Majestic Colonial Punta Cana or Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro??? HELP

[Celia]

Hello My DW Friends!!!!

 

My FI and I are getting married in late OCT/ Early NOV 2012 in DR-PC! I have NOTHING booked NOTHING planned! We've gone to a couple travel agents and neither of them could give us a quote! :S Its a year away and we don't even know our wedding date or where we're going, I'm getting super nervous! Should i be nervous?? When did everyone else book?

 

On another note, we have decided on one of the two resorts (Majestic Colonial Punta Cana and Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro)

Any suggestions??  I've read AMAZING things about both of them! What makes one better then the other? lol.

 

 

I'm so confused! Help me pleeeaasee! <3

[LulouLogan]

I started off with the Dominican Republic as my location....  I have a wonderful travel agent and she has actually been to the DR.  Don't worry about not having anything planned yet, you still have some time.  The only thing to keep in mind is that you will need to give enough "heads up" time for any guest that wish to come, but you have a year so I think you are alright for now. 

If you want to get a good quote on what prices will be go to applevacations.com, you can get all inclusive pricing (flight/accommodations/activities) and play around with the dates to see what works best.  They also have information about destination weddings and the estimated cost each resort charges for their wedding packages, that's applevacatons.com/destinationweddings. 

You can also try funjet.com to see what the cost of travel will be. 

As far as the two choices you listed above, from what I've researched, I think the Gran Bahia would be a good choice because the cost is slightly less expensive but the reviews from actual guests were good. 

I hope that helps!!

[Celia]

Thank you so very much for all the great information and your opinion!!! i'll take a look at the websites!

 

[DRPrincesa]

My deciding factor was the costs for my guests. Majestic Colonial had great prices for my guests. The wedding packages aren't the cheapest around but they also are not on the high end either. Happy planning!!!!

[Aphrodite]

My cousin is a travel agent and she helped me pick the best bang for my buck for the hotel with the best reviews she had from the travel agents themselves and other customers based on weddings held there.

 

So Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana was what won out.

 

They have good prices on their wedding packages, are a well known chain of hotels, have great ratings, great food, great grounds and our group package wasn't bad at all.  $1385 (incl. taxes) Canadian.

 

One piece of advice my cousin gave me is email the hotel and see how fast the wedding coordinator responds to you - since that is who you have to plan everything with, you want someone who will respond to your emails in a timely fashion.  I have never had to wait longer than a 24 hour period for my WC to respond.

[Celia]

Thank you for the Great advice! I'm currently working with a TA on prices. I love both resorts and there reviews. As much as i would like to pick the resort i can't. It's whatever is cheaper for our guests. I feel we're already dragging them across the country, we better not ask for too much more. Our budget is 1200, no more then 1300.

 

When did you get married if you don't mind me asking? My FI and I are getting married in early Nov and leaving here in Late Oct. I'm hoping because we are leaving in Oct we'll get a better price.

 

 

[Celia]

DR Princesa

 

Thank you for the reply! how much are your guests paying for Aug next year???

[DRPrincesa]

My guests are paying $360 for 4 days (Fri-Mon) all-inclusive and travel to and from the ariport included.  Flights are $450.  That's $810.   My hubby and I are staying for 8 days and and it's running us $1800 for both of us.  I thought these were very good prices.  The Hard Rock was charging $800 for 4 days, I did not want my guests to pay that much.  Hope this helps!
 

Originally Posted by Celia 

DR Princesa

 

Thank you for the reply! how much are your guests paying for Aug next year???

 

[CDNCouple09]

We are staying at the Majestic Colonial and having our ceremony there. We have decided to go to the Jellyfish for cocktail hour, dinner, and the reception. I would  suggest looking into the Jellyfish restaurant because after planning our weddding at the Colonial we changed our minds to the Jellyfish and they have been awesome to work with. My wedding is in 16 days and I know we have made the right decision! Good luck with your planning!

[amtropiano]

Celia - Did you decide? I finally made my decision - Majestic Colonial Nov 3, 2012!!

 

Let me know, sounds like our trips might overlap and would be nice to have a planning buddy