Grand Riviera Princess Resort Review

[Ms Burns]

Hello Ladies,

 

Although this is a little overdue, i did receive lots of help from this site when making my choices so i feel obligated to share my experience with you all.  I will keep it short and simple but if you have further questions about the resort/wedding there feel free to pm me and i will respond back to you.

 

Resort-

The resort itself is huge...i mean massive.  In hindsight i wish i would have went a bit smaller as our 40 guests were a bit scattered throughout the week, and even though we chose the lobby bar as a meeting point it was hard to get all guests there.  I did chose this resort because our elderly grandparents came on the trip and i thought it would be good to choose a place that had everything under one roof so they didnt have to leave the resort.  The only down side to this is there is a tonne of walking, and in the heat this was a bit difficult for my grandparents so they spent a lot of time in their room.  If this is something that sounds familiar to you...choose a smaller resort to minimize walking and to keep the group together.  IF this is not a concern for you then go for it!

 

Restaurants- due to its massive size all of the restaurants were understaffed when we were there (July 1, 2010), and although a la cartes were "booked up" if you went to one anyway you would see that half the restaurant was empty.  We had a bit of frustration with the buffets as well...the Riviera side would have someone stand at the door and say- please go to the Sunset side as we are full, yet when you peer into the window half the tables would be empty.  I found this to be the biggest annoyance for me, i am used to going to resorts and having no problems going into the buffet or minimal difficulties with booking a la cartes.

 

Other than these two things, we had nothing else to complain about.  Physically the resort is stunning, rooms are great, food is good (lots of Americanized food, if that is what you look for), Fondue a la carte is fantastic,  lots to see and do on the resort.  Market on the beach, lots of beach chairs, pool parties, quiet areas, entertainment, weekly resort evening market..etc.  The beach itself is amazing, large, clear, warm, blue water.

 

Wedding Coordinator-

Our wedding coordinator was Sandra, she was great to work with.  We did have a few small glitches but overall our day was perfect.  Everything went smoothly.  One piece of advice, before your wedding take your bridal party down to the gazebo (if using it) and show them where to stand as most of my girls were hidden behind gazebo posts in the photos.  Also, we had our ceremony at 4pm, we asked our guests to arrive at 3:30...bad idea...super hot....3:45 is plenty of time for them to arrive and take their seats. 

 

Private Beach Party-

We opted for the private beach party and the only thing I would have changed was to ask if we could pay to keep it going until 11pm.  The decor was great, food was fantastic, music was played as we wished, did speaches at the head table,...everything was incredible.  Worth every penny!!

 

After the beach party we headed to the disco.  All and all a great week, all of our guests loved it and many said they would go back there.

 

Thanks to all the ladies who answered my questions and helped me make some tough decisions!!

xo

[gujarwala]

Thanks for all the info!  It's very applicable to me since we are having the private beach reception as well and have almost the same size group as you (36 of us so far)

[Jessa]

I am wondering what people have chosen to go with as a meal out of the options from the Gala Menu. As I am trying to make my decision.

[samcalv1]

Have just booked the Grand Riviera Princess for our wedding in Oct 2011. Loved your review it's fantastic to read as much as possible about the hotel. Really nervous as I have read a few negative reviews on trip advisor. So it's good to hear direct from a bride herself... What photographer did you use??

 

Thanks again for the review

[lizandkevin]

Hey,

 

I am having a wedding there in a month!  I selected the private beach reception but I am having my doubts.   I am supposed to make my final decision on Friday, in three days.  Just wondering if the Thai Beach Restaurant would be better for my guests?

[Ms Burns]

Samcalv 1, i used Photographer- Citilalli Rico from Claudia's Team: http://www.claudiaphoto.com/photo/

[Ms Burns]

I would definitely do the beach reception...i had the same thoughts and debated changing my mind also...very happy with the beach reception and the guests loved it...so different then typical veranda/indoor setting.

[samcalv1]

Ms Burns -  thanx for the link - have looked at it and the photos look fab, thanx again

[mymnky]

My fiance and i have decided to go with an a la carte reception.  Any recommendations which one had good food and set up the tables in a semi private way?  Also, i'm thinking about having a cocktail hour after dinner to do the dances, speeches and cake cutting.  I see you can pay for an hour cocktail party.  Has anybody else done this? 

[VancityBride]

I was wondering about the cocktail hour too. My WC told me that there is no food served with cocktail hour.. I always thought that there would be a few snacks or something. Im trying to debate if it even worth it. i mean we could just go to the lobby bar and hang out there..but i guess with the cocktail hour they give you your basically paying for the privacy and servers. I wonder how much it would be extra for some food.

 

Any one else have the cocktail hour????