My Dreams Site Review

[olisa6]

I got back yesterday from my Dreams site visit and figured I'd post my thoughts..

 

The trip started out rough. We took American Airlines and they only had one person working the check-in counter. It took us 1 1/2hrs to get through check-in and another 20 minutes to get through security. We got to the gate with 10 minutes left and then calling the "final boarding call". Then we were in the air and on our way. We finally got to Cabo and got a green light at inspection, yay. Then we fought our way through all the people hounding us for timeshares and to take us to our hotel(this was very annoying). When we got outside and found Epic Transfers, they did not have our name on the list. I had the voucher so it all worked out, but we sat there for about 45minutes until they straightened it out. We were finally on our way to Dreams. Cabo was not what I expected. I expected tropics for some reason but it is desert the entire drive to the resort. Not sure why I expected tropics when it is in the Baja Sur but it was still a nice drive.

 

We made it to Dreams in 20 minutes from the airport. We were greeted with a cool towel for our forehead(this was very nice). I got to the counter and Dreams did not have us coming in until Monday the 30th. We arrived on Saturday the 28th. I was not happy but I did have all my e-mails stating the confirmation of 4 nights from July 28 - August 1. It was not a big deal because the hotel was not sold out. But if it was sold out, this would have been a huge issue. After about 45 minutes of waiting, we were on our way to the hotel room. They gave us the Honeymoon Suite for the two free nights and then they wanted us to move to the Jr. Suite room. I said I am not moving rooms so they gave the Honeymoon Suite for the four days for the discounted rate. Not sure if they do this for everyone but it was a nice treat to see the room.

 

The room was big and very nice. It had all the "new" furniture but the old decor. They did say that all the rooms should be done by the end of this month. We'll see.

 

The hotel was gorgeous. The pool was huge and the service was awesome all week. All you need to do it throw the service a few bucks in the morning by the pool and they take care of you all day. The same for the lobby bar waiters. They had activities all day long and the lobby bar was open til 1am every night. We met a couple from NY and had such a great time with them in the bar each night.

 

I thought the food was very good. Most people have complained about the food but I saw no issues with any of it. We ate at Oceana, Portofino and Seaside Grill. We did not have the buffet for dinner so I can not comment on that. We did eat at the buffet for breakfast and that was OK. I guess I only like eggs and on the buffet line they were really "wet". I don't like wet eggs so I was not thrilled with breakfast but overall the food was great.

 

I met with Juan Carlos, my photographer. He is just awesome and so down to earth. It was such a pleasure to meet with him and see some of his photos in person. I am very happy with my choice.

 

I met with Jose Louis, my trio. He was very nice as well. Thanks Sarah for recomending him on your wedding review. They will play for 2hrs at the ceremony and cocktail hour.

 

I met with Yesica, the Dreams WC. She was just a doll in person. She was so helpful and down to earth as well. She answered all my questions and we had a taste test for the options we wanted. We chose the Beef tenderloin in a red wine sauce and mahi mahi in a white butter sauce. I brought stuff down with me on this trip and she is holding it for me til the wedding. I will bring the rest down with me next month. Even though Yesica does not respond to e-mail very quickly, she really was very helpful.

 

I did get to see two weddings. Both ceremonies were set up at the Gazebo and both receptions were at Oceana. I was a little bummed because my ceremony is on the beach and reception is scheduled for Cascade. I really wanted to see the set-up but oh well. One of those wedding was Lee's and she looked beautiful. Her reception was right under my room and I came out and watched them every once in a while. They looked like they had alot of fun.

 

I am still undecided for the reception location. Oceana was more private but it looked really dark over there. Cascade seems like it is in the middle of everything and people will be walking by constantly during the reception. We are thinking of having the reception on the beach now because it seems a little more private yet still in the open. Plus the baracuda bar is right there. We saw the setup of a mexican theme buffet there saturday night. I believe it was Lees rehearsal dinner and it looked really nice. We have time to figure it out..

 

Then it was time to go. We had an 8:05 flight out and Epic was supposed to pick us up at 5:40. They said we did not have to call the day before so we didn't. Well big mistake.. They never showed. We called Epic but the office did not open til 9am. We had to take a taxi to the airport. Dreams was very helpful to call a taxi and have them charge back the fare to Epic. Two other taxis did not want to do that but the third one said he would.

 

The only disappointing thing about Dreams is that it costs $25 each way to get into town via taxi. They have a shuttle but it only runs 9, 10 & 11am then agian 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9pm to town and then on the half hour back to Dreams and it was $6per person each way. We probably could have attempted the bus but they said it only comes every 30 minutes and it was HOT there. I was not about to wait 30min in that heat.

 

All in all it was a very good trip and I am happy with my decision about havig the wedding at Dreams. Hopefully this helps some of you if you are deciding on Dreams. 7 weeks and 6 days til we leave for Dreams again!!!

[TammyB]

Wow, great review. Isn't Juan the greatest? It sounds like you got alot done for your site visit and wow your wedding is just around the corner.

[michelle08]

great review!!!! I"m glad you went down there and liked everything minus a few mishaps.

[JPMO]

Isn't Dreams just great! Truth be told transportation is a pain anywhere in the tourist corridor. Taxi cost won't seem so bad when you travel in large groups...generally $5-7 per person once divided. There is a small amount of room for negotiation.

 

AI is the way to go! By the way, I hosted my reception at the Cascade Terrace and you literally forget the world around you. By 6pm most guests have packed up by the beach to get ready for dinner anyway. I loved the space and waterfall backdrop. Wouldn't have it any other way!

[Jackie]

Great review! A beach reception could be a great idea for you and something a little different to. I think we are going to have ours at the Oceana Terrace (almost positive) but we are going to use a lot of added lighting so maybe that would help the darkness.

[MsShelley]

great review, thanks for sharing! Glad you had a great trip (mostly)

[REBECCA]

Ahhh...Dreams... I want to go back! I had my reception at Oceana Terrace and we thought it was perfect. There was plenty of light and we added the chinese lanterns for additional light. It was nice because the shallow end of the pool was right there (it was a long shallow step that we all ended up dancing on (bcz it was soo damn hot) and not another soul walked by the entire time.

 

Some other girls had their reception at Cascades and loved it too, so really you can't go wrong at either spot.

 

Here is a pic of my set up as Oceana

 

 

 

 

[TammyWright]

hi lisa,

 

i am pretty upset that the hotel did not have you booked on the 28th but it was with mariana and she is still working remotely from mexico ciry (at least last time we spoke) so i guess it fell through the cracks..

 

the epic issue is not right and not only do you deserve a refund but i think you should get a free transfer for you and fiance next time you are there...i'll start working on that.

[Sarah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by host hi lisa, i am pretty upset that the hotel did not have you booked on the 28th but it was with mariana and she is still working remotely from mexico ciry (at least last time we spoke) so i guess it fell through the cracks.. the epic issue is not right and not only do you deserve a refund but i think you should get a free transfer for you and fiance next time you are there...i'll start working on that.

FWIW Tammy...I totally forgot to mention this (probably because my parents didn't tell me until later) but EPIC didn't pick my parents up at Club Cascades de Baja to take them to the airport! About an hour and a half before their plane was supposed to leave, my parents asked at the desk and apparently the front desk had turned them away...they left no message, made no effort to contact my parents at the hotel. The hotel ended up calling another transfer for them, but then ended up having to pay cash. Strange, huh?

[olisa6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by host hi lisa, i am pretty upset that the hotel did not have you booked on the 28th but it was with mariana and she is still working remotely from mexico ciry (at least last time we spoke) so i guess it fell through the cracks.. the epic issue is not right and not only do you deserve a refund but i think you should get a free transfer for you and fiance next time you are there...i'll start working on that.

Thanks Tammy!! I appreciate your efforts. I did send an e-mail to Teresa explaing all of this but she was on vacation this week. I think she is due back on monday. I asked her if before the wedding she can verify with Epic that all of my guests have reservations. Even though it all worked out it was not a very good first impression of Cabo and not what I want my guests going through. Thank god I can be patient at times. But Dreams did a wonderful job in getting us a taxi to the airport and we did not pay anything. Hopefully the driver was able to charge it back to Epic.