 

I am working w/ Sonia at FA. She seems pretty good so far but I am under the impression that they don't have services to help w/ the other vendors or day of coordination?

 

Michelle

[cheese_diva]

Jill,

You may want to upload your photos to an online site and attach link to your post so everyone has access without having to email to each person. This will help greatly with future brides too.

 

Great review! Sounds like your wedding is going to be awesome and it's nice to reassured by seeing everything with your own eyes.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[jak27]

Ok Michelle, try this link and see if it works. These are all of the pictures I took on our site visit. I only have two of the Imperal Suite from the exterior looking from the beach at the villa, but that's the best I could do.

 

Let me know if it doesn't work! You do'nt have to sign in to view them.

 

Also, many thanks to cheese diva for walking me through the picture sharing process!

 

Kodakgallery.com Sign in to Kodakgallery.com

[KAMEYER70]

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing!

[Wisco4]

Can someone tell me how many guests the Imperial Suite can hold for a sit down reception? It may have already been said somewhere but I must've missed it

[KAMEYER70]

I have 60 guests confirmed and the responses are still coming in the mail. I'm guessing you can get about 70 on the terrace before it gets to cramped.

[Wisco4]

KM, are you nervous you might have more than 70? So they never gave you a capacity #?

I can't wait to hear how everything went once you get back seeing as I'm lookin to get married there (possibly) in October 08. Who is your WC?