Hi guys! It's taken me forever to get my trip report up - I apologise. Firstly, thanks to Dakota for all her help and advice! We had a great day. We arrived Sat Jan 1st 2005. The wedding was on our last day, Friday Jan 7th. We couldn't have had a better experience! Our wedding was just how we imagined it would be.
My gut impressions:
The IB Tucan is by far the best AI that I've been to. Others to compare: Ocean Arc Decameron, Allegro Playa Grande, Victoria Resort & Gran Ventana in DR. Gran Hotel in Cuba. Perhaps Mexico is just at a better quality level, but I was impressed!
The room:
The rooms are large and clean. I am picky about the bathroom quality - you can always tell how nice a place is, by how nice they do up the loo! The Tucan had marble floors & counters, stone showers...huge and gorgeous! We stayed in building 11, room 1127, I think - on the outside, with a side view to the ocean. Probably the best view available without getting the upgrade. We changed locations a couple times, b/c we wanted to have an upper level room, facing away from the pool noise. The staff were very accomodating and helpful.
The beach:
Wonderful! The water was rough, and the red flags seemed to be out every day, but people were still in the water. We went down to Playa and bought a little boogie board - great fun! (one tip - don't boogie board with a strapless bathing suit....) Always tons of yellow beach chairs available, and ample spots under the palapas. Other reviews noted the "towel reserving game", but we never really noticed. There seemed to always be more chairs than people. It was a little harder to find shade in the pool area, but you could if you looked hard enough.
The pool:
As I mentioned, a little more competitive for seats, but we never had a big problem. Plus, the beach was always available! Beautiful large main pool. I like the way they had a separate "sports" pool and kiddie pool as well. We did spend our first day at the swim up bar lagoon....although, you have to wonder..."when did I see that guy last get out of the pool...?? Hmmm?"
The food:
By far, the buffet was the best place to eat. Either on the Tucan side or on the Quetzal side for lunch. I did get to eat at the Japanese place and the steakhouse. Both were quite good. The teppan was quite comparable to Toronto restaurants..the sushi was a bit iffy though. As for the steak - order a rare steak my friends! That way, you'll be sure to get a better cut and a tender beef experience. I was a bit skeptical about the steak, since I love a nice juicy angus steak, but they did a wonderful job. Still, every other night at the buffet was fabulous. The fajitas are amazing - I didn't realize that I have never had a real fajita until I came to Mexico. Any of the stuff they sell at home - doesn't even come close! The fajita guy...fresh tortillas and filling cooked before your eyes...mmm...my mouth is starting to water. If you like spicy, try the green salsa! It was magnificent!
***Food was my biggest worry when booking a destination wedding. Being responsible for good meals for a group of 20..yikes! My worries were unfounded. There was something for everyone at the hotel. Burgers and pizza by the pool, and lobsters at the buffet. The food was the biggest difference between the IB* Tucan and the other AIs that we've been to in the DR and Cuba ***
The wedding:
We arrived on the Saturday, and had a note saying we should meet Mariela on Monday morning. She was great. We picked flowers, made some final arrangements and filled out the necessary paperwork that day. Had our blood tests that day as well. It really couldn't have been easier. Understand that you do give up some minute details, but really - who's going to notice that you flew in exotic rarest of the rare orchid from african rainforests and put them in you maid of honour's hair? I wasn't into the little details, which is why the destination wedding was perfect for us.
We had the service (in English) at 4pm on January 7th. Our JP was very eloquent and well spoken - we were very impressed. It was the first day that week that it wasn't rainy or overcast at that time of day.
If I had to redo one thing - it would have been the cocktail reception in the jungle. We had the mariachis, who were wonderful, but we booked a late dinner (8:30pm), so the cocktail party was 7-8pm. It wasn't well lit - 3 huge floodlights that were aimed right into our eyes and were very hot. I just turned them to face into the jungle. The hor d'oeurves tasted good at the time, but a few of us were a bit sick to our stomach later that night. They were sitting in chafing dishes, but were out for a long time. Not a huge deal. Could have happened here easily too. If I had to do it again, I would have asked to have them set up with more torches and maybe more Christmas-type white lights strung in thru the trees, instead of the flood lights. All in all we had a good time though. We moved to dinner at 8:30 at the steakhouse. Again - rare steak! We were so tired by the end of the meal, I could barely stand up to cut the cake - I'll post the pics - you can see it isn't my best! We were planning to hit the disco, all decked out, but I really couldn't stay awake! Must be getting old! (I turn 30 this Friday....) Can't stay out in to the wee hours of the morning anymore. Plus, we had to get on a bus at 6am the next day to catch a flight (boo hoo) home!
Anyhow, that is our trip, in a nutshell. Oh, I forgot to mention, Greg's uncle is a photographer, so we didn't use the resort photographer. Here is a link to the pics he put together for us:
http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewalbum.html?bm=62546
(click on the Marissa & Greg albums)
If anyone wants some additional info, I'd be happy to help, if I can! Thanks again!
usagi
ps to Tony & Djien - Thanks again for the lovely yellow wooden shoes! It was very thoughtful of you, and a nice example of some of the "global goodwill"
that these forums inspire. (Tony & Djien are a lovely couple that saw my posts on this forum, noticed they would be at the IB* Tucan for our wedding, so they brought us a little momento from Holland as a wedding gift! Very sweet!)