Bill - May, 2010
This was our 5th or maybe 6th trip to Desire. This resort has gotten better every time, except in one respect.
The service remains topnotch – we’ve never been anywhere that does a better job. And the resort is sparkling clean. The food is better and better. And they have the beach beds under control. The Jacuzzi temp was just right. And the bartenders still pour a great drink – and this time they didn’t run out of JW Red.
Here’s the problem: the beach is worse every year. Never a great beach (small with lots of sea grass) it has gotten even smaller as a result of the storms and the water at high tides goes up to and under some of the beds. It’s tough in some areas to use the beach lounges, unless you like them in the water. And while the staff continues to rake the seagrass, it is a losing effort. But it gets worse. The loss of sand is exposing the sandstone bedrock underneath, and since its the same color as the sand, it is hard to spot. So you can easily step on it which isn’t very good on your feet. I know. If you fall out of bounds at the volleyball court you’ll think you landed on concrete.
It gets still worse. New this year, or at least for us – we didn’t get to Desire in 2009 - was the drainage ditch that empties right into the water at the southerly end of the resort, right by the watersports area. The discharge is very dark reddish brown, and the volume of it is so high that after a rain that it spreads right down the beach and colors the seawater. At first I thought it was red tide. Apparently it is for flood control. It is very unappealing and my wife refused to step in it. Desire has to find an answer for this. They need to pipe the outflow offshore or move the ditch further down the beach. We are beach rather than pool people, so this was a huge issue for us.
Otherwise, kudos to CSR Veronica who was very helpful, Matilde, who after eight years still makes amazing omelets (but no longer Belgian waffles), Leo, the greatest waiter anywhere, Marco, another of the waiters, Rene, the beach bed concierge, and even the grounds crew who never fail to say Hola! when you pass them.
We’ll go back but we want to hear about their solution for the red water first, and they really need to pipe some sand onto the beach. And not invite back the group that insisted on playing its boombox at full volume on the beach.