Now Sapphire Weddings Formerly Paradisus Riviera

[jeffandrobyn]

What is everyone doing as far as the order of their reception? Juan Carlos had suggested all of the food first and then dancing afterwards, vs mixing the two together. I also feel like for a 3 hour reception you need to make the best use of time. 

[jessiker05]

Hi all,

 

I'm looking for DJ recommendations: wondering what you paid and how far in advance you booked them plus any other important info you can provide.

 

Thanks in advance!

[jeffandrobyn]

We are using disco Movil. Good experience thus far but you can also check the reviews section on this site.

 

 

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[mcsiegel]

I read every page of this thread while planning our wedding, so I figured I'd post my TripAdvisor review on here as well. Great experience, with the biggest issues being around accommodating a vegan diet, which really shouldn't be an issue for non-vegans.

 

"I spent months online trying to determine where to hold our destination wedding, so I figured I'd try to write a thorough review of our experience in order to assist others who might be in the same boat. Some of the things that appealed to us off the bat about this resort were the Jacuzzis in all oceanfront rooms. Last year my brother got married at the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach, so I couldn't help but compare and contrast our experience with the experience we had staying at that all inclusive. My brother had problems with his room and they got upgraded to the presidential suite, which was amazing. The thing is, it's hard to find resorts that actually rent out their presidential suites. Now Sapphire actually allows you to reserve the governor's/ambassador's suite, which are located in suites 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 in buildings 1 through 4. While the decor is a little dated, I can't speak highly enough about this suite. There's a jacuzzi in the main bathroom, along with a separate shower, and a massive balcony featuring another larger jacuzzi. This jacuzzi was basically the reason why we stayed in this suite and it did not disappoint. We also loved being in building 1, where we were centrally located and had the ability to see the center of the resort. The sun essentially sets behind you if your room is on the ocean, so this allowed us to still be able to see the sunset from our balcony.

 

We arrived on Sunday the 17th of May and were warmly greeted and taken to the preferred lounge to check in. Yes, they try to push you to meet with them to hear their timeshare sales pitch, but if you go in knowing that it's fairly easy to say no. We said we just wanted to go to our room and that we'd probably stop back another time (and didn't). Maybe that's impolite, but you only have so much time during your wedding week and I'm not spending any of it listening to a sales pitch. We relaxed in the jacuzzi on the balcony and all was right with the world.

 

Later, we went and grabbed dinner in the buffet. I've been vegan for twenty years now and understand that maintaining a vegan diet can be difficult while traveling. The resort tells you that they're able to accommodate a vegan diet, but this isn't entirely true. Your options in the buffet are basically some fruit, vegetables, and that's about it. The absence of any pasta (or even french fries or onion rings) from the buffet was probably my biggest problem there. It seems like always having pasta/French fries/onion rings in the buffet would help quite a bit. As it was, I knew by the first day that I couldn't really eat at the buffet and get full. The next day we tried the Bluewater Grill on the beach, which is a nice location for a lunch, but again, I really didn't have any options. I let them know that i was vegan and was basically left to try to figure out something that could be altered to be vegan. The only option was nachos, and also the beans aren't vegetarian, so basically you can have chips with guacamole and salsa. That's it. We'd been told to talk to the concierge and that they'd give us a card stating that I was vegan and to give this to the restaurants. But when I went to the concierge they said I didn't need a card and to just tell them I was vegan. There seems to be a disconnect between the concierge/management, and the staff in the restaurants. You're told they can accommodate you, but that basically means you're left to fend for yourself with minimal options. The level of awareness of what's vegan and what isn't seems to vary widely from restaurant to restaurant.

 

My parents and my wife's parents had never met each other before, so we wanted to have a meal together on Monday, our first full day at the resort. The only restaurant with pasta was Cibu, which was closed that night. Since no other restaurant seemed to have decent vegan options we decided to just order room service in our spacious air conditioned suite. The room service menu had pasta pomodoro on the menu, which I ended up ordering fairly regularly from room service all week. Without that, I don't know what I would have eaten. So we tried to order room service and were told that you can't order room service for more than two people (this wasn't clearly stated anywhere on the room service menu). I asked if they would have told us it was simply too much food if we tried to say it was just for two people (they indicated they would). I also pointed out that we could simply each go to our rooms and order the same food, which would simply inconvenience us while creating even more work for them (going to each individual room). Still, they continued to refuse to serve us. I asked to speak with someone who could assist us and continued to get resistance from the concierge. I finally escalated to pointing out that we were staying in their most expensive suite, had purchased their most expensive wedding package, and that this was a one time situation brought about entirely because they had miscaracterized their ability to accommodate a vegan diet. Finally, I was able to get them to consult with their manager, who almost immediately approved the request. My father taught hotel management/travel tourism at Niagara University for decades and he expressed that this is fairly common at resorts like this. The staff are not empowered to make these kind of decisions and so unfortunately situations like this arise, necessitating that you work your way up the chain until someone with enough authority is able to resolve the situation. Were they empowered to do their jobs from the start perhaps situations like this could be avoided, but instead it took what could have been a joyous occasion, our families sitting down to break bread together for the first time, and turned it into a debacle. I'm a laid back person and I hated being forced to point out how much money I'm paying in order to get someone to accommodate a seemingly reasonable request. We got our food, but the damage had been done from a customer service standpoint. I will say that the one person who seemed genuinely empathetic to our frustrations was Mar in the preferred lounge. My fiancé (now wife) was so enraged by all of this that she went to the preferred lounge and essentially begged them to do something to assist us because it was bad enough that there wasn't anything for me to eat, we were now being impeded from doing what little we could so that I might be able to. Mar listened to her and made a card indicating I was vegan herself. She later made sure to send up champagne and wine, and really helped to smooth things over and help to move forward and not let this ruin the rest of the week. Still, it was upsetting enough that I wanted to bring it up in this review. Adding pasta (along with French fries and maybe onion rings) as a permanent item in the buffet (like Iberostar does) and removing the 2 person limit for room service could go a long ways towards addressing some of these issues. And if the resort insists on these limits then they need to be clearly stated. Also, if you're going to say that you can accommodate vegans and vegetarians then having vegetarian beans seems like another necessary change.

 

The day after our wedding on Thursday we had our romantic dinner on the beach and they didn't even know I was vegan. I asked for pasta, but they said they'd make something special for me. They made the same rollette I had at our wedding rehearsal dinner on Tuesday, which was alright (I'd have preferred pasta). And then we said they could give me fruit and sorbet. Instead they tried to give me creme brulé. We pointed out that this wasn't vegan, and then they brought out chocolate covered strawberries, which we pointed out also weren't vegan (especially the ones covered in white chocolate). The chef tried to dispute this, so then my wife pointed out that she was a pastry chef who's been with a vegan for a decade--in other words, don't try passing something off as vegan when it isn't. It's hard to be confident that what you're eating is vegan when the chef doesn't even seen to understand what this means. Our server, Antonio, was very gracious and did his best to smooth things over, but it just furthered the impression that this resort really isn't equipped to accommodate a vegan diet. And this was with us staying in the nicest room while getting married. I can only imagine how this all would have been handled were we just ordinary guests staying there, and not a couple staying in their nicest suite having purchased their nicest wedding package. Unfortunately, our man of honor had a similarly disappointing romantic dinner on the beach.

 

I will say that after the Monday debacle with room service they were very helpful and accommodating, generally calling to ensure that we received our food. I credit Mar for this, as well as Luis in room service, who said he was off the previous day and was very apologetic for all that had transpired.

 

Food aside, we actually had a very nice week otherwise. We enjoyed the preferred pool in the mornings, and then we'd move over to the main pool to grab some drinks from the wonderful Adolfo after all the frat boy types took their bud lite fueled siestas in the early afternoon. The entertainment team was good at getting people involved, but were also willing to leave you alone if that was your preference. They definitely go for the spring break in Cancun vibe, so the music is pumped up and people are fairly loud. But again, if that's not your thing the preferred pool is very laid back and tranquil.

 

We had our rehearsal dinner on the beach on Tuesday, which was quite nice. They did do a good job of putting together a vegan meal for the rehearsal dinner and wedding, which was nice (though are only things you can bank on if you're getting married). Elauterio was our waiter and did a great job of everything.

 

We got married on Wednesday and the ceremony was beautiful. We were down the beach to the right of the beach bar, which is definitely the most private wedding site. I know a lot of people want the tequila terrace and beach terrace sites, but if you want privacy I'd highly recommend the preferred pool cocktail hour/reception/wedding site. Instead of hiring a DJ, we made our own playlists and brought a Harmon Kardon Bluetooth speaker. Had we gotten married at either other location (which are quite close to each other) our speaker would have been drowned out by the other speaker systems. The preferred pool is far enough away though, and insulated enough by buildings, that this wasn't an issue. It's probably warmer there due to lack of wind, though that could also be viewed as a pro, since it can get really windy on the beach (plus, we just jumped in the preferred pool at the end of the night to cool off).

 

From the ceremony to the cocktail hour to the reception, we were very happy we opted for the preferred pool. Juan Carlos, who was our wedding coordinator, did a great job of helping to ensure we got exactly the wedding we wanted. In spite of some of the problems we experienced, the staff here come as advertised and are very friendly and accommodating (though it does sometimes seem a little too geared around getting you to come back for your next trip). I also wanted to give a big shout out to Ana, who took the pictures at our wedding. We read so many criticisms of the pictures that came with the wedding package, but Ana was great. We told her we wanted want any cheesy, action wedding poses and really just wanted more intimate candid shots and that's exactly what she delivered. I'd highly recommend her if you opt to go with the pics that come with the wedding package and aren't hiring an outside photographer.

 

The spa did a good job with everyone's hair and makeup for the wedding. I can't really comment on it beyond that, as we canceled our massage the day after our wedding, preferring to just lounge in the jacuzzi.

 

Oh, and yes, there's a lot of seaweed. Some days more, some days less, though it's obviously nothing the resort can control. If anything, I felt awful for the guys who spend the entire day piling it up in wheelbarrows and disposing of it. I can't even imagine having to go through this Sisyphean task every day, and they get no credit or tips. I looked at these guys as the unheralded heroes of the resort, as they deserve so much credit for all the hard, under acknowledged work that they do, and in general the entire staff here is very hardworking. If you're a night owl like me you'll see people working through the night repairing and preparing the resort for the next day's festivities.

 

Overall, we don't regret our decision to have our wedding there. There were definitely some issues on the food front, but it was an otherwise enjoyable experience, and the ceremony itself was beautiful. Unfortunately, the issues we did experience were problematic enough that I doubt we'll be returning. We generally prefer to try new resorts, and as much as we liked certain aspects of this resort, the food issue really is one that would make me reluctant to return, especially seeing as we wouldn't be getting married and probably couldn't afford to stay in the governor's/ambassador's suite again (both of which allowed us to be a bit more pampered/accommodated than we might otherwise be). As a one time experience though, it was worth it and worth considering if you're looking for a reasonably priced balance between luxury and affordability."

[vancouverpetunia]

Can anyone who had their reception on the Tequila Terrace, and did NOT hire a DJ, comment on either the resort's sound system or anything you supplied yourself? We aren't planning to get a DJ and were thinking of renting the resort's system, but it will cost a min $600USD + tax. Or I could rent this for $75: http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/block-rocker-2010-model. Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations on either route? Our guests are mainly early 30s to mid 40s, so I don't think many are looking for a night club kind of vibe. But I want to make sure we can hear the music!

 

 

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[lornj29]

Hi everyone!! Can anyone tell me what they are putting in their oot bags and or what're they used in their "hangover kits"? I want to start ordering stuff and I am wondering where you got all the travel essentials for your oot bags like the little Advil and medicines?? Is there a good website?? Thanks!!

[KRP87]

Does anyone have a copy of the planning form they could email to me? krpayne87@@gmail.com

[vancouverpetunia]

@@lornj29 You might want to try this forum: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/44-wedding-registry-wedding-gift-bags-and-oot-bags/

 

@@KRP87 Do you mean the budget worksheet from the WC? Or the form you have to fill out about a month before your wedding? Let me know and I can probably send you what you need.

[jeffandrobyn]

@@lornj29 our welcome bag has a tote/beach bag (vistaprint), sunglasses, Swedish fish (bc we met on plenty of fish), sunscreen. Our hangover kit has Advil, tums and emergen c.

 

 

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@@vancouverpetunia I know you said no DJ but wanted to just make sure you know you could hire a DJ for the same price as the resorts system.

 

 

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[lornj29]

also, does anyone know anything about bringing food for the guest bags (eg. granola bars, trail mix? ) I wanted to put these in but dont want to worry about bringing them there. Someone has mentioned stopping at coscto but I don't know if I want to worry about going there.