Azul Sensatori Brides - POST HERE!

[trayce2222]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aspeed7309@gmail.com Hi ladies...just fyi...I wrote Nancy a detailed email with questions a few days ago and here's the response.... "My name is Tiffany Borowsky and I am sorry to inform you that Nancy Kidder is no longer with Karisma Hotels." Just to let everyone know that it appears Nancy is gone and here's the information Tiffany provided... tborowsky@karismahotels.com Wedding Coordinator Premier Worldwide Marketing, LLC Ph: 1-866-KARISMA, 9am-5:30pm, est. Monday through Friday

I emailed Tiffany too, so hopefully we can get some answers. I have been waiting on the same email response from Nancy for over a month. I sent the same questions to Luis as well, since he has always been the quickest to respond. I'll post my answers if I get a reply soon!

I do have another question: When we booked our wedding and paid the initial deposit, the amenities costs were so much lower. An example is the Deluxe Beach BBQ. I was quoted $59.50 pp and now the price is $71 pp. If we paid our deposits back when the rates were lower, are our original quotes still valid or do we have to go with the new rates?

[beachbride2009]

Ooooch...when did the costs change? I will have to go back and look at the date I signed my contract. That's a huge jump, and being Canadian, if the dollar stays the way it is, we may have to kaybosh the Beach BBQ! Darnit!

[Solidshan83]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trayce2222 I emailed Tiffany too, so hopefully we can get some answers. I have been waiting on the same email response from Nancy for over a month. I sent the same questions to Luis as well, since he has always been the quickest to respond. I'll post my answers if I get a reply soon! I do have another question: When we booked our wedding and paid the initial deposit, the amenities costs were so much lower. An example is the Deluxe Beach BBQ. I was quoted $59.50 pp and now the price is $71 pp. If we paid our deposits back when the rates were lower, are our original quotes still valid or do we have to go with the new rates?

HI,

I spoke with Fabio a few weeks ago as I had the same worries. He said the quotes we were provided package wise at deposit time are the prices we will pay.

Shannon

[Beecher2Be]

I spoke with Fabio a few weeks ago as I had the same worries. He said the quotes we were provided package wise at deposit time are the prices we will pay.

 

 

Are you sure that this is the case? I booked my wedding with Karisma back in July and the pricing for the dinner was 59$ and now its $70 something. I just assumed that the pricing had gone up and that we would have to pay the new costs. Can you share with us the e-mail that Fabio sent you confirming the pricing from then?

 

Thanks.

[jennik13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peace Hello! Did you hava any issue getting your photographer approved? I want to bring one from California

Nope. I had no issues. You just need to either pay $500 or have your photographers stay for a min of 3 days, that is what we are doing and they are shooting the entire weekend.

[beachbride2009]

Hello ladies! I am currently trying to work out whether I'm going to book my travel package to the resort through a tour company (canadian) or through a company in the US or the hotel directly.

 

My dilemma is this: I want to book the honeymoon suite (who wouldn't want that wicked balcony!), and if I book it through a Canadian tour company I get a great rate on it, but the wedding package (gold/silver) is not 'free'. If I skip the tour company, I am wondering who in the US has the best rates for me to book, so I could get the wedding package free.

 

I want to compare which way of booking is less expensive for us so I can put any extra $$$ towards other parts of the wedding.

 

So, my question is this: Could you lovely American brides please let me know who you are booking your wedding through that allows you the wedding package for free, and also, if you get the free wedding package, is it the gold or silver or either?

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

[beachbride2009]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennik13 Nope. I had no issues. You just need to either pay $500 or have your photographers stay for a min of 3 days, that is what we are doing and they are shooting the entire weekend.

Hi jennik...I'm bringing a photog down from home myself, and have yet to tackle the "permit" issue...have you talked to the WC about that and do you have any further info as to how easy/difficult it is? Thanks!

[jhawkev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHarwood2Be I understand the importance of being patient as they are busy. But the thing is, it takes so much to get a direct answer to simple questions. For the amount of money they charge and the all of the restrictions placed, I expect more from the planners and the resort. I know we all have many of the same questions, so why not have the FAQ's addressed when you book the wedding? That would save them a lot of repeat inquiries if they would just state the policies and prices up front.

Sorry this is lengthy:

I feel the same way. We are all spending ALOT of money to have our weddings here and this is one of the most important days of our life. And to me this forum is to share our thoughts, feelings, and frustrations.

Karisma would save themselves hundreds of emails if they would simply put together a detailed FAQ sheet and simply let you know up front when you book your wedding date that they do not like to plan details until closer to our wedding dates. They are obviously getting asked many of the same questions over and over again. I realize there are custom quotes needed, but many of us are just trying to get basic information before we can even get to the custom quotes.

This isn't their first rodeo (Karisma), if they are overwhelmed they need to hire more people. And with Nancy leaving, and a new wedding coordinator taking over why can't they send out a mass email (to her brides) letting everyone know.

TA Jennifer, I had previously stated that I thought Faith did a great job answering questions during the webinar. It's just with the follow up questions, she does the same exact thing Nancy and Fabio do when we email them, only answers partially to questions asked. And if it would get me answers I would happily pay more money for a wedding coordinator. I have worked in Sales and Customer Service for most of my career, so I do understand the opening of a new part of a business and that it can be overwhelming. With that being said, now that they realize how popular and in high demand this resort is they need to adjust to it and service their clients who are paying high dollar. Also, aren't Fabio and Nancy based in Miami, when I booked this resort my TA specifically told me that they had US based wedding coordinators as an incentive.

They are telling us that for those of us that have our weddings in April (for example), they will not go over any of our details (reception location, menu, decor, etc.) until January. But they also have deadlines of either 60 or 30 (without penalty) days prior to the wedding where you have to have all details determined. Which is scary to some of us, because they are not easy to get a hold of/ get any answers from. And many of us have over 40 guests attending, there are just many variables that can end up costing a fortune (especially with the prices continually going up). And many girls are worried with more than one wedding a day, who gets to choose first on locations. For those girls who know what locations they want, why should they have to wait. I realize they don't want to start planning ceremonies that are in 2010 right now, but it's cutting it close making us wait. They just need to be upfront about their policies.

Many of us have made our emails short and easy to answer. Would they rather have one email with multiple questions in an easy to reply format or 20/more emails with one question?

Finally, I was under the impression that this forum was for us to share information good and bad. And get our frustrations out to each other. Wouldn't you rather us do it here than to the actual resort. We have to vent somewhere or we'll all go crazy!

[jhawkev]

But yes, at the Casitas for El Dorado Royale and at El Dorado Maroma- they call them Beach Butlers and when I did my sites I saw those poor guys out there waiting on people with a smile! At Azul Beach they offer very similiar - they may be exactly the same services- but for some reason call them beach waiters.

 

What I was referring to is I have a Karisma "magazine" that my TA gave us when we were deciding on a location. It goes over the details of each specific resort. Then, in the back it has all the amenities offered and which resort offers which specific amenity. Beach waiters and Beach Butlers are actually listed as two different amenities. Every resort has beach waiters, but the beach butlers are listed at El Dorado Casitas Royale, El Dorado Maroma, and all of the Azuls.

 

The Sensatori is suppose to have every amenity at the resort with the exceptions of a Wedding Chapel and Shopping tours.

[jhawkev]

Sorry! One more...

 

Have you ladies picked out your wedding gowns yet?

 

I'm in the process now I would love to see pics of anyone who has already purchased.