Any news on the Grand Occidental?

[mermaid1997]

We were supposed to be getting married at Mr. Sancho's on November 19th and staying at the Grand.....obviously we had to postpone. Now we are trying to figure out when to reschedule the wedding, but that all depends on when the hotel re-opens. Their official site says January 31st they will re-open but how concrete is that???? We have about 40 guests going and this is turning into a logistical nightmare!! First we changed hotels because of hurricane Emily, then hurricane Wilma came along and we had to postpone.....my travel agent is going to kill me if we select a new date, get everyone's travel arrangements changed and then find out that the Grand had to postpone their re-opening date!! Does anyone have any more information they would like to share???

 

[ggunn]

We were supposed to be getting married at Mr. Sancho's on November 19th and staying at the Grand.....obviously we had to postpone. Now we are trying to figure out when to reschedule the wedding, but that all depends on when the hotel re-opens. Their official site says January 31st they will re-open but how concrete is that???? We have about 40 guests going and this is turning into a logistical nightmare!! First we changed hotels because of hurricane Emily, then hurricane Wilma came along and we had to postpone.....my travel agent is going to kill me if we select a new date, get everyone's travel arrangements changed and then find out that the Grand had to postpone their re-opening date!! Does anyone have any more information they would like to share???

I know that this is not what you want to hear, but perhaps it is time to start considering a Plan B. What happened on Cozumel during first Emily and then Wilma was unprecedented, and all the estimates of when things are coming back on line are just that - estimates. If you book the wedding (and all that goes with it) at the Grand at the earliest possible moment based on their estimate, and they miss that estimate, then what? Do you know that there is still ANOTHER storm headed their way at the moment?

I am all for us to return to the island as soon as possible so that the dollars that fuel their economy get to flowing, but with a wedding, very much has to go right for it not to be a trainwreck. Individual tourists can roll with it and improvise. I would NOT book a wedding at a damaged facility on Cozumel based upon their estimate as to when it will be back on line. I play in a band that does a lot of weddings, and I have seen close up how little going wrong it takes to generate lots of extra stress, and the facility (especially when that facility is the wedding location, reception spot, and accommodations for the wedding party) being ready is a major item.

Just my free advice, worth every penny you paid for it.

 

[Divedoggie]

Have you thought about getting married in Hawaii?