Azul Fives Brides 2015

[acw271011]

Hi ladies. Well - I think we've almost made our decision on a resort. It's between Azul Fives and Paradisus La Perla with Ocean Maya Royale thrown in at the tail end in case things don't work out.

 

My big question is have any of you ladies been told that you can't book your date without giving them the name of your travel agent, and whether or not your trip is booked? I just find that a bit odd. We're going to be a really and I mean REALLY small group, likely no more than 6, absolutely max of 10 and that includes hubby and I but 6 is more likely the number which means no group rate for us. I talked to our travel agent that we use and she said that since we don't qualify for a rate not to even think about booking right now. She said the prices to book for October are really overinflated at the moment so just to hold off. But when I tried to get the info from Fives they wanted to know if our trip was booked and who our agent is.

 

If they're going to force the issue, it will be a deal breaker for sure. The price will likely come down about $500 between now and when we plan to book but I want my date guaranteed.

[AllieH]

well that's interesting. I haven't heard of this with Karisma before. In fact, we put down our deposit for our wedding w/ Lomas before we booked our group. I'd tell them who the TA is (copy him/her on the email), and let them know the price is too high right now and that's why it isn't booked. maybe that can help pressure the price while you wait? 

 

worst case - are you 100% set on the date? it may not matter if you have any flexibility at all on the date. wait to book the wedding until you book the travel itself? 

 

Hi ladies. Well - I think we've almost made our decision on a resort. It's between Azul Fives and Paradisus La Perla with Ocean Maya Royale thrown in at the tail end in case things don't work out.

 

My big question is have any of you ladies been told that you can't book your date without giving them the name of your travel agent, and whether or not your trip is booked? I just find that a bit odd. We're going to be a really and I mean REALLY small group, likely no more than 6, absolutely max of 10 and that includes hubby and I but 6 is more likely the number which means no group rate for us. I talked to our travel agent that we use and she said that since we don't qualify for a rate not to even think about booking right now. She said the prices to book for October are really overinflated at the moment so just to hold off. But when I tried to get the info from Fives they wanted to know if our trip was booked and who our agent is.

 

If they're going to force the issue, it will be a deal breaker for sure. The price will likely come down about $500 between now and when we plan to book but I want my date guaranteed.

[acw271011]

well that's interesting. I haven't heard of this with Karisma before. In fact, we put down our deposit for our wedding w/ Lomas before we booked our group. I'd tell them who the TA is (copy him/her on the email), and let them know the price is too high right now and that's why it isn't booked. maybe that can help pressure the price while you wait? 

 

worst case - are you 100% set on the date? it may not matter if you have any flexibility at all on the date. wait to book the wedding until you book the travel itself? 

 

hmmm well now I'm confused. So why do you book with Lomas and not the resort? The email is from someone in Florida but the email tag says Karisma. I have to admit I'm a little blown away by some of the costs. I'm not interested in the whole thing. The thing is we're already married. It's a vow renewal, not our wedding so I'm absolutely not prepared to fork out thousands and thousands, especially for the small number that we'll be. We already did that. What I fell in love with was the pier and I thought just the ceremony, then we're going off site for dinner. I don't want to be kicked out of a resort restaurant after an hour and a half the way they all like to pigeon hole you for a small group. We're only going to be probably 6, maybe 10 so I only want somewhere to do a special ceremony but not on a beach. I'm not interested in sand. I've been over and over the resort list trying to find what I want and I thought I had a short list of just 3 finally. But I'm looking at some of the stuff that they sent me by email and I'm thinking nope. So I guess it's back to the drawing board.

[AllieH]

Karisma is the parent company, and it's the name that the resorts are under (Azul, Generations and El Dorado resorts). Lomas is owned by Karisma, and is the travel agency & wedding planning arm. 

 

You don't have to fork out thousands and thousands of dollars. If you just want a ceremony, and then a dinner in one of the restaurants or a small, private dinner, they can help you with that. But they will need to reserve the wedding ceremony location, and a dinner location if you want something private. 

 

If you haven't booked, they may be wanting to book you with their travel agents if they think you don't have your own. I don't know the reason here - just guessing. 

 

In this situation, I'd let them know you have a travel agent, and you will be booking travel in the near future. Right now you want to put down a deposit to reserve the wedding space(s). It may be different for Canadian TA's & brides, but that's what I would suggest trying next. 

 

hmmm well now I'm confused. So why do you book with Lomas and not the resort? The email is from someone in Florida but the email tag says Karisma. I have to admit I'm a little blown away by some of the costs. I'm not interested in the whole thing. The thing is we're already married. It's a vow renewal, not our wedding so I'm absolutely not prepared to fork out thousands and thousands, especially for the small number that we'll be. We already did that. What I fell in love with was the pier and I thought just the ceremony, then we're going off site for dinner. I don't want to be kicked out of a resort restaurant after an hour and a half the way they all like to pigeon hole you for a small group. We're only going to be probably 6, maybe 10 so I only want somewhere to do a special ceremony but not on a beach. I'm not interested in sand. I've been over and over the resort list trying to find what I want and I thought I had a short list of just 3 finally. But I'm looking at some of the stuff that they sent me by email and I'm thinking nope. So I guess it's back to the drawing board.

[TinkerSofi]

hmmm well now I'm confused. So why do you book with Lomas and not the resort? The email is from someone in Florida but the email tag says Karisma. I have to admit I'm a little blown away by some of the costs. I'm not interested in the whole thing. The thing is we're already married. It's a vow renewal, not our wedding so I'm absolutely not prepared to fork out thousands and thousands, especially for the small number that we'll be. We already did that. What I fell in love with was the pier and I thought just the ceremony, then we're going off site for dinner. I don't want to be kicked out of a resort restaurant after an hour and a half the way they all like to pigeon hole you for a small group. We're only going to be probably 6, maybe 10 so I only want somewhere to do a special ceremony but not on a beach. I'm not interested in sand. I've been over and over the resort list trying to find what I want and I thought I had a short list of just 3 finally. But I'm looking at some of the stuff that they sent me by email and I'm thinking nope. So I guess it's back to the drawing board.

Sorry to hear that . Lomas is a total rip off. I'm trying not to use them as much as I can. It kind of offends me that they think they can charge those prices. Have you looked at the Royal resorts? I know the cancun one has a nice gazebo that faces the beach. Not exactly a pier, but it might be worth looking at. When we were checking out hotels we liked Gran Caribe Real (it used to be their sister hotel) and the package prices were more reasonable than the Karisma ones, especially for a few people. They had a renewal package actually which might work for you. It's also an adults only hotel. 

[acw271011]

Thanks @AllieH  I emailed them back just to check a couple of things. We'll see what they say. She said our date is available but I'm not sure about the time she gave which is 5pm. I think that may be a bit late. I asked about any kind or private something for a really small group but I'm not expecting them to be helpful. All the things I've checked out, resorts are not friendly to really small groups just because they don't make enough money. I already know where I want to go for our dinner off site but I can't do anything until I know the rest will fall into place.

[ACkusch]

Thanks @AllieH  I emailed them back just to check a couple of things. We'll see what they say. She said our date is available but I'm not sure about the time she gave which is 5pm. I think that may be a bit late. I asked about any kind or private something for a really small group but I'm not expecting them to be helpful. All the things I've checked out, resorts are not friendly to really small groups just because they don't make enough money. I already know where I want to go for our dinner off site but I can't do anything until I know the rest will fall into place.

 

I was so confused as well when I started looking into this resort and getting details! Ha.. 3 months later... I'm figuring stuff out I wish I would have found this site before to get ideas on how it all works.I am having my wedding at Azul Fives in May and I originally started with a super small guest list about 10 as well. I worked with Lynda in FL. She was helpful but does take a while to respond. So email her a bunch of questions upfront. If you want to have your wedding there for the ceremony I believe its 995.00 ( always and forever package) and then the dinner at one of their restaurants. If you want something private, there is an extra charge and minimum of 16 guests for a private dinner in any of their locations. ( garden, beach, sky deck etc)  you can still have less than 16 people but they will charge a min of 16 and you can pick the food from their banquet menu which is anywhere from $22-50 per person depending on what food selections you'd like. Like everyone else has mentioned the killer is the decor from Lomas Travel... Its so ridiculous. I am sooooo happy to know it wasn't just me thinking these were crazy prices. From what I can see in the reviews this is an excellent resort, everyone raves about the service and attention. Its a beautiful resort and location!!! Good luck and congrats!

@@sbjzmex When I went to the Brides dress rehearsel they told me that they do one wedding a day.  Hopefully all the weddings will have fun people and create a fun experience for the time outside of our weddings. Maybe you and I can have a drink out there! I will be flying in the 12th. I am hoping that the other bride getting married the same day as me shows up on this blog so we can chat!

I just came across this thread today. I am also getting married May 16th at Azul Fives. haha. I had heard they only did one wedding a day too but it doesn't seem to be the case. I am going to be doing the ceremony in the garden and then the reception dinner on the beach... How exciting 4 months to go!!! The sky deck is beautiful but totally not within our budget!! I'll see you there! congrats!!

[Tanya4321]

Hi ladies!!!

 

I am so happy I found this forum, I read all 50 pages in a day!!

 

I just came back from several site visits in MX, and absolutely fell in love with the Azul Fives!!! We also looked at the Paradisus and the Palace resorts, but Azul was exactly what we were looking for!!

 

BTW, while we were there, we were told that they will be opening another ceremony/reception location a but further down on the beach! I am not sure when they are planning to do that. Let me know if you have any questions about the other wedding locations, I also have some videos that I can share.

 

I was hoping that you could help me plz... Can anyone please recommend a good GI travel agent in Canada? I've talked to a few now, and I am not having too much luck with them! If anyone has a good contact, I would really appreciate if you could plz forward along!!

[acw271011]

Ok ladies. Who can answer a question for me very quickly. What is the charge to have your ceremony on the Zky Terrace. Not the Sky Deck, the other one. It shows both on the info that they sent me. I'm finding out if I pick another ceremony location I can have the time I want but the only thing that i might like is the Zky Terrace.

 

Thanks!!

[kmk2016]

Ok ladies. Who can answer a question for me very quickly. What is the charge to have your ceremony on the Zky Terrace. Not the Sky Deck, the other one. It shows both on the info that they sent me. I'm finding out if I pick another ceremony location I can have the time I want but the only thing that i might like is the Zky Terrace.

 

Thanks!!

The only location where there is an additional cost is the sky deck for $1700. All others can be reserved at no charge.