La Amada, Excellence Playa Mujeres, or Ceiba del Mar?

[christamh]

Hello,

 

I am still in the early stages and I think I have narrowed it down to these 3 resorts. I know there is quite a bit of information available on the last two, but much of it seems to be a bit out of date. I would appreciate any thoughts on these 3 resorts, and am open to any suggestions to anywhere I may be overlooking.

 

I like the fact that the Excellence and the La Amada are next to each other to give my guests the option of AI or not, and I also like the Ceiba because it gives you that option on site.

[anandres]

I don't know much about the other two but I just booked at the Excellence Playa Mujeres. We loved the location of EPM and it is pretty new (maybe 2-3 years old) Good luck deciding - it was very hard for me and I'm glad that decision is behind me!

[tracysf]

I dont know much about the first two, but have done a lot of research on ceiba del mar, and so far everything is positive. I am worried that the room rates might be a bit too much for our guests (we are expecting about 80 people)- so I am still looking into other hotels...

 

The reviews on Trip Advisor for Ceiba Del Mar are very positive and the pics look amazing.

[christamh]

Yeah, that's what's making this so difficult. They all have great reviews on Trip Advisor. This is what I am concluding from my research.. please chime in if you know more

 

EPM:

-newer and nicer, awesome suites.

-more choices on the premises as far as food and entertainment

-pools everywhere and great beach beds

-their wedding coordinator has actually written me back haha.

 

 

Ceiba:

-choice of AI or not on premises which allows more of my guests to stay in the same place depending on their budget.

-nicer beach with snorkeling and a beautiful pier.

-better food

-the wedding reception pictures I have seen from here seem to look nicer.

-located closer to civilization but still far enough away.

 

Other brides...is choosing the venue the worst part? I can't wait to pin one down

[lalanyc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by christamh Yeah, that's what's making this so difficult. They all have great reviews on Trip Advisor. This is what I am concluding from my research.. please chime in if you know more EPM: -newer and nicer, awesome suites. -more choices on the premises as far as food and entertainment -pools everywhere and great beach beds -their wedding coordinator has actually written me back haha. Ceiba: -choice of AI or not on premises which allows more of my guests to stay in the same place depending on their budget. -nicer beach with snorkeling and a beautiful pier. -better food -the wedding reception pictures I have seen from here seem to look nicer. -located closer to civilization but still far enough away. Other brides...is choosing the venue the worst part? I can't wait to pin one down

Choosing a resort is definitely among the hardest choices! haha

A major difference between these resorts is the size. Ceiba has less than 100 rooms while EPM looks to have more than 400? That will have a major impact on the "feel" of your wedding since bigger resorts could potentially have more weddings per day, however, the resources might be broader and their packages more standardized (i.e., no hassle). Ceiba gives you more leeway in terms of selecting vendors, etc. If that's important to you, you should make sure EPM does the same. Also, not sure if you have any kids coming (I'm assuming not) but EPM is an adults only resort while Ceiba allows children.

In selecting a resort, price for my guests was a huge consideration to me so I would be sure your most important guests are comfortable w/ the prices you're considering. That factor alone could potentially make Ceiba are more feasible choice.

Good luck!

[woktor]

These are the 3 resorts I liked best so far as well (that seem in our guests' price range). However, Ceiba doesn't have the dates we want (early Dec 2010) and EPM is adult only (2 or 3 of our guests may bring their kids and make a vaca out of it). We're going to do a site visit at La Amada April 3rd. Hoping to find a few more venues to see that weekend too.

 

But yes, I agree...choosing the venue is so much harder than I thought! After our site visits, I'll post what we found. Good luck!

[uhleesa]

 

 

Originally Posted by woktor 

 

These are the 3 resorts I liked best so far as well (that seem in our guests' price range). However, Ceiba doesn't have the dates we want (early Dec 2010) and EPM is adult only (2 or 3 of our guests may bring their kids and make a vaca out of it). We're going to do a site visit at La Amada April 3rd. Hoping to find a few more venues to see that weekend too.

 

But yes, I agree...choosing the venue is so much harder than I thought! After our site visits, I'll post what we found. Good luck!

 

How was your site visit to La Amada woktor?

 

I am in the process of deciding on a location as well. We were originally going to have it at EPM, but because it's on the expensive side, I'm starting to think that La Amada may be a better option. Still waiting to hear from La Amada's WC!

[tweets.13]

I am probably too late for most of you, but my fiance and I did site visits to La Amada, Ceiba (which we booked for our April 2011 wedding), and Le Reve (and Blue Tulum, but they closed and a new resort is opening as a clothing optional resort!).

 

I am not sure how to post a thread link, but I believe if you look under my profile it will direct you to my site review for these places.  Please let me know if you have more questions!

 

Theresa

[woktor]

Uhleesa, I'm getting married at La Amada on December 4th. We've stayed at a lot of 5 star hotels and this hotel is just as nice as the best of them. Beautiful beach area and the room rates are less than half of everywhere else we looked during that time. When we did the site visit in April, we loved everything about it. The place is impeccably clean, amazingly friendly staff and service, great food including the free breakfast daily, rooms (even the lowest class room category) are suites, swim up bar at one of the pools (which was important to us), etc. As Theresa said, it has a very Miami in Mexico feel to it.

 

The only negative we could think of is that the drinks are pricey (we live in NYC and they're New York prices) and the majority of our guests are big partiers. But since we are having a welcome dinner with an open bar as well as the wedding, we figure our guests will only have to pay for drinks for themselves at the pool during the day. 

 

I have heard that all Mexico WCs are slower than we are used to in the states so keeping that in mind, Ileana, our WC, has been great! Let me know if you have any more questions. I'm happy to help.

[tweets.13]

 

Originally Posted by woktor 

Uhleesa, I'm getting married at La Amada on December 4th. We've stayed at a lot of 5 star hotels and this hotel is just as nice as the best of them. Beautiful beach area and the room rates are less than half of everywhere else we looked during that time. When we did the site visit in April, we loved everything about it. The place is impeccably clean, amazingly friendly staff and service, great food including the free breakfast daily, rooms (even the lowest class room category) are suites, swim up bar at one of the pools (which was important to us), etc. As Theresa said, it has a very Miami in Mexico feel to it.

 

The only negative we could think of is that the drinks are pricey (we live in NYC and they're New York prices) and the majority of our guests are big partiers. But since we are having a welcome dinner with an open bar as well as the wedding, we figure our guests will only have to pay for drinks for themselves at the pool during the day. 

 

I have heard that all Mexico WCs are slower than we are used to in the states so keeping that in mind, Ileana, our WC, has been great! Let me know if you have any more questions. I'm happy to help.

I agree with the comment about Ileana.  Althought we did not book at La Amada, she was always readily available, responded to emails quickly, and was so professional and friendly when we met with her on our site visit.  You will not be disappointed with her (or the rest of the La Amada staff).