Wedding Memories

Rachel McGraw & Patrick Brady’s wedding memories….

Dear Laura,

It’s been six months since our August wedding in Akumal and once again Patrick and I are enjoying drinks at the LolHa snack bar. We couldn’t stay away! The draw of Akumal and the snow on the ground and freezing temperatures in Wisconsin provided strong enough prompting for us to book a brief last minute get-away.

We’re thrilled to be back here, seeing familiar faces and places and enjoying the laid back feeling at the Hotel Akumal Caribe. As you know, we decided to have our wedding at Lol Ha after an extensive search up and down the Riviera Maya. Your hotel and restaurant were perfect for us and after exploring the area a bit more on this trip we’re once again so happy with our choice.

You and your staff were fantastic to work with, the ceremony at the Cannon House Point was picture perfect (albeit a bit hot in August!) and it was really good to feel like we were part of Akumal, not just another wedding at a huge resort. We felt very well taken care of. You and Mario were so responsive on email – even when I was writing 2 or 3 times a day – and all of our business dealings with you were incredibly fair and upfront without any of the weirdness that I think usually comes when you tell someone you’re planning a wedding. The staff at the Budha Gardens Spa was also wonderful, agreeing to come in on their day off so that the women in town for the wedding could enjoy some pampering while the guys had a boys’ day out.

Good food and drink were among our top priorities when Patrick and I decided what we wanted to do for our wedding and Lol Ha did not disappoint. Like every meal we’ve had there, the food was perfect. Mario deserves special praise for coming through with key lime pie at the last minute! I was only sorry my excitement during our wedding week prevented me from enjoying more of all the tasty food!

The other priority when deciding on a wedding location was that we choose a place that our family and friends could enjoy. We’re not fans of mega all-inclusive resorts (for many reasons) and the housing and dining options in Akumal meant that our wedding was accessible to a lot of people who we wanted to have celebrate with us. And celebrate we did! Also, considering about 40 of our guests stayed at the Akumal Caribe, I was impressed that there were so few glitches of any kind; if and when there were, your staff handled them quickly and kindly.

I could go on but I’ll finish this note with strong praise for the environmental and social work that you and others are doing in Akumal. It is yours and others’ care for the natural setting and the people who live and work here that make Akumal so special. We were thrilled to learn abut the work that the Hekab Be Biblioteca and the Centro Ecologico Akumal are doing and were therefore happy to encourage our guests to make donations to either (or both!) organizations instead of giving us gifts. It was a meaningful way for us to give back to the community that provided us with such happy memories.

Thank you again,

Rachel & Patrick

Hi Laura,

Just a note to let you know how much we enjoyed every minute we were in Akumal. Our accommodations were terrific and we owe a lot of thanks to Olga and the others in El Paso who made everything so easy to reserve. Everyone at the front desk was wonderful and Martha was particularly helpful. She coordinated the maids delivering the little cooler bags to each guest room and solved any problems at the drop of a hat. The beach was beautiful; the staff kept it spotless and were so available to set up chairs and give any other helped needed. The waiters and cooks at the restaurants were wonderful too. Even the weather gods were good to us.

The wedding site was just perfect. Your suggestions of a tent were right on target and the reception at the hotel was absolutely perfect, too. Many of the guests said the crab cakes were the best they had ever eaten; Mike echoed that and he is definitely an experienced crab cake eater. All of the food was delicious and served beautifully. We also appreciated the waiters who indulged my 20 something nieces with a few dances. We had breakfast in the beach restaurant on Sunday morning and your staff put tables together and served us with great skill. We had a good dinner Sunday night, too, with the lucky guests who were staying on until Monday.

When Mike and I came down to find a wedding place, I just knew you were the right place for us. I can say that every single guest, from all over the US, the UK, Canada, and New Zealand agreed. Two couples stayed at bigger resorts and really regretted it. In fact, one of those couple stayed in one of our extra rooms the night of the wedding!

We are all hoping to come again another time and I know some of us will. As a matter of fact, my brother asked his wife and daughter, who will both graduate from nursing programs in the next 18 months, if they still wanted to take a cruise to celebrate. Guess what! They are hoping to come to Club Hotel Akumal Caribe.

We also appreciate your recommending the Dive Shop for our transportation. Avelino and his men drove us to and from the airport, to the rehearsal dinner at Ana y Jose, and took Stacia and Lee on the first honeymoon stop. They were not just professional, but friendly. Several of the guests told me how the transportation was just the icing on the cake of a wonderful time.

So thank you for a lovely week. I know taking care of guests is what all of you do, but you just do it so well that I had to send this note.

Happy Holidays,

Alice Conlon - Nov 17 2007

"Hello there! I was married In late June in Akumal after visiting several times I knew it was the perfect spot. Everything went without a hitch even though a terrible tropical storm blew through. I didn't have to think about anything or worry about anything at all with regards to the dinner or the ceremony itself. The food was incredible as well as affordable and everyone was really impressed with how delicious it was. The wait staff was very professional and you almost didn't realize they were around. They were always buzzing around and refilling glasses and removing plates and such, but they were so good that they never broke the momentum of conversation or anything. If you have anything specific to ask me please write I would be happy to share. "

Warm Wishes, Stacie

I am in the office after our honeymoon and wanted to thank you for helping us have the best wedding we could have imagined. Gerardo and the rest of your staff did an amazing job making sure the wedding went off without a hitch, and I can't tell you how many people told us it was the most fun wedding they had ever attended.

The food was fantastic, the service was great and everything was completely ready well before the ceremony (in spite of the rain). We feel very lucky that we found such a great place for the wedding. Not surprisingly, Gina also did a wonderful job.

Hopefully, our paths will cross again in the future.

Amy C. de la Lama

Warm Wishes, Stacie

Dear Laura,

We have now made it back home to Mexico City after a fantastic stay in Soliman Bay. We love Akumal very much and I am so happy that I found you via internet, and that you helped me with all of our wedding plans. It's so difficult when you are trying to arrange everything from a distance, but your quick replies to my mails and advice, always put me at ease.

Our dinner was superb! The location was out of this world (as everybody commented at the table), the food DELICIOUS (!) and Gerado did a great job taking care of us all with his staff. Please pass on our great thanks to Gerado. He made sure everything ran smoothly, and it did.

The tiki torches around the table created such a peaceful ambience, and our guests were hypnotised by Akumal bay's beauty by night.

I was rather sad not to be able to meet you, but I hope our paths will crossone day so that I can thank you personally, (I know we will always return to Akumal!).

Once again, we are so grateful to you for all your help, Julie and Merrill

Laura,

I am sorry that it took so long for me to write and say thank you for everything. The wedding turned out perfect! Please let Mario know that I said thank you. He did a wonderful job with the reception. Everything turned out better than I could have ever imagined.

We, or I should say the restaurant, got so many compliments on the food and service. I have a friend that is thinking about getting married there as well, and I gave her your information! Thank you for getting those tequila bottles for me. I know I got a little crazy at times, so thank you very much for your patience. : ) Again thank you for everything, and sorry I waited so long to let you know.

Thank you!!!

P.O. Box 13326, El Paso, Texas 79913
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