Riu Jalisco/PV Wedding Review

[~Melissa~]

My wish came true, it's over! I can't believe how stressed I was, in the end it turned out to be almost perfect! Minor exceptions you know.... there is always something.

 

Riu Jalisco, Puerto Vallarta B

 

The resort is HUGE! I guess it has to be when it has 700 rooms. The staff were very polite and catered to all the guests. To my surprise my family was waiting for me in the lobby when me and Jared got out of the shuttle van. It was so overwhelming, the tears came and much is a blur now when I try to remember. As my little sister put it they were "happy tears".

 

We were upgraded to a honeymooner suite, which we loved. It was on the corner on the ground floor. Perfect location because there is so much walking to the pools, beach, restaurants, spa, etc. So the location of the room saved us some walking time. There was a letter from our 2 wedding coordinators (Yessica and Erika) which we were to meet at 12 the next day. (continued below).

 

All 55 of our guests loved the resort and most said they would be back in the future. The only complaint was there were no bathrooms by the beach. It was like a 2 minute walk**to the nearest bathrooms. There were always lounge chairs by the beach, adult pool or kiddie pool. No fighting over towels either which was nice. In fact we ended up with too many towels because sometimes the operator would give you extras.

 

The food was great as well. I didn't eat much because I was so stressed and by the time the wedding was over I think I caught a bug. But what I did eat was good. There was so many choices. Salads, burgers, chicken nuggets, fries, beef, duck, pork, fajitas... you name it and it was there. The pizza wasn't the greatest, the cheese tasted different than what we were used to. The wait staff worked hard and we tipped them at ever meal I think. Breakfast was my favorite meal of the day.

 

Drinks may have been watered down, I don't know. I didn't get drunk or anything but my hubby sure did. He was loving the coronas in the room and we ordered room service several times to get our little fridge stocked up more than once a day. Our balcony was huge so we would have lil parties with our Ipod speakers.... it was a good time.

 

Another attention getter is the lack of security for the rooms. Each room has a key... well it's very easy (as we found out) to go to the front desk and ask for an extra key for the room. They don't ask who you are or ask for any identification. Also turns out my Grandpa had a master key that could unlock ANY room we tried. We tried about 10 rooms and they worked on each one.

 

I also had someone tamper with my lock for my laptop. Thank goodness they were unsuccessful. We were on the ground floor and found several times that our patio was unlocked. After the first time we triple checked it each time we would leave the room. And we could come back from dinner and it would be magically unlocked. We voiced our concerns with the assistant manager, Stephanie and were moved up to the fifth floor. We didn't experience any issues after the move. But I would not bring my laptop again and I am thankful I had a lock for it.

 

Wright Travel Angency; Tammy (Travel Agent) A+

Wright Travel Agency

 

I wish more of our guests would have booked through her as we had no complictions at all with our reservtions or transportation. Some other guests certainly did. It was nice not to worry, I had alot of trust in her.

 

She was so helpful throughout the whole process and now I have very high standards when it comes to travel agents. She has a big heart and cares alot about her clients, as you can see on the forum.

 

 

Riu Jalisco Wedding Coordinators; Yessica and Erika A-

 

Our meeting the next day went very well. The girls were sweethearts and I could see by their bulletin board just how busy they were. They had 1 wedding at least every day. I expressed my concern for future brides and the email issue. Erika apologized and said by contract they are not supposed to start planning a wedding until our arrival. The meeting didn' take long and it was very easy pick and choose options. I made a last minute decision on flowers which I was very happy with. I did white cala lillies and yellow roses on my bouquet and both white calla lillies and roses for my bridesmaids. They looked SO GOOD. I saw another couple of weddings and the flowers were smaller and not as nice. Perhaps it was because of our wedding package was higher?

 

We ended up squishing all 55 of our guests in the gazebo as that is what I had my heart set on. I have to thank the wedding coordinators again because they made everything possible. Even made some last minute alterations on 2 of the BM dresses for $5 each!

 

For any future brides I highly recommend you to print out all your emails and details in pricing with any resort organizing your wedding. I wasn't surprised they raised their rates, but was happy I had my proof that when I booked them the rates were much lower. DH was happy with my OCD that day LOL.

 

The wedding day was fabulous it was so hot outside. Everyone was sweating especially the best man, he was soaked in sweat. I for whatever reason didn't sweat. Must be my low blood pressure cuz i think I was the only one hahah.

 

I had several family tell me it was the best wedding they ever attended. That was probably the BEST compliment. I worked hard on the playlist and used my laptop and rented the sound equipment instead of hiring a DJ. My uncle even stated he danced to every song lol. It was so much fun!

 

 

Renova Spa B

 

I'm so happy I got a trial hair do the day before. Doris (the hairdresser) didn't speak any English and the communication was really hard. Once again I'm so thankful I read on the forum to bring a picture of the hair you wanted. I wasn't satisfied with the trial but me and my MOH played around with it and fixed it, took a picture of the finished result and showed it to Doris on the wedding day. I would have been in tears if i had to deal with the trial hair style on the actual wedding day. I hated it and I could tell from my Mom and aunties expression they didn't think it was that nice either. Yuck, I wish I had a picture of what she did. The top part had so much height which was not flattering. But then the back went sideways to the one shoulder. It's hard to explain.... regardless the wedding day hair was fabulous and Doris did a good job.

 

I also had a massage earlier that day and it was awesome. It totally calmed my nerves. On our first day me and Jared also had a couples exfoliation. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was great. Jared loved every minute of it lol which he didn't think he would have.

 

 

Robin DePaula (Photogapher) B+

Robin DePaula Photography, Louisiana & International Destination Wedding Photographer - Robin DePaula specializes in wedding photography and serves the entire Louisiana region. Also available for destination wedding coverage. Make sure to check out a

 

As you have probably already seen we are so thankful for our gorgeous pictures. Robin captured the day perfectly. She is so sweet and reassured me when I was stressing out. She's super cute and I'm sure I made a life long friend. I can not say enough about her and her work.

 

I was expecting my pictures in about a month to two months. I was shocked upon our return that our pictures were already up. It was a litte overwhelming but so nice to relive our special day through the slideshow and TTD session. We received our DVD with the slideshow in the mail 2 months after the wedding. With personal life issues, busy time of year, other weddings our package was put on hold. We are still awaiting our coffee table photobook.

 

 

Buenaventura (honeymoon resort) C+

 

Boy were we shocked upon our arrival that this resort was under MAJOR constriction! It's unbelievable how hard those guys work. Both night and day they were out there. And no they don't work with drills, they work with the bare necessities; picks and tools. It was unbelievable. I just wanted to buy them all waters for all their hard work in the crazy heat.

 

Since it was under construction only 1 restaurant and 1 bar was available for use. I was very disappointed and I felt like I let Jared down. He reassured me we would make the best of it and we did.

 

The location of this hotel is unbeatable. It's right at the beginning of the malecon and we did so much more walking. I guess we got used to it. Sometimes we would take it easy and cab it. I wasn't feeling well most days and the heat took quite the toll on me. We did some shopping and had fun exploring all the neat restaurants and bars in PV.

 

This resort is going to be a 5 star we were told by the manager (forgot her name). She said all the construction would be complete by the end of November. I don't think they will be complete by then. They are completely redoing the south side of the resort.... everything in the rooms is new. The lobby, restaurants and bars are all under construction as well.

 

The beds were softer than the Riu Jalisco at the Buenaventura. And we appreciated the smaller resort too. It's a toss up as they are so different but we would probably say the Riu Jalisco as it wasn't under construction.

 

So much to cover, i know I'm not covering it all..... if you have any questions you can PM me. I would be more than happy to help someone out.

[robindepaula]

Very nice review . . . and yes, you're stuck with me now!!! For a life time! You know Jilana has already said I'm her photographer when she gets married, so I guess I'm just a part of the family now!!!

[BayBug]

Nice review! Sounds like you had tons of fun. It is so hard coming back.

[starchild]

Thanks for the review! Sounds like all was well, maybe a few RIU issues but nothing that stopped a good time. I had a guest at the Buenaventura who liked it as well, the location is great as compared to RIU which is a little far removed. The pics I've seen are gorgeous...great work Robin (and you for looking goood...lol)!

[MsShelley]

great review, so glad you had a great time!

[Sarah]

Great review Mel! I'm so glad everything turned out well. What a bummer that you got sick at the end. It probably was a combination of the food there and the stress of everything catching up to you. I'm so happy for you and Jared. You two have been through so much over the past year and certainly deserve much love & happiness. Congratulations sweetie!

[Celina]

Congratulations! I'm new here so I'll have to look around the site for your wedding pics. We are getting married next November at RIU Vallarta. Yes - Erika is hard to get a hold of. I'd love to see pics of your bouquets. I am doing a site visit the week after Thanksgiving, so I'll get to check it out for myself. I'll remember to not get a ground floor room either!

 

Sound like you guys had a great time. Thank you so much for the information. It is VERY helpful.

 

Once again, congratulations!

[Celina]

I clicked on Robin's website and saw your pics and got a huge lump in my throat! OMG they were awesome! I even called my sister and we both looked at them again. I have had that Jimmy Buffet song on my mind all afternoon! Your flowers were stunning! I wasn't going to do the cala lillies, but after seeing your bouquets, I am definitely reconsidering! I was wondering how your reception went? Where did you have it?

[~Melissa~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robindepaula Very nice review . . . and yes, you're stuck with me now!!! For a life time! You know Jilana has already said I'm her photographer when she gets married, so I guess I'm just a part of the family now!!!

You sure are apart of the family... one more member never hurts. The more the merrier. LOL Jilana- what a girl!

Quote:

Originally Posted by starchild Thanks for the review! Sounds like all was well, maybe a few RIU issues but nothing that stopped a good time. I had a guest at the Buenaventura who liked it as well, the location is great as compared to RIU which is a little far removed. The pics I've seen are gorgeous...great work Robin (and you for looking goood...lol)!

Thanks Jamy. I think the Buenaventura was a good choice just not under construction. It will be fabulous soon though. The reno's are going to be breath taking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah Great review Mel! I'm so glad everything turned out well. What a bummer that you got sick at the end. It probably was a combination of the food there and the stress of everything catching up to you. I'm so happy for you and Jared. You two have been through so much over the past year and certainly deserve much love & happiness. Congratulations sweetie!

That's sweet and almost made me cry. Yes this year certainly has been a rough one but it's also been one of the best. Funny how that works, isn't it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoontobeMrsE I clicked on Robin's website and saw your pics and got a huge lump in my throat! OMG they were awesome! I even called my sister and we both looked at them again. I have had that Jimmy Buffet song on my mind all afternoon! Your flowers were stunning! I wasn't going to do the cala lillies, but after seeing your bouquets, I am definitely reconsidering! I was wondering how your reception went? Where did you have it?

Thank you very much, kudos to Robin because she is very talented. beleive me, I am NOT photogenic one bit.

I was very impressed with the flowers, the quality was over the top and the roses were at the perfect stage. I'm not sure who they go through for flowers but I know it is an outside vendor. They will give you ANYTHING you want.

Our reception was my fave part of the night. We danced the night away at the Bar Bahia (infront of the beach). It was away from the resort a bit so only our guests could enjoy. We rented it for the night as well as a bartender and sound equipment. I brought my macbook(laptop) along and we played music from it. The guests loved it and we all danced the night away. It was so awesome. I wish I could do THAT part over lol

What month is your wedding? because October was waaaaaay too hot!

[amyh]

Great review Mel!!! That sucks that you got sick, it seems as though it happens often to many brides!