Kim J. of Hugo, MNDestination: Riviera MayaResort: THE ROYAL Playa del CarmenDate: October 2011The Royal in Playa was an awesome resort. Because it was our honeymoon we had our own Romance concierge for check in and to answer any questions which was really nice. She was very good about keeping us informed about the storm that was supposed to come through one night while we were there. Because of the storm we got to stay in two different rooms, they were worried about the ocean front swim up rooms getting flooded in the storm so we started off in an Ocean Front room on the 3rd floor which had an awesome view of the ocean. After the storm went through we were able to move to our pool side swim up room. Both were very nice. I am not sure which I liked better, the view from the 3rd floor was great but the convenience of having your own patio right next to the pool was very nice as well. We really liked the Jacuzzi’s in each room and the sound system was nice to be able to play music from an ipod while we were out on our patio. Again the service here was very good and the food was delicious. There is definitely more people around this resort since it is right in Playa so my only negative is that you have to wear a wristband the whole time since it is an all inclusive resort that is right in town, that is not a huge deal though. It was nice to be able to walk around town in the shops and down the beach to see other resorts. It was a nice change of pace from Dreams as well so I think they complemented each other nicely. We would definitely stay at The Royal again as well.
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Kim J. of Hugo, MNDestination: Riviera MayaResort: Dreams TulumDate: October 2011The Dreams Tulum Resort was an absolutely gorgeous setting for a destination wedding and for a family. The resort and beach were very secluded so the only people around were those staying at the resort. You could walk for a couple miles in each direction and not run into another resort which I really liked for the wedding not having too many people standing around in the background of pictures and such. The kids had a blast playing in the ocean and pool and enjoyed a couple of the kids club activities one day as well. The wedding coordinator did a great job understanding everything I wanted and the ceremony and reception decorations and flowers turned out exactly as I envisioned them. The photographer on the resort also did a great job with the photos and we are really happy we chose to get the additional package to get pictures taken all around the resort. The rooms in the newer part of the resort were very nice, we especially liked the big walk in showers in the bathrooms. The service was great and everyone was very nice. We ate at most of the restaurants at least once on the trip and thought the food was very good. We especially liked the Sushi restaurant. The kids enjoyed the shows that took place at night as well. We would definitely stay at the Dreams Tulum again if we are looking for a family friendly resort or something a little more off the beaten path.
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Gary S. of Roberts, WIDestination: Riviera MayaResort: RIU YucatanDate: February 2011We had a good time but we would NOT recommend this resort (Riu Yucatan) to anyone - the rooms are very small, the room service was terrible - for example, the minibar in the room, we would ask in the morning to make sure that it was restocked as they only did it on their schedule of every other day unless you requested it. We would come back from being out all day to find it hadn't been restocked and when we called were told "Sorry, the minibar service is closed for the day - the earliest this happend was around 5:30. We did go to a couple of the other Riu resorts and found them to be much better then the one we were in - better bars, outdoor activities, etc.
I would say that the TRAFIC tour rep (Tiia) was very helpful. I did a afternoon of golf, paid for the twilight rate with started at 2:30 and went until dark, around 6. I WOULD NOT recommend this to anyone as you have no control over how fast the groups are in front of you - so it ended up costing me over 200.00 to play 9 holes of golf - they would not give me a rain check for another 9. The food was not very good at all - we were pretty dissapointed in the quality of it. There was no drink service on the beach as there had been at the last resort we stayed at - I know, I can walk my big butt up to the bar and get my drinks but was dissapointed in this anyway. I would tell you to tell anyone else going to pack a BIG drink mug to take to the bar so they don't have to keep coming back for the little drink glasses that they give you. If someone wants to talk to us about their upcoming trip, we would be happy to share the good and bad and any tips that may help make their trip better. We are going to go back again, but will probably stay in the Grand Porto Real as we know what to expect there.
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Toni G. of Bloomington, MNDestination: Riviera MayaResort: Gran Porto Real, Playa del CarmenDate: October 2008We love Playa del Carmen and have been there about 12 times. This is the first time we have used an all inclusive place. Gran Porto Real was a fabulous place for our daughters destination wedding. The hotel accommodations were wonderful for the 36 people who flew down for the wedding. The hotel staff were all very friendly and the front desk people as well as all the wait staff including bartenders and beach servers all spoke English so there was not a communication barrier most of the time. The people who cleaned the rooms did not speak English so that was a challenge if you needed them to do something specific i.e. leave more towels, come back at another time etc. The wedding planner was very helpful and answered all our questions in a timely manner via email. She was there to fulfill our daughters wedding dreams. The flowers for the bridal party and front table were truly spectacular and were everything that the photos showed for the wedding package. The wedding cake was the traditional tres leche Mexican cake and everyone thought it was the best cake they had ever had. We chose not to have the wedding reception at the hotel since all other meals were done at the hotel. I know the hotel would have accommodated us for a unique dinner if that is something we wanted. Since we have been to Mexico many times we just went to a restaurant we had eaten at before and told the manager we had a wedding reception for 36 people. We talked to the manager on Saturday night and he was able to accommodate 36 people on Tuesday with little forewarning. The manager was able to accommodate 36 people for a private party with a 4 course dinner and open bar for 4 hours. Our guests truly appreciated the opportunity to get off site and experience the night life on 5th Avenue. The mariachi band walking by the restaurant was called in to play a few songs for the bride a groom. Another high light for our guests. The weather is usually sunny all the time in Playa del Carmen, except for the week of her wedding! It rained every day except the day before we had to go home We all had a fabulous time anyway since it was still 80 degrees and didn't rain all day, only about 4 hours per day. Melissa was an asset in helping us plan the destination wedding. She was able to get all the guests the best rates for flights at the times that worked for them. She was a great go to person when our daughter and myself had questions on the whole planning of this event. If Melissa did not have an immediate answer she took the time to get an answer and was timely in her responses. Melissa was a travel professional as well as wedding planner. All thirty six people had a great time, loved the hotel, loved the Mexican people and are ready for the next destination wedding!!
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Tara W. of River Falls, WIDestination: Riviera MayaResort: Gran Porto Real, Playa del CarmenDate: June 2008Our experience planning a destination wedding was both easy and fun with the help of Melissa and the Gran Porto Real resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Melissa was so helpful when it came to deciding on a resort and location-she was extremely well informed and very honest about all of our choices. She helped us to decide on a great resort and location that worked within our budget. She was very informative during the planning process and was very speedy when it came to answering questions or working to get answers from the wedding planner at the resort. Our experience as guests and as the Bride and Groom at the Gran Porto Real in Play del Carmen was incredible. The resort itself is not large, so it was the perfect place for our group of 29 to stay for the week. The staff at the resort were overly accommodating and did their very best to make sure we enjoyed our stay and that our drinks were always full. The food was good and there was always plenty of it, the rooms were cleaned and most days we were pleasantly surprised with flowers or towel animals when we returned form an afternoon at the pool. The wedding coordinator for the Real resorts was fantastic as well. She made sure that our day felt special and one of a kind. She ensured that we had the wedding that we had always dreamed of. I cannot wait to go back to the Gran Porto Real again in the future!
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