Kelly K

I am looking to get married at the Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso in August 2012 with guests staying at the Grand, Maya and Lindo. I am hoping to get others who are getting married or have gotten married here to post information. I just stayed at Maya for a week in August and toured Maya, Tucan and Grand. We will have kids there and although Grand is "adults only" they will let us get married on the beach with a reception at the buffet restaurant overlooking the beach if booked for private party with kids attending.

I have been to both Royal Plantation and Half Moon. I prefer Royal Plantation...we did not have butler service but didn't need it...it seems we had the place to ourselves. We were a group of 10 and we went in June 2008. We hung out on the beach furthest from the restaurant. If you are going out the lobby towards the beach---go to the left of the pool. It had trees and couches and hammocks as well as beach chairs and umbrellas. They had waiters come with drinks and you could order lunch on the beach and they came and set it up for you. My boyfriend and I learned to windsurf and they were there to teach you at any time. I also set up tennis lessons (all included). The only downfall was the pool is small and there were flies all around it and no pool bar. My boyfriend's family LOVED Half Moon---we were there June 2011. They are golfers and got the golf plan and loved the course and the caddies. We aren't golfers but found a place the has kiteboarding about 20 minutes away and they picked us up and dropped us off three days to kiteboard. I was learning while my boyfriend kiteboarded. It was great. The pool is better at Half Moon but the resort is bigger and it's not as intimate as Royal Plantation and windsurfing and tennis lessons are not included in the AI plan. They do have a nice pool and good pool bar. We stayed in Hibiscus Suites right near the pool and overlooking the beach. We rode our bikes to the shopping area and it's like a ghost town...maybe b/c we were there in low season. We are looking to go back and get married in 2012 and have guests stay in the villas to save money. I thought the restaurant prices were ridiculous but we were on the AI plan so we didn't pay. No way you could eat at the restaurants for $140/day which looks like the premium for the meal plan each day. I didn't see insie the villas but they look nice on the website and they all have pools and two golf carts, a cook, butler and housekeeper. There is a comissary on-site but we never went in to look at prices of food. Good Luck!

I am looking at Beaches T&C and would love to see a wedding price list, too. I tried to open the attachment on Brandy's post but was unable to....we are looking at a wedding party of around 50 (adults and children). I am tempted to do a dinner at a restaurant instead of a private reception because it seems silly to pay extra when we are at an all-inclusive. For the people who booked T&C, what was a less expensive option for your DW? We are just starting the process and I must say, it is overwhelming!!! Oh, one more thing. We have golfers so any reviews on the golf course nearby would be great. We are also looking at Mauai (sp?)...maybe not as hot and less mosquitoes (we are looking at July/August 2012). Someone also suggested Belize or Playa del Carmen. I don't think there is a lot of golf options in Belize. Thanks.