Site Visits

[Alisarosenbaum]

Hi Everyone! We will be going to Cabo for the first time (and only time before our wedding) December 1-5 to conduct site visits to pick a hotel. We are looking at 3 hotels. Should we try to stay at all 3? What is the deal with comp/discounted rooms when looking at hotels?

[TammyB]

I'm doing a site visit next month to Cabo (also only time b-4 the wedding) we are actually staying at a resort that isn't one that we picked for our wedding, were staying there because we got the best rate. With that said, when you call to set up your appointments, if you tell them this is a site visit, some of them will offer a discounted rates. I was quoted 175.00 a night for Melia San Lucas, which is a decent rate but because my FMIL is a corporate TA, she was able to get a killer deal on the Sheraton, so were staying there but were doing a tour at the two resorts we will be staying at and a couple others that we are trying to narrow down for our dinner.

[NATASHA]

I wouldn't try to stay at all three. That's too much moving around. At most, try two. When you do your site visits, they will show you the rooms. Eat at all the venues you are looking at and go back and have drinks as well so you can see what the vibe is like.

 

You might want to allow a day to look at more than your original three. The place we ended up at was a "yeah - let's stop by" for us (I had an appointment, but it wasn't on our top list). We happend to see a wedding set up and from the moment we walked on the property we were both loving it.

 

Alisa - one of the best things that you can do is go from place to place on Friday late afternoon and Saturday late afternoon. We killed ourselves to get to as many places as possible to "have a drink" so that we could see how the weddings looked set up. We had our appointments with the coordinators for during the week when we could spend more time with them.

 

One of the places that we were looking at that looked really great on paper and as you walked the property TOTALLY flopped when there was an actual wedding set up (people had to walk right up next to it to get from one side of the hotel to the other - everyone was looking in on the wedding, and the space didn't flow well between cocktail hour to dinner). It would have never dawned on us.

[Sarah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alisarosenbaum Hi Everyone! We will be going to Cabo for the first time (and only time before our wedding) December 1-5 to conduct site visits to pick a hotel. We are looking at 3 hotels. Should we try to stay at all 3? What is the deal with comp/discounted rooms when looking at hotels?

Natasha has given awesome advice. Definitely look around at as many places as you can and try to get the feel of the atmosphere you want- you can do tons with decor, but you can't change the vibe of a place. Also try to meet with wedding coordinators and photographers or other vendors you may be considering, if possible.

As far as a comp/discounted hotel, some places do allow for a free site visit, the problem is that it is typically offered after you book the resort- well, you don't know which resort you want which is why you are there! Check with Tammy (the host) because she is a travel agent and may be able to find some good deals for you. You don't necessarily have to stay at the place you are planning your wedding although it probably would be nice to stay at one of your options if that's affordable for you. For our 7 day site visit/vacation we stayed at two different properties which was fine, but it really was a pain in the butt to move halfway through our trip!

Good luck...

[gkashmira]

We stayed at one place but then went to see abot a million. i dont' think you need to move around. Since you have more time definitely contact the hotels you're interested in and see what they can offer you. No one offered us a free trip before we signed the contract

 

I think what Natasha said is completely true. It's funny because the places we expected to love we didn't like at all. The places we thought would be low on our list ended up being our favorite! So I think it's really important to keep an open mind - you will love what you find!

 

What three places are you thinking about? A lot of ladies have written great reviews after returning from thei sight visits and it might be helpfulto review those as well incase there's places you want to add!

[TammyB]

Hey Kashmire, did you visit Fiesta Americana Grand? How was it if you did?

[SASSYGIRL]

When we went for our site visit it was only for 3 nights and we stayed at the hilton the entire time. I went through the wedding coordinator and she gave us a discounted rate (nothing amazingly cheep but better than full price.) It easy to get arround and look at the other places you are interested in. Always ask to see what a guest room looks like - no need to sleep in the bed to know if your guest would be comfortable there! After we signed our contract with the Hilton they offered us a free 2 night stay before our wedding. Which is great since all we did on our first trip was LOOK at places, it will be nice to return before the wedding to work on the details! GOOD LUCK!

[NATASHA]

We stayed at Fiesta Americana. It was nice. The rooms were good. It's a big property, but they'll take you to your room in a golf cart. Their breakfast is great but expensive.

 

It's not a great venue for a wedding, but it's good for staying. Gotta say, though, I liked staying at the Sheraton and the Hilton a lot more.

[NATASHA]

TammyM - have you thought about Esperanza? They have a restaurant that's over the water - it splashes up even. The food is great.

 

If you want to have dancing, though, they make you go to a room that's off the dining area. It has its own patio, but they won't allow music outside.

 

Here's a pick of the sheraton - you can see the lights in the trees - they light up the waves at night. It's really beautiful and it's so nice to hear the waves crashing down. The surround the ledge with candles at night. And, they already have a trio playing so you'll save money on music. This is just if you want dinner, though. If you want dancing, there's a patio above the restaurant where they would host that but then you get into needing a block of rooms to waive the set up fee, etc.

 

[TammyB]

Natasha, how is the food there? I'm looking just for a nice, good dinner and if their is music playing it's just and added bonus. It sounds like what your telling me would be perfect for us. Were staying at the Sharaton for our site visit so I'm sure I can get some great pics while I'm there. I found an old menu from 2004 and it looked nice, a little over priced but we kind of expected to pay higher prices for our wedding dinner anyway.