April 2012 Melia Caribe Tropical Brides

[astef]

Jellyfish - I have paid my deposit, picked my menu, decided to make the restaurant private and now I'm playing with the idea of having my ceremony there too. It seems more personalized and Mayte provides so much for her $500 decoration fee. But I already sent my deposit to the Melia, so I don't know.. I emailed my WC to see if I can use the deposit for the spa or flowers or something instead... she's taking forever to reply.

 

I am having a really hard time making an important decision right now - I have been dealing with three different travel agents to get a good deal... now all three have matched each other at $1362/person. So now I don't know who to go with!!

 

 

One is SellOffVacations, one is Flight Centre and one has her own small company. They've all been helpful and are offering the same deal.

 

 

If I provide 10 deposits right away, Flight Center can hold 20 seats at the same rate, while SellOff and the other girl can hold 40, and that's much better for me to get my invitations out. So I think that drops Flight Center.

 

 

The girl with her own company has been really helpful but I worry about booking with a small company vs SellOff ... I feel like if anything goes wrong, there's more accountability with SellOff... what do you think???

[capecodder]

I'm sure whatever you pick for the ceremony will be great.  It looks like we are having a pretty small group come with us so, I think it works out better for us to stay at the resort for everything.  Who is your WC?  Mine hasn't replied to my email yet either. 

 

That is a tough decision!!  I think it was a good idea to drop Flight Centre.  I have used them a couple of times and they have been horrible to deal with.  If it was me...I would probably go with the small company.  I think Selloff is such a big company, they may not care as much.  But with a small company, I would also be worried about them going out of business!  Good luck with your decision!!

 

I saw your post about arrriving one day before we leave.  I'll definetly share my last minute tips.  Are you getting your hair or makeup done at Melia?

[bittersweetD1]

Hi ladies! Congrats on your engagements, I hope youre planning is going well!

 

Im actually thinking of staying at the Melia and having my reception at the Jellyfish restaurant as well. 

Do you know how far the Jellyfish restaurant is from the Melia? 

And how much is it to rent out the space for a private reception?

And you said that there is a $500 decoration fee?   Can you tell me what is included in this?

 

I am trying to fins this information on the website but for some reason there are a ton of errors on the page when I am navigating arround it.

 

Thanks!

[astef]

Hi bittersweet, congrats to you too!

 

The Melia is right next to the Jellyfish. I don't remember where I read this but I think that the walk along the beach is 10-15 minutes.

 

If you want to rent the whole restaurant it is an extra $1000; if you want to rent only the downstairs it is $500.

 

The following is included in the $500 reception decoration fee (I got this from another bride so still need to confirm with Mayte): "Linen, napkin and sashes in wedding colors, chirs and cover chairs, decorations napkin, menu cards, names cards, centerpieces, decorations, candles, tables cake, wellcome table, longe inside for dance floor, decoration entrance and restaurant area."

Hope that helps! Email Mayte with any questions you have - here's the email address I've been using: [email protected]

 

Enjoy!

 

Originally Posted by bittersweetD1 

Hi ladies! Congrats on your engagements, I hope youre planning is going well!

 

Im actually thinking of staying at the Melia and having my reception at the Jellyfish restaurant as well. 

Do you know how far the Jellyfish restaurant is from the Melia? 

And how much is it to rent out the space for a private reception?

And you said that there is a $500 decoration fee?   Can you tell me what is included in this?

 

I am trying to fins this information on the website but for some reason there are a ton of errors on the page when I am navigating arround it.

 

Thanks!

 

[capecodder]

Hi Girls!!  Just thought I would check in and see how everyone is doing and how your planning is going.

 

Is anyone going to be doing a dinner at one of the restaurants instead of a reception?  FI and I are planning on going this route and just wondering what restaurant would be best.

[astef]

Anyone else worried about the bad reviews of the Melia on Trip Advisor lately?!? Anyone been there recently and can say otherwise??

[capecodder]

I read them after you posted this and I always take them with a grain of salt.  It seems like alot of them were there during the hurricane, so that could have affected service levels.  Did you notice that Melia responded to all the bad ones?  I have never seen them do that before so, to me, it seems like they are taking steps to address the concerns.

[capecodder]

Astef...have you read the reviews this week?  There are lots of positive ones of there recently. 

[astef]

No I haven't,but I'll be checking them out! As a bit of background, it was my father who started the panic and told me about them - once I made my decision I stopped looking at reviews... I'm not changing things now!! So thank you for making me feel better and letting me know that they are good now

[capecodder]

No problem.  Happy to help!! 

 

I tried to do not look but I can't seem to help myself. lol!!