Bill & Caroline - April, 2011
This was our sixth
trip to Desire and the best yet. Traveling a few weeks sooner than usual
meant getting there ahead of the rainy season. In fact we had no rain at
all during the day, and only a little one night. Both the water and air
were at 85, so that was perfect, too. Also, there were virtually no
mosquitoes or no-see-ums. So far so good! Last year we had four full
days of rain and they sprayed every night. Ugh.
We started going to
Desire the year after it opened. When we returned from that visit, our
impression was ‘better than expected’ if not great. Over the years,
thanks in part to a couple of hurricanes, the resort has been largely
renovated, which it badly needed. One thing has been consistent over the
years – the great service. The staff just can’t do enough to make you
happy. We were pleased to see so many of the staff still there. In
earlier years, there seemed to be a lot of turnover. Matilde was still
making omelettes, Leo the waiter was still there, and Edelberto, the
maitre d’ in the main restaurant, remembered us and immediately took us
right to the table at the front window where we always sit, and saved it
for us each morning.
Here’s an example of
the outstanding service. The pool bar closes at 6. At about ten after,
we arrived to find it closed (who wears a watch on vacation? Not us),
and all the buffet foods put away. But a waiter was still cleaning up.
He asked what we wanted. Well, we had planned to make a plate of cheese
and deli meats to have with drinks back at our room. Without another
word, the waiter headed for the kitchen. We had no idea what he was
doing, but about five minutes later the chef came out and said he would
make anything we wanted. Twenty minutes later, a beautiful plate arrived
at our room with veggies, dip, guacamole, salsa, cheese, salmon, and
more. It was huge and terrific. That’s just typical of Desire.
The breakfast and
lunch menus are pretty much unchanged from last year. Excellent. Some
people find lunch less than exciting, but hey it’s a poolside buffet.
One thing that I didn’t like was that the grill cook was partially
cooking burgers ahead of time, then tossing one on the grill to finish
cooking it when you placed your order. I asked him to cook mine fresh,
and he did. No problem. The ice cream was still amazing.
Osama was killed
while we were there, and the resort brought in a huge pile of USA Todays
so that we could read all about it. That was really great of them.
The beach was a bit
more exciting this year. Since they banned ‘overt’ activities a couple
of years ago, and now enforce it, it’s been on the quiet side. On our
fourth day, there was a crocodile swimming about 30 feet off the beach.
About five feet long. He swam from one end to the other and kept on
going. He didn’t seem too interested in the swimmers, most of who got
out rather quickly. There seemed to be more beach beds, but they no
longer had the side curtains that gave a little privacy. I guess that’s
why they got rid of them. The resort seemed full, but there was always a
bed available.
There were
definitely more lounges at the pool, and they no longer make you sign
for towels. That was good. Some of the lounges were reserved for their
Premier members. That was bad.
I think the drink
service on the beach wasn’t quite up to par as they didn’t come around
as often as we were used to from past trips. But there is a beach bar
and if you really get desperate you can amble on over and get one. Now,
here’s the thing that really grossed me out. When they ran out of
glasses at the beach bar, the bartender took used ones and just rinsed
them out with her hands under cold water. No soap, no hot water, no
drying. For a resort that crows about its awards for cleanliness and
food safety, this was not a great advertisement and someone needs to
clue that bartender in on it.
Leaving that aside,
one very positive thing that we noticed is that Desire has found a
purveyor of tender meat. That has been our major beef, sorry couldn’t
help myself, for years. The filet at Piacere was fork tender and cooked
perfectly. We ate there four nights. The meals were every bit as good as
what we get in fine restaurants at home. We were happy. In fact,
restaurant quality is definitely much improved this year.
We aren’t into the
swinger scene, so we go up to the Jacuzzi after dinner rather than at
5pm swinger time. It’s deserted then, and one after a few minutes in the
Jacuzzi, one thing leads to another and, if you’ve been to Desire you
know what I mean. If not, guess and you will be right.
Overall, Desire just
gets better and better. Evening the after-dinner entertainment is now
quite good.
The age group was
definitely older than we have seen before. Lots of couples in their 50s
and 60s and some even older. That kept things a bit quieter than usual.
The Bubbly Bares group was there, and they are a bit long in the tooth,
so that may have had something to do with it.
One more thing. The
Go-Classy transfer service forgot to pick us up to head home. The Desire
bell captain called them and they immediately told him to put us in a
taxi and they would pay when it arrived at the airport. The driver was a
bit dubious but agreed. Sure enough, when we got to the airport, they
were waiting and handed the driver the money, including tip, and
apologized over and over to us for the inconvenience. Nice recovery.
Denny, I’ll be
booking for next year in a few days. We’re just figuring out the dates.