Grand Velas Riviera Maya

[BDABeachBum]

@@AllieH, I do really like the El Dorado as well however we are faced with the problem of needing a family friendly place....ready....vent.... my fiance has a niece that the family insist must be there (despite us doing a legal/religious small ceremony back where my fiance is from) so we need to cater to one child coming! I have never been to an all inclusive but, a family friendly one doesn't seem like the thing I want, which is why I like Grand Velas because it didn't seem too in your face family friendly....

 Ugh.....haha, moving on.....As I said, I do really like the El Dorado as well, and that's awesome that it is right next to Generations, I didn't know that. I really fell in love with Secrets Maroma...the beach, the palm tree set up, the hot tubs on the balcony, everything! There was a resort right next door that is family friendly, but Secrets won't let anyon on property that is under 18.

 

Do you happen to know if El Dorado would allow one child on resort just for the ceremony and reception?  Would all be private and would be more than willing to pay. I haven't even asked because I figured I would get the same response as Secrets gave me.

 

Thanks for the info! Really appreciate it! I'm getting pretty frustrated trying to find a place to fit my and my FI's needs hahah

@@Lindsay30, thanks for your input, I really appreciate it! I too love the look and feel of the Grand Velas...I LOVE palms on the beach and it thought this would be a good option to my first love which was the Secrets Maroma (which is adults only). My fiance and I live in Bermuda and are used to some pretty stellar beaches and Grand Velas looked like it had all the class and beauty I am looking for. I actually thought about doing what you mentioned about putting a little money towards everyones stay, but FI quickly shot that down (groomzilla, jeesh) and thought that with the perks of us paying for two excurtion days for everyone that comes (we want to do a catamaran day and a trip to the cenotes/ruins) that people would be a bit more enticed.

 

I'm really trying hard to justify the cost for our guests, haha. So we live in Bermuda and hotels here are crazy expensive, the decent ones start around $400 a night, you can get some vacations rentals and 2 1/2 star places for around $300 per night....;and that doesn't include anything...food here is super expensive....$30 for burger and fries, no beer included haha. All of our guests would be staying at different places and it wouldn't be a vacation for us so we wanted to go the all inclusive route with everyone in one place where you didn't have to all venture out to eat and drink if you didn't want to. SO my justification is that it would be around the same price for people to come here for our wedding...but still having a hard time with it.

 

You got a better quote than I did from the hotel, the told me $320 per night in the Zen section...granted maybe it's a different time of year than what you were looking for, I'm really flexible with dates but was thinking anywhere from April to May, they quoted me for mid-may. And I didn't come back and ask for a lower price either, I'm horrible at bartering so would leave this up to the fiance if we went this route. I'm suprised your TA couldn't get any better deals either! Who are you working with? 

 

That dissapoints me about Azul being soooooo baby friendly.....I have never really wanted to go to family friendly resort, and have always discussed doing a adults only until my fiance figured out his niece couldn't go then....and I'm having a really hard time trying to wrap my head around going to family friendly for the sake of one child...but I'm not sure I want the Gerber baby vibe for my wedding... I've also read that Lomas who works for the Karisma is a nightmare to work with...

 

My TA told me that if we held our wedding at the Iberstar Grand that we wouldn't be able to have kids attend it from other Iberostar resorts. I've sent a question about it to my Iberostar contact, but haven't heard back yet. I live on an island so am used to island time I guess, haha. Do you mind me asking how much you are paying per night at the Iberstar Grand? I though I looked and it said somewhere around $600 a night which seems not too far off from Grand Velas?

 

Sorry for the long winded post! Grrr....the search continues!

[Lindsay30]

 

@@AllieH, I do really like the El Dorado as well however we are faced with the problem of needing a family friendly place....ready....vent.... my fiance has a niece that the family insist must be there (despite us doing a legal/religious small ceremony back where my fiance is from) so we need to cater to one child coming! I have never been to an all inclusive but, a family friendly one doesn't seem like the thing I want, which is why I like Grand Velas because it didn't seem too in your face family friendly....

 Ugh.....haha, moving on.....As I said, I do really like the El Dorado as well, and that's awesome that it is right next to Generations, I didn't know that. I really fell in love with Secrets Maroma...the beach, the palm tree set up, the hot tubs on the balcony, everything! There was a resort right next door that is family friendly, but Secrets won't let anyon on property that is under 18.

 

Do you happen to know if El Dorado would allow one child on resort just for the ceremony and reception?  Would all be private and would be more than willing to pay. I haven't even asked because I figured I would get the same response as Secrets gave me.

 

Thanks for the info! Really appreciate it! I'm getting pretty frustrated trying to find a place to fit my and my FI's needs hahah

@@Lindsay30, thanks for your input, I really appreciate it! I too love the look and feel of the Grand Velas...I LOVE palms on the beach and it thought this would be a good option to my first love which was the Secrets Maroma (which is adults only). My fiance and I live in Bermuda and are used to some pretty stellar beaches and Grand Velas looked like it had all the class and beauty I am looking for. I actually thought about doing what you mentioned about putting a little money towards everyones stay, but FI quickly shot that down (groomzilla, jeesh) and thought that with the perks of us paying for two excurtion days for everyone that comes (we want to do a catamaran day and a trip to the cenotes/ruins) that people would be a bit more enticed.

 

I'm really trying hard to justify the cost for our guests, haha. So we live in Bermuda and hotels here are crazy expensive, the decent ones start around $400 a night, you can get some vacations rentals and 2 1/2 star places for around $300 per night....;and that doesn't include anything...food here is super expensive....$30 for burger and fries, no beer included haha. All of our guests would be staying at different places and it wouldn't be a vacation for us so we wanted to go the all inclusive route with everyone in one place where you didn't have to all venture out to eat and drink if you didn't want to. SO my justification is that it would be around the same price for people to come here for our wedding...but still having a hard time with it.

 

You got a better quote than I did from the hotel, the told me $320 per night in the Zen section...granted maybe it's a different time of year than what you were looking for, I'm really flexible with dates but was thinking anywhere from April to May, they quoted me for mid-may. And I didn't come back and ask for a lower price either, I'm horrible at bartering so would leave this up to the fiance if we went this route. I'm suprised your TA couldn't get any better deals either! Who are you working with? 

 

That dissapoints me about Azul being soooooo baby friendly.....I have never really wanted to go to family friendly resort, and have always discussed doing a adults only until my fiance figured out his niece couldn't go then....and I'm having a really hard time trying to wrap my head around going to family friendly for the sake of one child...but I'm not sure I want the Gerber baby vibe for my wedding... I've also read that Lomas who works for the Karisma is a nightmare to work with...

 

My TA told me that if we held our wedding at the Iberstar Grand that we wouldn't be able to have kids attend it from other Iberostar resorts. I've sent a question about it to my Iberostar contact, but haven't heard back yet. I live on an island so am used to island time I guess, haha. Do you mind me asking how much you are paying per night at the Iberstar Grand? I though I looked and it said somewhere around $600 a night which seems not too far off from Grand Velas?

 

Sorry for the long winded post! Grrr....the search continues!

 

I'd say if your guests are use to the cost then they may not be as shocked as some of our guests may have been seeing those prices. We went through a local travel agent near Chicago, IL that we already knew previously.

It may be the time of year that's causing the price hike. May is a really busy time because it's probably the best weather Mexico has.

We are doing a Welcome Dinner the night before and a Catamaran the evening after so I hope some guests see that as part of the deal but some just can't afford it and we just have to be okay with that. For our guests we are anywhere between $257 per night person to $350 so I guess it would look like $500-$700 per room per night since it's based on 2 people.. It all depends on which room option they chose and how many nights they stay. Some are staying 3 nights and it's only $773 in the Junior Suite. Some people didn't care for the on the beach view since they said they won't be in their rooms most of the time anyways. That could be an upside for the guests staying in the Zen area but those guests have to take a small shuttle to get to the beach section of Grand Velas which is a little bit of a bummer.

I swear the contact we have at Iberostar did say a child could join for the reception and ceremony so if you do consider it, I would double check again. The El Dorado resorts looked really nice online, definitely could have been an option if we saw them in person but once we took the trip down there we felt we should go with a place we went down there to see since we spent so much to go for the site-visit.

We had such a hard time deciding so I hope us giving you this advice helps. Go with your gut and you can't go wrong! It's you guys' day and some people just wont make it but it doesn't mean the day will be any less special.

[BDABeachBum]

@@Lindsay30....I know it's our day, and it helps to keep hearing that but everything seems to be leading to considering so many other people too. I know I'm going to have people complaining with any place I pick, as I've heard from friends who have been destination wedding brides.

 

I know our friends from here in Bermuda wouldn't mind the cost so much, but I'm from Ohio and my FI is from Newfoundland and I don't know how they would feel about it. I think we are a bit immune to inflation prices living on a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic!

 

We have had a lot of friends take vacations to Sandal and Couples resorts which are almost as expensive as the Grand Velis (I think? could be wrong), but those may actually be for rooms on the beach...so I don't know....like I said, trying to justify it! Hahaha

 

I have had contact with someone at Iberstar Grand and some of the pictures they sent me I really like the set ups....even though there aren't palms on the beach they can set up potted palms next to the wedding arch on the beach which looked really nice. Their beach reception set up looked pretty too with the light up dance floor. So still keeping this as an option

[AllieH]

I honestly do not know if they would allow you to use EDR locations for the ceremony & reception/dinner with a child present. My gut (guess) is no - you'd need to use the Generations locations to include the kiddo.

 

EDR has a firm 18+ rule like Secrets. My MIL tried to get them to allow an exception for a 16yo and they refused (but this was before Generations was open).

 

I'd suggest popping onto the Lomas Weddings website, and opening up a chat with the WC's to ask this question specifically. Even if you are restricted to Generations for the celebrations to include his niece, the rest of your stay at EDR would be amazing.

 

And I hate to say this because it's so negative nelly - but what are the chances that the niece will really go? I say that because we found that NONE of our friends wanted to bring their kids, so choosing adults only was the way to go. I also found that in trying to plan around 1 or two particular people to accomodate their schedules...those were the ones who wound up not attending at all. So it was pointless to try to plan anything but exactly what WE wanted. Just my 2 cents worth!

 

 

@@AllieH, I do really like the El Dorado as well however we are faced with the problem of needing a family friendly place....ready....vent.... my fiance has a niece that the family insist must be there (despite us doing a legal/religious small ceremony back where my fiance is from) so we need to cater to one child coming! I have never been to an all inclusive but, a family friendly one doesn't seem like the thing I want, which is why I like Grand Velas because it didn't seem too in your face family friendly....

 Ugh.....haha, moving on.....As I said, I do really like the El Dorado as well, and that's awesome that it is right next to Generations, I didn't know that. I really fell in love with Secrets Maroma...the beach, the palm tree set up, the hot tubs on the balcony, everything! There was a resort right next door that is family friendly, but Secrets won't let anyon on property that is under 18.

 

Do you happen to know if El Dorado would allow one child on resort just for the ceremony and reception?  Would all be private and would be more than willing to pay. I haven't even asked because I figured I would get the same response as Secrets gave me.

 

Thanks for the info! Really appreciate it! I'm getting pretty frustrated trying to find a place to fit my and my FI's needs hahah

PS - Azul's Lomas WC and EDR's WC are different - while there are many of the same frustrations (which I'd say are pretty similar for any DW), the EDR WC are actually in Cancun, and tend to be a little better. FWIW!

[BDABeachBum]

@@AllieH I dont think you are being a negative nelly at all! I was actually thinking the single mom of the child would want a vacation and I've tried many options, the child is a must, no questions asked as per my fiancé. It is pretty frustrating to arrange a location around one guest as you said, especially when we will be doing two ceremonies.....one beach wedding which is what I want and will be bigger and one back where my fiancé is from in his church....sigh

[AllieH]

then you're thinking of all the right things. good luck with your planning!!! Just remember - it'll all be beautiful and worth it in the end. You'll forget (mostly) about the planning headaches and stress, and focus on how awesome your celebrations will be.

 

 

@@AllieH I dont think you are being a negative nelly at all! I was actually thinking the single mom of the child would want a vacation and I've tried many options, the child is a must, no questions asked as per my fiancé. It is pretty frustrating to arrange a location around one guest as you said, especially when we will be doing two ceremonies.....one beach wedding which is what I want and will be bigger and one back where my fiancé is from in his church....sigh

[BDABeachBum]

@@AllieH thanks! it helps to hear it from other people! I'm certainly hoping I will forget the stress and headaches! I keep telling myself that it doesn't matter where we get married because at the end of the day I'm marrying the love of my life, but then it really does matter to me, haha, maybe that's shallow? Still contemplating And trying to justify Grand Velas

[AllieH]

no it isn't shallow - you want friends and family to enjoy it too. I think most people do. So many factors go into planning and decision making, and it's different for all of us. It WILL be beautiful.

 

 

@@AllieH thanks! it helps to hear it from other people! I'm certainly hoping I will forget the stress and headaches! I keep telling myself that it doesn't matter where we get married because at the end of the day I'm marrying the love of my life, but then it really does matter to me, haha, maybe that's shallow? Still contemplating And trying to justify Grand Velas

[TA Wendy]

Hi all, TA Wendy here! I was just in Cancun last week and had the opportunity to visit and tour Grand Velas as well as 3 Mayakoba resorts. All are wonderful and I think Grand Velas has moved up to being one of my new favorite resorts. It is in a higher price point, but is well worth it. Lunch there was a feast for the eyes and taste buds, with such beautiful place settings and a great variety of fantastic and artfully prepared selections.

The rooms are beautiful, large and the feel of the resort in general is very upscale and very restful.

If anyone is considering this resort and would like any information I would be glad to share.. It is really one of the very best choices in the area!