Mexico or Jamaica

[LisaRenee]

Hello All,

 

I'm trying to decide between Adventura Spa Resort in Riviera Maya and Couple in Jamaica. We were also considering Sandals. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! All this wedding info is starting to merge together into one confusing blob of information and indecision!

 

Thanks for your help!

[hockeymom97]

Whenever I see a new bride struggling with selecting a resort, I have 2 pieces of advise that helped me tons. First of all I would suggest making a list of things that are important to you. For us, a few of those things were a family friendly resort, an all inclusive resort, a beautiful beach to get married on, and somewhere that we could fly to easily (without outrageous flight times). There are so many beautiful resorts to choose from but some are very different from others so this list can really help narrow down your choices. Then my second recommendation is to find a great TA who specializes in destination weddings. They'll be able to help you find a resort that meets all the requirements on your list. There are some great TA's on this forum or you can ask other brides for recommendations.

 

Good luck with your planning

[LisaRenee]

Thanks Hockeymom! My fiancee keep going around and around about where we want to go. We are working with a local travel agency, but the rep isn't too helpful in making recommendations. It will only be the two of us, so I don't know if it makes sense to hire a wedding consultant or go through a firm like Luxe or Destination Weddings. Then I get on the review sites and see negative comments on almost every resort. It's so hard to filter out the valid complaints from ranting and raving. Anyway, I'll start with a list and take it from there. Thanks for the advice.

[islandbride317]

Hi, LisaRenee!!

 

I second hockeymom's advice, as to making a list of what's important to you.....that's how I decided on Sandals Grande Ocho Rios in Jamaica as the right resort for our wedding group of 10 guests plus us in May this year.

 

When I first started planning, I knew that I wanted an adult-only, all-inclusive resort -- so a lot of the other major all-inclusives that allow kids were out (Riu, Dreams, etc.).....it's not that I have an issue with children, I was just really adament about wanting a grown-ups only wedding experience! 

 

And once I narrowed it down to an adults-only resort, the first name I thought of was Sandals, which is a well-known resort that has years and years of experience in destination weddings, so I felt at ease with that decision.  Finally, I had to pick which Sandals resort to have it at....initially, we decided on the St. Lucian Grande, but due to a few guest-related issues, we ended up going with Sandals Grande Ocho Rios, as it was both the biggest resort and also had the lowest room rates available to our guests -- a true win-win!

 

Anyway, our experience there was easy-breezy.....Vinette, the onsite wedding coordinator, was a seasoned wedding planning professional, and she was totally on her game, so our wedding day was smooth from start to finish!

 

So, the moral of the story:  Iboth Mexico and Jamaica are beautiful, so you have to find the right fit for you and your fiance, and I'm sure it'll be lovely no matter where you decide to tie the knot! 

[LisaRenee]

Thanks islandbride317!

 

So you liked Sandals Ocho Rios? Is that now called Sandals Royal Plantation? My fiancee seems to think Jamaica is dangerous, but I think we would be okay on the resort. Did you have any problems?

 

Thanks!
Lisa

 

[wakegirl22]

I got married at the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios resort 2 years ago.  I LOVED it there.  They have so many things for you to do, and the men enjoyed golfing while the women went on a shopping tour to one of the shopping "malls".  Ocho Rios seemed pretty safe to us.  You just have to watch your money when you go out to spend it.  We had an experience with a small child that was at his mom's "hut" while we were shopping next to the resort.  The child was hugging our legs and feeling our pockets while doing so, front and back.  Luckily we didn't have any cash in our pockets.  We didn't do any of the other available sightseeing or trips, wished that we would have, but they cost extra.  Our wedding coordinator was excellent and always called me to update our plans.  Just remember that if you want any decorations for your wedding though, they cost extra.  Our wedding was very minimal.  They also have excellent choices for the wedding spot.  We chose to get married on the pier over the water.  They don't close the beach for the wedding, so we had people cheering at us at the time of our wedding. I would definately recommend Jamaica though!

[LisaRenee]

Thanks Wakegirl22! It sound fabulous! From what I understand, Sandals makes getting married easy compared to going someplace like Mexico where you have to have documents translated, etc. Is Ocho Rios the resort that they recently renovated?

[Kristibear]

LisaRenee, I am in the same boat as you! I was set on Mexico, then I recently expanded my horizons.  I too want a beautiful beach wedding with amazing scenery.  And I feel like I am spinning in circles.  I know I am driving my TA crazy .  I will keep researching this site and paralleling it with TA, and hopefully I will find the perfect place.  Have you made any decisions yet?

[LisaRenee]

Well my fiancee doesn't want to go to Mexico with all the crimes in the news OR Jamaica, so we're looking at St. Lucia now.

[Pinky]

Honestly, crimes happen EVERYWHERE and so much is "sensationalized" in the news.  My fiance and I are well traveled (this will be a 2nd marriage for both of us and we have adult children) and have been to Mexico, Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Turks & Caicos, etc.  There are no "crime free" places and unless something happens in the exact area I'm traveling to, I doubt it would sway my decision on where to travel to.  We just follow the same common-sense rules that everyone should follow..........be aware of your surroundings and don't take chances.  If traveling off resort, go with a group or planned excursion.

 

In Mexico, the violence happening is in the border towns.  Riviera Maya (which is still one of our possibilities, we are undecided as to location as well, mainly because we've been alot of places and want something "different") is hundreds of miles from where the stuff you see on the news is happening.  All the resorts have alot of security personnel.  I've never felt unsafe there.

In Jamaica, the unrest they had back in May was isolated to one neighborhood in Kingston, which again is miles from the tourist areas (not hundreds of miles, but if you haven't been to Jamaica you have to understand that even 40 miles can take hours to traverse).  I love the Jamaican people, love the island and would not hesitate to travel there (we actually were there in July).

 

I live about an hour south of Washington DC.  There are news reports of murders on a regular basis.  Does that make me afraid to go out my front door?  No.

Just put things into perspective when making a decision on location.