lenka14

Wow..what a great find! Thanks for the heads up.

yard: darn

dirt : dart

wow...that's amazing!

Oh wow...thank's for posting. Going to go take a look there today! Yay!

Quote: Originally Posted by jhawkev I know!! After I posting on here last night (trying to be positive), I read all of those TA threads I'm kind of freaking out. We're mailing our invites and getting ready to pay for a big chunk of our travel and I kind of don't want to. I feel like our hands are tied, we already have 30 people booked. And I'm starting to really doubt the positive reviews on TA. If you are uncomfortable with the resort, talk to your travel agent. She may be able to do something and switch you and your guests to a different resort. This is your wedding day, and you should feel a 100% comfortable. Your wedding date is still far away enough where you should have some options. Stay strong...we are all going through the same thing and are here for you

Quote: Originally Posted by JHarwood2Be Ughhh....this makes me want to throw up!!!!! Puerto Morelos forum: Live reports form the Azul Sensatori - TripAdvisor I have tried to be positive, but this is just ridiculous! This is absolutely unacceptable! Seeing how quickly Karisma interfered with this Trip Advisor thread just goes to show us that they monitor Trip Advisor closely. I feel like this somewhat proves my sneaking suspicion that many of the over the top positive reviews on Trip Advisor are planted by parties affiliated with the hotel. I also tried to stay positive, even after my site visit. But I guess at some point it's time to start being realistic. At first I was attributing all the downfalls of the hotel to "opening kinks", but I am starting to realize that this is not the problem. The hotel is simply poorly managed, and I am not sure if we can bank on that changing. There have been theft reports for a month and a half now, how is the management not doing anything about this? Also, 2 new trip advisor reviews were posted. Both pretty bad, but not surprising.

Quote: Originally Posted by milejilo btw, did you find out about linen choices and pricing? Just sent you a pm in regard to that

Girls, Please don't stress out over the negative reviews right now. 99% of issues that people are experiencing now are just opening kinks. They will get resolved in no time! Evethough our stay there last week wasn't great, we are 100% positive that the hotel will get better really soon! It's a beautiful property and just look how far they've come in the last month. Most properties that opened in the area experience similar issues. It even sounds from the latest review that they are able to manage cleaning up the beach. I am thinking by Feb at the latest everything there will be great

Quote: Originally Posted by tsashamia Does anyone know if transportation from the airport to Azul is provided in the hotel packages? I have an email in, but thought someone on here might know. I think it depends how you book your package. We booked our site visit through Apple Vacations and the airport transfer was included. :-)

Omg Milejilo, seeing these inspiration pics you posted got me so excited! I think they can definitely pull something like this off. YAY! Your plan is exactly my plan. SKY Ceremony, Drinks outside, Party till 1am in the meeting room w/the bar set up on the terrace!

Quote: Originally Posted by Ania I've been wondering about the Zocalo for reception, but I'm curious for the feel of it. The area that the wedding reception can occupy is really the perimeter of the building - terrace? Since that is on a curve, can you really see your guests (we'll have 60-70 people attending). Would you know about music option there and can we party there after? I'm just so confused about where the reception happens/ and then the dancing...? ... The Terrace for Zocalo does not go around the perimeter of the building - just around the part that overlooks the beach. So yes, you would be able to see all your guests. Also, the nice thing about it is that it is raised above beach level, so really you only see the water. The feel of it is really nice. Carolina said the dj will set up at one end of the terrace and you can put a dance floor by the DJ as well. The tables on the terrace are small 4 person square tables, and you would have to use those tables for the reception, but you could combine them together any way you like to make bigger tables. Quote: Originally Posted by Ania oh, and regarding lighting: I'm not sure if you were considering bringing paper lampions with you... would you have to also bring Christmas lights with you as well or is it something the hotel would provide? I was mostly talking about projection lighting with Gilberto. I believe small projectors get set up on the floor next to a wall or a pole - and then project lighting onto it in whatever color/colors you'd like. They can also set up projection lighting under the tables to light them up from underneath. They have Christmas looking lights in various colors as well, which they wrap around trees.

Here are some pics of the BBQ Deluxe and Wedding Cakes. BBQ Deluxe Entree BBQ Deluxe Deserts - Sorry we started eating them before I remembered to take a pic. Wedding Cake Designs - Also, Carolina and Gilberto said they can make any cake you like as long as you send a pic to Fabio or Tiffany in advance.

Hi Girls, Sorry for the long delay with the pics....anyway, I have a ton of pics, but a lot of them look similar to the ones that already been posted. I haven't seen any pics of the meeting rooms online...so here you go. The meeting rooms are bare right now, but try to picture them properly lit and decorated. Gilberto said you can do projection lighting on walls in your wedding colors as well. These are the doors leading to the outdoor patio. The doors were locked so I couldn't get good pics of it, but the patio is bigger than what you can see in the photo. The view from the second room is a bit better (it overlooks the front entrance, but I can't find that pic right now )

Jenny - thank you for the link to Keith's pics! I am sooooo relieved to see some beautiful beach pictures but at the same time so extremely confused!!! Some of Keith's beach pictures don't look like the beach that we saw Do you by chance have any info on when these pics were taken? I tried to find his post on Trip Advisor but couldn't. It sounds from the Trip Advisor reviews that came from the same time when we were that they experienced the same type of beach as us. So maybe something happened when we were there (possibly a really bad storm before we got there washed up a ton of kelp and seaweed?) I am going to try to stay positive and hope that is the case!!! Anyway, here are a few pics I took of the beach when we were there. Don't mean to freak you guys out with these. But if Keith was able to get a few good pics of the water, it sounds like they are able to manage the seaweed.

Quote: Originally Posted by jennik13 Thanks Lenka, I wanted to know, despite the negatives, if you are still happy that you choose this resort for your wedding. I am still happy that I chose the resort. When we were there the resort did not seem fully ready to for guests, but once they are fully up and running I am hoping things will get much better! :-) Karisma really does put on gorgeous weddings and I think that is the reason most of us chose Azul Sensatori to begin with. I think most of the negatives will be fixed in no time. And I am hoping the beach will get cleaned up too! From what I hear most new resorts experience the same problems in the opening months, so I am not stressing too much about it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Ania Thank you for your post! I will have my wedding just two days before yours Lenka. The beach and toilets sound horrible and I'm seriously getting worried over these. Aside the fact that nothing out of the wedding package is what I imagined in the end to be; it's far more expensive than what we were budgetting for - they seem to be breaking everything into nuts and bolts and this is starting to feel like building Ikea furniture; we have no deals (Canadians don't get the "all about the bride in Sensatori) -> this is another blow. Were the swimming pools really that cold? I'm really happy about the food. It seems to be consistant all across that food is superb. If you have over 60 guests, where else can you have your wedding but the beach? Oh how cool, we'll be there at the same time! Unfortunately the water in the swimming pools was FREEZING! And we only saw a handful of people be brave enough to go in and tough it out. But I am hoping they will figure out a way to heat the pools since all other resorts do. So I wouldn't worry abt it. For the ceremony you could use the garden gazebo which is very pretty and I belive they can figure out a way to have 60 ppl there. (You'd have to fight this out with them, because I believe they say only 30) Or you'd have to purchase the SKY package. The Zocalo terrace is a good reception option and Carolina said it holds 100 people. (I know I read it holds fewer somewhere, but it is big enough for 100). Another great option is the Garden Terrace which also holds about 100. Hope this helps!

Hi Girls, I am back from my site visit. I posted a quick review if you girls are interested. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...125#post620023

We are back from our trip. I have a lot of great things to share, and also some not so great. Sorry, I haven’t gotten the chance to upload pics yet, but I will try to add them to this review either tonight or tomorrow. We stayed at Azul Sensatori over Thanksgiving. Unfortunately the resort is experiencing a lot of opening kinks, and our experience was pretty similar to the latest post on Trip Advisor Therefore I am not going to rehash all the bad. We ended up checking out 4 days earlier than we were supposed to and moved to Iberostar Grand Parasio. Azul Sensatori did not seem to have it together yet and we wanted to enjoy the rest of our vacation. THE GOOD 1) We did food tasting of the BBQ Deluxe, The White Glove Canapes and the Mexican Canapes, and wedding cake flavors. The food was AMAZING!!!!! The chef that is in charge of the wedding catering was so great and knowledgeable. We were trying to narrow the White Glove Canapes from 10 to 6 and really couldn’t, they were all so good. (Btw, I am very picky when it comes to food) The Mexican Canapes were also good – but not as impressive at the White Glove. All the food in the BBQ Deluxe was amazing and the presentation was great. Way better than what I ever expected. The wedding cakes were also great. The pastry chef designed 3 miniature cakes and I loved his designs. They looked elegant and modern. He also had a new flavor – Hazelnut and it was great! Carolina, main chef, Mike and I all agreed that it was our favorite. (Hazelnut would not typically be my first choice). Strawberry flavor was also great. It was mostly vanilla cake with a slight hint of strawberry. The pastry chef said he could do different flavors on different cake tiers. The vanilla flavor was good, but not as good as Hazelnut and Strawberry. 2) Gilberto is great when it comes to décor. He seems like he really gets it!!! He had a lot of great ideas on how he would decorate. He also had a lot of great ideas about lighting. He said they could do lighting on walls, on trees and pretty much on anything. But to let Fabio know in advance so they know what kind of lighting to order. 3) The back up rain locations are the two meeting rooms in the back of the lobby. The meeting rooms completely exceeded my expectations. The lighting was great; the carpeting was a simple dark brown. They had no windows, but great outdoor terraces. One overlooks the front entrance, and the other one of the hotel buildings. Carolina said you can set up the bar or the buffet on the terrace and leave the doors open the whole time. I actually liked the meeting rooms a lot, and am considering having my reception there even if the weather is good. Another plus, you can use the meeting rooms till 1am instead of the 11pm restriction on the rest of the locations. THE BAD 1) The beach was VERY disappointing. It was pretty small and dirty. Completely covered in seaweed. The water is brown instead of blue due to all the seaweed floating in it. There was a truck driving up and down the beach trying to clear it, but as soon as a new wave of water would come, once again there would be seaweed on the beach. We didn’t see any of the other guests use the beach when we’d go down there. And I think to answer everyone’s question as to why there are no beach butlers – it’s because there is no usable beach. Gilberto said this was because there is a coral reef for snorkeling directly across from the resort, and unfortunately the seaweed on the beach is the consequence. They are hoping that eventually the problem will lessen if they will have a truck on the beach every day picking up the seaweed that washes up. Sorry for the bad news on this one, but I would not recommend having a beach ceremony. But who knows, maybe they’ll be able to improve it. 2) All the bars have champagne (sparkling wine to be correct) as part of the "all inclusive", but you can’t have sparkling wine at your wedding unless you order it through Lomas. The cheapest one being $50 a bottle. But you could have EVERY OTHER type of alcohol the resort offers as part of the "all inclusive". This makes me so mad, because it sounds like they are being sneaky and making you pay for sparkling wine because they know that’s what people drink at weddings. UGH! Overall, I think the hotel has the ability to put on gorgeous weddings, but as of my visit they did not seem ready for hotel guests. I am keeping my fingers crossed and will continue to check reviews on Trip Advisor hoping they will improve.

Hi Girls, I just found out that there is another wedding scheduled an hour before ours. I am pretty upset I thought the hotel's policy was that weddings have to be 2 hours appart. Has anyone else experienced this?

Jennifer, Thank you so much for your review and photos! You were an absolutely gorgeous bride!

Quote: Originally Posted by Ania Hmm... I've heard a different reason from my TA: apparently the Azuls/ El Dorado got tired of Del Sol being late or not showing up several times and people/wedding parties having to scramble last minute to get a photographer. So the hotel banned them which in turn caused a lawsuit.. I could understand that the hotel would not want to get a bad reputation for someone else's mistakes... as to what really happened, who knows... Wow, what your TA said is interesting. When I inquired about Del Sol's services here is what Matt Adcock from Del Sol wrote to me in an email: "We have worked VERY hard over the last few years to develop a strong following and a presence in the Riviera Maya and when it came down to it, we spoke out publicly on the forums about Karisma and their ridiculous policies and how they were unfair to our clients. The word got to them that we said that their rates were the highest and frivolous and from that, they banned us. They tell their clients that we were banned due to "past unprofessional behavior"." Two very different sides of the story.

Quote: Originally Posted by JHarwood2Be Here's my dress. It should be in any day now! The dress looks great on you!

Thank you for the review! All of these reviews have been very helpful in figuring out where everything stands with the wedding planning. Sorry you didn't get to spend as much time at Azul Sensatori as you would have liked.

Quote: Originally Posted by moore.vj1 I also love and want that to be my reception location ...so I just called Lomas and they said (Nancy and Luis) that none of the restaurants are available for "private" receptions! I am soooo bummed as that room is exactly how I envisioned my reception!! :-( Please let me know if anyone else is told differently! Valerie OH NO!!!! This is exactly how I was envisioning my reception as well. I am really bummed to hear this! I read in Weddingchick's review though that depending on hotel capacity at the time of the wedding, they may hold receptions at certain restaurants.