Phil & Judy - July, 2003
July 27-3
When the USCANHEDOs (a
small but growing group of USA & Canadian Hedo II March regulars) learned we
were going to Cozumel scuba diving in late July they asked us to checkout the
new Desire Resort & Spa http://www.desireresorts.com/
for a possible future reunion. Long story short, 90 mins via the fast
ferry & faster cab we were saying to each other, "this place looks nice."
We were greeted at the
desk with glasses of cold champagne, chilled damp scented towels to freshen
our faces, the contract including a statement agreeing not to engage in "overt
sexual activities" in public areas & keys to 2201, an ocean view room.
The resort is 5 miles N of
Puerto Morelos, 20 miles S of Cancun, just off the new high speed freeway from
Cancun to Playa del Carmen. If your cabbie doesn't know the resort, tell him
it's the old Bahia Maya & across from the yellow (yes yellow) John Deere
dealership. Caution if you rent a car, there are some huge camouflaged speed
bumps between the main road & the resort. And don't get out & explore
the swamp/jungle, it's full of alligators & rattle snakes.
Our bedroom (smallest of
the resort) was about the same size at H2, the bath slightly larger with
a nice walk-in shower. The room appeared new, very clean, white
stucco decorated with Mexican tile. The shower delivered
constant pressure hot & cold water 100% of the time. The bed was a Mayan
queen size, normal width but short. The AC was new & worked well. There was
no dresser but the closet had shelves, a safe & small refrigerator.
Sealed bottled water was left in the room daily by housekeeping. The TV
was wall mounted with a remote, received ~ 10 satellite channels, most in
Spanish. The adult channel was Latin American, older style porn.
Like H2, the main pool is
the center of activity during the afternoon. The circular area on the right
is 18" deep, perfect to sit & socialize with friends. The larger area
tapered to 5' deep & hosted water volleyball & polo every
afternoon. Beach volleyball was played every morning. The two ECs, Omar
& Hector, were energetic & did their job of organizing games well.
Did I mention towels?
They were everywhere. Racks, stacks, shelves full of huge (1x2 meter)
fluffy white towels. Everywhere. It was hard to break the H2 towel
hoarding mentality.
Main pool viewed from the
3rd floor top hot tub area.
View from the snack bar area towards the rooms.
As with H2, late in the afternoon the party moved to the hot tub located on
the 3rd floor with its own bar (Go Body Shot Juan). It's a third the
size but has more potential for PDA & games than H2.
To the left of the hot tub are elevated beds to entertain your friends and
watch the alligators. On a moon lit night this is a must.
The dance floor of the disco is small but adequate with lots of very
comfortable seating to visit with new friends. On request
the DJ played a set of very slow songs from the past which had the whole
house up & grinding. The best part of the disco is the dimly lit,
richly appointed play room behind the bar. One huge continuous red
leather couch with piles of nice pillows to recline on lines the walls.
And another huge stack of towels for those who find themselves in need of
one or two or three. Right out of a playboy mansion. This is the
party place for exhibitionist. Sorry, no pictures.
The beach is nice but not Cancun great. Very little effort was made to
rake up the sea grass that washed up at high tide. There
are large rocks within 20 feet of the beach so care is needed when
wading. Rarely did we see anyone in the water. The boat can be
chartered for fishing. Scuba diving is contracted with an operation
out of Puerto Morelos & a fair number of interesting dive sites including a
modern Mexican war ship are within reasonable distance. Friends did an
inspiring cenote dive near the resort.
The main dining room serves three buffet meals that varied daily. Not
quite the selection of Hedo but generally prepared better. There were times
late in the evening, 8ish, when favorite dishes would not be refilled so we
tended to eat early for best selection. The fancy restaurant (reservation &
dress code) took 2.5 hrs, servings small but very good. The service in
both dining rooms was outstanding.
Our primary complaint was inconsistent mixed drinks. A couple of the
bartenders were poorly trained & all tended to run out of the best liquors &
mixes early. However drink waiters were everywhere, beach &
pool.
The night before we arrived the grass roof on the spa & gym caught on fire &
charred everything within the concrete walls. Some guests were moved to
other rooms while a few asked & were moved to a sister property in Cancun.
The massage operation was moved to a couple of pool side rooms. The
other services are suspended until the building is reconstructed. Veronica
was the best of the three masseuses we experienced. One evening a
couple received a massage out on the pier.
Most guest we met were Hedo regulars who were checking it out as an
alternative and were pleased. While we were there it was pretty tame during
the day, lots of sunbathing, reading, volleyball, water polo & conversing
in the pool & hot tub. The only overt public sexual activity
(management's term & what we agree NOT TO DO, yea right) was around the hot
tub, in the disco & play room behind the disco.
Desire merits our return, soon. P&J
