Harvey - April, 2007
4/2-4/9/07
Let me preface this report by saying that I have only been to one all inclusive before our trip to Desire. My wife and I have been to Couples Ocho Rios 12 times in the past. I am a loyalist, and if I find something that I like, I stick with it. Still loved Couples, but it just became a little too familiar. The staff all new us by name, and although they were just trying to give us the best service that they could, they were at times a little too helpful.
They'd call our room several times a day to ask if we needed anything. Love them, but I really just wanted to take naps (among other things during which telephone calls weren't helpful) when we were in the room.
Being the loyalist that I am, I don't foresee a trip anywhere but Desire in the future. I don't have a single legitimate complaint about the resort or its staff.
Let me also state that I am one of the "loud Americans" that we see complaints about here on the board. I readily admit this, and hope that I didn’t ruin anyone’s vacation. With the exception of the guy who got upset with me for running nekkid in the Japaneze restaurant, I don’t think I pissed anyone off. If I’m wrong, please let this serve as my sincere apology. For those of you who were at Desire during this period, you probably already know who this is, and I hope you’re laughing your ass off.
We joined the April Yahoo group and it was nice to become familiar with some of the guests before we arrived. I would strongly recommend this. If there is not a yahoo group for the time of your travel, they are very easy to set up.
Special thanks to the mods of ours, who we may have been taken by aliens because we haven't heard from them in a while. Dwayne and Carolyn, shout at your brother.
Now to the report. We flew Delta first class from Savannah, Ga., via Atlanta. The flight went without incident. One of the perks of 1st class is that our luggage is supposed to be the first off of the plane. It was. We arrived at the airport, retrieved our luggage, which was waiting for us when we got to the pick up area, and went through customs with no problem.
We walked out to the ground transportation area, and there was a gentleman holding up a sign with our name on it. We were then loaded into a late model Chevy Tahoe and taken directly to Desire. The ground transportation comes with the passion suite, and is a nice addition.
When we arrived at Desire we were quickly checked in, and taken to our room. No mention of the dreaded time share pitch which you hear about on the board.
We booked a passion suite. The service that you receive from a Passion Suite is very good. The attendant, Rafael, made sure that our every need was taken care of. The room is stocked with beer and soft drinks. It may have even had liquor in it, can't remember. It also seems that they constantly deliver fresh fruit and hors de oeuvres to the room.
Although the Passion Suite is somewhat pricey, it is very nice. We are in the process of evaluating whether or not its worth the extra money. Haven’t formed a firm opinion on that yet.
We were in room 1102 which is on the ground floor. The room was very nice and well reflected on the panoramic view here on the site. The only thing not shown on the mutimedia tour is that it has a bathroom with a shower. Can't remember if the shower had a door or not, but it wasn't a problem either way.
During our stay, a routine formed which was generally followed throughout. Although I'm usually not an early riser, we got up around seven or eight each morning. We had breakfast delivered to the room each morming, and ate it on the patio in front of our room. The patio included a table and chairs along with a few loungers. It was an awesome way to start each day.
After breakfast we would grab a beach bed and hang out on the beach all day. The bar service on the beach was very good, and I don't remember my glass ever being empty.
I understand that there have been problems with the beach beds, but they did not present themeselves during our stay. It seems that there was plenty of turnover during the day, and anyone who wanted a beach bed could get one without much delay.
Between 3:00 and 4:00 each day, we would head back to the room and either jump in the jacuzzi in our room, or take a "nap" before dinner. We did hit the rooftop jacuzzi on several occasions for happy hour, and had a good time meeting new people and talking with friends. As my wife will attest, I like to know everyone, so there was a lot of meeting new people.
During the week, we ate at each of the resaurants. My only complaint would be the lack of variation on the menus. The restaurants use the same menu each night except the buffet restaurant. Each night, however, the food and service was good.
At the Japaneze grill, the portions are not as big as they are in comparable restaurants in the U.S., but it turned out to be a blessing, since we would usually dance at the disco each night until it closed.
After dinner, we would usually return to our room for another "nap", or head to the lobby bar for a drink with friends. I believe that the disco opened at 10:00 each night, and we would usually be there shortly after it opened. The disco was a lot of fun, and I had no real complaints about the music selection.
One night after the disco closed we went to the rooftop jacuzzi. I really didn't care much for it as the music was this "techno" stuff. I'm sure we should have given it a second chance, but we didn't.
Of the complaints that you read on the board, I didn't have any problem with ground transportation. I didn't have any problem with the towels being too course, or being charged for beach towels. No problem with bed firmness or lack thereof, no problem that there wasn't a piano bar. No problem with the beach beds or lack of shade. No problem with debris on the beach or the size of the beach. It was like they say in Jamaica, "no worries, mon", except that there were really no worries.
The one thing that can't be described is the hotness of the resort. I refrain from using the term erotic, because I'm not really sure that its accurate in my perception. There was just this fun, hot feeling the entire time we were there, day and night.
We met many friends who we hope to keep for life. To those that we became friends with, we love you, and can't wait until next year to see you again. To those who we didn't, hope to see you there next year and rectify that.