Trip Report - Desire Resort, Cancun
We have just returned after having spent 7 days at Desire. Here are my opinions and observations:
Arrival:
We were brought in the supply entrance, since the main one was still under construction. The front desk was in a state of confusion, because the person who knew what was going on apparently had the day off. This was in contrast to previous resorts where everyone was given things like a map, meal/bar hours, and other general information, along with some verbal information and a chance to ask questions. The resort person, while very polite, did not speak english and was confused.
The arrival greeting was very poor for me.
Room:
Our room was a beachview villa, and was very nice. While it was not clean when we arrived, the housekeeping staff corrected that the next day. It was obvious that the resort had been in a state of disrepair and was in the process of being remodeled. The construction continued the entire time we were there, and into the early morning hours the night before a large lifestyles group arrived.
For the first 3 days, we had no hot water(one day we had no water at all), and almost no air conditioning. For the remaining 4 days, water and power were intermittent at best.
The response of the management was to first blame the power company ( the resort next door never lost power ), and then just throw up their hands and say what can they do? I saw workers pulling wires out of the vaults, and after looking at the rats nest in one, marveled that anything worked at all.
The published DVD players in the rooms did not exist, and since there was usually no power anyway, it didn't really matter.
The infrastructure experience was very poor for me.
Grounds:
The grounds were very nice, and while still under construction, very well kept.
Food:
Piaciere Restaurant (reservations required):
We dined there twice and the food and service were very good. The only suggestion I could make to improve the restaurant is to vary the menu a little from night to night.
Buffet ( all other meals ):
The food at the buffet varied from marginal to poor, in both quantity and quality. If you didn't get there soon after opening, some of the better items were gone and not replaced. In addition, on more than one occasion, while seated at a freshly cleared and set up table, observed food residue on the dishes/silverware. That indicated to me that the sanitation procedures were suspect. In fact, I talked to at least 15-20 people who all got sick ( predominately turista ). I may have had a light case myself, but nothing bad.
The buffet experience was very poor for me, and the sanitation is suspect.
Beach Grill:
The beach food was just typical beach food, maybe a little greasier than I have experienced elsewhere, but generally as expected.
Bar Service:
There are 4 bars, one in the disco, one by the lobby, one by the "main" pool, and one by the jacuzzi. The bars were opened and closed at very irregular times, and without warning. There was no schedule available, and that would not have mattered anyway, since the times were random anyway. On more than one occasion, we would have to go bar hopping to find out if one was open. There were no munchies at any of the bars.
The bartenders were all very nice and friendly, but the bars were very understaffed at peak usage times. During those times, it was difficult to get a drink.
My bar experience was marginal.
Pool:
There are 2 pools, one off of the lobby that I never saw anyone use, and the "main" pool where everyone was. The pool was always clean, and there were a few activities going on for those who were interested. There were several "cruise director" type employees that were very nice and tried to keep a few things going. Contrary to what I read on a web site prior to going, the pool is C/O, which was very nice.
The pool experience was great for me.
Beach:
The beach is large, generally well kept (seaweed picked up daily), with adequate loungers and shade huts. The beach experience was good for me.
Jacuzzi:
The jacuzzi is on the top of one of the buildings, and has a spectacular view of the pool and beach. There is swim up bar by the jacuzzi that was nice whenever it was open, apparently at random intervals. Other than in the bar, there was little available shade up there.
The jacuzzi did not have heat the entire time we were there. The jets & filter worked very sporadically, and the water was murky after a while.
My jacuzzi experience was very poor.
Water Sports:
For the first 3 days, there were no watersports available. After that, there were a couple of sailboards, sunfish sailboats, kayaks, and a catamaran. During the entire time we were there, the other published sports such as in-pool scuba lessons and snorkeling trips were not available, unless you purchased a tour package of some kind.
I wanted to do the scuba lessons and snorkeling, but too bad. Several people were very upset at this. I consider this just false advertising, or bait and switch, or just plain unethical.
My watersports experience was non-existent and extremely poor.
Disco:
There is a very small disco ( way too small, in my opinion ) above the lobby where various theme nights were hosted. The ventilation is terrible and the room becomes unbearably hot as soon as a significant number of people enter.
There were some nice playrooms off of the disco that had air conditioning.
I did not spend much time in the disco because of the uncomfortable temperature and lack of ventilation.
Miscellaneous:
During the entire time we were there, there were resort-employed photographers and models taking marketing type photos on the beach, from helecopters, and just walking around. A notice was posted that basically said if you happened to be caught in a picture, nude or clothed, too bad, you granted a release by just being there.
This notice instructed guests to leave the area if they didn't want to be photographed.
There were management types with the photographers apparently directing things. Too bad they couldn't invest as much effort in taking care of the resort's problems as they did in marketing.
This angered me, because I paid money to enjoy what the resort had to offer, not be photgraphed without permission for a marketing activity. I think this activity should have been done without guests present.
My Conclusion:
In my opinion, the resort was opened a month or two too early, and is still not ready to be open for business. The resort management has published descriptions of the resort and it's amenities that are simply not true and misleading.
My advice to anyone contemplating going is to look at it again in a year or so, and if Desire has not completely self destructed in that time, maybe think about it then. I definitely would advise anyone not to go this year.
After this last week, I most likely will never go there again, because I don't think we were treated fairly and provided the promised amenities. No compensation of any kind was offered, although I heard that a few that griped the most got some 2 night vouchers.
I hope this info is of some use to someone.