Ok ladies, finally getting around to posting my experience at the Barcelo Maya Palace Resort...first of all, if you can stay at the Palace, stay at the Palace! You have access to the other resorts on the property, it's a lot nicer, the lobby bar is air conditioned...which if you're getting arrived in June is a must!!
My husband and I got married in June and we chose the Mint Breeze Package. When we arrived we were escorted to the Club Premium suite to check in (which we did not pay for). Our room was upgraded to club premium, it overlooked the pool. The easiest check in ever! It just so happened to be where everyone parked themselves during the day...it was too hot to be anywhere else.
We met with Aurea on the 2nd day. She was so nice and accommodating. I brought "kissing balls", table numbers, name plates, flowers for decorating, etc. I explained how I wanted everything, showed her a few pix...and it all turned out exactly as I wanted. I met with her once more before the wedding to drop off my name plates (sand dollars I personalized). My correspondence with Barcelo started with Aurea then went to Tania then back to Aurea. Yes it was extremely frustrating being in California, communicating via email, waiting weeks at a time for a response, just to ask another question and wait a few more weeks...be patient, they get it right. This is what they do for a living. We were lucky enough to have a professional photographer in the family, so that saved us. I used Best Moments for my hair and makeup. Airbrushed makeup is the best!!!!! Especially for that humidity in June. Best money I spent.
Mint Package: we had 32 guests. I chose to have the reception in the banquet hall due to the "older guests" that attended, they appreciated the a/c.
Ceremony: held at Coral Beach, semi private bluff overlooking the beach. We opted for the huppa, glad we did, the pictures are great. They even gave us a specialized cocktail after the ceremony to toast. It matched the bridesmaid dresses.
Food: it was really good. We chose the goat cheese and tomato salad, French onion soup, beef tenderloin and creme brûlée. I only had a few bites of each and wished later in the evening I'd had more. We also chose the vanilla cake. The only miss was the cake, I wanted the square cake with the heart shape decorations and got the heart shape...tacky!!
Flowers: my bouquet, the boutonnière and the head table centerpiece were all included. We had 5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen, paid extra for their flowers, the MOB and MOG flowers and a few bags of rose petals for the flower girl. I took a turquoise metal sand pail and embellished it with burlap/lace and flowers.
Couple of things to note:
tipping is not necessary but very helpful for a better experience. We would tip any where from $5-$20 and were treated like royalty. Tables were cleared for us, reservations ended up being not necessary for a few of the restaurants (we tipped the managers). The servers even brought drinks out to our wedding guests before the ceremony...loved it!
To save some money on an "excursion" Take some bananas from the buffet and feed the sea turtles in the water at the resort. The fish and turtles will visit for sure.
If staying at the palace, you have access to all the restaurants on the property, but Reservations are required and book up fast. As soon as you get there make those resos.
Good luck ladies!!