New Resort - Royalton Riviera Cancun

[maybeoneday]

Hi Ladies,

 

I am new to the forum and am also looking to get some more info if possible. We have booked our wedding at the Royalton for August 2016 I know that this is during their rainy season, and am wondering what the wedding location options are if it is raining on the day? All the locations I have seen so far seem to be open to the elements?

Also, our wedding package includes just a 30 min sesion with the photographer. Is there an option to pay extra to have them for longer?

Any info would be great

 

Thanks! xxx

Hi @@KJBride,

 

Firstly congratulations and welcome to the Forum You will get some great support from the ladies on here!

 

We got married on 14 October and were there for 2 weeks. The weather was perfect for most of the holiday but did have a few heavy downpours for around 3 days. I believe another bride had to have the ceremony in the Business Centre due to the rain.

 

 

 

I personally would not worry about the weather.

 

Regarding photography - I assume this will be with their preferred vendor Photo Pro. I booked a wedding package with them via the Royalton WC. There are 3 packages I found plus videography if that was what you wanted.

 

https://photopro.mx/

 

Depending on what you wanted They should be able to accommodate. Definitely speak to the WC she should be able to sort this out.

 

If you need anymore just let me know xx

 

Business centre

 

 

Maybeoneday

14 /10/2015 - R R C, Mexico

Edited November 12, 2015 by maybeoneday

[Sthefany]

Hi Royalton Brides!!

 

So I have been snooping around for months and I think I made my final decision on the Royalton. To be quiet honest, its hell expensive, but I am paying for the fact that all my guests get to stay in this amazing resort, it is a really good value for the money and I didn't want my guests to be paying more than $200 a night, even if most can, some can't. As you all may be aware, there is so many hidden costs, and their prices are absurd. So I was wondering if any past brides got away with for example using day passes for the make up artists? Or not paying one vendor fee? Honestly, I am bringing almost everything from out of resort because it is so much more affordable, they are so helpful and acutally want your business. Some vendors actually respond to emails and want to work with you with your budget and what you have in mind. Taking that into account, I calculated over5Ks in JUST vendors fees which are ridiculous. Like, they don't have a photo booth company and if we bring one in is a fee of $450 plus what youre paying for the booth (that is one damn expensive booth). $850 for photo,$850 for video, $450 for DJ $450 for wedding planner... I was wondering if I really need to pay the make up artists fees and all that? Brides that have gotten married there, what do you think? I just want to find a reasonable way out of this mess, because I am going WAY over-budget and spending 5K on nothing. HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP! This doesn't go to say that this is the only resort that makes you use their florist, and the florist is insanely expensive. For a bridesmaids bouquet with six roses its $60!!! ISNT THAT ABSURD? This is what I am talking about. I don't mind spending on my wedding, I plan to spend a lot, but with these such prices it hurts badly! But we have no choice, so you take the good with the bad right??? I keep envisioning all my guests at the resort and thinking this will all be worth it.. LOL

 

 

PLEASE HELP!! Past brides, what did you guys do?

 

 

 

[Rhonda3839]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the late review. Our wedding was amazing thanks to everyone at the Royalton Riviera Cancun. It was just the two of us and was better than I could have ever imagined!

My husband (I love saying that!!) and I stayed at the RRC between 7-21 October 2015 and had our wedding at the Hideaway Sky Terrace on 14 October. Like most people I read the reviews on Trip Advisor daily and thought about moving hotels however as we had our wedding booked here it would have been a hassle to change everything to a new hotel. We are pretty laid back so went with an open mind.

I'll start at the beginning.....

I booked 3 weeks off work so had a few days before we flew to get all the last minute shopping and beauty treatments done. All was fine until we decided to meet friends the night before for a few drinks...which turned into far too many! We had a taxi booked for 8.00am the following morning so woke up early to finish off packing. Unfortunately I had over packed and was quite a bit over our allocated weight! After being quite ruthless and with 5 mins spare we were done and on our way!

I will skip the palaver we had at the Airport both in the UK and Cancun ( i will put this in my own thread review) but once we left Cancun Airport we were at our destination 20 minutes later!

*Check in*

Not the best looking hotel upon approach but once in the views are breathtaking! We received sparkling wine and a cool towel upon arrival and the bell boys provided a ticket for our bags. We were swiftly taken the Hideaway Check in which was very smooth. Our wedding package included a room upgrade but the check in staff had no record of this and said to speak to the onsite wedding team the next day as they were closed when we arrived - we were late due to an incident at Customs! We were escorted to our room and the facilities were explained along the way.

View from lobby.jpg

*Room 3226*

Our key cards didn't work when we got to our room so the staff member let us in...Guess what....Mangrove/Swamp View! He showed us where everything was and how the TV worked. He advised us to go to check in about the key cards and about room location.

Back to check in...We were given new keys swiftly with lots of apologies and were advised to come back the next day to see what could be done about a room change. I cannot fault them as they were very sincere and apologetic.

The room was beautiful and exactly like the hotel photos but it smelt quite damp. Also there is a service road at the bottom of the block which was in use regularly during the night. Very noisy!

The next morning I went to see our Wedding coordinator, Brenda, about wedding details and asked about a room upgrade. She went through everything with us and said she would get back to us about the room. An hour later she found us and showed me a new room overlooking the Hideaway pool and ocean to the side....Stunning! It would be ready a little later so we were asked to pack (lucky we hadn't unpacked) and go back to check in later. All sorted! Brenda, Alonso (Head of Hideaway check in) and check in staff were amazing..fab service!

*New Room 1421*

Wow... loved it. Everything people have raved about was true...amazing super king size bed, double rainfall shower, jacuzzi...the list goes on! Views were great!

Side view from room 1421.jpg

*General Hotel and Grounds*

The hotel and grounds are beautiful! Yes there were works going on while we were there and the grounds are uneven/slippy in some areas but just be a little cautious.

*Food*

There are a choice of restaurants and a buffet. We went to the buffet on most occasions as the choice there is unbelievable! They have fresh food stations so can cook to your individual tastes. So much choice! The staff greeting you at the buffet day and night were lovely...fantastic service!

We tried Dorados for breakfast. Service was a little slow but we had amazing views. From what I heard all restaurants were great especially the Zen Tepenyaki table but we didn't try all of them ourselves. Hopefully next time ;-)

*Pools*

We just stayed in the Hideaway section. All pools were clean. The staff here were so attentive from the poolside waiters/waitresses. We had Blanca, Santiago and Oscar all of which were great. Always around to get a fresh drink or provide menu for food. Poolside food was limited but very tasty. Great if you didn't want to leave the pool area. Pool bar was great for a quick shot now and then!

There is always some form of entertainment in the Hideaway Section from the violinist who was amazing, dance entertainment and general pool entertainment games. The entertainment team did try to get people involved but were not intrusive at all.

*Bars*

There are so many bars here including pool bars. We went to the lobby bar for the few evenings which was nice and relaxed but quite dark. We then went to Martini Mix on the Ground floor which was great. There was always live music there in the evenings and had a more lively atmosphere. The staff here were amazing...very friendly and remembered what you liked to drink. They gave us a few drinks to try after they got to know what we liked and every one was delicious! Must try the Chocolate Martini, Mini Beer, Mini Guinness and Bumblebee...amazing! Emmanuel (sp?..I think) was especially great! Shame he wasn't there on our last day as we wanted to say a big Thank you to him for the service he provided. They also had some bartenders who did a fantastic cocktail making show...truly amazing!

*Service*

Every single person we encountered at Royalton was amazing. Always smiling and looked immaculate especially in that heat! They are so friendly and make you feel like they genuinely want to make your stay as amazing as possible...which they did perfectly. Aldo who is at the main lobby area and occasionally at the Hideaway concierge area was lovely. Again provided valuable information in the first few days there. So many names to remember...so apologies if I haven't mentioned you.

*Wedding*

Before we arrived we liaised with Sofia Simon-Baptiste at Royalton Head office Wedding department. She was fantastic and provided us with all the information we needed to make an informed decision. As it was just for 2 people, they were one of the only hotels that did a package tailored for this called 'Just the two of us'. She guided us through the processes with ease and gave the hotel all the information they needed to continue the process upon arrival.

Our on site wedding coordinator was a lovely lady called Brenda. She was FANTASTIC! As mentioned earlier she sorted out the issue with our room very quickly and always came back to us to let us know of any updates.

We changed our minds on the venue when we got there and decided to upgrade to the Hideaway Sky Terrace instead of the Chapel. The Chapel was beautiful and for those getting married there go for it but we just wanted it to be a little more discrete.

Chapel

Inside Wedding Chapel Beach view.jpg

Inside Wedding Chapel.jpg

Hideaway Sky Terrace

2015-10-11 09.30.35.jpeg

Hideaway Sky Terrace.jpg

View from Hideaway Sky Terrace 2.jpg

Brenda sorted this for us with ease and for me to have the Spa Bridal Suite to get ready in as I was already getting my hair and make up done there (other half arranged this). This was all done at short notice but you would not have realised as it was as smooth as clock work. She arranged a surprise for us in our room when we returned from our meal and stayed after her normal working hours to ensure we had an amazing day.

Our Ceremony was at 4.30pm. I was at the Bridal suite by 1.30pm for facial, makeup and hair. My hair and makeup was done by a lovely young man called Elias. He did an amazing job and I am so grateful to him. He, again, was fantastic and knew exactly what he was doing. He asked what I wanted and did it better than I could ever have imagined!

IMG-20151015-WA0012-1.jpg

I was ready by 3.15pm so put on the dress....only one problem....difficult to get a corset back done up yourself! As if by magic Brenda appeared and helped me! The dress was a little snug after a week of amazing food and lots of alcohol but once on it felt fine.

Bouquet was huge...definitely not small as described. Loved it!!

20151015_083112.jpg

4.15pm I was on my way....

There is a lift that goes directly to the Sky Wedding area. I waited in it until the music played and then walked down the aisle to John Legend 'All of Me'.

Everything was perfect.

The minister spoke great English and talked about love and commitment.

We did their vows and then signed certificate.

Photographer - we used the hotel recommended vendor Photo Pro and had Andrea as our wedding photographer. He has great! He made us feel at ease as we both hate posing for photos. We only booked the basic package as it was just the two of us. We ended up buying all the photos as they were all fab! Money well spent.

A thunderstorm was brewing by around 6.00pm so we enter back to the room and I did put on my second dress for the meal and drinks.

We had a semi private room at the Hunters Steakhouse which was fantastic! Beautiful surroundings, see and food!

2015-10-14 19.54.44.jpeg

And then drinks at the Martini Bar.

The day was everything we had hoped for.

A big 'Thank You' to everyone on this forum for your advice and support through out this process xxx

Maybeoneday

14 /10/2015 - R R C, Mexico

@@maybeoneday Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for your extensive review. My wedding is right around the corner in May and this helped to ease a few concerns. I did do a site inspection in early August but nothing compares to the sounds of satisfied bride on her wedding day. Congratulations on your recent marriage. You have me so excited for my big day

Hi Jenn,

 

Congratulations on your wedding, sounds AMAZING! I am getting married in May 2016 on the Sky Terrace

 

I have also booked the DJ for our reception, do you know if there is more than one DJ? As I would love to book the one you had- sounds amazing & dancing is going to be very important for my family & guests!

 

Did you have a practice hair & makeup trial? I want to book the wedding party in but I wonder how pricey that may get.

 

Sorry last question- would you mind please emailing me any photos? kellyelizabthdabin@@gmail.com

 

Thanks so very much, so sorry for all the questions!

 

Kelly

 

Yay! Another Royalton May 2016 bride. I'm going to pm you! @@Ked

Edited February 14, 2016 by Rhonda3839

[maybeoneday]

@@Rhonda3839 Congratulations on your upcoming wedding xx Ours was Amazing xx I was really worried after the reviews I read but everything was perfect! I'm sure yours will be too xx

 

Maybeoneday

14 /10/2015 - R R C, Mexico

[Anitam]

Wedding and Resort Review

1)      Resort

·          The size of this place is not comparable to pictures. If you are the bride and groom, you do get a fast check in but if you are a guest it can be a little time consuming. That being said if you are in Hideaways or Diamond club, I believe your check in experience is similar to those of the bride and groom.

·         After check in they give you a card key that is attached to your wrist band. This is for the regular area ( I believe diamond club and hideaways had usual wrist bands and separate key card). We LOVED the wrist key card because there was never an issue of losing your room key. I suppose the only inconvenience is that you cannot hand your key to someone else if they need something from your room. But that rarely was an issue for us.

·         We got upgraded to the Presidential suite in Building 8 and it was phenomenal. We were there for 8 days 7 nights and the staff was amazing. Sure there were times it took awhile for room service or bellman/wait staff but if you see the size of this place a 20 minute wait is expected. The suite had a living room, bedroom, and massive bathroom with Jacuzzi, two rain shower head shower. The patio had another Jacuzzi and the living room had a separate bathroom with toilet and bath. This room becomes the hangout spot for our bridal party and it was clearly obvious why! I also used Building 6 as the bridal suite because my hubby used our Presidential in building 8 for the groomsmen and family. The room we had had a rooftop terrace and sitting area which was gorgeous.

·         The restaurants and buffet were great. The food was delicious! Everything is tapas, small plate servings which was great because there was never too much we could order and we shared everything. Our favorite restaurant was Armadillo – their fish tacos are awesome! Few things to note- Zen has a wait for their tepanyaki side so get there about 2 pm to line up to make same day reservations. This is worth it for the hibachi experience but not enough to do twice. Also if you are diamond club you don’t have to do the wait thing as you get reservations made for you. Agave had great duck roasted plates. Each restaurant does have private rooms that if you have a large party you can obtain for 1-2 bottles of wine that generally cost $50 each. This isn’t a bad deal if you are trying to have a private dinner and everyone has a glass of wine it’s worth it. We did this twice, at agave and at Opa. Opa has great chocolate baklava! Score’s is open essentially 24 hours, I only ate there after our wedding when it was 3 am and we were hungry after a night of drinking! Their wings were really yummy. We did not get to go to Hunter, although people raved about it. And the buffet is like no other buffet at an all-inclusive. Their food choices are amazing, not just mass made.  Grazie was probably my least favorite but still ok choices.

·         Pools – we stayed at the main pool outside the lobby for the most part as it was an easy meet up spot for us to tell the group (which we have over 100!). The kid’s pool and section was fun from what our friends with children stated. The hideaways pool was fun looking and very private. We saw it when we were allowed to eat at El Dorado , as this is a hideaways only restaurant, but the wait staff remembered us from serving our wedding =)

·         Beach – the seaweed was gone! The sand was perfect, the pictures show it all!. Feel free to email me if you want to see pictures

·         Bars – the drinks were great. They had some premium liquor .We only bough ultra premium stuff for our bridal suites. Other than that people were satisfied with the choices. My favorite drink was the michelada!

·         Staff- there was some complaints of pushy staff waiting for tips. I personally did not incur any but I can see how this would cause some discomfort. But overall I thought they were friendly and courteous and efficient.

2)      Wedding  - 142 guests, beach

·         Wedding planning pre getting to the resort - I had Sofia Baptiste as our wedding planner who is PHENOMENAL. She not only did her job but went above and beyond to make my vision as her vision. We vibed well and she gave me ideas and vice versa. She also worked with the vendors to really get prices in the range we were ok with as well as not straying from the vision we had. She had a very detailed invoice that she updated with any changes almost daily at the end.

·         Photographer – I used Sarani Photography , which is an outside vendor. I loved her portfolio and had to have her so we negotiated with Royalton as they usually do not do this. We believe that both parties would mutually benefit from this relationship so we pushed and it happened! We used their house photography team for the rehearsal dinner which was held in the semi-private area of Gourmet Marche and I have not seen the pictures yet so cannot comment, but the photographer himself was a pleasure to work with.  Sarani was so much fun, her team was barely visible to us in terms of being in the way during ceremony and getting ready. And in terms of taking pictures of moments that were meaningful to us, we sent her a list of things we absolutely wanted as well as gave her a few props we wanted to use such as a thank you sign. I cannot wait to see the images that come back!

·         On site wedding planners – Siada and Elizabeth were the dream team. They had a meeting with us where every aspect of the plan we had concocted with Sofia was ran through, confirmed and tweaked. They then showed us where everything would take place, asked if we had suggestions, and then showed us the backup locations. We had the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception on the beach. Everything was laid out near each other but the individualized in its own way. They then laid out the timeline of where they would be and how they could assist. They were available in their office any time before the wedding and all day the day of the wedding. They were even onsite for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I had 3 of my own family/friends who assisted Siada and Elizabeth and they all got along smoothly

·         DJ – we used their house/staff DJ which was in liason with their own vendor, Encore. Miguel was the one we had correspondence with and he was great. Their methods of obtaining songs for bridal party entrance, genres we like and don’t like, and the emcee that comes with the package, Alfonso, were all great. The ceremony was audible to everyone considering the size. There were no complaints of the music for the reception. They had 90% of the guests on the dance floor!

·         Décor vendor – Euforia is the contracted vendor through Royalton. We initially were going to do the reception and ceremony on the sky terrace but as we become over capacity everything ended up being on the beach. I was disheartened at first because a lot relied on the weather if it is on the beach. However, when I suggested a tented reception, they were all receiving and quickly thought of how to make it beautiful. They suggested spot lights and chandeliers on a steel frame clear tent. It was magnificent. For the ceremony, Sofia had suggested a circular set up so it was more intimate and there was visibility from all angles. The vendors set it up just right and the day of the ceremony, there was visibility for all 142 guests. Majority of the centerpieces and other décor I made myself to avoid costs of fresh flowers etc. Everything was transported beautifully and they set it up just as how I wanted. During the meeting I showed Siada and Elizabeth our vision and they met it perfectly!

·         Spa – I don’t know where to begin. I have been a bridesmaid many times and have never had the experience I have had here. I had 15 bridesmaids, only 14 were able to come and the spa accommodated all 14, myself, and the 2 moms. Every girl walked out looking like a model. They did hair and makeup perfectly, with no problem of color matching and they were efficient and even ahead of schedule. Elias did my hair and make-up and that man is a genius. I showed two pictures and he worked magic. All of our hair and make-up stayed all night despite the wind.

 

Overall, we loved our experience. The few glitches that went wrong were not attributable to the hotel and could have happened anywhere and aren’t even worth mentioning as they did not stop us from having a great time! 

[ReginaKay]

@@Anitam hi! I'm getting married here on April 11th and have some questions for you! Is there anyway you can email me?

 

My ceremony was supposed to be in the chapel, but I'm over capacity so that's moved to the beach now. My reception is on the sky terrace. I'm working with Sofia also. I feel like the prices she's quoting us are so high!! Any suggestions or advice would be so appreciated. I would love to see your tent by the way!

 

ReginaKrachak@@gmail.com

[Rhonda3839]

@@Anitam yay!!! I'm so happy everything worked our for yoyu. I too am in love with Sarani's photos. She was definetly on our top list but we chose to go with Fine Art Studio instead. I had no clue Royalton will negotiate on your behalf. My pre-wedding coordinator doesn't seem to do this. I'll have to check out Euphoria. I wonddr if that is the long page PDF file I was sent a while ago with all kinds of lighting options, sofas, chargers etc. Did you choose the couches pre wedding or last minute? I would love to see photos of the beach and of your wedding set up if you don't mind sharing. I'll PM you my email address. Thanks

 

BTW is anyone working with pre-wedding Coordinator Ashley that could give feedback?

[Laur114]

Hello all, my wedding is booked for January 2017 at the Royalton Riviera Cancun. I am having my ceremony in the chapel and reception on the sky terrace. I am just wondering, for those that already married or about to marry there, how much did you spend for ceremony and reception? so not including attire, favors, hair and make up, etc. Also how many guests attended your wedding? And were you surprised by some hidden fees or certain costs?

 

Just worried here, we are expecting about 60 guests and have a budget of $16,000 with wiggle room but do not want to exceed $20,000. We did the math for the food and alcohol and it's coming out to less than $10,000. We booked our photographer who is a family friend and my uncle is going to d.j. I'm also planning on supplying my own centerpieces to avoid the ridiculous prices for the flowers. Any other ways you ladies saved money would be a great help for me.

[Moments That Matter]

Hey Laur114 - welcome to our forum community and Congrats on your upcoming Royalton Riviera Cancun wedding in Jan!!! Exciting times!!! ~ What a wonderful journey you're on

 

You'll find lots of great info, resources, suggestions, advice and support here to help with your planning decisions, so well done on a great start

 

Just a word of caution about your plan to have a family friend photograph your wedding....... because it is illegal for someone to come to Mexico and photograph a wedding without proper working papers ~ the same way people can not just travel to the USA or Canada and work.

Cancun airport is aware of this and as you will see... scans all luggage arriving when you go through customs. People traveling with more than one camera will need to answer for the equipment. I'm not trying to scare you... just give you the facts of working in a foreign country.

MTM has recently changed all the prices to accommodate couples who are working within an economical spending plan.

It could be worth your time to check out our budget-friendly pricing structure and added value offers before making your final decision. This is not something you want to "go sideways" on your wedding trip!

 

Wishing you happy research, and all the very BEST with your plans, cheers!!! team MTM

 

....will leave you with these images of magical wedding moments that matter we've captured in our beautiful Riviera Maya Resorts....enjoy!!!

 

 

Edited March 31, 2016 by Moments That Matter

[cayls55]

@@Anitam hi! I'm getting married here on April 11th and have some questions for you! Is there anyway you can email me?

 

My ceremony was supposed to be in the chapel, but I'm over capacity so that's moved to the beach now. My reception is on the sky terrace. I'm working with Sofia also. I feel like the prices she's quoting us are so high!! Any suggestions or advice would be so appreciated. I would love to see your tent by the way!

 

ReginaKrachak@@gmail.com

 

Hi Regina, 

 

I spent quite a while looking for photographers in the area as well, including Sofia. It's so hard to make these decisions from abroad! Did you see Octavio Montes? I stumbled upon his reviews on this website and he was highly rated and he had what I found was better pricing than most other photographers in the area. My wedding isn't until Jan 2017 but he has been very responsive and easy to work with so far with working on what time frame I want, certain looks and shots I'm looking for etc... We are also using his videoography service which also appears to be better priced than others in the area. If you want a good price photographer check out  http://www.octaviomontes.com/.