Barry & Lisa - August, 2007

It is always difficult to come up with a way to condense an entire week into a
few paragraphs. We often read trip reports and enjoy the information they
provide. It has been our experience that one report in itself is usually not
useful, because it often is the result of one perspective and experience,
whereas a multitude of reports usually gives you a feel for a place and a
variety of useful information.

Let us begin by saying that we thoroughly enjoyed our time a Desire. It had
everything we were looking for and more. Was it perfect? No, we thought there
are things that could be improved, but it has been our experience in the past
that rarely is any trip perfect and it is better to judge an experience by
your overall impression rather than just a few incidents.

Also, it might be best to say that we have never been to a Desires Resort in
the past but we have been to Hedo 3 and some other similar resorts.

WHAT WERE OUR EXPECTATIONS? We were hoping for a relaxed atmosphere where we
could spend some time together, meet some new friends, and spend a good part
of the day being naked and hanging out at the pool. We liked the sexually
charged atmosphere at Hedo and were hoping for some of the same. We are not
hardcore lifestylers (not that there is anything wrong with that), but we do
enjoy a place with good sexual energy and we are open to having a good time
with other couples. We don’t define our trips by whether or not we hook up
with other couples. If it happens it happens, and if not we savor the time we
have enjoying each other. We chose to try out Desire because we had received
some great recommendations from couples that had been at Hedo. We were also
drawn to the fact that Desire caters to couples and there are no single men
allowed. We could not begin to tell you how great this difference is.

WHAT WAS OUR DAY LIKE? Most of our day consisted of pushing ourselves out
of bed to get to breakfast before 11 AM. After the stress of getting up and
eating breakfast we headed to the pool area for some much needed rest. Lying
on the Palapa beds under the shaded pavilions was a total joy not to be
missed. In fact, without this respite from the intense sun we would not have
made it through the day around the pool and would have had to escape the sun.
To get a bed one of us usually got up at 7:30 AM to throw a bag and some pool
stuff on a bed to reserve a place. This was a little annoying, but necessary
in order to get a place for the day.

Being naked outside by the pool all day is just great and was a major reason
why we came to Desire. By and large most of the people at the pool were
topless or totally naked, In fact there were days where it appeared no one had
any clothing on. The atmosphere ranged from relaxed to party like depending
on the activities going on and the mood of the crowd.

After taking our late morning nap by the pool we went into the water to cool
off, get a drink at the poolside bar, and socialize for a while. This was
always a fun time and usually lasted us well until it was lunchtime. A few
times we participated in activities like the water aerobics, dance lessons, or
trivia. But as the week wore on we decided that we really had to conserve our
energy when were poolside and too many activities interfered with drinking and
socializing.

Lunch was at the Tentazione restaurant next to the pool. Shirts and shoes
were required (and yes, something on the bottom also). The wait staff at
lunchtime was the best. They were pleasant to talk to and rarely let a drink
go dry. We also found the food to be good and probably recouped the cost of
our stay at Desires just in the amount of tostidas, salsa, and guacamole we
ate at lunch. It was also an excellent way to relax with our friends.

Lunch was critical because we had to store up our energy to get us back to the
pool where we spent more time cooling off, drinking at the bar, and
socializing some more. We found that it was best if we conserved our energy
by watching the 4 PM pool volleyball game rather than participating and found
that the view from the bar offered an excellent vantage point.

After we tired ourselves out watching the game we definitely needed a late
afternoon rest on the Palapa bed by the pool. We actually did something
totally out of character than the rest of the group and used the exercise room
for an hour late in the afternoon. You may be wondering what possessed us to
do such a thing at a naked resort, but somehow we found that an hour’s worth
of workout assuaged the minor thoughts of guilt associated with overeating,
drinking too much, staying up to incredibly late hours. We also enjoy working
out each day so it wasn’t out of our normal routine.

After our workout we often headed for a sunset walk on the beach. Usually the
sun began to disappear on the horizon somewhere between 7 and 8 PM. Other
couples made their way up to the hot tub area and we may have also, except
that it was still hot out and we decided we would save the hot tub for much
later in the evening.

We actually did spend some time in our room getting ready for dinner and
checking on some email. The Wifi access provided by Desire is an excellent
small addition and made it easy for us to stay in touch with family back home
without having to make phone calls.

By 9 PM we were ready for dinner and some more socializing. After dinner we
sometimes made it to the courtyard for some music (if someone was performing)
or to sit around and socialize some more. A few times we did make it up to
the disco, but we did not stay long. Sometimes we are into the disco scene
and sometimes not. The truth is that we love to dance – the wilder the better
– but the disco at Desire seemed more about performing than dancing and was
not a good fit for us. Nonetheless, others seemed to be enjoying it lot.

By midnight night we were ready to head up to the hot tub to relax and wind
down our day. On many nights it was still very warm at midnight and there was
not much of a breeze blowing off the ocean. Some nights we were in the water
and on other nights we headed straight for the beds that were near the hot
tub. We had a great time enjoying each other and watching other couples.
Participating in a group voyeuristic experience is a real turn on for us –
being seen and watching other couples – the experience creates an incredible
energy. Desire did not disappoint and this was an incredible way for us to
end the evening. By 2 or 3 in the morning we were ready to head back to our
room and recharge for the next day.

We cannot come right out and say that there was a good deal of sexual behavior
going on, because as we all know the rules at Desire warn us to “Refrain from
overt sexual activities in public areas.” Maybe they don’t consider the hot
tub public?

Repeat this scenario 7 times and you have a good recap of our week at Desire.
We could not think of a better way to spend a week of our lives. For us this
was a true vacation.

HOW WERE THE RESTAURANTS? We really think that this is one area where ideally
you should try all three and form your own opinion. We ate at Suki three
times and found it to be our favorite. The three main reasons were the food,
the service, and the good times we shared with new friends. We ate at the
hibachi table twice and once at regular table service. We preferred the
hibachi because the food tasted fresh and was made to our taste. On the other
hand we heard others who rated Suki as their least favorite.

We tried Tentazione twice. The first time the service was less than stellar
and the food choices we made did not suit our taste. We put off heading back
there, but for some reason we found ourselves there on the last day and had
great service and actually found the food to be much better.

The buffets at Il’Piacere were fine. We found that this was a good place to
meet friends and sit and talk comfortably. Also the choice of deserts at
Il’Piacere was much better and probably the feature we liked most there.

Breakfast each morning was good. There was a little of every breakfast choice
you usually find. Lunch was also fine and often became our favorite meal of
the day.

The only suggestion we have regarding the food is that the menus were the same
every day and somehow the food seemed to be prepared in a similar way
regardless of which restaurant we ate in. By the 7th day we definitely felt
that we could use more variety in the choices.

ODDS AND ENDS – We were at Desire during the same time period when
“trythis482” was writing daily trip reports. If you have not read them you
definitely should. They were a wonderful couple and did a great job of
capturing the feel at Desire. Their reports are a good teaser and we would
agree with everything that was written.

The staff really seemed to go out of its way to make us feel welcome and
attend to our needs. If we wanted something cooked a certain way all we needed
to do was ask and it was done. When we asked for a drink it was there and
often refilled before we asked. We did do some tipping, but we never felt that
the service we received was a direct result of the tipping. We did it more
out of appreciation for the service we were getting. We would also agree that
bringing a good amount of one and five dollar bills is extremely helpful.

Our room was great comfortable and clean. We were on the ground floor near
the pool. This location was great since we spent most of our time in this
area of the resort. It was very convenient to go back to our room whenever we
needed something. The house keeping staff did a great job every day of keeping
our room fresh and putting it back into order.

The bar staff was excellent and made anything we asked the way we asked for
it. We drank a good number of Daiquiris, Pina Coladas, and other icy drinks.
The weather was hot and cold drinks were definitely the beverage of choice.

The stocked mini-fridge in the room is an excellent touch and was much
appreciate. It saved us the strenuous task of walking 50 feet outside our
room to the bar to get a cold drink. We definitely found this little thing a
great touch even though on our last night somehow someone forgot to restock
our fridge. We were thinking cost cutting conspiracy, but it may have just
been an oversight.

We appreciated it that there were abundant towels everywhere around the pool
and hot tub. It was a joy not worrying about having clean towels to put down
on the Palapa beds and the beds in the hot tub area. The staff made sure
there were always towels available.

The entertainment staff worked hard and always seemed to be enthusiastic. The
reality was that the temperature was just too hot. Nonetheless, they worked
hard to keep the energy going under tough conditions.

During the week we were at Desire the resort was not crowded at all. In fact,
it became eerily quiet on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. For some reason
Thursday and Saturday were the loudest and wildest.

We didn’t get a massage at the resort, but constantly heard great things from
those who did partake in this pleasure. It is definitely on our list of
things to do next time we are at Desire.

We were glad that we stocked up on sunscreen SPF 45 and 50. We are from the
northern part of the US and for us the sun was brutal. We saw many people who
were bright red after the first day or two and we noticed that they were
absent from the pool after that. We used our sunscreen constantly and ended up
with the best tans (without tan lines) we have ever had.

OUTSIDE THE FRONT GATES - We did venture out of the hotel three times - once
to the Megastore (which is very useful) and twice on tourist trips.

Our first trip was the city tour of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. We
appreciated starting early before the sun became too hot and we loved the boat
ride out to the lover’s arch in downtown Cabo San Lucas. For us this was the
highlight of the tour. We also liked watching the people swim with the
dolphins, but began to find this more of a teaser as time when on. The rest
of the trip to the glass factory, tequila tasting, San Jose del Cabo, etc. was
forgettable, and we would have rather spent more time in downtown Cabo San
Lucas. All in all, we would recommend it to anyone who has not done it. We
were back at the hotel by 3 PM and still were able to put in some serious
poolside time.

Our second trip was horseback riding on the beach. We headed out at 9 AM and
we recommend doing this as early as possible. It was hot and we felt a little
sorry for the horses, but they did their job and didn’t seem to have a problem
with the heat. The trip was peaceful and beautiful. It was slow paced, but
we are not regular horse riders so it was a terrific experience for us. Again,
we were back at the hotel by 10:30 in the morning and were able to ease right
into our regular schedule.

POSITIVES – almost everything! The staff, activities crew, waiters, bar
tenders, house keeping, bell staff, etc. were all courteous and terrific.
Other highlights - the Palapa beds, no single men, and a great hot tub area.
We made some great friends from California, Michigan, Florida, and other areas
of the US.

NEGATIVES – Not too many! Scarcely anyone used the beach. It was hot and
since the ocean surf was too rough it just didn’t seem to make sense to hang
out at the beach. Somehow this really seems a real shame. The beach is
incredibly beautiful, but somewhat useless.

Cigarettes in the pool - A good number of people smoked in the pool and way to
often cigarette butts and ashes ended up in the pool. We are not anti-smokers
and respect a person’s right to smoke, but we have no desire to swim in an
ashtray. We also do not appreciate tripping over ashtrays next to the pool or
finding cigarette butts under our feet. This happened way too often and was a
big turn off.

It is very slippery near the hot tub. Almost everyone slipped at one time or
another and it is inevitable that at some point someone will have a serious
accident. The problem becomes even worse at night when it is dark and
difficult to see.

SUGGESTIONS? How about Desire running a van each night to downtown Cabo San
Lucas? The price could be reasonably low cost and it could leave the hotel at
7 PM and leave Cabo San Lucas at 11:30 (or something like this). This would
give people at the hotel a chance to eat at a restaurant downtown and do a
little bar hopping. The price of taxis makes going by yourself an expensive
venture. Most likely there were a good number of couples that wanted to head
downtown. We simply did not know and there was no way to easily connect with
other couples that wanted to head downtown also.

What about an afternoon activity each day aimed at getting to know newcomers?
Don’t they do this at camp all the time? It seemed to us that it would have
been a great idea for newcomers to meet and be introduced to the crowd. Maybe
this could be built around some activities to find out a little about each
other? It would certainly help to make connections and it would aid those who
are not the most outgoing. It seemed to us that small groups seemed to form
around age and in many cases perceived stereotypes that we find are usually
not accurate, but inevitably happen. It seemed strange to us that we knew
what everyone looked like naked, but often knew little else. A few daily
introduction activities would have gone a long way in helping everyone to get
to know each other a little better without having to make our way around one
couple at a time.

We had to have our toilet fixed in the room. For some reason it developed a
leak in the seal at the bottom (No, it was not from our overeating or some
powerful overuse). It was fixed the same day we notified the front desk, but
the bathroom area was a mess afterwards. Desire could use some procedure to
make sure someone cleans up after the workmen. We know this is a small thing,
but better hotels attend to these details.

HOW DID WE EVALUATE OUR EXPERIENCE? On our last day by the pool we spent some
time figuring out how we could back here next year. We can think of no better
endorsement for how good our experience was then the fact that we were
seriously planning our next trip before we had even left.

Thanks for reading our report. We know it was long, but we wanted to capture
our impressions as well as some of the details.

If you have any questions write to us and we would be happy to answer them.
Hopefully we will meet some of you at Desire in the future.

Barry and Lisa