private dinner

[bobandkelly]

My husband and I are going to CSS in March for our 20th wedding anniversary. I am trying to decide if I should surprise him with a private dinner. I've heard they are very nice, but last year while there we ordered room service, ate on our balcony, and asked the saxaphonist to play a couple songs for us. It was very nice and romantic. I just wonder if we should do that again, then the money we would have spent on the dinner we could apply towards the spa. Help!!!!!!!What do you think?

Kelly

[Wally]

I surprised my wife with a private dinner in the Wedding Gazebo at CSS and it was worth every penny. I made a couple of mix CDs and the resort provided a CD player for the occasion. The staff photographer even showed up and later sold us the CD of all the pictures he took. It will be something you will remember for the rest of your lives. Go for it!!!

[Stath]

My wife and I did a private dinner right on the main beach in June 2007, it was AWESOME. Nothing beats that personal service and incredible privacy. That said, if we were to do it again (which we almost did in October 2009), we'd grab the wedding gazebo, right next to the mineral pool. We saw it all decked out for a private dinner, and it was unquestionably a better location.

We loved it, and it was very easily one of the most memorable parts of our honeymoon.

[gopanthers]

Trying to decide the same thing for my April trip to CSA. While somewhat mixed, most of the feedback I have received have been to go for it and that it will be something that we won't ever forget. I'm probably gonna book tomorrow.

[lightning1]

My husband and I did the private dinner at CSS last year for our 25th wedding anniversary,and we both consider it to be one of the highlights of the trip for us. It was incredibly romantic and the food was wonderful. I keep a picture of that night on my desk at work, and it always makes me smile.

[shelspaur]

We did this at CN in December. IMHO, not worth it. The food is just as good, if not better at the resturaunts, our service was not that much better. The nice thing was being able to hear the waves crash. Honestly, save your money.

[Ron & Rosa 25]

We did this at CN in December. IMHO, not worth it. The food is just as good, if not better at the resturaunts, our service was not that much better. The nice thing was being able to hear the waves crash. Honestly, save your money.

One person's wine is another one's poison. Personally, I'm with you 100%, and it has nothing to do with whether a private dinner would result in a good or not-so-good experience. Rosa & I just have this attitude that we're already paying for our meals, why fork out an additional $150 (or whatever the price is)? Likewise with going to any bars outside the resort. Pay for drinks? Are you kidding me?

Yet OTOH, we're also planning to shell out around 200some dollars for a zipline excursion. Someone else could easily question this expenditure, stating with all there is to do for free at the resorts, why would we spend good money on this?

So I guess it's all relative. And of course it's this diversity of personal tastes & desires that makes life so interesting.

[Vee]

I also think that the location makes the private dinner. While we haven't done one ourselves, the private dinners at CSS can be held in the wedding gazebo which is absolutely GORGEOUS! At CSA, we saw many many private dinners on the beach, and it wasn't as spectacular to us.... especially as they would have 7 or 8 of them all setup on the beach at the same time. (They were far enough apart that your fellow diners wouldn't bother you, but when walking along the path, you certainly noticed a bunch of them.)

Whatever you decide, though, enjoy your trip.

Vee

[longingforhome]

It's so worth it....we had one in december by the chess board and the spa. We did it on Friday the night of the starlite gala.

[cleversole]

Ron&Rosa...I know you haven't been yet, but your reasoning was exactly why we didn't do it. I wanted so much to do it. Hubby said why, with all the food already included.........I thought OK, we will see when we get there. And that is exactly it. Everything is already included and the food is fabulous. I think for a really special occasion or anniversary, we might consider it. Other than that, I think all the restaurants are so great and even with other people around you, it is so romantic, you can really forget all about that. We also chose not to leave the resort because it was so beautiful and didn't want to spend the additional money. Not being cheap (Well maybe we are) but the reason we chose an all inclusive was so we didn't have to leave. The resort was so beautiful once we got there, we just didn't want to go. We love tennis and the courts were great. Everything we needed was right there. I can't wait to see your report when you get back because you have definitely done your research and yet......when you get there you are still gonna be WOWWED!!!!

[maryella]

It's so worth it....we had one in december by the chess board and the spa. We did it on Friday the night of the starlite gala.

I didn't know that they would let you do the private dinner the night of the Gala. Wondering if they would let you do the Gazebo on the night of the beach party.

[longingforhome]

I would think so....We were glad because we were there fri to fri and we went to the gala the first night and were not impressed. I kinda felt sorry for our waiter, who was great by the way, he was having to back and forth to the palizzina to get everything

[bobandkelly]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I'm still not sure what I want to do. Like other posters one of the reasons I am on the fence is because the food is already paid for so why pay for it again. But, on the other hand I am really looking for something special for our anniversary and I don't think I will find that kind of romance in a restaurant. Well, I'm going to ponder on this a bit longer then I have a feeling I'm going to book it. I'll let you know how it goes when I get back. Thanks for your help.
Kelly

[Amy]

I surprised my husband with it and we loved it! I'll be happy to share our private dinner pics or menu (amy.welch@hotmail.com).

We typically don't go to outside bars either since we'd already paid for the resort alcohol, but if you've got $150 to splurge, we thought it was worth it. Not something we'd do all the time, but this was for a special occasion.

[2havinfun]

Spend the money and go for it! We had our 30th anniversary dinner in the tree house at CN and the atmosphere was amazing!

[goodygirl]

i just booked a dinner and some other extras for my hubby and my stay at csa. It is a once in a lifetime expierence you should do it.

[goodygirl]

if you e-mail or call the resort she can let you know about extras that are available. candles, flowers, wine, chochlate plate, private dinner, ect. That is what i did and it is worth it. It will make our day extra special. How often can you say that you had a private dinner on the beach with candles, and your own waiter. so romantic.go for it.

[maryella]

I would think so....We were glad because we were there fri to fri and we went to the gala the first night and were not impressed. I kinda felt sorry for our waiter, who was great by the way, he was having to back and forth to the palizzina to get everything

Thanks for the great idea! We just booked the private dinner in the Gazebo the night of the beach party. We are not big on Buffets and it is a special birthday.

[spice505]

To me if it's something that you really want to do then do it. I think you all are looking at all wrong. (no disrespect intended) My husband and I are going to do it. For us we are looking at the location, privacy and one on one service that we will provided. Yes, it's all-inclusive with food and liquor, but I looked at the bigger picture. I say just try it at least once just for the experience. How many times will you have a candle-lit dinner on the beach? Who knows, afterwards you may have the best lovemaking of your marriage. (lol)

[gopanthers]

Spice, I completely agree with you and that's why I scheduled the dinner for our trip. I definitely had to weigh the cost given what we had already paid for the trip, which includes food and drink. I can definitely see where someone would not want to do this but its a surprise for my wife, I've never had the opportunity to have a romantic dinner on the beach and I'm sure its nothing I'll do again. But I thought that it would be a great idea just for the experience. Plus Amy (picture above) gave me some good ideas on how to surprise my wife with it, etc.

[bobandkelly]

Ok, I think I've decided to go for it. We are going to renew our vows that morning, then I will surprise him with the private dinner that night. Then if it is possible I am going to ask Randymon if he can call and read him a love letter for me sometime during dinner. OMG, now I can hardly wait. Randymon if you are reading this could you please let me know if this is possible?

One more thing and I know this might seem really stupid, but for the guys out there that Randymon has read a letter to, did it feel weird having another man read a love letter to you?

Thanks everyone for all your help!

Kelly

[cuse]

We did the private dinner on the beach at CTI for our 25th anniversary back in 2007. My SURPRISE to my wife was I had made a special request after dinner. I had them put a karot anniversary ring on a carrot on a desert plate. The over all surprise was the staff wrote around the plate,"will you marry me again". Very special and worth $150.

[Jamaican Wifey]

BobandKelly,

I say go for it! My husband and I enjoyed it very much last year at CSA. He may even have enjoyed it a bit more then I did, because he STILL talks about it. We're returning in June with friends & family and he highly recommended the newbies definitely have the Private Dinner on the beach! We live in California, and you can easily spend $150 on a average dinning experience... so $150 on 7-mile beach with your loved one is a B-A-R-G-I-N in our book! Did I mention the food....your private waiter..... the food....the candlelit path.....the food....the gentle sounds of the waves washing up near you....and the food????

[nguc54t]

I surprised my husband with a private dinner in the wedding gazebo at CSS last year and it was a wonderful evening.

I had made a CD and that was playing as we arrived at the gazebo. Ridley, the photographer showed up (unplanned) and took some great photographs of us. He ended up being one of our best friends there. Our waiter, sorry I cannot recall his name as I type this, was exceptional, nothing was too much trouble.

It boils down to personnal choice, but I had decided that this was a "once in a lifetime" event and we had a very romantic evening.

Karen

[bobandkelly]

Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and impute. I have booked the private dinner for the evening of our vow renewal. I'm also going to have Randymon read him a letter for me. That is the only thing I am on the fence about. I'm not sure how it will be having a man read a love letter to another man. Any impute would be great. I'll let you know how it goes when I get back.