Riu Jalisco, Puerto Vallarta B+ 

The resort is HUGE! I guess it has to be when it has 700 rooms. The staff were very polite and catered to all the guests. To my surprise my family was waiting for me in the lobby when me and Jared got out of the shuttle van. It was so overwhelming, the tears came and much is a blur now when I try to remember. As my little sister put it they were "happy tears". 

We were upgraded to a honeymoon suite, which we loved. It was on the corner on the ground floor. Perfect location because there is so much walking to the pools, beach, restaurants, spa, etc. So the location of the room saved us some walking time. There was a letter from our 2 wedding coordinators (Yessica and Erika) which we were to meet at 12 the next day. (continued below).

All 55 of our guests loved the resort and most said they would be back in the future. The only complaint was there were no bathrooms by the beach. It was like a 2 minute walk**to the nearest bathrooms. Not a huge deal breaker for us. There were always lounge chairs by the beach, adult pool or kiddie pool. No fighting over towels either which was nice. In fact we ended up with too many towels because sometimes the operator would give you extras :-)

The food was great as well. I didn't eat much because I was so stressed and by the time the wedding was over I think I caught a bug. But what I did eat was good. There was so many choices. Salads, burgers, chicken nuggets, fries, beef, duck, pork, fajitas... you name it and it was there. The pizza wasn't the greatest, the cheese tasted different than what we were used to. The wait staff worked hard and we tipped them at ever meal. Breakfast was my favorite meal of the day. The fruit was DELISH!

Drinks may have been watered down, I don't know. I didn't get drunk or anything but my hubby sure did. He was loving the coronas in the room and we ordered room service several times to get our little fridge stocked up more than once a day. Our balcony was huge so we would have little parties with our Ipod speakers.... it was a good time.

Another attention getter is the lack of security for the rooms. Each room has a key... well it's very easy (as we found out) to go to the front desk and ask for an extra key for the room. They don't ask who you are or ask for any identification. Also turns out my Grandpa had a master key that could unlock ANY room we tried. We tried about 10 rooms and they worked on each one.

I also had someone tamper with my lock for my laptop. Thank goodness they were unsuccessful. We were on the ground floor and found several times that our patio was unlocked. After the first time we triple checked it each time we would leave the room. And we could come back from dinner and it would be magically unlocked. We voiced our concerns with the assistant manager, Stephanie and were moved up to the fifth floor. We didn't experience any issues after the move. But I would not bring my laptop again and I am thankful I had a lock for it. 

Wright Travel Angency; Tammy (Travel Agent) A+
Wright Travel Agency

I wish more of our guests would have booked through her as we had no complictions at all with our reservtions or shuttle transportation. Some other guests certainly did. It was nice not to worry, I had alot of trust in her.

She was so helpful throughout the whole process and now I have very high standards when it comes to travel agents. She has a big heart and cares alot about her clients, as you can see on the forum. 


Riu Jalisco Wedding Coordinators; Yessica and Erika A-

Our meeting the next day went very well. The girls were sweethearts and I could see by their bulletin board just how busy they were. They had 1 wedding at least every day. I expressed my concern for future brides and the email issue. Erika apologized and said by contract they are not supposed to start planning a wedding until our arrival. The meeting didn' take long and it was very easy pick and choose options. I made a last minute decision on flowers which I was very happy with. I did white cala lillies and yellow roses on my bouquet and both white calla lillies and roses for my bridesmaids. They looked SO GOOD. I saw another couple of weddings and the flowers were smaller and not as nice. Perhaps it was because of our wedding package was higher? 

We ended up squishing all 55 of our guests in the gazebo as that is what I had my heart set on. I have to thank the wedding coordinators again because they made everything possible. Even made some last minute alterations on 2 of the BM dresses for $5 each! 

For any future brides I highly recommend you to print out all your emails and details in pricing with any resort organizing your wedding. I wasn't surprised they raised their rates, but was happy I had my proof that when I booked them the rates were much lower. DH was happy with my OCD that day LOL.

The wedding day was fabulous it was so hot outside 109 degrees! Everyone was sweating especially the best man, he was soaked in sweat. I for whatever reason didn't sweat. Must be my low blood pressure because i think I was the only one :D

I had several family members tell me it was the best wedding they ever attended. That was probably the BEST compliment. I worked hard on the playlist for the dance and used my laptop. We rented the pool bar with sound equipment instead of hiring a DJ. My uncle even stated he danced to every song lol. It was so much fun!


Renova Spa B

I'm so happy I got a trial hair do the day before. Doris (the hairdresser) didn't speak any English and the communication was really hard. Once again I'm so thankful I read on the forum to bring a picture of the hair you wanted. I wasn't satisfied with the trial but me and my MOH played around with it and fixed it, took a picture of the finished result and showed it to Doris on the wedding day. I would have been in tears if i had to deal with the trial hair style on the actual wedding day. I hated it and I could tell from my Mom and aunties expression they didn't think it was that nice either. Yuck, I wish I had a picture of what she did. The top part had so much height which was not flattering. But then the back went sideways to the one shoulder. It's hard to explain.... regardless the wedding day hair was fabulous and Doris did a good job.

I also had a massage earlier that day and it was awesome. It totally calmed my nerves. On our first day Jared & I also had a couples exfoliation. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was great. Jared loved every minute of it lol which he didn't think he would have. Another mention is the night of the wedding they decorated the room with rose petals and added some chocolates. One of my personal favorites was the little pottery jewelry box they gave us with our wedding date painted and names. It's a wonderful keepsake which reminds me of our beautiful wedding at the Riu Jalisco.

In the end it was a beautiful day and I wouldn't have changed a thing :-)