Making A Decision With Resort- How Did You Pick ?

[calgarybride2015]

Thank you!!! I feel way less stressed about this now! I was feeling so pressured to book ASAP as everyone keeps asking me. The grand Sirenis looks really nice... and affordable. How was the food at that resort? Was there good snorkeling? Is there lots of entertainment? Thanks again!

 

I checked out your pictures... gorgeous!!!! did you get your own photographer? or was it included in the wedding package?!

No issues with the food. I didn't get the popular ala cartes but heard they were good.

 

Lots of entertainment thru out day, games and activities aside from the regular volleyball and such. Nightly shows were good and the disco was always hopping.

 

Snorkeling is right on site and we have some awesome pics of fish and turtles.

 

Dolphins on site at a cost.

 

Spa was off the hook awesome.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congrats! When we were looking that's what we wanted to stay under for our guests as well including flight. Options we looked at that were around 1500 w/o flight were Hard Rock, Moon Palace, Azul Sensatori, Iberostar Cancun-Lindo/Paraiso-Tucan/Quetzal. We have also stayed at the Riu Yucatan and our whole trip was 12 or 13k with flight. Our date is in July so in those other months you'll probably be able to get it cheaper.

Without flight? Wow!!! I paid $1565 with flight and transfers for 7 nights.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited February 13, 2015 by calgarybride2015

[jsparrow10]

No issues with the food. I didn't get the popular ala cartes but heard they were good.

 

Lots of entertainment thru out day, games and activities aside from the regular volleyball and such. Nightly shows were good and the disco was always hopping.

 

Snorkeling is right on site and we have some awesome pics of fish and turtles.

 

Dolphins on site at a cost.

 

Spa was off the hook awesome.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Without flight? Wow!!! I paid $1565 with flight and transfers for 7 nights.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ya which is why we didn't pick some of those options! We are paying about $1200, 7 days, direct flight

[racht33]

So I’m told this is the hardest part ( picking the resort) and boy they weren’t kidding. There are so many things I’m looking into, its causing me sleepless nights LOL. I want the best quality food, the best resorts to cover all age groups. but still keep areas seperated for those guest attempting to get away from their own kids (haha) Best wedding packages offered without breaking the bank. And a resort with access to outside areas to do other activities. Anytime I’m like I FOUND IT! there is something that causes me doubt .. its either they don’t offer something over the other. I have brought down my list to these 4(thank god ). I have read various reviews and everything sounds great but I cant pick!! What helped some of you ladies pick? I’m so indecisive. I don’t want to have regrets after signing the contract. My fiancé is on board to go along with which ever location I want. * I take this as more pressure ahhh.

 

My list :

Azul Sensatori – Great food reviews I love the adult and child separation but wedding packages seem a bit over priced 250 per table for private event and no musix hook up included) They seem to offer the best for private events but not sure if they can be used for the wedding.

Paradisus – I love the tropical secluded island feel and its in cancun close to everything. Wedding packages are really high!! :/

Dreams Rivera Maya- wedding packages seem  reasonable for private events for ever 6 room u get 1 room free! – But TA told me resort is not very big and everyone may be on top of each other all the time. Not sure how close this is to outside areas.

Now Jade – Close to Playa for outside activities. Wedding packages seem reasonable. outside side vendors can come in for 65 day pass!! I love the adult and child separation  But they seem to be very far from everything from what ive read.

 

Did anyone had this much trouble selecting? What make the process easier?

[ashhtayy]

Hi @@Victoriabride,

 

I am in a similar situation as you. My fiancés entire family will be flying from Vancouver, as will half of our guests, and the rest of us are in Toronto.

 

Get a great TA - contact as many as humanly possible. Most take ages to get back to you; I think that is fairly normal. I suggest going straight into the agency if possible.

 

I am looking for an affordable destination, amazing food & a place that offers some kind of 'outside-of-the-box' destination appeal. We are looking at March Break or over Easter 2016 as some of our most important guests are teachers. Here is a list my TA gave me based on my requests.

 

1. Azul Fives: Riviera Maya 5*

​​35 mins from the airport

Small resort: 360 rooms - nice intimate, boutique modern-style resort

5 a la carte restaurants

Lots of vary for wedding ceremony locations - I love the "unique" location options they offer from the gazebo to the Sky Roof Terrace & Deck

I had clients stay at this resort last month & really enjoyed it

Very reasonable pricing for both Vancouver & Toronto guests

 

2. Dreams Tulum: Riviera Maya 5*

​80 mins from the airport

mid-size resort: 431 rooms

6 a la carte restaurants

Beach wedding ceremony location

Very popular, nice location for optional excursions in Tulum or trip to Playa del Carmen

Pricing higher may be a bit higher, but gorgeous resort

 

3. Dreams Puerto Aventuras Resort: Riviera Maya 4+*

​70 mins from the airport

Small resort: 305 room

4 a la carte restaurants

Unique gazebo (Aztec style) by the water - alternative to beach location

Dolphin Dreams Dolphinarium on site

Reasonable pricing for your budget

 

4. Dreams Punta Cana & Palm Beach Punta Cana, DR

​both larger properties than the Mexico options above (620/500 rooms)

20-40 mins from the airport

5 a la carte restaurants at both

Wedding gazebo or beach options

Reasonably priced.

DR charges a $10 Tourist Card upon arrival into the country & a $20 Departure Tax so $30 each guest will have to incur above package rates - fyi

 

5. Now Larimar, Punta Cana, DR

​30 mins from the airport

larger resort 730 rooms

5 a la carte restaurants

beach wedding option

Very reasonably priced & popular for destination weddings

 

I am in love with Azul Fives. Prices, understandably, were way too high over March break so now I am waiting on Easter dates.

 

Hope this helps! Happy Planning

[TinkerSofi]

@@racht33 Just some info on the packages at the karisma resorts (azul sensatori). You don't have to pay the $250 per table for the reception. Those are an add on, otherwise you get basic white linens and you can bring your own decor.

 

The wedding would cost you the $950 for the starter ceremony package (that includes 25 chairs I believe and the rest are extra $$). You can upgrade some ceremony locations for an extra fee and that will include all the chairs you need.

 

In terms of the reception, the price is based on the food actually, on a per person basis. For example we had chosen a menu that was $22 per person. The prices have gone up a bit since then, but just to give you an idea. This includes 4hr open bar reception too. Then you can also upgrade things for extra costs of course, like some reception locations or the $250 tables.

 

The amplifier for your iPod is $250 for the 4hrs.

 

I hope that clears things up. Their website is Soo confusing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited February 17, 2015 by TinkerSofi

[snswedding2016]

@racht33 

 

I had a lot of what you mentioned on my checklist as well. We were hoping to keep the price point around $1500, we knew we wanted to go to Mexico, it had to be kid friendly, it had to great food and ideally we were looking travel in January 2016 (my slow time at work). I started my search in Nov 2014 and ended up booking within a couple of weeks. We found a great quote and didn't want to lose it.

 

Most of my group is travelling from Toronto and the east coast but we do have some guests coming from Alberta and we did get a price quote for Vancouver as well. Our Toronto quote is great - $1630 and all of our west coast quotes are in the $1800-1900 range. We found for that time of year coming from Calgary or Vancouver, we couldn't find a cheaper quote. 

 

We ended up choosing Azul Fives but initially it wasn't even on our radar. Our TA told us about it and we fell in love with the wedding packages and the fact that you could basically create your own. A couple of years ago we went to a wedding at the Barcelo Maya Colonial and loved it. We quickly found that for our guest list we were budgeting for (estimating at around 60), none of the packages they offered suited our price range for the reception. The price per person over top of the free guests included were a bit crazy! 

 

After looking into Azul Fives we quickly realized that it met all of our needs:

 

-Great Food (I've heard nothing be amazing things) - we have a few foodies who are not drinkers at all…including the best man who is the head of the culinary institute in PEI, talk about pressure lol!

 

-Kid friendly - they have programs for babies, children and teens not to mention that they have just partnered up with Nickelodeon for family shows starting this summer!

 

-It fit our budget for travel and the private reception

 

I really relied heavily on my TA when our initial plan for the wedding didn't pan out. She was my sounding board. She even went as far as dealing with Barcelo directly to see if she could make adjustments to their packages to make it work with my budget. She also priced out a couple of other resorts (including Azul Fives) and broke down the wedding costs. It really helped to see a side by side comparison, what I was getting, what I wasn't and what I didn't need in the packages. 

 

I know it sounds like I booked really fast but I was on the phone with her for several hours every day for two weeks. The following week after we booked felt very strange not be talking to her daily haha! 

[nattiegams325]

Dreams riviera Cancun is not a small resort. It has 500 rooms and is a medium size resort. I didn't want a mega-resort for my wedding. It is 25 mins from Cancun and 15 mins from playa.

 

Are you able to take a trip down there to visit resorts? That's what I did and I'm so glad I did because pictures were deceiving. One hotel looked so beautiful online and the reviews on this forum and tripadvisor were top notch and billed as 5*. When we visited, I couldn't wait to get out-so junky! Everyone has different opinions of what is 5*.

[racht33]

@@TinkerSofi Thanx you for the clarification. Their website is truly confusing.When Ive attempted to contact someone at the resort to receive addtional information on Azul i just recieve the samepackage inforamtion listed on the site. Thank you for making it a bit more clear

@@snswedding2016 My TA is basically telling me to go with the best resort. The one i would want to go to if i was just planning a vacation and not a wedding. Because any resort i select it will still be great. But its hard for me to not think about the wedding. I want to compare and contrast on wedding packages so I believe i may be making it harder on myself haha. I think i will just have to do what your TA did for you but myself. Gather the resort wedding packages and compare and contrast and go from there. Thanx

[calgarybride2015]

I definately think you need to consider the resort you'd want apart from the wedding BUT their wedding packages and how they execute them is very important. It's the only time you'll do this and while I don't advocate spending 10's of thousands you still need a wedding day you'll remember for ever. That's one thing that makes choosing the resort tough - it has to be a great resort with a great wedding package you can afford

 

I gathered the wedding package info myself. I started doing this in April 2014 and truth be told some resorts still haven't gotten back to me hHah some make it super easy to cross off the list. If there was a resort I was super excited about and response time was slow my TA stepped in.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[racht33]

@@calgarybride2015 I do want it to be a great resort considering my guest and our own experience but as you stated i want it to be memoraible and I dont want any regrets about the location or offers. I basically just need to pick out what are the most important things for us when it comes to the wedding and go with the resort that will offer it. None of the resorts Ive selected are rated badly. So in the end we still will end up with a great resort and recieve everything we wanted.

 

I will be going to Mexico in Sept. Im contemplating if i should hold of on selecting one for next aug/sep. until we actually go and view them. Seeing them in person could help my second thoughts/