Booker & Marie - May, 2004

My wife and I made our first trip to Desire May 7-12, and found paradise. We had one (major) problem, which I will save for the end.

Here are our thoughts:

AIRPORT/ARRIVAL/CHECK-IN - We flew via Fort Lauderdale on Southwest and Spirit Airlines. This is a combination you have to build yourself, but we saved over $100 each over booking American/Delta/Northwest/Continental. The line at customs looked huge, but we were through in about 10 minutes. We didn't see anyone get a "red" light. Carlos' Car service was waiting where they promised, and in 5 minutes we were on our way. Arrival was nice, with towels and champagne, and a hard working staff. This is where the big problem showed it's head first, but more on this later.

We were shown to our room, and found it as described here. We had a basic garden view room. The lighting is poor, the bed firm (we like that), and the shower hard to contain. We had a large amount of noise out our back window (water pumps we think) that was constant. Closing the bedroom door did an incredible job of blocking the noise, and we hardly noticed it. We will book top floor next time tho, as the footsteps upstairs could be distracting. We had one rainy day, and a substantial amount of leakage along the top line of the thatched roof. Our call to the desk to notify them of the problem was not responded to. We figured it must be a known problem, and just made sure our stuff stayed dry.

Maid service seemed to work within our schedule. They never woke us up, and the room would get cleaned while we were gone. They did a nice job, and left us towel critters to make us smile. I wouldn't mind the one porn DVD if it played consistently. The channel would be blank for hours a day.

Door security could use some work, but we didn't worry. The safe worked well, so we really only had to worry about the tiny amount of clothes we brought with us.

GROUNDS/POOL/BEACH

The grounds are gorgeous. Keep an eye out for the large iguanas that live under some of the buildings. There was a nice variety of birds dancing about the trees. Everything was well cleaned or about to be. The beach has wonderful sand, a great view of the reef, and the crashing waves a mile out were fun to watch. We never had any trouble finding a chair and umbrella on the beach. One suprise was the temperature. Daytime temps were in the high 80's, but the constant breeze on the beach had my wife chilled on occasion. There was no sign of general public making use of the beach, tho I heard of soldiers patrolling the beach on occasion.

The pool is very nice, but a little too deep as described by others. There were plenty of floats, but it wasn't clear if they belonged to the resort or guests. We were able to get one when we wanted one. Chairs were a little hard to come by. By our last day we broke down and "reserved" chairs with towels, etc. in the early AM. I hear there are more chairs now.

Our biggest disappointment was the "sailboats". There were 3, in very poor condition, and unusable. It was clear that Charbel wanted to get us on the water, but sailboarding is to strenuous for me when I am relaxing. GET SOME NEW SAILBOATS. Take reasonable care and they will last for years. I for one would happily pay a small fee to rent a good Hobie cat.

Everyone we talked to recommended the snorkeling our from the resort. It is much cheaper, and the reef is untouched compared to Cozumel and other areas. We were too lazy to go, but will next time.

ENTERTAINMENT

This was the highlight of the trip, and part of our disappointment in hearing of the changeover in personnel. Marianna and Silvina kept us involved with their fun wit and beautiful smiles. I hope to see them back. As far as I am concerned, they were worth 20% of the price we paid. The games were always fun, and well attended. I loved pool volleyball, but at 6'0", I suppose I had an advantage in the deep water. Don't miss Tequila Jenga.

FOOD We found the food to be fresh, available, and in nice variety. We never had to wait too long, and always had service with a smile. We never felt any pressure to tip. We didn't do either of the "reservations" eateries. The long process turned us off the idea, and we really didn't want to dress up either. The late night sandwiches at the lobby bar were terrific closers for a long evening. They do an amazing job of cooling the tequila burn in the belly before bed.

DRINK We found the lobby bar to have the best variety of offerings, and the happiest service. The jacuzzi bar ran a close second. Eduardo was wonderful to us, always willing to run someplace else to get what we need. They do a fine job of body shots setups. The pool bar was always busy, and seemed to be limited in its selection. If you are a Captain Morgan fan, you'll have to try the Bicardi Solero (cuban I think). My wife loved it, and I loved the outcome!

JACUZZI This is clearly the gathering point for late afternoons, and after the disco. It gets crowded, but is great boisterous fun. The lifestyles groups from Texas and New York were happy to keep our eyes busy. PDA central, more than we saw at Hedo. It got dirty enough one night that we left early, but I saw the cleaning crew head in early the next day.

DISCO A little loud, crowded and hot for my tastes, but I stay away from dance clubs at home as well. The playroom was really cool, but a little bright on the lighting for my taste. It can be hard to find from the dark disco. Look at the bar, and go through the very dark opening right of the bar. We usually stopped in for the nightly contest, and then headed for the jacuzzi.

HIGHS Great Staff - We found everyone ready to make us happy, and seemed happy in their work. We didn't get this in Jamaica Great Grounds - Finding a beautiful place on arrival makes you feel good about your choice right out of the gate. Couples Only - We find this atmosphere to be exactly what we have been looking for. No Guido's or Wally's, and everyone is attached. This means if you want to have fun, just bring your spouse. We had ZERO unwelcome advances, and plenty of welcome ones.

LOWS * Cameras- There was only one jerk who wanted to take pictures all day of his beautiful girlfriend. I for one don't want my pic showing up on the net, and the existence of camera's makes us have to watch to make sure we aren't included in the pictures. It is a small sacrifice, but PLEASE leave your camera's home. Perhaps the resort could designate a camera friendly zone where you can go take keepsake shots. * Water Sports - Almost nothing that was advertised was really available. Please get some sailboats. * Reading here that Marianna and Silvina aren't there anymore. I am glad to see that some are bragging on the new leadership. Maybe I will let this chip off my shoulder and enjoy them as well. Hopefully JJ and Sarah will make it until our trip in August.

Now for the BIG PROBLEM - I booked the trip myself, not through Denny. I several phone calls, and emails, I eventually was confirmed for 5 nights, with the fifth night free. The problem was that when we first inquired they didn't have 5 nights available in our window. Two days later they had "plenty" of rooms for the 7th, and didn't understand why we were told different on the first call. But now the 5th night free promotion had expired. I was promised that I would receive the discount by the "online help" staff.

When we arrived, we were charged 5 nights. I pointed out the descrepency, and they assured me I would receive credit for the 5th night the next day. As of our departure, no credit. After numerous calls and emails, no credit. The latest was a request that I send it all to the General Manager, and I received no reply. They still owe me $250. GET YOUR DEAL IN WRITING, or better yet, book it through Denny to prevent this.

Perhaps most distressing was when I posted this report to the Desire web site, it never made it online. I will send this one again in case it is lost in cyberland.

Booker & Marie from Florida