Le Reve Hotel & Spa

My FH, parents, sister and I returned from our site visit with le Reve just over a week ago and we are still in LOVE!  It is every bit as beautiful as the reviews say and every person we came in contact with was wonderful.  I'm going to do the review somewhat chronologically so that it makes sense to me...

Arrival

The Cancun airport was fine, save the very very long line for immigration.  It seems as though a few different flights arrive around the same time (1-3pm) and so it gets a bit crazy.  Make sure you allow extra time in your planning to accomodate for that.  We rented a car, but le Reve does also provide airport transfers for a fee, so that is another option.  The drive down to Le Reve was easy, mainly highway.  As many others have mentioned, the last 2-3 minutes of the drive is over a road with many, many potholes.  Not a huge inconvenience, just something that is good to be aware of.  FH likened it to driving over moon craters, but as long as you take it slow it's not a problem at all.

Once we walked up to the reception/lobby area of le Reve we all just melted.  It is stunning.  You look out over the pool and then straight out to the ocean.  FH had not wanted to talk much about the wedding before our visit, but when he saw that view, he just hugged me and said "this is it."  I couldn't help but melt!

Arlenis, the wedding coordinator, was there to greet us immediately.  She helped us get settled in our rooms and said she could meet with us at any time.  Once we unpacked, we met with her for about an hour.  She was so super helpful and had tons of information for us!  She had all kinds of pictures and ideas.  Once we started getting overwhelmed with all the information, she let us think on it and told us she'd answer any questions we had the next day at our tasting.

Rooms

We all stayed in their horizon suites.  The rooms were perfect - minimal yet comfortable.  These rooms were on the second floor had a balcony with two chairs overlooking the garden area.  The shower has glass doors and the shower head is directly overhead like a rain shower.  You get turn down service every night, and they leave a dessert on your bed :) One night it was flan, another night it was a coconut pastry, you never knew what delicious sweets would be on your bed that night!

Arlenis also showed us all the other suites.  The garden suites were laid out just like the horizon suites, but were on the lowest level with balconies leading out to the garden. 

The master suite was our favorite - these suites are on the third floor and there are only two of them.  They are bigger, they have a canopy over the bed, a great big bathroom and a massive balcony overlooking the ocean, the balcony is big enough to throw a party!  We ended up having our massages up here because it was raining and the outdoor area was too wet. 

The last type of room is the bungalows. These are on the main level as well, but right on the beach; separate from the main hotel building, accessible by a pathway through the garden.  The layout is similar to the horizon and garden suites, but you get an extra sink, a slightly bigger bathroom area, a canopy over the bed and (the best part) sliding glass doors that lead out to your own private plunge pool and then out to the beach.  Sigh...

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the rooms, but the pictures on their website are very accurate.  All the rooms are lovely, you can't go wrong with any of them.

Tasting

Mariana, Arlenis' assistant, emailed us two months before our visit to ask if we would like to have a tasting while we were visiting, and of course we said yes!  The price was $50 US a plate, very very reasonable for the amount of food that we got!  We did our tasting on Friday afternoon at 1pm and it wasn't over until 5pm!  We got to try every course as well as four different cocktails to help us decide on signature drink for the cocktail hour.  Arlenis stayed with us the whole time, taking notes and talking about different options for food, settings for each portion of the wedding (ceremony, cocktail hour, reception).  She took note of everything we talked about (very stealthily, I might add) and worked it all into a spreadsheet for us.  That was so helpful to see everything laid out, especially with any and all customizations we had.  For example, we were a bit concerned about the open bar prices, so Arlenis suggested we have two signature cocktails for cocktail hour, serve wine with dinner and then have an open bar for the rest of the night, then included that in her spreadsheet so we could see the difference in price.  She is flat-out awesome.  Aaaanyway, back to the food...

Antonio, the bar manager, orchestrated this food fest; making drinks and explaining each plate as it came out.  We had five courses: canapes, salads/soups, first course, intermezzo, main course, and dessert.  Food is really important to FH and I, so it was going to take a lot to impress us.  le Reve rose to the occasion.  I'll go through each course with pictures:

Canapes:

So, so tasty.  These were all traditional Mexican foods and each one was delicious.  Out of the 6 we tasted, we picked five for our wedding.

Salads/Soups:  Also great!  We loved the Caesar salad and the traditional lime soup.  We thought that soup might not be a good idea because it was a hot day, but it was so delicious that we didn't care!  It is light, like a chicken soup broth, but full flavored with lime and cilantro, the tortilla chips add a good crunch and corn flavor.

First Course:

The ajillo shrimp won this battle

Intermezzo:

Mandarin sorbet all the way!  It was light and refreshing, a good palate cleanser between the larger courses.

Main course:  We loved loved loved the chicken with guajillo chile, but were not as wild about the steak option.  When FH told Arlenis that he'd enjoyed the arrachera steak he had at dinner the night before, she told us they could easily add that to our wedding menu instead.  We are so excited that they are flexible enough to allow us to have anything we like!

Desserts:  We had the flan and the tres leches cake, and they were still knocking it out of the park with the flavors!  Just amazing.  We picked the tres leches for our wedding cake, but I might ask if they can bring me a piece of flan on the side :) 

Drinks:

We had the Mayan margarita, mango margarita, berry caipirinha, kiwi caipirinha and a lime/vodka drink.  We were very happy by the end :)  They were all great, the berry one was a bit sweet for my taste though.  The Mayan margarita uses a local liquor flavored with anise seed and it is delicious!  The sweetness of the anise cuts the sting of the tequila.  We're deciding between mojitos (which are also amazing at le Reve), the Mayan margaritas and mango margaritas for our signature drinks.

On top of all the amazing food and service, this was our view during the tasting:

Life does not get much better!

Service

The service was always wonderful!  It wasn't in-your-face, but if you needed anything, you got it.  I think this is best exemplified by something we watched from the pool on Friday morning.  A couple on their honeymoon had found a coconut on the beach and were trying to open it so they could eat it.  A couple of the bartenders and waiters saw this and grabbed the tools to help them.  They opened the coconut and made the couple a snack out of it!  They added various spices and juices to bring out the flavors.

Antonio went above and beyond to make sure we had a good time.  His energy never waned through our four hour tasting and he took any suggestions we had or tweaks we wanted to make with grace.  He chatted with us later that night at the bar and even gave us a free shot of tequila!

Mariana, Arlenis' assistant, was wonderful leading up to our site visit.  She always answered my emails promptly and was the one to suggest the tasting!  I was so impressed by that.  Unfortunately, I missed her while we were down there, but she checked in via email once we'd returned home.

Sadly, FH and I had to cut our trip short because our dog ran away from our dogsitter's house (she's home now, safe and sound!).  Concierge was very understanding and even let me use their computer to list my lost dog on various websites!  They have an iPad they lend out to guests generally, but I needed to upload pictures so they let me use the computer behind their desk.  They also arranged for a last minute transfer to the airport on Monday morning.

I cannot say enough about Arlenis!  She listened to all our concerns, desires, questions and followed through with everything promptly.  She was so friendly and full of ideas and suggestions.  I feel completely confident planning my wedding with her long distance, I know everything will get done and she will do a beautiful job.  She showed us programs and schedules other brides had made, place cards, all kinds of pictures with ideas for decorations.  It was all so helpful, she really knows the space and what looks good.  She also has a list of vendors that she uses, so you don't have to worry about finding a hairdresser or a DJ, etc. 

We are crossing our fingers that we can get enough guests to fill this hotel!  We love the idea of having the place to ourselves for the weekend, just have one big house party to celebrate our marriage!

And now, a few gratuitous pictures..

The hotel from the pool area

The beach and the pool bar

Lobby area

Beautiful night time view

We got married at Le Reve on April 9, 2011 and it was perfect!  If you are looking for a small, intimate boutique hotel along the Riviera Maya, seriously, look no further.  We loved everything about Le Reve from the minute we arrived for our site visit in September 2010.  So the road there is a bit bumpy... once you arrive to the open aired lobby and see the incredible view of the sea (with a refreshing welcome drink in hand) you are in paradise!

1) The staff and service is outstanding.  Really, the best we have experienced anywhere.  Our guests all said the same.  The wedding coordinators, Arlenis and Mariana were on top of every detail in the months/weeks/days/hours/minutes leading up to our wedding. 

2) The food is incredible, way better than most typical resorts.  Even the breakfast that is included in the room rate is amazing.  One slight disappointment was that the presentation of our meals on the wedding day was not as impressive as when we did our tasting, but the food still tasted great.  Le Reve made our cake too and it was beautiful and delicious. 

3) The location is perfect.  It is only 45 minutes to the airport, and about 10-15 minutes to Playa del Carmen -- great if you have a few guests that want cheaper accomodations in town, or if you want to plan a night on the town (which we did).  There are also several hotels within walking distance (on the beach) if you need overflow.   While Le Reve's beach is beautiful, one downside is that there is a lot of coral so it's a little rough on the feet for swimming, but they provide water shoes for all guests.

Overall, we had a fantastic experience with Le Reve and are already looking forward to going back for our anniversary!!!

And a quick note about our vendors -- I would recommend them all.  del Sol Photography goes without saying on this forum here, and they recommended Playa Weddings for video (haven't seen it yet though).  Lorena Hijuelos of makeupart.com.mx did an amazing job on my makeup, and her assistant Margarita was great with hair.  Our florist, Laura, was recommended by Le Reve and for the most part delivered what we wanted based on pictures.  And our DJ, Temo, from Doremixx kept people dancing all night. 

Here is a link to our beautiful photos by del Sol: http://delsolphotography.com/blog/content/galleries/?gal=431

I am not sure how to even begin to express how incredible our experience was at Le Reve. Not only was this the most spectacular venue we could have chosen for the wedding, but our guests were all thrilled that we picked such a great place for their stay in Mexico.

From our very first email, the staff at Le Reve made us feel like our wedding was the most important event of the year. The team went out of their way to make sure that every detail was perfect for us and our families.

We were married in July and booked out all 25 rooms for 4 nights for our guests. It was the first time that many of our family and friends would be meeting and we were so lucky to have the whole hotel just for our group.

Rooms: There are 4 different room categories, and they are all gorgeous.  I definitely recommend one of the 2 master suites for the bride and groom, so romantic!

Food: We had a huge number of “foodies” in our group and they still rave about the Naay restaurant. We had children, some vegans and guests with allergies, and the staff was always happy to accommodate any special request. We had a welcome BBQ in the garden the first night, which was so much fun and really set the tone for the rest of the weekend.  The Mexican canapés at the Cocktail hour and the 3 course meal served at the Reception were delicious and beautifully presented. And what can I say about the Kiwi Mojitos and Tamarind Margaritas…wow!

Beach: It is hard to find a quiet section of beach in Playa del Carmen, and we really felt like we had it all to ourselves. There is no better place for a private and intimate beach ceremony, the pictures turned our beautifully.

Wedding: Better than anything we could have hoped for. Arlenis and Ana Carla were on top of everything and went out of their way to make the day more that what we could have imagined. They made everything so stress-free; we even had our pre-wedding meeting in the pool! One of the most important things for us was how personalized our wedding was. When we looked at pictures of past weddings at Le Reve we noticed that there were absolutely no two events alike. They really make sure that every detail is special and unique.

Service: Exceptional!!!! This is really what makes Le Reve so special, by the time you leave you feel like a part of the family. Thank you to Tatiana who made it all possible, to Julieta in reservations who made the booking  process a piece of cake for our guests,  to Arlenis and Ana Carla our stellar coordinators who made our wedding the most amazing day ever, to Jacqueline and the Concierge Team who helped our guests with a thousand questions, recommendations, and special requests,  to Felipe and his team for the gorgeous setup for our wedding,  to Antonio, Freddy, Ivan and the team at Naay restaurant for always remembering everyone´s favourite drink and making us feel like absolute VIPs, to Mattie and her team for pampering everyone,  and to Adriana who oversaw it all.

We feel so lucky to have spent 4 unforgettable days with our family and friends at Le Reve and can´t wait to go back for our anniversary!

I did a site visit in July 2012. Here are my notes:

Very rustic and natural. Quintessential boutique hotel, very intimate (25 rooms), right on the beach, very open/airy, and the beach and reception locations are actually BOTH very nice (seemed a unique combo, frustratingly, during our trip). There is a buy-out option since it's so small, but sounds like you may not have enough guests for that. Aprx. rate is $165/nt. for standard rooms (called Garden Suites). EP only (European Plan, i.e., not all-inclusive). About 15 min. from downtown Playa del Carmen. 

Pros: No charge to use/bring in outside vendors. Good "Plan B" option (i.e., rain) under the main palapa, which houses the open bar and dining area. Nice room upgrade options for those who want it, like private plunge pools

Cons: Outdoor reception location only...but it is a nice one, so I don't mind :)

My husband and I got married at Le Reve in Playa del Carmen on June 16, 2012. We booked our wedding through the del Sol / Le Reve / BDW promotion which offered us a great value in the free hour of photography and reduced room rates for our guests and free nights for us! Thank you so much for offering us this great promotion!!

Here is a link to our wedding photos, and all the photos pasted below are copyright del Sol photography: http://delsolphotography.com/blog/content/galleries/?gal=755

I honestly don't know where to start - let's just say everything was a DREAM! From our first email to giving Arlenis a good bye hug, we couldn't have asked for a more amazing wedding. I'll break down my review into categories:

Coordination - A+

Arlenis was simply amazing. I honestly don't know how she is so good at her job. Le Reve does a LOT of weddings for a property of its size, many of them being resort buy-outs, and I can only assume that many of her brides are high maintenance like me. We exchanged hundreds, if not thousands, of emails all of which were returned promptly and completely. There was no question that she didn't answer; no idea that she didn't make happen, no detail that she didn't remember. About half way through our planning we were introduced to her assistant Ana who is equally as amazing. The greatest part about them is that they genuinely want us brides to be as happy as possible. It doesn't seem like just a job to them - they seemed so truly invested in our lives and making the start to our union as perfect as possible. They did a fantastic job coordinating our wedding.

Food - A+

When we were picking a location, we wanted a boutique hotel that had great food. We didn't want an all-inclusive as typically the culinary quality is lesser at all-inclusives. To ensure we could save our date, we had to book Le Reve before we could do our site visit, but we planned a trip the next month. On our visit we did our menu tasting, which was a 4-hour eating and drinking extravaganza! We tasted so many incredible foods and knew we had made the right decision. Almost as impressive as the taste of the food was its presentation - everything looked fantastic! And the presentation held up for the scale of our wedding - no change in how the food looked - it might have actually looked better. The absolute best part of our wedding meal was the cake. We had a raspberry tres leches cake which was to die for. It's not on their typical menu but rather a special request for us, and it is the most amazing cake I have ever tasted. The pastry chef really out-did himself in the decoration, too. We actually didn't expect any decoration at all except for adding some flowers from our florist and a banner I bought on etsy, but they went all out in the decoration/design! I must say it is more beautiful than we expected and better looking than other cakes we have seen from Le Reve. (Maybe we were special or something?)

Aside from our wedding food, all food at the Naay restaurant was incredible. Our room rate included the full breakfast which was actually my favorite meal of the day. Over my two trips to Le Reve I think I tasted every item on the breakfast menu, and they were all great - so great it was usually hard to decide! The lunch menu is fairly small, especially if you don't like ceviche or fish, but what I tried was great. The drinks were always freshly made with the best ingredients, strong, and delicious. Lastly, the food and drinks are VERY reasonably priced especially for the superior quality and taste. This was important to us as we were mindful of our guests' total spending.

"Mussels Le Reve"

Doesn't the cake look like it could be in a magazine?!

Service - A+

The service at Le Reve is second to none. There wasn't one request that wasn't answered promptly and with a smile from any member of Le Reve's staff. The best part about this being a small hotel is that we really got to know all of the staff as did all of our guests. All of our guests were blown away by the service provided during our rehearsal dinner and wedding ceremony. Both days, it started to rain just as each event started (literally while serving food at the rehearsal, and I was about to walk down the aisle during our ceremony) and the events had to be moved inside at the last minute. Within a matter of minutes (literally, 5 max) everything was moved and set up perfectly inside. Every waiter was carrying on his back a stack of 8 chairs. At the rehearsal, they were sprinting with tables, centerpieces and all. The grounds crew came out of the woodwork and the concierge even lent a hand I think. Literally every staff member on site was dedicated to moving everything and making sure the new setup was perfect. Again, thank you to all of the Le Reve staff for making our wedding a dream.

The inside ceremony location ended up being gorgeous. It felt like we were in the jungle. Very cool and sexy.

Accommodations - A+

During our site visit we stayed in the Master Suite which had the most amazing balcony and view of the ocean and Cozumel beyond. I actually preferred this room to the Bungalow which we stayed in during our wedding. Both were very comfortable and spacious, with the most amazing beds ever. Their beds were recently rated by Tablet as top 10 in the world! http://www.tablethotels.com/en/best-hotels-bedtime-story-2012  The Bungalow was just a little too removed from the main part of the hotel, which was great after the wedding, but before the wedding I wish we were closer to the action and the rest of our guests. Both rooms were great though!

Value - A

We didn't plan a destination wedding to save money. We ended up spending about what we would have spent to have a wedding in our hometown (Boston) but we got SO MUCH MORE for our money. I really feel that Le Reve produced a luxury wedding in their luxury boutique hotel for a very reasonable price. You would probably spend less at a larger/all-inclusive resort but I doubt you'd find the same quality of service, accommodation or food. Le Reve provides a great value if you are looking for a high-end resort with very personalized attention.

Overall, we couldn't be happier. We are already planning our trip back for our first anniversary. I hope they will consider making us a piece of our special cake again!!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my wedding or Le Reve. I hope this helps and happy planning!

Pre-wedding planning A+

I had such an amazing experience with Le Reve that I don't want to forget anything. Like most of you on this site, I didn't know where to begin. I had an idea of what I wanted but I just didn't know how to get it since I was planning from so far away and relied on previous brides review to guide me. 

I had 32 people in my wedding party and I wanted it to be as intimate as possible and a big resort was not my thing and I discover Le Reve! I had to fight so hard to have my wedding at this resort because of the size of my wedding party but it was SO worth it!! They did everything to make it happen for me. A lot of you thinking of booking at  Le Reve should look no further! If you are looking for a small boutique customizable wedding this is the place to go. I planned my wedding blind, I had never been to Mexico before so you can imagine how stressful it can be. 

Arlenis and Ana were there for me every step of the way. I never had to wait to hear from them, they were so responsive to my every needs. I do not consider myself a control freak so it was nice to have someone that had answer available before you even asked questions :-) Arlenis with her beautiful smile always made it seemed so simple but I know it is hard work to deal with multiple brides at the same time. She remember every detail by the time my wedding party arrived, she knew everyone's name. 

Hotel Le Reve Wedding Coordinators: Arlenis Priceless A+++++ Ana simply adorable A+++++

Legal Wedding A++

We were reluctant to do a legal wedding because it seemed like it'd be so much more work but I am SO GLAD I did because Arlenis and Ana pre-arrange EVERYTHING for us all we had to do is show up sign documents, donate blood and meet with an amazing judge who was so funny and made it so relaxing. I am embarrassed to say we were 1+ hour late for our appointment but not once did she make us feel bad b/c she knew that were already feeling guilty. If you are stressed about doing it this way don't be b/c she is the best and will work everything out for you promise!!!

Rehearsal Dinner at Le Reve A+++

We original planned to do it at a restaurant in Tulum BUT I am so glad we had it at Le Reve!!!! We did taquitos on the beach and it was AMAZING! They offered several kinds of meats, an assortments of sauces, beans, beers or margaritas and we had a bonfire, which has to be approved by the city but Arlenis handled it for us and all I had to do is show up and eat, dance around the fire and drink! It was absolutely amazing and EXCEEDED my expectations. The tables were beautifully set up and the tiki  torches were a perfect addition. I was worried that it'd be unexciting to have my wedding and rehearsal at Le Reve but trust me it is such a beautiful property that no one ever wants to leave.

WEDDING DAY! A+++++++

My wedding day started with a massage at the hotel, Arlenis and her team were busy setting up and not once did I see her loose her cool. She ALWAYS has a smile on her face and it is so reassuring she never said no to anything but always offered a suggestions for things should couldn't accommodate and it always worked out better than expected. My wedding was on 4/28 so I wanted to write this while it was  still fresh in my mind and I know I am forgetting a few things but please feel free to inbox me if you have questions. we had our ceremony on the beach, I got ready in the master suites and I'd recommend any bride getting married at Le Reve to get ready in that room it is bigger and plus you can do sneak peeks at people from the balcony as you are getting ready.

The food was awesome! the servers were amazing and were always available to assist. Arlenis was on top of the wedding schedule and kept us in track! We dance to Doremixx and I think my DJ's name was Leo. I  don't remember much after this because I was busy dancing and jumping up it was a BLAST!!!

I am so grateful to have chosen to have my wedding at Le Reve and to have had Arlenis and Ana by my side. It wouldn't have been this perfect without them. The Manager of the hotel was great as well I briefly got a chance to talk to him.

Le Reve looks exactly like what you see on their web site if not even more cuter.

The one tip I'll give: several of our guests actually preferred the Garden suites over the Horizons because they had a little more privacy but you didn't have the view of the ocean though but it is just steps away.

We spend so many days and night hanging at the pool it was truly magical.

I will post pictures as soon as I get them from my photographer the amazing Jeremy by Jeremy Wolfe Photography!!!