Wedding Review of Sandos Playacar Beach Resort

[Bride-chill-a]

Wedding Review of Sandos Playacar – February 27, 2010

 

The Resort – WE LOVED IT and our guests did too! We have very seasoned Mexico all-inclusivers joining us and they were very happy with their rooms, the food and the service. The service and the staff are excellent, the grounds are nice and it’s a very big resort which is great because there was something there for everyone. The plaza was always happening and busy at night, so you could never get bored. The disco is a little cheesy looking, but it was busy every night and a lot of fun (mostly the same music every night though). As for the rooms: it’s a tough call as to what you want. We booked for the Beach Resort (the older side) and when we asked for an upgrade the woman was hesitant so I threw $20 her way and she made it happen, although we didn’t end up taking the upgrade because it was on the Riviera side - which was on the exact opposite side of the beach and where all of our guests were staying. The rooms are much nicer, modern, bigger (they have a Jacuzzi and a flat screen TV) and quieter than the Beach Resort side plus I really liked the pool on the Riviera side. It was the only one on the resort with a swim up bar, there are WAY less kids there and it was generally quieter and nicer. The Beach rooms were nice, they were just more traditional/Mexican looking but they are loud (you can hear a lot going on outside) as they are located right by the main pool where all the action (noise) is. The one great thing about being on the Beach side was that it was really close to all the restaurants and the beach. There is room service 24 hours which is decent (especially coming home from a night of drinking, it hits the spot) but it always takes at least an hour to get anything – even though they say it’s less.

 

The Wedding Co-Coordinators – We met with both Paola and Maria, but mostly dealt with Maria as she was the one taking care of our wedding day. I LOVED MARIA!!! She is so accommodating and has a great personality (my MIL and Mom really like her as well) she will work her butt off for you!

The Ceremony – it was so gorgeous! We lucked out with the weather because they were calling for rain that day, all week, and it turned out to be the sunniest, clearest day of the entire trip! The water was bluer than ever, not a cloud in the sky and we had a gorgeous sunset for our pictures. The ceremony was at 4 (which was 1 hr and 45 mins before sunset) and it was still hot and sunny, but it was perfect timing for pictures afterwards. By the time the ceremony was over and we had some group shots, the sun was starting to set so we had beautiful lighting for our pictures of the two of us. The only thing I wish I would have done is had a rehearsal. I don’t even know if this service is offered because well…they never offered it! But my wedding party and my dad didn’t really know what to do (not that I did either) and I was fine with just going with the flow, because it wasn’t complicated, but I think we would have all felt more at ease had we known exactly what we were going to do. So it felt a little un-organized in that sense. The music was a little quiet and I think the song skipped when I was walking down the aisle because he restarted it. It wasn’t a big deal though really. When you’re in the moment, none of it really matters. The set up was gorgeous; it looked exactly like the pictures. The minister was really lovely, our families really liked her and she even dressed in our wedding colors (I saw another wedding while I was there and she did the same for them too). She spoke excellent English. Maria and Paola offered us a sand ceremony before the signing of the papers, which was really nice and they give you a container to take the sand home in.

 

Reception – We had ours at the Italian Buffett which I would highly recommend! The food was the best (my favorite out of all of them, including the Ala Carte ones) and the nicest looking inside. It’s very modern looking. We did our speeches in there which was a bit difficult because they didn’t turn the music down and you’re not allowed a microphone, so I would recommend doing your speeches in the wedding hut where you can have a mic. The cake was DELICIOUS! We had strawberries and cream with hard white chocolate on the outside. Maria had an assistant Sylvia who was in training, and forgot to put our flowers on the cake (she took them to my room instead) which we paid $30 to have, but Maria gave us our money back the next day. She felt so horrible for the error too (which really wasn’t that big of a deal either).

 

Flowers – my bouquet was GORGEOUS! I was really happy with how it turned out however my bridesmaid bouquets looked nothing like what I wanted which I think was a communication error between Maria and I. They still looked nice so I wasn’t worried about it; it just wasn’t what I was expecting.

 

Photographer – We used Citalli Rico of Claudio Rodriguez photography and she was EXCELLENT! She was really, really lovely to work with and very professional. She made herself invisible when necessary and gave direction when appropriate. She was happy to accommodate any shots we wanted as well as suggested some. She was very attentive, personable and concerned about how I was doing. We had a videographer with us during our shoot with her, so we got an idea of how the shots looked by seeing it on video and I’m certain they pictures will turn out amazing! Maria and Paola said they have worked with her before and said she is way better than the resort photographers.

 

Videographer – We used the one that the resort photo shop contracts out and it was HORRIBLE!!! It would NOT recommend anyone use them. First of all the guy was LATE!!! He showed up just as the ceremony was starting so he only got starting from my MOH and on. He missed the rest of my bridesmaids! Thankfully he got there in time to catch me going down the aisle. So he ended up staying an extra hour (which is why he was there for our photo shoot) to compensate. We spoke with the manager who gave us 3 extra copies of our video and an extra 5 mins of edited footage. But the quality of the footage during the ceremony was not very good and the sound was awful! He shot different scenes of the ceremony in different tones (i.e. black and white, sepia, color) so it was really weird and inconsistent when you watch it. A lot of it was out of focus, it was really quiet until they dubbed our songs in which come on really loud. I will say they got all of our songs downloaded and used them on the video which was nice and the part of our photo shoot was great. I’m guessing because he got there late he didn’t have time to set up his camera properly. You’d be better off to go with Claudia’s husband as its only $50 more for 10-20 mins more footage (plus you have to get him a day pass). I’m kicking myself for not doing that.

 

Spa – I used the spa at the resort to get my hair done and I was so happy (and relieved) that it turned out perfect! It was pricey though $100, but she did a great job! I was really nervous because the girl didn’t speak much English, but I brought pictures and she totally knew what to do. I will say though, that the place is not very sanitary. She pulled out a dirty brush with hair all over it and used it on me, and my husband got a mani/pedi and he said their cutters were dirty.

 

I did my own makeup as I’m a makeup artist for MAC and sent my wedding party and mom’s to MAC on 5th and theirs turned out well. The one thing they did to all of them though was put on WAY too much eyeliner, so you just need to specify if you don’t like that. You can contact Oscar who is the manager @ Oscar Ibarra [[email protected]] to book an appointment. It was $55 redeemable in product.

 

Our room was decorated really, really nicely at the end of the night. It was a really nice touch!

 

All in all, I would totally recommend Sando’s for a wedding! It will be a dream come true!

 

Here is a link to our website where I posted a couple of albums under the ‘photo albums’ page, at the bottom Welcome - The Knot: Wedding Web Page Builder

Good luck and happy planning! Email me with any questions @ [email protected]

[midnight24]

congrats!

 

thanks for posting the info about MAC...i was thinking about contacting them.

[Woodsylou]

Hey

 

fabulous reveiw sounds great!

 

about this MAC thing, is there a store in Cancun/Playacar? where you can go for a make up session/trial? could you tell me more about this?! thank you!

 

p.s. your photos are gorgeous!!!

[Bride-chill-a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodsylou Hey fabulous reveiw sounds great! about this MAC thing, is there a store in Cancun/Playacar? where you can go for a make up session/trial? could you tell me more about this?! thank you! p.s. your photos are gorgeous!!!

Yes, there is a MAC Counter in a store on 5th and 12th called 'Ultrafemme' - it's a deparment store. Here is the address:

PLAYA 5ta AVENIDA
5a Avenida Norte, Mza 27, Lote 15, Calle 14 bis Local 13 Col.Centro
Playa del Carmen

They didn't get a trial done, but I'm certain you could arrange one for when you get there, if you'd like.

Thanks for the compliments on my photos!

[mykidsmomtx]

Congrats!! Great review!

[Woodsylou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bride-chill-a Yes, there is a MAC Counter in a store on 5th and 12th called 'Ultrafemme' - it's a deparment store. Here is the address: PLAYA 5ta AVENIDA 5a Avenida Norte, Mza 27, Lote 15, Calle 14 bis Local 13 Col.Centro Playa del Carmen They didn't get a trial done, but I'm certain you could arrange one for when you get there, if you'd like. Thanks for the compliments on my photos!

brilliant thank you! do you think they would do my wedding day make up? i'm going to contact them! thank you!

[Bride-chill-a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodsylou brilliant thank you! do you think they would do my wedding day make up? i'm going to contact them! thank you!

I'm certain they will!

Have a great time! So exciting!

[pieholepeu03]

Wow! Thanks for sharing all the info and photos! I am looking at having my wedding at Sandos!

 

Is there  options on where to have the wedding? Or does it have to  be on the beach? Also I was wondering how much you had to pay for the wedding/ or what wedding package did you buy?

 

I was looking at their packages and it seems very cheap. I am little confused if the dinner for the group is included thou.

 

I would love any more info from you!!

 

Im Glad you had a great time, I am hoping to do the same at Sandos!