Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall- Montego Bay, Jamaica

[Deleted User]

I am getting married there is June 2015, are there any brides that have had their wedding there. If so, please share your experience.

Jells2dot0

The Hyatt Ziva has only been open since December 10th or so. I'd wait a little longer to see if anyone else has been. 

Knottie4351010

I am also getting married at this resort at the beginning of July.  I'm in the process of trying to plan. Have all my guests booked, picked a wedding package and have placed a deposit.  We will be there from June 30-July 8.

Harleymel - What dates will you be there? How is planning going? Any tips? Where are you having your ceremony and reception? How many people will be attending your wedding? Which package did you choose?

Any feedback helps! 

[Deleted User]

I'm getting married June 27th. I'm having the ceremony at the Gazebo and the reception at the ballroom terrace. I'll be there from June 24-30th. I'm still waiting on all my guests to book. I'll send out invitations by March 1.

[Deleted User]

I chose the lavish and opulent . I'm doing my own flowers and decor .

Knottie4351010

I'm getting married July 3rd. Us and all our guests are arriving on the 30th. There is 22 of us. How many do you have approximately? I have so far chosen the Romantic Soirée. Did you get any deals or discounts at all on anything? Have you been liasing with the resort directly yourself? or do you have a travel agent doing it for you, and making all the arrangements for you? Are you hiring their DJ? Getting your hair and makeup done at their spa? I'm constantly looking online for others getting married there, as I also want to know their experiences

[Deleted User]

I haven't received any deals, or discounts. They charge for EVERYTHING. I opted out of using their vendors. I am going to use a iPod for my music, and I am doing all of my decor. I went through Delta vacations but most of my guest are doing their own travel arrangements. I have been reading the reviews on Trip Advisor, and they are mixed so  I hope they work out their kinks before we arrive in June. I want to have a meet and greet for my guests, but I don't know if its in the budget. I am also going to do my own hair and make-up (although its included in my package) because they don't have any examples of their work. Where are you having your ceremony and reception?

Knottie4351010

I know, they definitely do charge for everything, and its costly! I am also having my ceremony at the Gazebo. What will you have for decoration there?  For the reception, I am having mine on the Sky Deck. I have no idea what it looks like, but apparently its outdoors with a nice view.  I still want to know if it has a covered area or not though. I take it yours is the Indoor Ballroom?   I chose the Romanic Soiree package but paid extra and added the 'private reception' instead (didn't want the 'semi private').  Did you have to pay extra for their 'sound system' in order to play your iPod at the reception then?

I've also been following trip advisor reviews religiously as well.  I want us all to have dinner together the 1st night we arrive.  I'm trying to find out if a reservation can possibly be made at one of the restaurants, for all of us. 

We are having our wedding at 430pm.  What time of day are you having yours? Do you know if you are getting 'folding chairs' or 'tiffany chairs' for your ceremony?  Are they including ribbon for the chairs?

[Deleted User]

I don't think you want to use the Sky View that's where I orginally planned to have my reception until I saw the pictures. It is pretty bland, so my reception is at the ballroom terrace, I can inbox you the pictures that were sent to me by my coodrinator. I am using some ivory pomander balls to decorate the chairs, and what ever decor they provide for the ceremony. They said that it will be white foding chairs with bows, she sent me a picture of those as well. I asked that they use the same chairs for the reception since the Tiffany chairs are 15 piece and I am expecting 35-40 people.

oconnorjohnson

Hi ladies. i am getting married at the Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall on May 9th and am more than happy to share any information, suggestions, etc. My party consists of 110 with 46 rooms so we're considered a large group for a destination wedding I guess. My ceremony will be on the lawn and my reception on the Ballroom Terrace. I'll also be having a welcome dinner the night before on the Sky Deck. i was just down there for a site visit a couple of weeks ago and the resort is beautiful. I was concerned because if the trip advisor reviews but I didnt have any issues during my visit.

Yes, a lot of things are expensive and begin to add up. We're bringing our own videographer and sourced a local photography company that was a lot cheaper than using their preferred vendor. Keep in mind that they charge $500 per outside vendor that you use. We are also using their DJ. its a bit pricey but we didnt have any other option.

Regarding decor, we're using their florist but I am buying my own table linen and napkins as its waaaay cheaper that way. There's so much to say so feel free to let me know if you have questions as I know it can be difficult planning a wedding at a location you've never seen in person!

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your insight. Please share your photos.

Knottie4351010

Are both of you having a 3hour reception? Did either of you add any extra hours? (cost?).  What are your plans for after the reception is over? 

Does the Hyatt Ziva not already included table linens and napkins for the wedding?

How much extra did you pay to have the welcome dinner on the sky deck? What was your reasoning for not choosing the sky deck for the reception, over the ballroom terrace?  Is one much nicer than the other? I know those were both options for my reception.  I haven't had the chance to see a lot of photos as of yet.

Was there a shuttle or bus that they had that would take hotel guests to clubs in the evening? Such as Margaritaville and Pier1?  I stayed at a RIU previously and they had a bus that would drive guests to the club and transport us back to the hotel at a certain hour.

I am only having 24 people at my wedding. Instead of possibly having to pay for a welcome dinner, do you think it would hard for 24people to get a seat/table in one of their restaurants in the eve?

I appreciate all your feedback in advance!

[Deleted User]

I am having a small wedding as well ( 30 people). I am not having a rehearsal dinner to save money, so I am going to have everyone meet at a bar for cocktails, and I will hand out welcome bags then. My reception is 3 hours, I chose the lavish and opulent. I am not paying for extra time since it will be  vacation for most people so they can still have time to do something later. I thought that the sky deck was plain, and you would need to add some extra decor. I am having my ceremony at gazebo. Yes, I would try to seat everyone at a restaurant, because its pretty expensive to pay for a private

[Deleted User]

Oh, they do include linen and napkins, but I am providing my own table runners and chargers.

The linens are white.

oconnorjohnson

i am having a 3 hour reception thats included in my package. It wasnt worth it to add more. that would be an extra $375 for the extra hour for the DJ plus on top of that it was like $15-20 per person!


Regarding a private dinner, their catering buffet menus range from $45-$50 per person to have it in one of their banquet spaces. They have several restaurants and most of them seem large enough to accommodate a party of 24-30 so Im sure you could work something out.

the Sky desk isnt large enough for my reception and a dance floor. the ballroom terrace is much larger. yes, I agree the sky deck is plain and will require more decor to dress it up. Great view though!

Yes, the hotel provides standard linens and napkins however I wanted more decorative ones so Im literally bringing my own that I bought online.

the hotel has a shuttle but for the airport only so you'll have to arrange cabs to go into town at night.

Im new to writing posts so once I figure out how to send pics I'll show you guys some.

oconnorjohnson

Here are 2 photos I have of the sky lounge. There is a covered area but its more of a place where something like the buffet could go. Note that there is only llighting under the covered area so you would need to add uplights along the perimeter. They are $30 each and we're adding about 7-8 of them for our welcome dinner.

dalightrkthe

This is definitely helpful. We're planning on having our wedding next year, at first we were going to do it in January 2016, but because travel rates are cheaper, we've pushed it back to May 2016. I have family in Jamaica, and Couples San Souci was my grandmother's first recommendation, but now that she's been to the Hyatt, she loves it. She typically stays at the Zilara side, but when I went down to look at venues, we looked at Ziva. I'm debating whether to go with the Hyatt for our May 2016 wedding--I loved the venue, and everything about it was wonderful during that visit. But I'm torn about the price for rooms, whether it's worth it for the guests to pay that much. I'm interested to see what you thought and how your weddings went. I hope you had a wonderful time, and I'm sure your weddings were and will be beautiful.

[Deleted User]

My wedding is in 18 days! I will definitely share my experience. I will say that I went with the Hyatt because it is a family friendly resort. Also if you check the rates they are about the same price as the other resorts, like Sandals, Iberostar, and Couples. Right now their rates are 50% off so if you have your guests book now on their website, or through another site that doesn't require a deposit you can lock in your rate.  Also, I went with Delta Vacations, and honestly most people made their own travel arrangements, so that is just something to think about as well. I thought that having a travel agent would be easier but more than half of my guest just wanted the dates and the hotel information.  Happy planning.  

Knottie1436342846

HI Harlymel

Firstly congratulations and hope your day was as fabulous as you wanted it to be.  I am in the process of booking my wedding with them for next June 2016 after visiting there last month.

Like you and others have mentioned their extras are so expensive, so I am looking at alternatives to save on our budget and was keen to know which photographer and florists you used if you don't mind me asking.

Would be great to hear your experience and how you're feeling now being a Mrs!!

Anyway appreciate your probaby in honeymoon mode, so if you get a chance it would be great to hear from you and your recommendations.  Like you I want the lavish and opulent package to have the private ceremony etc.

Thanks again.

Knottie1428611537

hey me congrats to all! my fiance and i are planning to get married at the hyatt ziva rose hall in march 2017.  i cant find pictures or video of wedding anywhere!!! this makes me a little nervous. on the site the pictures are beautiful but i still much rather see pictures from recent weddings. if anyone can share there wedding pics/ videos and thoughts about it please please share. it will put me at ease lol!

Knottie1448932046

Hi! I'm having my wedding at Ziva in November. I'm super excited but I would love to see actual pictures if anything me has any they would like to share! Thank you!!