Our wedding report - Iberostar Quetzal / Tucan

We had a fantastic time at the Iberostar Quetzal, the wedding was wonderful and even better than we imagined it would be.

BOOKING THE HOLIDAY


We travelled to Mexico with Thomas Cook and booked our wedding with them as well. Our rep (Claire) in the resort was fantastic and couldn’t do enough for us. We thought that Thomas Cook would take care of the arrangements and paperwork for us, I’m not sure if all agents are the same, but they played no part whatsoever in any of the arrangements and we were left to organise the paperwork ourselves.

The only thing Thomas Cook helped us with was to provide a name and contact number for a third party who translated our birth certificates into Spanish (I can send you her details if you need them, shes been very helpful). This was all at an additional cost to the wedding package paid to Thomas Cook. We also had to get our birth certificates signed by a solicitor and then legalised by the foreign office, again these were all additional costs which we had to arrange ourselves.

One good thing about Thomas Cook was that we were allowed to take an extra suitcase, with no weight limit or additional charge to transport our wedding outfits (bride and groom only). I would suggest you check this with your airline before travelling as it was invaluable to us.

Even though our travel agent offered very little help, we were able to email the wedding co-ordinator direct (Mariela at the Iberostar). Before travelling out we spoke to her regularly over the internet and she was absolutely fantastic.

BEFORE THE WEDDING

On our first whole day in the hotel we met up with Mariela. She provides a service to everyone getting married regardless of which tour operator you have booked with, she is the only person who had anything to do with our wedding plans.

The wedding arrangements were finalised within an hour!!! That included choosing flowers, cake, location, restaurant and meal. There were three locations to choose from; beach, garden area and the raised platform where the pool tables are usually. I took a selection of photographs cut out of magazines for my flowers and these were matched up exactly.

The only other thing we had to do was to get our blood tests done. The hotel has it’s own medical room which was very clean and professional. The doctor who did our tests was very friendly and the whole thing was over in under 10 minutes (we had to pay for these at the hotel).

THE WEDDING

Our wedding took place at 4pm down on the beach. You do get quite a few onlookers watching in their swimming costumes, however on the day you really do not notice anyone other than each other and your guests. We actually posed for pictures for a few strangers, something we never imagined we would be doing on our wedding day!!!

The wedding ceremony lasted about 15 minutes, we had a cocktail reception on the beach for an hour after, however we hardly had a chance to make use of this with all the photographs. We had hired the use of the hotel photographer (an additional charge paid to the hotel) he was very good and we have some excellent pictures. In hindsight requesting a meeting with the photographer would have been beneficial, he took loads of pictures of the two of us and not many of our guests. One small note here: be prepared to buy the DVD! We didn’t order this as it was quite pricey, however, they videoed the wedding anyway. After seeing it, we couldn’t leave without buying it, an unplanned expense, but worth the money in the end.


Following the cocktail party and photographs we had dinner in the Mexican restaurant. The meal was delicious and enjoyed by all. We decided against having our cake here, due to the two sittings in the restaurants there were strict time slots offered to us; 6:30-8:30 or 9:00-10:30, we choose the earlier one and then moved down to a quiet location by the pool, where we had a further hour private cocktail party, accompanied by wedding cake and speeches. These cocktail parties are again an additional cost paid to the hotel.

The pool side location was beautiful; Mariella and her team had decorated an area used for yoga during the day. It had tables around the edges with flowers and the wedding cake. The temporary bar was also very nice, decorated in a Mexican style with a large selection of national drinks. We were very impressed.

THE HOTEL

The Iberostar Quetzal was a wonderful hotel; we have nothing but praise for the facilities and staff. The hotel was immaculate, with a huge variety of food served day and night. The range of national and international cuisine suited everyone in our party from egg and chips to spicy squid fajitas. The variety was so good that we left after two weeks having only sampled a small selection. Drinks and service in the bars were amazing, you were never left with an empty glass. Also the size of the drinks be it beer or cocktails was nothing to grumble about, as mentioned in some reports we read.

FOOD

Some people have mentioned that the food in the buffet restaurants is better than the a la cartes. Personally, I don’t think you can separate them, all of the restaurants we tried were excellent (The buffet, Steakhouse, Carribean, Italian and Mexican). The staff were slightly more attentive in the a la cartes as they were quieter (you get a maximum of 5 reservations per fortnight). Also, because the Tucan and Quetzal are essentially the same hotel, you can use all facilities in both. The Tucan is almost a mirror image of the Quetzal. We liked the Quetzal side slightly better as it had raised wooden walkways with waterfalls around the restaurant. The Tucan had marble walkways with fish ponds surrounding the main restaurant.

ENTERTAINMENT

The hotel offered a full program of activities to keep everyone busy, there was something for everyone. The evening shows were also very good, the effort the entertainers put in make it a really enjoyable evening. There is also a disco that opens at 10:30, we didn’t go while we were there as it seemed to be full of American teenagers.

BEACH

From what we saw, apart from maybe the Riu next door, the beach at the Tucan/Quetzal was probably the best in the Playacar area. The hotels 2 or 3 up from us hardly had any beach and were covered in sand bags (due to the recent beach erosion). Our beach was untouched and looked fantastic. We also recommend going for a walk to the south, although not as well maintained (a bit of litter), it is very beautiful and very very quiet.

SUMMARY

Overall a magnificent time, with many magical memories. We could not find any fault in the hotel or staff who were very friendly and only too pleased to help. If you choose a wedding or holiday here, you won’t be disappointed.

If you have any specific questions, we will be pleased to help you. We also have loads of photos, so if you want to see anything, drop us an email.

[TeeZet]

Congratulations, mikeandkatie!

Happy to see you had a wonderful time.
I would second anything stated in your very nice report.
I was there last January and witnessed quite a few weddings myself since we had a Junior Suite overlooking the wedding-site.
Great resort.
And please do post some pictures in the Multimedia section for us, will you!

[Totlpkg10]

Thanks for your review....it is so reassuring as my day draws near! I sent you a PM also.

[Nerak936]

Mike and Katie:

First, congratulations and best wishes on your marriage!!!

Second, what an AWESOME review of your wedding and the resort!! So glad to hear that everything went so nicely for you!!!

Third, you've managed to get me even more psyched to return there for our 3rd time in 3 years which will be 3 weeks from tomorrow!!! (see a "3" trend here??!)

And I agree with TeeZet... you HAVE to post some pics for us!!! Pleeeeeez???

Congratulations and thank you for the report. I will be attending a relatives wedding at the Tucan this summer. It's sounds like we will all have an amazing time!

[lisa1]

Mike and Katie


thanks for the write up. We have booked through Direct holidays and have discovered we have to pay and translate all documents. You mentioned you could recommend someone, could you?

We have to pay extra when we're out there for the wedding dinner for some reason this is not covered in the wedding package with Direct.

I cannot decide whether to marry on the beach, jungle or the gazebo.
If i brought some of my own table decoration would the wedding coordinator happily take these and make sure they are put on the table. I guess what I am trying to say is, how accomadating is she. I have contacted her a few times and so far she has been super.

[realtorchic]

i would love to see the photos, can you emal them? just a few of the beach area where you got marriend


thanks

stacy

We had a fantastic time at the Iberostar Quetzal, the wedding was wonderful and even better than we imagined it would be.

BOOKING THE HOLIDAY


We travelled to Mexico with Thomas Cook and booked our wedding with them as well. Our rep (Claire) in the resort was fantastic and couldn’t do enough for us. We thought that Thomas Cook would take care of the arrangements and paperwork for us, I’m not sure if all agents are the same, but they played no part whatsoever in any of the arrangements and we were left to organise the paperwork ourselves.

The only thing Thomas Cook helped us with was to provide a name and contact number for a third party who translated our birth certificates into Spanish (I can send you her details if you need them, shes been very helpful). This was all at an additional cost to the wedding package paid to Thomas Cook. We also had to get our birth certificates signed by a solicitor and then legalised by the foreign office, again these were all additional costs which we had to arrange ourselves.

One good thing about Thomas Cook was that we were allowed to take an extra suitcase, with no weight limit or additional charge to transport our wedding outfits (bride and groom only). I would suggest you check this with your airline before travelling as it was invaluable to us.

Even though our travel agent offered very little help, we were able to email the wedding co-ordinator direct (Mariela at the Iberostar). Before travelling out we spoke to her regularly over the internet and she was absolutely fantastic.

BEFORE THE WEDDING

On our first whole day in the hotel we met up with Mariela. She provides a service to everyone getting married regardless of which tour operator you have booked with, she is the only person who had anything to do with our wedding plans.

The wedding arrangements were finalised within an hour!!! That included choosing flowers, cake, location, restaurant and meal. There were three locations to choose from; beach, garden area and the raised platform where the pool tables are usually. I took a selection of photographs cut out of magazines for my flowers and these were matched up exactly.

The only other thing we had to do was to get our blood tests done. The hotel has it’s own medical room which was very clean and professional. The doctor who did our tests was very friendly and the whole thing was over in under 10 minutes (we had to pay for these at the hotel).

THE WEDDING

Our wedding took place at 4pm down on the beach. You do get quite a few onlookers watching in their swimming costumes, however on the day you really do not notice anyone other than each other and your guests. We actually posed for pictures for a few strangers, something we never imagined we would be doing on our wedding day!!!

The wedding ceremony lasted about 15 minutes, we had a cocktail reception on the beach for an hour after, however we hardly had a chance to make use of this with all the photographs. We had hired the use of the hotel photographer (an additional charge paid to the hotel) he was very good and we have some excellent pictures. In hindsight requesting a meeting with the photographer would have been beneficial, he took loads of pictures of the two of us and not many of our guests. One small note here: be prepared to buy the DVD! We didn’t order this as it was quite pricey, however, they videoed the wedding anyway. After seeing it, we couldn’t leave without buying it, an unplanned expense, but worth the money in the end.


Following the cocktail party and photographs we had dinner in the Mexican restaurant. The meal was delicious and enjoyed by all. We decided against having our cake here, due to the two sittings in the restaurants there were strict time slots offered to us; 6:30-8:30 or 9:00-10:30, we choose the earlier one and then moved down to a quiet location by the pool, where we had a further hour private cocktail party, accompanied by wedding cake and speeches. These cocktail parties are again an additional cost paid to the hotel.

The pool side location was beautiful; Mariella and her team had decorated an area used for yoga during the day. It had tables around the edges with flowers and the wedding cake. The temporary bar was also very nice, decorated in a Mexican style with a large selection of national drinks. We were very impressed.

THE HOTEL

The Iberostar Quetzal was a wonderful hotel; we have nothing but praise for the facilities and staff. The hotel was immaculate, with a huge variety of food served day and night. The range of national and international cuisine suited everyone in our party from egg and chips to spicy squid fajitas. The variety was so good that we left after two weeks having only sampled a small selection. Drinks and service in the bars were amazing, you were never left with an empty glass. Also the size of the drinks be it beer or cocktails was nothing to grumble about, as mentioned in some reports we read.

FOOD

Some people have mentioned that the food in the buffet restaurants is better than the a la cartes. Personally, I don’t think you can separate them, all of the restaurants we tried were excellent (The buffet, Steakhouse, Carribean, Italian and Mexican). The staff were slightly more attentive in the a la cartes as they were quieter (you get a maximum of 5 reservations per fortnight). Also, because the Tucan and Quetzal are essentially the same hotel, you can use all facilities in both. The Tucan is almost a mirror image of the Quetzal. We liked the Quetzal side slightly better as it had raised wooden walkways with waterfalls around the restaurant. The Tucan had marble walkways with fish ponds surrounding the main restaurant.

ENTERTAINMENT

The hotel offered a full program of activities to keep everyone busy, there was something for everyone. The evening shows were also very good, the effort the entertainers put in make it a really enjoyable evening. There is also a disco that opens at 10:30, we didn’t go while we were there as it seemed to be full of American teenagers.

BEACH

From what we saw, apart from maybe the Riu next door, the beach at the Tucan/Quetzal was probably the best in the Playacar area. The hotels 2 or 3 up from us hardly had any beach and were covered in sand bags (due to the recent beach erosion). Our beach was untouched and looked fantastic. We also recommend going for a walk to the south, although not as well maintained (a bit of litter), it is very beautiful and very very quiet.

SUMMARY

Overall a magnificent time, with many magical memories. We could not find any fault in the hotel or staff who were very friendly and only too pleased to help. If you choose a wedding or holiday here, you won’t be disappointed.

If you have any specific questions, we will be pleased to help you. We also have loads of photos, so if you want to see anything, drop us an email.

[lisa1]

Hi Lisa1

I to was to marry at the Iberostar Tucan. Unfortuntaley direct holidays sold me a wedding package that did not exist so i ended up booking through the hotel with Mareila who is wonderful. This was my first mistake, since i cancelled my wedding package with DH they were no longer responsible for my wedding. DH have been over booking room allocation for the IB Toucan and if you go on holidaytruths you will see endless of complaints of people having their holiday cancelled a few days before hand. I just wanted to let you know, just make sure they have you booked in. As you have booked the wedding with DH as well you will definatley not be bumped just do not cancel the wedding package and re book direct with the hotel. If you do you will end up like me- DH refused to guarantee us our reservation and we had to cancle losing our dep.

If a large group is going itmay be best for all of you to book under one name to avoid being seperated.

When are you getting married?

You will have a wonderful time

Originally Posted by lisa1

Mike and Katie


thanks for the write up. We have booked through Direct holidays and have discovered we have to pay and translate all documents. You mentioned you could recommend someone, could you?

We have to pay extra when we're out there for the wedding dinner for some reason this is not covered in the wedding package with Direct.

I cannot decide whether to marry on the beach, jungle or the gazebo.
If i brought some of my own table decoration would the wedding coordinator happily take these and make sure they are put on the table. I guess what I am trying to say is, how accomadating is she. I have contacted her a few times and so far she has been super.

[October]

Hi

I'm getting married in April at SECR, could you give me the details of getting all the paper work sorted for it. I've also booked through TC and as of yet have heard nothing. But my wedding planner at the hotel has been fantastic!

Cheers

[kgitter]

Thank you for the infomoration about your wedding, it sounded perfect! I am planning a February 2006 wedding at the Iberostar Quetzal. Like you, our travel agent has not been much help with the wedding arranagments. Just wanted to get your thoughts on how you got things started. Did you contact Mariela directly? If we are flying in on Saturday, do you have to wait three working days to get married? Would that mean Thursday? Any photos you would be willing to share, would be great. Thanks for your help

We had a fantastic time at the Iberostar Quetzal, the wedding was wonderful and even better than we imagined it would be.

BOOKING THE HOLIDAY


We travelled to Mexico with Thomas Cook and booked our wedding with them as well. Our rep (Claire) in the resort was fantastic and couldn’t do enough for us. We thought that Thomas Cook would take care of the arrangements and paperwork for us, I’m not sure if all agents are the same, but they played no part whatsoever in any of the arrangements and we were left to organise the paperwork ourselves.

The only thing Thomas Cook helped us with was to provide a name and contact number for a third party who translated our birth certificates into Spanish (I can send you her details if you need them, shes been very helpful). This was all at an additional cost to the wedding package paid to Thomas Cook. We also had to get our birth certificates signed by a solicitor and then legalised by the foreign office, again these were all additional costs which we had to arrange ourselves.

One good thing about Thomas Cook was that we were allowed to take an extra suitcase, with no weight limit or additional charge to transport our wedding outfits (bride and groom only). I would suggest you check this with your airline before travelling as it was invaluable to us.

Even though our travel agent offered very little help, we were able to email the wedding co-ordinator direct (Mariela at the Iberostar). Before travelling out we spoke to her regularly over the internet and she was absolutely fantastic.

BEFORE THE WEDDING

On our first whole day in the hotel we met up with Mariela. She provides a service to everyone getting married regardless of which tour operator you have booked with, she is the only person who had anything to do with our wedding plans.

The wedding arrangements were finalised within an hour!!! That included choosing flowers, cake, location, restaurant and meal. There were three locations to choose from; beach, garden area and the raised platform where the pool tables are usually. I took a selection of photographs cut out of magazines for my flowers and these were matched up exactly.

The only other thing we had to do was to get our blood tests done. The hotel has it’s own medical room which was very clean and professional. The doctor who did our tests was very friendly and the whole thing was over in under 10 minutes (we had to pay for these at the hotel).

THE WEDDING

Our wedding took place at 4pm down on the beach. You do get quite a few onlookers watching in their swimming costumes, however on the day you really do not notice anyone other than each other and your guests. We actually posed for pictures for a few strangers, something we never imagined we would be doing on our wedding day!!!

The wedding ceremony lasted about 15 minutes, we had a cocktail reception on the beach for an hour after, however we hardly had a chance to make use of this with all the photographs. We had hired the use of the hotel photographer (an additional charge paid to the hotel) he was very good and we have some excellent pictures. In hindsight requesting a meeting with the photographer would have been beneficial, he took loads of pictures of the two of us and not many of our guests. One small note here: be prepared to buy the DVD! We didn’t order this as it was quite pricey, however, they videoed the wedding anyway. After seeing it, we couldn’t leave without buying it, an unplanned expense, but worth the money in the end.


Following the cocktail party and photographs we had dinner in the Mexican restaurant. The meal was delicious and enjoyed by all. We decided against having our cake here, due to the two sittings in the restaurants there were strict time slots offered to us; 6:30-8:30 or 9:00-10:30, we choose the earlier one and then moved down to a quiet location by the pool, where we had a further hour private cocktail party, accompanied by wedding cake and speeches. These cocktail parties are again an additional cost paid to the hotel.

The pool side location was beautiful; Mariella and her team had decorated an area used for yoga during the day. It had tables around the edges with flowers and the wedding cake. The temporary bar was also very nice, decorated in a Mexican style with a large selection of national drinks. We were very impressed.

THE HOTEL

The Iberostar Quetzal was a wonderful hotel; we have nothing but praise for the facilities and staff. The hotel was immaculate, with a huge variety of food served day and night. The range of national and international cuisine suited everyone in our party from egg and chips to spicy squid fajitas. The variety was so good that we left after two weeks having only sampled a small selection. Drinks and service in the bars were amazing, you were never left with an empty glass. Also the size of the drinks be it beer or cocktails was nothing to grumble about, as mentioned in some reports we read.

FOOD

Some people have mentioned that the food in the buffet restaurants is better than the a la cartes. Personally, I don’t think you can separate them, all of the restaurants we tried were excellent (The buffet, Steakhouse, Carribean, Italian and Mexican). The staff were slightly more attentive in the a la cartes as they were quieter (you get a maximum of 5 reservations per fortnight). Also, because the Tucan and Quetzal are essentially the same hotel, you can use all facilities in both. The Tucan is almost a mirror image of the Quetzal. We liked the Quetzal side slightly better as it had raised wooden walkways with waterfalls around the restaurant. The Tucan had marble walkways with fish ponds surrounding the main restaurant.

ENTERTAINMENT

The hotel offered a full program of activities to keep everyone busy, there was something for everyone. The evening shows were also very good, the effort the entertainers put in make it a really enjoyable evening. There is also a disco that opens at 10:30, we didn’t go while we were there as it seemed to be full of American teenagers.

BEACH

From what we saw, apart from maybe the Riu next door, the beach at the Tucan/Quetzal was probably the best in the Playacar area. The hotels 2 or 3 up from us hardly had any beach and were covered in sand bags (due to the recent beach erosion). Our beach was untouched and looked fantastic. We also recommend going for a walk to the south, although not as well maintained (a bit of litter), it is very beautiful and very very quiet.

SUMMARY

Overall a magnificent time, with many magical memories. We could not find any fault in the hotel or staff who were very friendly and only too pleased to help. If you choose a wedding or holiday here, you won’t be disappointed.

If you have any specific questions, we will be pleased to help you. We also have loads of photos, so if you want to see anything, drop us an email.

[Shammy]

Originally Posted by kgitter

Thank you for the infomoration about your wedding, it sounded perfect! I am planning a February 2006 wedding at the Iberostar Quetzal. Like you, our travel agent has not been much help with the wedding arranagments. Just wanted to get your thoughts on how you got things started. Did you contact Mariela directly? If we are flying in on Saturday, do you have to wait three working days to get married? Would that mean Thursday? Any photos you would be willing to share, would be great. Thanks for your help

Just an FYI....

Travel agents book travel, they are normally not responsible for making wedding arrangements. Unless the agent is a destination wedding specialist and specifically says that they deal with wedding arrangements, their job is to get you there, reserve your hotel, and get you back home. That's the difference betwen a travel agent and a destination wedding specialist.

Personally, I have booked quite a few destination weddings, but I have never dealt with the wedding coordinators at any of the resorts, or made any claims that I was willing to do so as being a travel agent is a lot of work all by itself (well, for me it is anyway). The brides that I have dealt with always contacted the wedding coordinators themselves and set their weddings up - because they are the ones who really know exactly how they want things done.

But to answer one of your questions - if you are going to have a legal ceremony, you do have to be in Mexico for three business days before you can get married. If I'm not mistaken, I think one of those days can be the actual wedding day (see, told you I wasn't a wedding coordinator! ). You can have a civil ceremony and those requirements do not apply, nor do you need blood tests (meaning you can get married at home, before or after your trip then just have a civil ceremony). Try doing a search, there should be several threads that deal with destination weddings.

[cpfstich]

Congratulations and thanks for the report!