Not that this report is excellent…just that we had an excellent trip!!! First, I will not try to repeat what you already know…from dennyp.com or the Desire Forum. However, I will try and emphasize some points. Secondly, we are 55 and 48 respectively…not into swinging or the lifestyle. We are more voyeurs and exhibitionists although the later has little effect at Desire when everyone is exhibiting their goods, if you know what I mean!!!

Thirdly, we have been to Hedo II five times but this was our first to Desire.

At the airport, we were through baggage and customs in less than 30 minutes. Booked taxi through Carlos (see other reports and his forum messages) and a driver was there waiting just outside the terminal building with our name on a sign. It was $50 roundtrip payable upon arrival at Desire. For those arriving at night or concerned about being kidnapped, the drive is east out of the terminal until you hit the main highway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen…south towards Tulum/Playa del Carmen until just past the 327 kilometer sign at the edge of highway (each kilometer is marked like our mileposts)…then a U turn back north of 327 KM to a right (east) turnoff. The turn is marked with a green highway type sign saying Desire Resort. Down a narrow paved road with lots of TOPES (speedbumps) for about 5 minutes (this could be intimidating at night because it will be very dark and swamp/jungle on either side of the road)…a right turn and you are at Desire. Total time from airport to Desire was 15-20 minutes. Much better than the long drive to Hedo!!!

Check-in was fast and efficient…they charged our room immediately for the five days on our charge card…be sure that if you have an extra night free, you get credit for it. During check-in you will get a band to wear showing you are full service…seriously consider putting this on your ankle versus your wrist…the majority of people do and like it there better. There is a person at check-in that calls himself the concierge but in reality he is setting you up for a presentation to buy "nights" at Desire (or other resort locations)…he entices you with a raffle for seven nights at Desire but the raffle is not a group one…it’s the last four numbers in your credit card and a single drawing that has to match your numbers. This may or may not be a good deal…just seemed to us as high pressure sale. We may look into it another time.

The grounds are as lovely as previously reported…the only thing we didn’t like was that a large group came in the day before we were leaving and they put up banners down by the pool. But all the grounds are extremely clean, well manicured, and lush.

Our room had the best view of any…we had specifically requested 1012, just under the rooftop jacuzzi. It looks out over the pool and Caribbean Sea. See maps on other reports. Some ocean room views are actually blocked by palm trees. Luckily, we got the room we wanted. We did get some noise when the jacuzzi jets were on above us, but in most cases we were too tired to even notice the noise. The dim lighting in the sink/vanity area is due to the small size bulb overhead…ours was dim and died the second day…at our request they immediately replaced it and the new bulb was much, much brighter and my wife could actually see to put her makeup on!!! If you can’t see, ask for a new bulb. There were always plenty of towels…two sets each day in the shower and plenty for the pool…also plenty at the pool and up on the rooftop jacuzzi. We had a king size but I honestly don’t think is would have mattered either way. Nice to have a safe in the room…and plenty of drinking water in the fridge. Our shower was quite large with room for one of us to shower and the other to dry off in the other end….we showered all hours of the day and never ran out of hot water once.

Food was good and plenty of it. There’s the typical buffet lines but also a chef at a grill doing fish, meat, etc. or in the A.M. omlettes, pancakes & french toast. It was very nice to have a wait staff bring wine, water, coffee etc…they were excellent and quite willing to please. We drank the water there with no affect…it was poured out of bottles. Definitely do the specialty restaurant…they are not open on Sunday, so don’t wait til the last minute and miss out. The main buffet is open until 9:30 and many people would hit the jacuzzi and then nap until 8:30 and eat late. The pool buffet was good…don’t miss the grill out on the beach, next to the pool… you can easily make a stop at both as you fill your plate up. The guacomole was excellent. Bar staff at the pool…or anywhere else for that matter… were excellent. We did tip some of the special staff that we felt gave us excellent service…but only at the end of our trip…their excellent service was without us tipping them from the start.

The people (both staff and guests) really made the trip excellent. The staff went out of their way to serve. All the guests, I mean everyone, were friendly (nudists, swingers…one couple didn’t ever go nude and it was no big deal). As I said, we are not swingers, but there were plenty there…we never felt bothered or intimidated by any of them…in fact, most of the time, we could not tell who were swingers and who weren’t…it may be different during a large group week and we were starting to see a small difference in climate as we were leaving. NO does mean NO. If you definitely don’t swing, I would recommend going one of the weeks when large groups have not booked. There was open sex on the rooftop…even occasionally near the pool area under a palapa with cushions…it never did approach out of control and if you are voyeurs like us, there is plenty to see…and no one cares. And you can do your own thing by yourselves in secluded areas or right there in front of everyone else. The majority (and I mean most people) were up there socializing and enjoying the magnificent view. Surprisingly, some afternoons (after pool time, but before dinner) and nights (after the disco), there was very little sexual activity ….and other times, a lot. We made a lot of friends…dined or danced at the disco with them…lounged at the pool together…and never felt like we had to share anything more than our friendship.

The couples concept is what we liked best…always couples together…no singles in the disco or at the pool or in the jacuzzi…no obnoxious people running around making asses of themselves…and the whole atmosphere was laid back with little hype or frenzy. My only concern would be how things change when a large group shows up.

The pool games were fun and varied…not constant…not loud…not overwhelming. Pool temp still a little cool unless you are actively playing water volleyball or some other energetic activity. It was still cool in the evening, though….the pool will warm up as the nights get warmer. By the way, many of the shady loungers were on the north end of the pool and were reserved early in the morning. This area only holds about 16 loungers so if you require shade, you better get up early, stake your claim and head back to bed. The palapa by the pool also affords some shade…it has pads on a raised platform with the thatched top above it.

The bench seats in the rooftop jacuzzi are very rough as reported…get a towel from behind the bar and sit on it while in the water. The towels, by the way, seem rough from starch…if you use them on the loungers at the pool, you might want to bring something else to lay on top of the towel…I read a lot and was scooting back and forth on the towel while sitting up in the lounger…got pretty chaffed until I realized why.

We didn’t go anywhere else…a taxi to Playa del Carmen is $30 one way…some people did do the snorkel trip for $25 and said it was excellent. My wife did the basic reflex massage and said it was excellent.

The disco and events were fun…about 40-50% participated in the events (of those people that showed up)…some just came to watch. Women were by far more participants than the men. We liked the music and danced more in five nights than we have in the last five years. There was a good mix…and not a lot of techno blasting type music. It was more music with a strong beat that made you want to shake your booty. Not a lot of activity in the Party Room when we were there…nice facility and I could see where it could get just as hot as the rooftop if conditions were right.