Riu-Montego Bay

[MrsHamblett2012]

Congrats Heatherlynn!!  That is soo exciting and I am so excited!! Sounds like it was the best time ever...I cannot beleive I'm getting married there in exactly 50 days!!!  May11th cannot come soon enough!! Thank you for the review and its great to hear another bride had such a great experience!

[Emmalou53]

Heatherlynn, You seriously just made my day!  It is so refreshing to hear from a bride that was just married at RMB.  Most reviews for this resort are from a long time ago, and rules and staff have changed so much since then it seems.  I am glad you and your guests had such a wonderful time!

MrsHamblett, your big day will be here before you know it!  I want to hear about everything when you get back and see lots of pics!  The disco will be a good time for sure.  It's nice to be able to check one more thing off your to do list.  Well, now I'm off to read Heatherlynn's review!

  

[tnique]

Hello ladies,

Just want to give my opinion on the RIU MB. I had my wedding there in January of 2012 and i must say I was not impressed. First of all I was under the impression that the resort was a 4 or 5 star hotel. Well if so, the service was terrible. One example, I waited 2 days for an iron to iron my clothes that were crushed from travelling.  The food was really poor quality. It was soooo not tasty, it all seemed mass produced and processed, nothing authentic.  The alcohol was even worse, I am not a big drinker except for the occassional Pina Colada or Daiquiri but the drinks were poored out of machines and were really inferior quality. There was a whole lot of confusion with checking in my guests. Some of it my fault because I had some last minute cancellations and switching around but they made it so impossible to transition smoothly into anything.  On my wedding day I had to be at the front desk sorting out stuff that I thought I sorted out the day before and when I said to them I should not be here trying to fix the same issue especially on my wedding day, the reply was, "there's a wedding today".  I do not want to scare you with all these negatives. Posiive? The wedding planners are awesome, especially Nekeisha. They made my day transition so smoothly. Another peice of advice, if you get the free package don't take the free bouquet. the flowers are not vibrant and beautiful, they are dull and dead looking.  Bottom line, I would not reccomend the RIU Mobay to anyone looking for elegance and excellent service.

[tnique]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that if anyone has any questions about the resort or Mobay in general, please ask, its better to ask than find out when you go. 

[laurar4444]

I am so glad to find this thread!  I had given up on this site since all I could ever find was outdated reviews and info!  They definitely should remove some of the really old content.

 

I wish I had given the site another chance sooner!

 

I will be marrying the love of my life June 9, 2012.  I am also thinking of making my own flowers and we are planning on renting the disco with the dj.  My Fi's mom keeps making sure we are going to have a dj. LOL!

 

The WC for the resort answers much more quickly once the wedding is closer.

 

Soooo glad to find the thread and happy planning ladies!!!

[MrsHamblett2012]

Tnique - So sorry to hear about your bad experience. It seems like its 50/50. I have talked to people on and off this site who loved RMB and others who hated it! 

 

My plan is to go in with an open mind and I know its only a 3star resort. I think you get what you pay for.  I wouldnt have been able ot have my guests come and have it afordable for them if we chose some other places!  I will let everyone know how my experience was when i get back..30 days and couting!!

 

Welcome Laura 4444 - I also found a lot of information outdated but recently have seen a lot more stuff posted!  We also are renting the disco and having a DJ.  We also are making our flowers. They came out so great! We areusing Calla Lillies and I absolutly love them!  I have found a ton of good information on this site letting me know what to do and what not to do..Like regarding the flowers and photographer and what food places are better then others..peoples thoughts on excursions..I am also going into this knowing I will probably get some bad service, the food probably wont always be great (i hear the jamaican jerk hunt is great!) 

 

My co-worker recentlyl got back from this same resort..SHe was there in mid March..She has given me some great advise regarding the rooms, food, excursions and what not.  She had some not great things to say about it and some great things!

[tnique]

Hey Ladies,

Just some tips to help you with the wedding planning.  If you need a photographer check out geoffreyberryphotography.com. He was great and professional too.  He is in MoBay already so that saves on the travelling costs that is usually apart of the cost.  He did not give prints only a DVD with all images but that worked for me cause I was on a tight budget and his prices were great compared to the other quotes I recieved.  Also we rented the upstairs of the steakhouse for $1000 for 4 hrs. If you do that you will have to have the reception at 6:30pm.  My wedding was at noon so I was a bit hesitant but later realized it was the best decision. It is beatiful up there, you have all the privacy and intimacy you will need for you and your guests.  I payed for the DJ with a small sound system and it was very loud, i did not need anything else, but then again my guests and I are not dancers or partyers; but I'm telling you it was pretty good and not that small either. It costs $150 per hr.  If you want your tables decorated nicely make sure you bring all your stuff  ie. table runners, chair sashes, centre peices etc. if you can. It is a bit pricy to rent or buy centre peices or flowers from Tai Flora which is what the resort did for me, but as I said I was on a budget so maybe that's why I thought it was pricey.  For the reception I wish I had paid for the nicer chairs, the other ones don't look very great in my pictures.  Also, if you can take your own toasting flutes and cake knife it will add that flare to the decor.  If you want your cake table to be decorated bring your own stuff for that as well.  If you have chosen the plaza gazebo for your ceremony wear your flats to the location and then change into your wedding shoes because the walk is a bit long for heels.  Ladies, I wish I had done videography, I would have loved to hear what we were saying especially in the moments where it seemed we were having a good time.  Take lots of pictures, after the day is gone which is very fast, your pictures are all you will have. Your wedding day is precious, and when you and your future hubby have a fight in the future, and you think of calling it quits, when you remember the wedding day and the vows and your family and friends that were there with you, you will want to keep going on.  Have fun y'all, and let me know if you have any questions.

[sinuj519]

Hi Ladies!

 

I am a newbee, and have really enjoyed reading all of your posts! We are getting married at the RIU Montego Bay on 11/17/12. Haven't done a whole lot of planning yet, and am still trying to decide my wedding colors. I was thinking sage green, but am now thinking maybe something more bright and colorful will be better...what do you all think? Green is my favorite color, so I was thinking maybe a brighter green, but am not sure.

 

We are getting married at the beach gazebo, and our wedding time was 4pm but our photographer, Michael suggested we make it earlier so that we would make sure we'd have enough sunlight.  So now our time is 2pm.  We are having the private dinner on the beach, but it doesn't start til 6:30, so trying to decide what our guests should do in between. Was thinking that we will do the cocktail hour from 5:30-6:30, but not sure what to do with my guests before that....any suggestions?

 

I love calla lilies also, but not sure what color I want for my bouquet.  We aren't having a wedding party; just two flower girls and a ring bearer.  Are you ladies having your hair and makeup done at the salon at the RMB? Does anyone know if they do a test hair do/makeup application before the big day?

 

Sorry for all of the questions, I just have so many! I feel SO glad that I found this thread! Thanks in advance for your help, ladies, and congrats to us all!!!

 

Sinu

 

[MrsHamblett2012]

Hi Ladies!! I just posted my review in the RIU Montego Bay Review section. Check it out!

 

Ps. you wont regret choosing this place!!!!!

[MrsVaughan]

Hi Ladies!

 

I'm so glad I found this forum! My wedding is next Friday (June 8th) at Riu Montego Bay and I have really just been flying by the seat of my pants on this whole thing. My husband and I are techically married (we went to the courthouse) for insurance reasons and to avoid the hassle with sending all the documentation to the resort, but we still wanted to have a ceremony. We opted for the free package and have 10 guests coming with us. My concern is that I haven't had much luck with communicating with the wedding coordinators. They really haven't told me anything about what my options are or how the day is going to go. I'm trusting that they know what they're doing and everything will turn out okay. We are pretty laid back people and don't need anything too fancy, but it would still be nice to know an itinerary and where (or even if) our reception will be. I'm assuming the free package includes a semi private reception at one of the restaurants, but do you get to choose? Any advice on what made your day go smoothly would be appreciated!

 

PS.  laurar4444, I see your wedding is on the 9th. You're welcome to crash mine the day before to see how the whole thing works!