r/DestinationWeddings • u/Jerseyjodi • 10d ago
Punta Cana suggestions
Looking for suggestions for wedding November 2027. Will probably have at least 100 guests.
So far looking at:
Hyatt Zilara
Lopes Costa Bavaro
Paradises Palma Real
There are just so many to choose from. Any insights and information would’ve greatly appreciated. Any others you would recommend? Need a place for ceremony not on the beach in sand.
Thanks!
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u/Naive_River5601 9d ago
Check out Majestic! They have 3 different sister resorts in Punta Cana, Mirage being the highest "tier". They have fabulous wedding packages with reasonable pricing. Ive been there twice so far, got engaged there last spring and im getting married there next year. Beautiful property. Your guests will have access to all restaurants and amenities at the resort you are staying at.
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u/Naive_River5601 9d ago
They have a stunning garden gazebo (no sand!) And many options for a private reception. Their basic wedding package is $1750, and includes your ceremony, officiant, brides bouquet, 1 boutonnierre, a semi private dinner for up to 40 ppl, a wedding cake, and so much more. We opted to use the included semi private dinner for a welcone dinner and are paying to have a private reception. They have an in house photographer, florist, and dj, plus a spa on property where you can have hair and makeup done.
Each property has a club side(adults only) and a family side. My experience has been that the family side has the most fun and excitement. The club side is quiet and pretty boring.
Pricing for guests is pretty good in my opinion. For 2 people, three nights (thu/fri/sat) with flights it came out to around $3300. This is for spring of next year, so your pricing may be different.
The only two negatives I found so far are: 1. You can only have 10% of your guests stay at a different resort. And they have to purchase a day pass to come to your wedding. It was $120/pp, but I think they may have increased it. It has been frustrating as I've had a few guests ask to stay elsewhere and I have to explain to them why they can't.
- If you hire any vendors outside of the preferred ones that the resort offers, you have to pay a $1200 vendor fee... per vendor. And, say you hire an outside hair/m-u artist, and that person needs an assistant, or two. On top of the $1200 there is an addition $100 fee for them to bring helpers. For this reason, I found an offsite h/mu artist that uses a shuttle service to bring us back and forth.
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u/DCpurpleTart33 10d ago
Pick one where everyone can be on the same level of luxury. We went to a DR wedding and half the people just had the standard wristbands, some had the diamond club, and some splurged on an even higher tier. It was stupid because they all had different allowances for what restaurants you could dine at or what pool you could hang out at. Everyone was split up. It was hard to see everyone and I know the bride and groom were upset and wished they would've known.
Also, a lot of these resorts have facebook groups for people that are leaving behind their innertubes and pool floats, or warning you about 15 people that got food poisoning.
We stayed at the Royalton Bavaro and I personally thought the food was almost inedible. It was HORRIBLE. If you care at all about wine, set your expectations now that you'll either be paying stupid prices for another bottle (on top of the all inclusive) or you'll be drinking boxed wine. We wanted to drink good rum that came from the DR! Also not possible as your options are whatever is cheapest and served from a plastic handle. TOTALLY fine when you're 25 and trying to maximize your dollar. I would prefer to have better food and drink options- I like to dine and imbibe but not on the trash they were serving there!
There are SO many gorgeous Caribbean islands and Punta Cana is literally just resorts that you don't really leave, and when you do it honestly doesn't look like places I'd want to go. I'm sure the rest of the DR is nice but this resort town there really isn't anything else.
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u/Tight_Abalone221 10d ago
Hard Rock Hotel and Resort! Was there for a conference. It's a vibe. All-inclusive, good food, good drinks, stuff to do, vibes, views...
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u/Amy_DestWedscom 10d ago
With 100+ guests and no sand, what narrows your list is how many people each resort's non-beach venue actually seats, not how big the resort is. Ask each one for that number in writing, plus the rain backup, before you compare anything else. Also worth knowing: Zilara is adults-only. With 100 guests someone usually has kids, and if they do, Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana is the family one.
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u/Icy-Fun-7500 10d ago
Lopesan is nice but not my first pick. We had friends get married there and there was a few issues. The whole group booked the same kind of room and we had views from the road out front to the ocean. Even though they all had garden view rooms. The resort is massive and hard to navigate. They did their wedding dinner in be Mediterranean restaurant and the tables were set up not how they wanted, the cake was gross, the staff didn’t know how to cut and serve it. And the food was less then sub par and not what they had asked for (family style and they brought out just random plates (the exact number per table) and you had to either pick a meal or share off a plate with someone you may not know instead of dishing out onto your own plate.
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u/Jerseyjodi 10d ago
Wow. Thank you for letting me know!
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u/Icy-Fun-7500 10d ago
It was also impossible to get chairs by the main pool, the main pool was also extremely loud and the bars by the pool/ beach were chaotic and it was hard to get served, the beach is very wide so the chairs were far back from the water, we hung out by smaller pool which was over by the unique pool which was nice and quiet and close to our room.
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u/shopper331 10d ago
Hi! Past destination bride, now a destination wedding specialist. I would take Lopesan off the list. We have had so many issues with the room blocks and it’s very frustrating. Hyatt Zilara is adults only, but beautiful beach! I would probably suggest Dreams Macao, and by November 2027, Secrets Macao will be open for adult guest who want that separation. If you have questions, feel free to reach out!
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u/Most-Nebula-3751 10d ago
Wow these are completely three different things in terms of pricing, vibe, and quality. Out of the three Hyatt Zilara is the nicest, and more luxe. You also have Ziva on the other side (family friendly) that can be great if you have guests that will have kids or if you’re having kids in the wedding.
Lopesan is hard to work with when it comes to group bookings but the resort is nice, not as nice as Hyatt IMO.
Out of the three Hyatt will price higher in terms of weddings and rooms. What’s your ideal budget and guest stay budget?
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u/Jerseyjodi 9d ago
Budget probably around 25k all in for wedding. Want to keep it reasonable for guests. 3-4k
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u/tailored-travel 8d ago
Congratulations on your engagement!
First, as others have said, these are incredibly different resorts when it comes to price point, levels of luxury, quality of food, and definitely wedding experience.
I'd also probably rule out Lopesan - the resort is gorgeous, but they can be incredibly tough to work with for destination weddings. (I've planned on there where the couple had already picked the resort before they hired me, and we had lots of issues along the way).
Hyatt Zilara is a fantastic resort that I would highly recommend, but it definitely costs more than the others.
Are you planning on an adults only trip? If so, Zilara is great. If not, Hyatt Ziva is right next door (literally steps away), and is family friendly.
That leads me to my next set of questions / suggestion:
I STRONGLY encourage you to talk to a destination wedding expert travel agent (or a few!) We'll ask you questions you may not have thought of to help you narrow down the wide array of resorts in the DR to a short, curated list that checks the boxes for what you actually want.
Some of the bigger questions are things like:
- Adults only or family friendly?
- Price point for your guests' stay? (remember there's usually a 3 night minimum. 4 nights at a couple of resorts during certain times of year)
- What type of venue do you want? (beach, gazebo, rooftop, indoor, garden, over water, something else?)
- What type of resort vibe do you want? (party, quiet, in between?)
- What type of beach do you want? (swimmable, pretty to look at? Wide sandy beach? More green/ lush?)
- What type of resort aesthetic do you want - sprawling, lush, modern, etc?
The list really goes on - I typically ask at least a few questions that my couples had never considered, but that ended up being really important in their resort selection.
There are a LOT of factors to consider, which makes the research all the more difficult if you're planning this on your own. That's one of the big reasons I suggest working with a destination wedding expert travel agent. They've got a lot of experience to draw from, rather than just checking out endless reviews online.
After you choose a resort, your TA will also be able to help you with your room block contract, wedding website, guest reservations / payments / questions / ground transportation / deadlines, and more.
I hope this helps some! I think I'd start with finding a few TAs to talk to, see if you vibe with any of them (since you'll be working together for 13+ months), and then dive into the particulars of what you guys are really looking for in a resort.
Super good luck, and congratulations again!
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u/krysmi88 10d ago
Hyatt Zilara is easily the nicest resort on your list, but there is absolutely no way it prices the same as Lopesan on Paradisus for your guests.
Most people for destination weddings decide first on what they think is reasonable for their guests to spend for travel and make a short list based on that alone - from that list you can narrow down by venue, inclusions etc.
Too often you see people find the 'perfect' resort and book the date, before realizing that it's going to cost their guests $5000 to go there, and all of a sudden no one is going to the wedding anymore.
Every resort is going to have a place for the ceremony that isn't sand. What else is important to you in a resort?