2013 Paradisus Palma Real

[angelnjewels]

Thanks for the pics Ana- No need to apologize for your post- it was honest and truthful- exactly what we need. I wasn't upset by it. I was just mentioning that is a complaint I have heard elsewhere- although it is not one to take lightly and is pretty gross. LOL no guests of ours want to see that when they are paying a pretty penny to join us at the resort. Your pictures look as beautiful as the professional ones. I'm glad you liked everything else.

Ev you are welcome... I hope it helps... I posted more pics for you ladies to see... We are still considering the resort but before anything else is done my fiancé is going to speak with management Let me know of any other questions... I love to help out in anyway I can.

[DP1andDP2]

Originally Posted by Katie83 

 

Ev- Thank you so much for your advise! I am fretting:(  I think both are probably beautiful for sure however, I wanted a luxurious experience for my guests and also a party environment and was pursuaded to go with PPC when in my gut I felt like I should have went with PPR. 

 

We are schedule now for our wedding at PPC on October 26, 2012 in the Nova Garden with a our reception at the pool side terrace. I think it will be beautiful but then I read a ton of reviews about dirty hotel rooms and terrible food:(   I wanted to check with my TA before booking but my wedding planner had me paranoid that I would lose the date if I didn't act immediately as I wanted to price check the two hotels. 

 

There will be a lot of children attending our wedding as well (my nieces and nephews) and I was told which I am not 100% certain it was the truth, that PPC was a bit more child/ family friendly. 

 

I am calling my travel agent first thing in the morning to see what the price difference is and then will contact my wedding coordinator.  We need to get save the dates out ASAP so i need to settle the date!  I am sad though, because last time I checked there was no Saturdays available at PPR in October. 

 

I really love GABI Beach at PPR but do not want to pay the ridiculous price.  See, I am frantic, I can't even gathat all my thoughts;(

Sorry for rambling.

 

Again thank you for your help!

Katie

 

Dear Katie,

 

This is a late response with regards to your hotel choice. My fiance and I originally reserved and put a deposit down at Paradisus Punta Cana. I freaked out after reading some reviews on Trip Advisor about construction and other things we wanted to change to Palma Real--it was no problem. We transfered the deposit, but we had to choose another date.  After changing we actually got the 6 pm wedding we originally wanted and we got a more luxurious hotel (granted some of the recent posts about the roaches is problematic).

 

In terms of a travel agent--I have a really great one. She is flexible, she contacts the guests for me and checks in with me via email quite often.

Jennifer Gabriel 

Dreamers Travel

[email protected]

Office: 410-239-9424

Toll Free: 877-249-9424

Fax: 410-374-6400

 

In case you have not hired an agent, I recommend you shop around. My fiance contacted quite a few agents to find out who had the best rates and the best offers for us. You can use the Romance Wedding Package for rooms offered by the folks in Miami as a template.

 

For example: we negotiated children 4 and under are free and free transfers to and from the hotel among other things.

[DP1andDP2]

THANK YOU ANGEL!!!! You are a blessing. I've been searching on YouTube to find a PPR reception at Olympus Terrace--your photos give me a good idea of the space.

 

FYI PPR Brides--if you search for "paradisus palma real wedding" on YouTube you can find wedding videos. My favorite is Melvin and Zeneta's Domininican Republic Destination Wedding"

[deanna1]

Hi there,

 

Do you mind sending me some pictures of the Olympic Terrace?

Thanks so much

Deanna

 

[email protected]

[Katie83]

DP1andDP2,

  Thank you so much for sharing the information about the deposit transfer. I am so nervous about the cost for our guest in reserving PPR. I spoke with a travel agent today and she wanted me to sign a group contract but my guest would have to pay for the flight seperately and it didn't seem like it was going to be a good deal for our guest (money wise). 

 

I did talk to a travel agent in Omaha Ne which is local for us and she will book flight and rooms as a package deal and the guest only have to put down an initial 300 dollar deposit and then they can continue to make payments as they want but full deposit is due 60days prior to the wedding. She was quoting me approximately 2600 dollars for 5 nights and flight. 

 

Agghhh, i am over this whole process and feel like I am in a total time crunch as we are only giving our guest approximately 9 months notice:(

[DP1andDP2]

Hey Katie,

 

I totally understand that this can be overwhelming and you want to consider your guests. At first we thought a destination wedding would be too pricey--but we kept reminding ourselves that we want a SMALL wedding and we chose PPR because it is a bit more expensive and that would deter some folks. I know that sounds cruel.

 

$2600 seems a bit pricey--even for Omaha. We found that travel agents (we called about five different ones) tended to give us inflated package deals (flight, hotel, transfer). So we opted to do the following:

1. We negotiated a $50 room deposit and actually collected the deposits from our guests via paypal. That gave us extra negotiating power because we came to the table with enough $ and a firm commitment for 30 rooms. That also meant that we did not come out of pocket. It took some work on the front end but it was worth it. If you want to do this I can give you more advice.

2. We set up our website and gave folks as much info as possible on rates and airlines. See www.derrickandanita.com

3. We told folks to book their own flights. By going this route we have so far saved on average $250-$300 per ticket from LA and DC to PUJ. It may be different from Omaha so I may be wrong--do research before you sign a contract that includes flights because most agents want to lock in people for 5 nights. We found that some guests-- because of money or the amount of time off  from work wanted to only stay 3 nights--so it's best to let people choose whether they wanted to stay 3 nights or 7. You can negotiate the room rate for 3+ nights. Anyone staying under 3 nights may have to pay the regular rate.

4. Early on we knew that we wanted a minimum price to attend our wedding from the East Coast. That  was $1200. That $1200 covers at least 3 nights and airfare. So that meant no more than $540 (3 nights/2 pax/room) for the hotel and the remaining $660 for airfare. We chose a time of year with lower hotel and air rates--Again--Omaha is quite different from a coastal city.

5. These days with access to the internet, I find that folks can find better flight deals than an agent can offer. Sites like Skyscanner are a starting point. My bridesmaids help communicate to guests when there are good deals on tickets.

6. You may want to focus on VIPs. We talked with our essential family members to see how much they could afford and that's how we came to the $1200. We negotiated rates for our VIPs--we have extra rooms at the special rates for non-VIPs--and there is no penalty for canceling the rooms 60  or 90 days before--I can't remember.

 

I hope this helps. I wish someone had explained this to me last summer. Once you've confirmed a date and location you will feel a lot better. You may also find out if there are any caribbean countries that have direct flights from Omaha. Just an idea.

[Katie83]

Danita,
    That was extremely helpful, thank you!  I should have clarified that the 2600 dollars was per couple therefore it is 1300 dollars per person for the five nights and flight included for Paradisus Punta Cana resort.

 

You are such a good negotiator, I need to take note:)  We already have a date and location which is October 26, 2013 at PPC in the nova garden. But after struggling with the travel cost and agents I felt that I may have picked a very expensive destination spot:((

 

Originally Posted by DP1andDP2 

Hey Katie,

 

I totally understand that this can be overwhelming and you want to consider your guests. At first we thought a destination wedding would be too pricey--but we kept reminding ourselves that we want a SMALL wedding and we chose PPR because it is a bit more expensive and that would deter some folks. I know that sounds cruel.

 

$2600 seems a bit pricey--even for Omaha. We found that travel agents (we called about five different ones) tended to give us inflated package deals (flight, hotel, transfer). So we opted to do the following:

1. We negotiated a $50 room deposit and actually collected the deposits from our guests via paypal. That gave us extra negotiating power because we came to the table with enough $ and a firm commitment for 30 rooms. That also meant that we did not come out of pocket. It took some work on the front end but it was worth it. If you want to do this I can give you more advice.

2. We set up our website and gave folks as much info as possible on rates and airlines. See www.derrickandanita.com

3. We told folks to book their own flights. By going this route we have so far saved on average $250-$300 per ticket from LA and DC to PUJ. It may be different from Omaha so I may be wrong--do research before you sign a contract that includes flights because most agents want to lock in people for 5 nights. We found that some guests-- because of money or the amount of time off  from work wanted to only stay 3 nights--so it's best to let people choose whether they wanted to stay 3 nights or 7. You can negotiate the room rate for 3+ nights. Anyone staying under 3 nights may have to pay the regular rate.

4. Early on we knew that we wanted a minimum price to attend our wedding from the East Coast. That  was $1200. That $1200 covers at least 3 nights and airfare. So that meant no more than $540 (3 nights/2 pax/room) for the hotel and the remaining $660 for airfare. We chose a time of year with lower hotel and air rates--Again--Omaha is quite different from a coastal city.

5. These days with access to the internet, I find that folks can find better flight deals than an agent can offer. Sites like Skyscanner are a starting point. My bridesmaids help communicate to guests when there are good deals on tickets.

6. You may want to focus on VIPs. We talked with our essential family members to see how much they could afford and that's how we came to the $1200. We negotiated rates for our VIPs--we have extra rooms at the special rates for non-VIPs--and there is no penalty for canceling the rooms 60  or 90 days before--I can't remember.

 

I hope this helps. I wish someone had explained this to me last summer. Once you've confirmed a date and location you will feel a lot better. You may also find out if there are any caribbean countries that have direct flights from Omaha. Just an idea.

[Katie83]

Opps, I meant Anita:) Ps. your wedding website is amazing!
 

[DP1andDP2]

Oh! $1300 for 5 nights and air is a good deal. Congrats! I need to work with your agent lol.

 

It will be a great experience for you and your family. My maids and I spent some time hyping up the resort and we put together a fun itinerary for folks.

[Katie83]

Girl I need your organizational skills:) you website alone was so impressive I can only imagine how beautiful your wedding will be!