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September 2012 Weddings

Honeymoon Planning - really discouraged

So yesterday Dan and I decided to start pricing out our honeymoon and trying to determine which hotel(s) we wanted to stay at. However, we started to really get discouraged when we couldn't find anything decent for under $5k. we REALLY don't want to spend that much, but it seems near impossible to find anything nice enough for less than that.

for those of you who have been to hawaii (oahu or maui) before, where did you stay? was it better than a normal hotel? that's really what we are going for.

we're starting to think of other options now, just because they might be cheaper. i know a bunch of you are going to secrets maroma. would that be cheaper? where did you guys book that?
Happily married since 9/1/2012!
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The Whimsical Wifey

Re: Honeymoon Planning - really discouraged

  • we're most likely doing Maui, we've found a ton of condos for less than $1000/week that are on the beach with ocean views and then our flights are $700/person. check out www.homeaway.com or www.vrbo.com. We originally wanted to stay in a hotel with a spa and pool but quickley reazlized it's not in the cards for us. And we really like the idea of being able to cook breakfast and pack a lunch for the day then eat at a nicer resteraunt for dinner because we didn't eat out all day.
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  • We went to Hawaii this past summer.  We booked through expedia.  Stayed 6 nights at the Kauai Beach Resort, plus our flights, rental car for the whole time, plus a couple of excursions (sunset dinner cruise, bus and boat tour) and trip insurance for about 3K.  If we ever go back, we would skip the bus and boat tour.  Most of the sights we saw, we had already seen just by driving around in our rental car.  :)  HTH.  GL!  Make sure to budget extra for food, tips, and souvenirs.  We each brought $800 cash with us and we ended up spending it all, plus we each charged a little bit too.  One thing I underestimated was having to tip every person!   
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  • bridezillatobe- that is a great idea, I'll have to mention it to my FI.

    Kelly- I was getting very discouraged as well, especially after a recent convo with another bride who said her brother's honeymoon last year cost $10,000. We CANNOT afford that right now.
  • wow, thanks so much everyone! i just started looking through the condos and i can't believe how much more reasonably priced they are. i guess i'm just wondering, is there anything i will miss? i guess i always figure that on my honeymoon i'll be treated by royalty and i'll get upgrades and stuff all over the place, and that probably won't happen if i stay at a condo. but i think that only happens in movies anyway so i should probably get more realistic, haha.

    agladhill - yeah, we definitely have the spending budget in mind. that's why we are trying to keep hotel/airfare/car rental down, because we want to be able to spend whatever when we get there and not care.
    Happily married since 9/1/2012!
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    The Whimsical Wifey
  • celticmysscelticmyss member
    1000 Comments Second Anniversary
    edited January 2012
    I think the only thing you might miss out on is room service. I wouldn't count on any upgrades at a regular hotel, I think that only happens in rare cases. 

    We're looking at condos for our trip to Europe as well. I like the idea of having privacy and more space to relax in. I feel like it makes us see the city a bit more like a resident and it will also be nice to stay in and cook once in a while. The fact that they are cheaper doesn't hurt either!
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  • I hear ya! We're spending a big chunk of money on the wedding and doing renos in the spring after the wedding, so spending that much just isn't favourable. I think we found something in Jamaica for a good price that will do the trick :)
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  • jessa1228jessa1228 member
    1000 Comments Second Anniversary
    edited January 2012
    We originally looked at Hawaii and quickly realized that there was no way we could afford the hotels. We looked at a few condos, but that's not really what we were going for.

    We booked Maroma Beach through a TA. We got a quote from her, then went and looked on about 6 other websites. Nothing beat the TA's price.
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  • Has anyone been to the Dreams, Secrets, Beaches resorts? We're thinking about staying at one of those (we're totally set on an all inclusive!) Especially for the resorts in Mexico, this is an option that costs $3,000 or less for 5 nights!
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