Sonja - May, 2012
This last trip back to Desire made 9 trips in total for my husband and me. I can honestly tell you that I am excited about going to Desire from the moment this trip is booked and start a physical countdown on my calendar 30 days out. This year was no exception.
Although originally booked at Desire RM our group was offered a transfer over to Desire Pearl to spend our week in paradise in the resort’s master suites. It didn’t take much convincing from our travel “masters” and our group agreed to try out Desire’s newest resort. This year, our trip dates were May 14th through the 21st.
We left Houston on a Monday morning flight and arrived into Mexico at 11:10 a.m. Baggage claims and customs were a breeze and before 11:30 a.m. we were seated in our private van provided by Cancun Valet and headed to Desire Pearl.
Upon arrival at Pearl we are greeted in the open air lobby by Pearl’s front desk staff. The physical act of checking in was a breeze. A signature here, a couple of initials there and we were all set. We were told that our suite wouldn’t be ready until about 2:00 p.m. so we went over to the spa, changed into something more comfortable, put our traveling clothes in one of the spa’s lockers and hit the pool.
Upon arrival at the pool we found our travel group and spent some time catching up with our friends that we hadn’t seen in the past year. After catching up for a bit, we moved on to the beach restaurant Aphrodite for lunch. Everything is served in chaffing dishes buffet style but if you don’t see something you really want, just ask. Even a brick oven pizza is not out of the question as this restaurant has one on premise and will whip you up any style pizza you like. Daily, one of the cooks is grilling on a portable grill in the dining area where one could choose from a fresh grilled hamburger, fish, chicken, hot dog or the like. You had the option to pick your own fare and wait while it is grilled or simply let one of the waiters know your choice. Wine and spirits are free flowing at lunch and the staff was very attentive to our needs. Javier was my personal favorite. He always went above and beyond to assist us with finding a table that could seat us and all our friends and make sure my wine glass never appeared empty.
The pool and the grounds at the resort are just beautiful. Lush tropical landscaping that is very well maintained never disappoints the avid photographer. On occasion we had a friendly visit by an iguana that made his home in a rock right behind my chair at the pool. The pool itself is large and allowed everyone to enjoy the activity they preferred best. Whether your choice was to lounge on a float in the water, play volleyball or sit in a chair on the water covered sun deck, the pool is so large that all the aforementioned activities were happening simultaneously without bother. The best part about the pool area is that there are lots of chairs and no crowding. The beach is very close to the pool area. The beach is cleaned daily of seaweed that washes up overnight and chairs and beach beds are a plenty. The beach palapas make a nice cover when you need a break from the sun while lying on the beach. We did notice that a few beach goers had what we assume were sand flea bites. My husband and I walked down to the beach only once and we were there only about 10 minutes and my husband’s ankles were covered in bites. The resort really needs to address this issue. Several folks were complaining about how itchy the biets were and a few had to go into Puerto Moreles to obtain cortisone cream.
The activities staff did a good job at keeping everyone entertained with poolside games that didn’t require a lot of effort or for those who needed a bit more stimulation, beach volleyball, horseshoes and water basketball were available as well. It is always interesting to get to know these young adults that work tirelessly at keeping the resort hopping. Each entertainment staffer has typically traveled to Mexico from another country and will share their story with you if you ask. I always enjoy getting to know them and hate to bid them goodbye when we leave because I know that they move from resort to resort and typically will not be there when I come back the following year. Charlie is the exception to that rule. Charlie is always steady like a rock and keeps the entertainment staff well trained on how to get the party going. Loved Charlie at Desire RM and love him at Pearl too!
We checked into our room at about 4:00 p.m. and found it to be large and roomy. The master suite has two full baths, both offering a separate shower and full bath tub, a separate living room with a large plasma TV mounted on the wall, large sofa with built-in end tables and a writing desk. The living room also boasts a walk-out balcony that overlooks the ocean and a wet-bar equipped with a mini-fridge stocked with sodas, beer and water. The ladies will be glad to hear that there is a large closet with lots of room for your empty luggage once unpacked, lots of space to hang your clothes and shelving to stack anything that might need to be stacked. The armoire in the bedroom offers three large drawers to also place folded items and also has another plasma TV for your viewing pleasure. The bedroom area also offers an ocean view balcony with table and chairs. Great place to sit and have your morning coffee and enjoy the sound of the ocean. There is a lot of counter space in the bedroom area if needed. For the guys (and girls), 24 hour porn is available on two different channels. I know once most of you guys turn on the TV and see free porn you could care less about what the room you are sitting in looks like. The beds are so much more comfortable than at Desire RM. I slept so well on this vacation that I almost forgot where I was most of the time. Towels were plentiful and above all else, the rooms are completely spotless and are kept that way on a daily basis. The refrigerator is restocked daily, the only problem we had was getting the maid to leave coffee for the coffee maker on a daily basis. We also had free Wi-Fi that worked pretty effectively, sometimes the signal was a bit weak in our room but still got the job done.
At dinner guests have a choice between the main restaurant up in the lobby area or the dining area at the beach. We tried them both. The food at Aphrodite (beach area restaurant) is menu selection at night (no buffet). We felt that dining at this restaurant became redundant with the same choices night after night. We also had a few nights that we spent more time fighting mosquitoes than we did enjoying our dinner. Even though the staff offered us a can of Off to spray on our legs and arms, we found that only pissed the mosquitoes off and really did nothing to stop the biting. This is a matter that really needs to be addressed perhaps with citronella candles placed on tables or bug zappers. The resort was fogging nightly but it was typically right in the middle of your meal and nothing goes with filet like a little Deet. The main restaurant near the lobby area served dinner buffet style at night. However if you didn’t see something to your liking on the buffet, a waiter was more than happy to oblige by fetching you something else. My husband, who is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, was in the mood for a steak when only fish and chicken were offered on the buffet that particular evening. Promptly his request was granted and he was served a delicious filet. Mexican night was a true fiesta for the palette. A meat carver was available to make handmade pork tacos for each guest carved right before your eyes. The additional side items were fantastic and we found “Mexican Night” to be our favorite meal of the trip. Before I forget to mention, there is a lovely area above the Aphrodite restaurant that currently appears to be a lounge type setting that isn’t currently being put to use. I think that this area would be great as a third restaurant choice. This could break up some of the monotony of just having two restaurants to choose from.
Breakfast was always a variety of fresh fruit, yogurt, salmon, cheeses, bacon, hash browns, ham and eggs cooked to your liking. Coffee and juices are plentiful and I have to admit that breakfast at the resort was my favorite meal of the day.
The bar service was outstanding at each and every bar. The bartenders went above and beyond to keep all glasses full and at times a refill was available without so much as a request. While at the resort, it was my personal mission to make Sergio, one of the bartenders, smile more often. He had a beautiful smile but didn’t exhibit it enough. Perhaps he was so busy concentrating on providing excellent service that smiling wasn’t always at the top of his list. I think before we left we had broken him down and he started smiling as soon as he saw me walking towards him.
The staff in general was AWESOME. From the front desk personnel, room maids, bartenders, waiters to the gift shop attendant; all were very professional and went over the top to take care of our needs. I couldn’t have hand picked a better staff myself. I would like to thank each and every one of them for making our vacation worry and stress free.
Nightlife at the resort isn’t as fun as I had expected. There seems to be a lull after dinner before everyone heads over to the disco for additional entertainment and dancing. Having traveled to Desire RM on so many occasions before, I think I know exactly what is missing. At Desire RM everyone has dinner and then gathers around the Melange bar for entertainment and drinks and then after the show in this seated area, everyone heads up to the disco. After the disco everyone heads up to the hot tub for more “socializing” and then back down to the Melange bar for late night pizza. Desire Pearl doesn’t quite have the same set up allowing for this type of flow. There is too much time between dinner and the entertainment that is offered in the small disco. The disco is a beautiful room but is too small to try and offer a show with the entire resort attempting to watch this all take place in whatever room is left over. One of the nights we were there Vegas impersonation type entertainment was offered as was a couple that did trick roller skating. From our vantage point at the bar, it was hard to see, it was REALLY loud and the room is just too small for that much to be going on in it at once. My suggestion would be for Pearl to take out the pond at the back of the lobby and make that area more like the Melange area at Desire RM. Have your entertainment outside while guests are seated in lounge type seating. This would allow a gathering place for everyone after dinner in which drinks can be consumed, show can be watched and it would be a springboard for heading off to the disco.
Keeping in mind that this resort had only been open for a month before our group descended upon it, and with that said, I think Desire and their staff did a great job. Would I go back? Well, if they can bridge the gap on the dinner to nightlife transition, get the resort up to at least 60% occupancy, control the mosquitoes and do something about the sand fleas, I would gladly return. As for right now, I am booking another trip to Desire but we plan on going back to the original until all the kinks are worked out at Pearl. At the end of the day, I love Pearl it is more elegant but I can get elegance in any US overpriced hotel, I go to Mexico to stay up late and have fun and that was better achieved at Desire RM.
SJ – Houston, Texas
Bubbly Bare Group Member