Moon Palace vs. Dreams Tulum, help!

julia625 · August 6, 2010

Hi all -

I am relatively newly engaged and starting to wrap my mind around the actual planning of the wedding! I have decided that I love the idea of getting married at a family-friendly all inclusive in Mexico, and for some reason have latched on to Riveria Maya. From hours pouring through these threads (thank you BDW!) I have narrowed it down to two resorts, Moon Palace and Dreams Tulum. I seem to be stuck here Has anyone else gone through deciding between these two, or one of these and a different resort? If so, what did you chose and why?

A little background, we are either getting married in April 2011 or December 2011, somewhere between 30-50 guests. My fiance loves to golf, and I love to swim in the ocean and lay by the pool with a drink in my hand Also fans of adventuring - snorkeling trips etc..

Thank you so much for any input/advice! All comments/suggestions welcome!!

jackie_c · August 6, 2010

Congratulations on your engagement! You must still be staring at your new ring nonstop

I'm sure you'll get a lot of feedback since there are a TON of Dreams and Moon Palace brides on BDW.

As I'm getting married at a Beach Palace, I've learned a lot about the perks for Palace Resorts. Since you have so many guests, if you get a group contract in place, you will very likely book 60 room nights between you and all your guests, which will get you and your hubby to be 4 free room nights + unlimited private functions (which are usually used for your reception dinner or welcome dinner and are normally $400/table of 10).

Also, with their new Palace promotions, all guests staying 3-4 nights get a $750 room credit (essentially fun money), and all guests staying 5+ nights get a $1500 room credit, to be used towards room upgrades, spa, golf, tours, romantic lobster dinners or wine upgrades. This could be enticing for you, as your guests can swim with the dolphins and get a massage, etc on their vacation for free.

I'm sure Dreams must have some great perks too, their resorts are so stunning!

Good luck with your planning!

alison15 · August 6, 2010

Congratulations!! Welcome to the wedding planning process. I don't know too much about Dream Tulum however, I am getting married in Moon Palace in a little less than two months. One thing to consider, Moon Palace is really Cancun, not Riveria Maya. I don't know if that makes a huge difference to you or not.

What we liked about Moon Palace is that it is only about 15 mins from the airport which is nice, b/c some of the resorts can take up to an hour and half to get to and when you get in, you just want to be there already! Moon Palace is a HUGE resort with a ton of options for restuarants, pools, golf, bars, etc. A lot of our guest are using this as their vacation, so I liked the idea that is was large so if they want to not hang out with the entire group, they can "get lost" and enjoy private time. The disadvantage of the large resort is A LOT more walking. Everything is very far apart and yes there are shuttles but you do have to wait for those which can be annoying.

One thing we considered as well was the compliementary things Moon Palace gives you if you have a large group booking. Since we will have over 75 room nights booked amoung our guests, we get to stay 7 nights free and free unlimited events. Which means we can have a welcome cocktail party earlier in the week that we may not have paid separately.

The downside of Moon Palace, the no vendor policy. There are ways around it though. However, their photographers are not that good but to get an outside photographer, you have to pay for a room night or two and that really adds on to the cost of a photographer. Additionally their flowers are outrageously priced as well as a few of their other "optional" services that you will need for a wedding.

Hope this gives you some insight. Let me know if you have any MP questions. Sorry I can't answer much about Dreams. Happy planning!!

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