Doing a site visit @ Grand Palladium Punta Cana Aug. 25-29th!!

[roxy1122]

Hi ladies!

 

So my FI and I wanted to go away before the summer ended to a warm, tropical, relaxing place...what better spot than Punta Cana where we could also take a look at the resort we are considering for our wedding next year! I found a pretty good deal on Expedia for 4 nights so we are headed there in about 10 days I'm putting together my list of questions for Carolina the coordinator and also planning to check out the Jellyfish restaurant, we are weighing our options with the reception dinner.

Are there any brides out there getting married on these dates at the Palladium? I would love to be able to observe your wedding ceremony!

[beachbridebliss]

I just got married there August 18th and it was AMAZING. 

 

Carolina is wonderful to deal with and the gazebo was breathtaking plus it stayed nice and cool inside the gazebo during the ceremony and for pictures afterward. 

 

Michael Weiler did our photography and he is simply wonderful, his pictures are breathtaking and the prices are fantastic!  weddingpuntacana.com

 

Best of luck

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kitty25967]

Hi Julie!  I am getting married there in May 2011.  I am sooo excited.  I have read some really wonderful reviews.  It is our dream to get married on the beach.  Just wondering, we are planning on doing the ceremony, cocktails, private dinner, and beach party.  Did you do all of these as well?  What would you have done/not done?  I am trying to get somewhat of an idea regarding the ceremony reading from Carolina, but still haven't heard back from her...any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

Tiffany

[beachbridebliss]

Hi Tiffany,

 

First of all congratulations!  My wedding in August was the wedding of my dreams!  Carolina was EXCELLENT to work with and a true help coordinating our wedding and our wedding day.  The staff was wonderful too.  We got married in the gazebo and I would strongly urge you to do the same.  We wanted a beach wedding as well, however, remember that this is a public beach.  Lots of people sunbathing, some topless, and you will have alot of people staring and some not willing to move from their lounge chairs. Making the wedding of your dreams not so personal.  The gazebo is really close to the beach, more private, definetely more cool and alot more romantic.  Again that's just my personal opinion. 

 

This was a second wedding for myself and my husband, so no family members went with us, it was just the two of us.  So, I really can't provide you any advice in regards to cocktail hour, dinner, etc.... I'm sure it will be wonderful.  We had a private romantic dinner for two  in the gazebo the  night of our wedding and it was spectacular! 

 

The ceremony is quick, maybe 10-15 minutes.  We wrote our own vows and it was so romantic and perfect.  They really decorate the gazebo very pretty, with the white sheer fabric and ribbon of your choice and than very pretty flowers.  One bit of advice I would give you is that the flowers they provide for your bouquet are not very pretty (white or yellow daisies or red roses are the two choices), in my opinion, plus you cannot bring them home due to agriculture reasons since it's a foreign country. So, I chose to do "real touch" silks for my bouquet so that I could cherish my bouquet forever. 

 

The staff at Renova Spa is amazing at hair and makeup, I used Alexandria and she did a superb job on my hair and makeup.  It is a little pricey but it was soooo worth it, I felt more beautiful that day than any other day in my life.  Plus brides receive a 20% discount on spa services, so that helped out a little.  I have really really naturally curly hair and was so worried about my hair getting all frizzy, but it didn't and my hair was perfect.  My husband kept going on and on about how beautiful my hair was and I would have to agree! lol 

 

We did use Michael Weiler for our photographer and like I said before he is AMAZING and for what you get for the money you will be impressed.  I have been showing everybody at work my album and photographs and they are blown away!  I've not seen the work of the photographer they have at the resort but honestly I wouldn't go with anybody but Michael.  My husband HATES getting his picture taken, Michael makes it so much fun and my husband even commented that getting our pictures done was one of the best parts of our trip! So, that said alot to me. 

 

Please let me know if you have anymore questions I can help you with, I will be happy to do so! 

 

(I am attaching a few more pics, so you can see the gazebo and the walk way and a picture of our cake)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

)

 

Julie

[jerzshortstuff]

beachbridebliss... Thanks so much for your input and photos! They make me interested in the gazebo even though I was planning for the beach. One question though... can you see the beach/ocean from the gazebo?

[beachbridebliss]

You sure can.  Look at Picture Wedding 201(1) above and you can see the proximity.  It is relatively close.  We did take some photos on the beach after the ceremony as well.   Let me know if you have any more questions. 

[jerzshortstuff]

 

 

Originally Posted by beachbridebliss 

 

You sure can.  Look at Picture Wedding 201(1) above and you can see the proximity.  It is relatively close.  We did take some photos on the beach after the ceremony as well.   Let me know if you have any more questions. 

 

Do you know what colors you are able to choose from for the cake ribbon and the gazebo decor?

[beachbridebliss]

There were several, probably about 10 colors. Off the top of my head I cannot remember them all, some were sheer in nature and some were solid (like ours).  I know they did have a teal blue, fuschia (hot pink, thats what we had), light pink, green. I can't remember the others (sorry) If you email Carolina, she'll be able to let you know and she may also have a pic of the ribbon choices she can email you.  She is very helpful. Sorry I wasn't much help.  If you have any other questions, please let me know.

[roxy1122]

 

Hi ladies! So it's been a week or so since coming back from Punta Cana and I miss it!! I want to go back to the beach!!

 

So I will try to cover everything I can recall, here goes:

 

Resort:

As our taxi pulled into the resort, palm trees everywhere! The grounds are very well maintained, and we pulled into the lobby for the Punta Cana section around 5pm or so, tired and thirsty and hungry. The ride from the Punta Cana airport is not very long, about 15 min or so.  The young girl at the reception desk was pleasant, check-in was quick and the bellhop took our bags to our room and was willing to answer any questions we had about where stuff was located.

 

Rooms:

Deluxe Room: Punta Cana section:

I have to say, my experience with the Deluxe room in Punta Cana started out fine, but as I noticed some details, I was not too happy with it. The humidity smell was so strong, yet I know this is common especially in a humid climate so I was willing to air out the room and turned on the A/C to get rid of the smell. Then I noticed the bedspread had a few stains on it, and one small stain on one of the pillowcases. They only give you two small pillows, and were pretty tough to sleep on if you are used to a fluffier pillow! They offer a pillow “menu†where you can upgrade your pillows for about $3 a day!

 

The television had pretty bad reception, not a big deal for me since I was  not planning on spending my vacation watching t.v. anyway!

 

Overall everything else about the room was fine except for these details, which I think are small details that do add up, at least for me.

 

The next day, got a tour of the rest of the resort and its rooms, and I mentioned my FI and I were not too crazy about our room, so we were upgraded to a Romance suite at the Bavaro section!

 

The Bavaro section overall I think is nicer than the Punta Cana section. Nicer lobby with a fountain, rooms are in better shape. The Romance suite was a definite step up from the Punta Cana room! We also had a Mayan shower meaning the bathroom opened up to an outdoor shower and hammock covered by a thatch roof. That was pretty sweet!  

 

We saw the rest of the Bavaro rooms and were also guided through the Royal suites section. The Bavaro rooms offer a variety of rooms depending on what you are looking for. Loft style rooms, junior suites, etc. The Royal section was so quiet and seems not many people were staying there at this time of the year, since this is considered their low season. The Royal rooms are very modern with flat screen tv’s and a shower with too many buttons to name. It would take a few days for me to figure out how to work that shower, LOL. My FI and I are planning on staying at the Royal for sure for our wedding J

 

Wedding Coordinator:

We met with Carolina on our second day there, and she was friendly and warm, and answered all our questions. She did not seem too busy, and showed us a few pictures of flowers, decorations, etc. The meeting was brief, about 25-30 min. long and when we mentioned we wanted a tour of the resort and its rooms, she set that up with Guest Services for later in the day. However, when we were ready to go on our tour with Guest Services, she came over to tell us the rooms were not ready and asked if we could come back the next day instead. We did so the next day and that is when we got our tour of Bavaro and Royal.

 

 

Restaurants/Food:

My favorite restaurants were: Sumptuori (Japanese), and the Brazilian Rodizio. One night we went to the Spanish restaurant El Quijote but it was closed for that day, some restaurants are closed once a week on specific days, so we missed that one. That one seemed to be the most popular, with a nice indoor bar next to it.

 

Arrecife and La Uva: Both are near the beach and the food was good, not the greatest I have had but not bad either. I had a yummy ravioli dish from La Uva one night. I an picture how the reception dinner at either one of these restaurants would be romantic, we sat outside by the little deck in La Uva and there was a nice ocean breeze. None of these have air conditioning but I don’t recall feeling sweaty and uncomfortable.

 

For breakfast we tried the buffets in Las Torres, and la Catedral. The variety is the usual eggs, cereal, waffles,  and there was an omelet station so that was a plus. The variety is good, presentation not the best but the food overall was tasty and well done. They keep the coffee flowing and offer nice warm milk with the coffee J

 

There was very little Dominican food! Dominican food is yummy and I was a bit disappointed that some signature dishes were not on the menus or in the buffets.

 

There is a 24-hour sports bar with a good selection of nachos, hot dogs, pizza, beer, etc. It also has a foosball table and a pool table as well with a jumbo screen tv. This is great for late night munchies!

 

Staff:

Overall the staff was friendly but some did not know the menu to be able to recommend a dish. For example, when we had dinner at La Uva, my FI asked the server if there was a dish he recommended from the menu and the server said he did not know, we found this a bit odd.

 

Pools:

The pools are large and plentiful! Each section has its pool, and there are plenty of people hanging at the swim up bars having a great time. They closed at 7pm each day for cleaning and maintenance.

 

Beach:

OHhhh the beach is amazing!!! Powdery white sand and turquoise clear water, and the water is warm, not cold at all J There are many thatched huts you can sit under in case you don’t want too much sun. Definitely one of the trip highlights!

 

Entertainment:

The Bavaro section has a club, the DJ played a good mix of English dance music, merengue, salsa, bachata and the DJ also took requests. We had a great time dancing and drinking. It opens at 11pm til 2 am each night.

 

Every night at 10pm there were shows in the theater. They ranged from ok to pretty cheesy. I was expecting a merengue or perico ripiao show but all the shows we saw were American themed. There was disco night one night and a horror show another night, all the dancers had different Halloween costumes, I did not get that at all, LOL.

 

More to come on the gazebo and a wedding we witnessed! I am not sure if I can post pics, do I need a certain amount of points to do that?

[beachbridebliss]

Here are a few pics of our room in the Royal Suites section.  We had butler service as well as the swim up suite.