Flights, Immigration, Departure We managed to get a direct flight which meant that it was a quick 3 ½ hrs to come from several feet of snow and temps in the mid 20s to sunshine and temps in the high 80s (always a pleasant contrast). Time to clear immigration at Cancun airport was probably the worst that we have ever experienced (over 1 hr) probably because it is high season and multiple large plane loads landing at the same time (just the usual hurry up and wait). The same huge lineups happened on our departure for some unknown reason (just the usual hurry up and wait) maybe just the time of year??
Transportation We normally do not pre book transportation but rely on our usually quick and efficient method of just getting a taxi (Green Line) but like the Immigration line up, the taxi line this time was just about as bad had to wait for ½ hr before we got to the front of the line and were in our taxi off to Desire. The drive down was quick and comfortable. The reverse taxi from Desire to the airport was almost instant because there are always taxis parked just outside the Desire gates . In the future we will probably seriously consider pre booking Royal Transportation at least one way from the airport to Desire.
No More U turns from the Highway Thats right folks they have finally constructed a proper turn off from Hwy 307 for the Bahia Petembich road leading to Desire no more hair raising U turns on Hwy 307 to get in or out of the place !
Check In / Out, Room Smooth as silk, from arriving to actually opening our door in less than 10 min. Check out 2 minutes flat.
Panoramic shot of Lobby Pool area that provides a first impression on Desire guests
For this visit we had a Garden View room for a change, in the northern most
building of the complex nice quiet and apparently one of the rooms that they
have updated, lighting was much improved, A/C we never turned on since this
time of year it is not really needed. Shower was great except the usual
overshoot on the floor since there is no door on the shower (we just put a
towel down on the floor which is safer anyways since the floors are all marble
that can be very slippery when wet).
Whats New at Desire since our last visit in Aug 04 - Just
after our last visit the Jacuzzi was due to be closed while it was to be tiled
(instead of the skin abrasive concrete that was there previously) in addition
they were to add a new shower adjacent to the Jacuzzi. The pictures below show
these new changes
Hurricane Ivan seriously brushed by the resort in Sept 04 and the immediate
damage was significant the dock was pretty much destroyed, as where most of
the beach palapas. The resort landscaping was torn up, the main pool was
filled with sand as were many of the ocean side first floor rooms. As you can
see from the pictures below you would never know that something that serious
had happened, in addition Desire has taken the opportunity(?) to actually
improve what was there before by the addition of a hammock areas, and larger
raised palapa beds.
New Dock.................Renewed Lanscaping..............New Hammock Areas..........New Beach Bed Palapas Areas
Desire Pool Area Panoramic View
In November of 04 Desire announced new(increased) pricing as well as
improvement to standard amenities and services provided as of Jan 1, 05. The
list below is what improvements are available to standard rooms and our
personal comments and rating of each
Around-the-clock food and beverage program ( B+ ) Pizza and sandwiches at 2
am is great but the same combo every day ??
24-hour Room Service ( D- ) The one and only time we tried this is when I
was ill from a cold the second night we were there and decided to order from
room service(instead of going over to the buffet) a club sandwich and soup
we were told 25 min and after 1 hr we had to call and remind them and then
when the food did arrive 1 ½ hrs after ordering the sandwiches were soggy and
cold the soup was even colder to the staff's credit, when brought to the
attention of the waiter he apologized and took the soups to return in less
than 3 min with steaming hot replacements
Use of luxuriant bathrobes and slippers during stay ( C ) The word
luxuriant is highly overstated.
In-room mini-bar stocked daily with water, beer, soft drinks ( B+ ) An
Improvement that does make sense, the only real down side is that it is only
restocked once a day and the quantity ( one each of two different soft drinks
and two cans of beer ) get used up real quick
In-room CD Player ( B+ ) Actually this is small combo clock radio/CD player
with pretty thin sound capability and also no way to connect in your MP3
player for speaker output.
Weather - The entire week was pleasant and sunny with just a
little cloud overcast. This time of year on the Yucatan the temps range in the
high 80s during the day to high 60s / low70s at night. The on shore winds
where sometimes strong enough at night to make it appear colder than the
actual temps
.
Beach The beach although clean and well maintained continues
to show some of the ravages of Ivan with less breach front depth than in
August and with more exposed rocks(previously covered with sand) This Im sure
will all return in time but it make take a year or so.
Food and Bars With my cold this trip we didnt actually get to
use our coupons for the specialty restaurants and instead ate in the buffet
each night the quality and variety has continued to improve since last
August. The breakfasts are still the best and you can always find something to
nosh on at the grill if you are a lunch person. Although the bars may not be
stocked with your private choice the bar tenders are always happy and willing
to try to whip up a special drink for you if you can tell them what is in
it. The bar tenders should actually qualify as part of the Entertainment Crew
since they kept us rolling in laughter all week !
Service Simply outstanding no other words for the quality of
all the staff and what they bring to the enjoyment of a vacation at Desire !!!
Day / Night Activities The EC (Entertainment Crew) - J.J. (the
mexican version of Robin Williams) kept us laughing every day with his unique
humour, Andre (the German hunk) was the darling of all the ladies around the
pool and the rest of the EC staff provided a constant stream of activities. My
favs where the Mr and Mrs Desire contests, the Know your Mate contest and
Tequila Volleyball. The Disco started slow every night but got jumping after
midnight and they seem to be playing a better variety of music this visit (to
me that mean way less rap tunes)
A special thanks to my pal Silvina Modolo, PR Manager, Desire Resort & Spa for
the fun and competition in Tequila Volleyball and having the patience to pose
for me to show everyone how beautiful you are, in addition to being just a
darn nice person !
Simple things that could be improved At least one other choice
in beer- ie -Dos Equis, Negra Modelo, Bohemia etc., more variety of late night
snacks, room service, matresses on the new beach bed palapas
Summary As always it is the mix of Desire staff, service and
other guests that always make for fun and memorable vacations at Desire. Even
though I had a severe cold for the first couple of days my wife and I had a
great vacation. In large part to some of the new people we met Vic and Pam,
Lauren and Joe, Jean and Peter, Donna, Nancy and Bill
Thanks Guys stay
in touch.
The rest of what happened in Mexico as the song goes..... stays in
Mexico......
We are already booking for a longer visit in August