2011 & 2012 PLAYACAR PALACE BRIDES!!!!!!

[vazworld]

Good to know about the sound system. We'll give it a try and see if it works well. No matter what, we are planning to bring and play our own music because we don't need a dance floor.

 

Makeup: Adrian's salon (Styling Trio) is only 5 minutes walking distance from the hotel. That way I get to save on the day pass for 2-3 people.  I can also use the trial run hair and makeup on the TTD session. I trust they will do a good job even without the trial run.

 

Floral Vendor: Maybe I'll ask Laura to drop off the stuff at the hotel and I'll ask my friends to pick them up for the reception decoration. (Wilma) Yes you can do this; please just let your friends know that they will need to be available at the time the florist gets to the hotel to get all the stuff. 

 

New Tax: The 11% tax is only on the resort credits and you need to pay in cash or credit card for the tax at the end of your stay after using the credits. I think I will reserve for spa and dolphin swim this week for December 2012 to save on tax.

 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
CHICEN ITZA				CHICEN ITZA
	WET & WILD		WET & WILD		WET & WILD
	TULUM		TULUM		TULUM
ISLA MUJERES		ISLA MUJERES			ISLA MUJERES
GOLF	GOLF	GOLF	GOLF	GOLF	GOLF	GOLF
SPA	SPA	SPA	SPA	SPA	SPA	SPA
DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM
ROMANTIC DINNER	ROMANTIC DINNER	ROMANTIC DINNER		ROMANTIC DINNER	ROMANTIC DINNER	ROMANTIC DINNER

 

The Tours in blue can be booked in advance.

The Tours in Black can be booked upon your arrival trought the Guest services desk.

 

Mariachi Band: I got the rate from Carlos Lopez Horta (lohorca@hotmail.com) and they charge 9000 pesos (USD 710) for 10 musicians (45min) or 6300 pesos (USD 498) for 7 musicians (45min). They know the hotel and work there so we don't need to pay day pass. The hotel charges USD 1100 for 8 musicians (60min)!!!

 

Here is the website/photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.270743582941574.96323.228014667214466&type=3#!/pages/Mariachi-%C3%81guilas-de-M%C3%A9xico/228014667214466?sk=wall

 

 

[Lola2012]

Hi Vazworld,

 

Thanks so much for posting all that information!  That's so helpful!  I am super excited about the mariachi option...it is way cheaper than what I thought it would cost.   I think now I may actually go for it.  It just seemed soooo expensive before.  $500 seems quite reasonable especially for 7 people.  How did you hear about them?  I just want to make sure they are legit and do a good job.  I checked out the facebook page but do they have a website?  Any testimonials from people who used them?  Are you sure about not having to get day passes for all of them???  Sorry for all the questions but I just want to get all the info before I decide to book them!

Thanks so much.

Originally Posted by vazworld 

Good to know about the sound system. We'll give it a try and see if it works well. No matter what, we are planning to bring and play our own music because we don't need a dance floor.

 

Makeup: Adrian's salon (Styling Trio) is only 5 minutes walking distance from the hotel. That way I get to save on the day pass for 2-3 people.  I can also use the trial run hair and makeup on the TTD session. I trust they will do a good job even without the trial run.

 

Floral Vendor: Maybe I'll ask Laura to drop off the stuff at the hotel and I'll ask my friends to pick them up for the reception decoration. (Wilma) Yes you can do this; please just let your friends know that they will need to be available at the time the florist gets to the hotel to get all the stuff. 

 

New Tax: The 11% tax is only on the resort credits and you need to pay in cash or credit card for the tax at the end of your stay after using the credits. I think I will reserve for spa and dolphin swim this week for December 2012 to save on tax.

 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
CHICEN ITZA				CHICEN ITZA
	WET & WILD		WET & WILD		WET & WILD
	TULUM		TULUM		TULUM
ISLA MUJERES		ISLA MUJERES			ISLA MUJERES
GOLF	GOLF	GOLF	GOLF	GOLF	GOLF	GOLF
SPA	SPA	SPA	SPA	SPA	SPA	SPA
DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM	DOLPHIN SWIM
ROMANTIC DINNER	ROMANTIC DINNER	ROMANTIC DINNER		ROMANTIC DINNER	ROMANTIC DINNER	ROMANTIC DINNER

 

The Tours in blue can be booked in advance.

The Tours in Black can be booked upon your arrival trought the Guest services desk.

 

Mariachi Band: I got the rate from Carlos Lopez Horta (lohorca@hotmail.com) and they charge 9000 pesos (USD 710) for 10 musicians (45min) or 6300 pesos (USD 498) for 7 musicians (45min). They know the hotel and work there so we don't need to pay day pass. The hotel charges USD 1100 for 8 musicians (60min)!!!

 

Here is the website/photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.270743582941574.96323.228014667214466&type=3#!/pages/Mariachi-%C3%81guilas-de-M%C3%A9xico/228014667214466?sk=wall

 

 

 

[jaruszen]

Hi!  Does anyone know or have any pictures of a ceremony on the terrace?  I am particularly interested in the entrance that the bride has---is there a walkway?  I could have sworn I saw a pic online of a sliding glass door that you step out of?  Thanks!

[jaruszen]

Hi!  Does anyone know or have pics of the wedding terrace at playacar?  I am specifically interested in what the entrance/walkway looks like for the ceremony.  I thought I saw a pic online of a bride walking through a sliding glass door? Thanks!

[Matt Adcock]

 

 

Originally Posted by jaruszen 

 

Hi!  Does anyone know or have pics of the wedding terrace at playacar?  I am specifically interested in what the entrance/walkway looks like for the ceremony.  I thought I saw a pic online of a bride walking through a sliding glass door? Thanks!

 

Hola Jaruzen,

 

Here are couple of pics of the entrance and terrace at the Playacar Palace:

 

 

 

You can also view the entire event here: http://delsolphotography.com/blog/content/galleries/?gal=396

 

Happy planning!!

 

[ginta14]

Hi All,

 

Is anyone else having serious issues with all the fees on top of supposedly complementary events?  Also,  it says now that the complementary private function is only for 2 hours???  Is there a pp/ph fee yet that I haven't seen?

 

I am on the verge of telling the resort to shove it and cancel completely.  What a joke!  At least the other resorts told you how they were ripping you off upfront. 

 

I can't take another fee. Please help!

[pacificarol]

Hello!

 

I'm also planning a wedding at PP (Dec 2012) and have been reading posts in this forum about unexpected costs/fees - :-S  I haven't yet started planning but getting a little nervous reading these posts. Hoping some of the brides here may be able to list some of the fees/costs I should be anticipating as I begin to deal with my WC. I'm going with the complementary set-up and will very likely have 75 room nights.

 

Muchas gracias PP brides!
 

PS: What a great forum - thanks for all the great advice so far!!

[SpotJune2012]

Hello,

I am getting married at PCP on June 11th and am curious if anyone knows the status of the spa construction happening onsite. I spoke with a manager at the resort via email and he said that the construction is only happening during the day and does not disturb guests at night but I'm still not 100% confident that its not going to be an issue. Has anyone been onsite recently?

[ABURMISTROV]

Hello fellow BDW forum users. I was just a lurker, but found this website very helpful in the planning process.  Thanks to the discourse in this thread and many others, our wedding was a great success.  I feel the least I can do is help a few others out.

Here is the review I put on Trip Advisor a moment ago.

 

I may post more about the wedding itself in this thread if people are interested.

Wilma will take care of you and answer all your questions in due time.

 

Here is the review I put on Trip Advisor a moment ago.

 

“PERFECT Wedding!!â€

Pending review

I read through alot of Trip Advisor reviews before booking our wedding at Playacar Palace, March 29th, 2012. I have never written a review before, but feel it is my obligation to the Playacar Palace Hotel and their wonderful staff to relay to everyone what an amazing job they did, exceeding our expectations in every way possible.

We have traveled to the Dominican once and Jamaica once before, but had never been to Mexico.
Many of the people on our trip (40 in total) had never been on a hot vacation before, let alone gone to Mexico. I am sure most would tell you it was the time of their life.

I can only echo any and every good comment that precedes mine. Any negative reviews I have read would lead me to infer that these people were miserably unhappy people, who do not enjoy life.

Some of the things that might separate this resort from others are (in no particular order):

-Location is literally 30 second walk to 5th Avenue (Shopping, Restaurants, Night Life), Senor Frogs and Ferry to Cozumel.

-The staff seem to outnumber the guests (in a good way) and are very friendly. Impeccable service!!
It is a smaller hotel (only 208 rooms), so that may lend itself to a more personal experience.
I would give names but literally every staff member was a pleasure to be around.

-No reservations required for a the la carte restaurants, (Asian and Italian, both are phenomenal) and if you are a picky eater, just ask they will make you whatever you want.
Also 24 hour room service.

-Food is amazing, something for everyone, I didn't even get to try many things because there was always so many choices. (I can eat and portion size isn't my strong suit)
My younger brother has 2 young kids (3 & 4) with serious gluten allergies and he was worried about what they would be able to eat, again the hotel staff delivered with flying colors.

-Beach is gorgeous, nice sand, nice water to swim, no need to reserve chairs(seaweed is non-issue).

-Resort Credits, "they are who we thought they were". Amazing value, enough good things could not be said about this program. Thoroughly enjoyed by all of our guests. Especially if you like to golf.

-Spa is very nice; used their sauna, cool rain shower, steam room, cool waterfall, hot tub, foot massage tub combo, had a deep tissue massage and felt much relief after, especially since I have a nagging lower-back (fun times). The spa is attached to the pro shop and is about a 3 minute shuttle from the hotel lobby.

-Golf -
I had a hard time finding good information prior to the trip so I will include all I know here.
I have played many nice courses, including most/all Manitoba has to offer, in the Victoria area Bear Mountain, Olympic View, Highland Pacific, Arbutus Ridge, Northview in Surrey, Chaska in Minnesota, Guavaberry in the Dominican.
We did not make it to the Cancun area to play the 27-hole and 18-hole Jack Nicklaus courses that were also included, but I am sure they are nice as well.

Playacar Golf Course - This course will not leave you disappointed.
The front nine is tougher than the back nine (which includes a number of short par 4's). Every hole has character with lots of bunkers, water hazards, nice greens, doglegs (11 is a double-dog, 560 yard par 5). I played this course 3 times from the whites, but they also had blues and blacks for low handicappers and reds for the ladies. Challenging, but definitely playable for all skill levels.

The first round we played the best shot from our foursome, the second round I played my own ball (shot around 89 after going like 10 over par on the first 4 holes, I'm usually low 80's-ish) and last round was 2 on 2 best ball. We had no problem getting tee-times, and used our resort credits to pay for the rounds.
($200 - regular price, $170 - before 7 a.m. and $130 after 1 p.m.)
Also, all your food and drink is part of the all-inclusive. Just ask and you shall receive.

Our last round on Saturday, we had our own cooler full of ice, as many Sol, Dos Equis and water we could fit in there. Ordering spicy caesars that came closer to the real thing than any bloody mary I have ordered outside of Canada. As well as, ordering cheese burgers and clubhouse sandwiches instead of the turkey,ham or roast beef croissant sandwiches (which are also good) usually found on the cart.

Wedding Coordinator - Wilma
I could not say enough good things about Wilma, that would do justice to the wedding experience she has given us. She is professional, hard working, organized and very friendly.
We did not so much as lift a finger, just pick out a few of the details and watch her and her staff make magic happen. Everything about the wedding was perfect and went off without slightest of concerns (apparently I can't spell my middle name).
We had a large audience watching .... as the beautiful bride walked down to the beach.
In the days to follow, I had so many people, including those I hadn't even met, come up to tell me how much they enjoyed our ceremony.
It was undoubtedly the perfect wedding.

(and I was trying to be short with this...... sorry Work)

This experience has made me ask myself if I should start planning group wedding travel on the side, because the experience I had would be very hard to match.

p.s. I did not notice the construction until my 3rd day or so at the hotel, it was in no way a factor during any of our 40 guests stay in various sections of the hotel.

 

[Reesespieces]

So, I've been checking out the Moon Palace forum and the girls were all worked up over the setup fees as well. One was quoted $200/table for reception setup. This is all coming from corporate, not Wilma. 

 

For brides considering a Palace Resorts wedding:

Plan on dropping some cash for decorations. For 5 table runners and 40 chair sashes, it was going to be about $300. The cheapest centerpiece is $100/table. You really do need the sound system for the beach and it is $300. You only get 2 hours for the events and will have to pay per person, hour, or table, (depending on who you talk to) to extend the time. Get everything in writing before you sign a contract. Wilma did say my sisters could set up the reception room, but I don't think that normally is the case.