A & V - April, 2014
Desire Trip Report with Comparisons to H2
Some background of my travel to adult resorts… This was my second
trip to Desire RM; my first trip was in the fall of 2013. Prior to
switching over to Desire, we had been to H3 twice and H2 four, maybe
five times. Because of what I felt were rapidly deteriorating
conditions at H2, we decided to try Desire as an alternative until
we consistently hear positive trip reports of the promised
improvements in Jamaica. After spending much of my March 2013 trip
physically upset at the conditions of the resort, it was decided
between my SO and I that we would not be returning any time soon.
It was upsetting to spend that kind of money and take that kind of
time off of work, only to be so distressed a few days into the
vacation. While we are the least picky people ever when it comes to
food, we went hungry most days due to the poor quality of the food.
Housekeeping was discouraging; we were unable to get bath towels
the first three days and had to resort to snagging towels out of the
Fitness Center just so we could shower. When I asked for an extra
blanket on the first day (the SO and I are on totally opposite sleep
temperature wavelengths), and again on the second day, and then
again on the third day, it finally appeared after just walking up to
the front desk and refusing to leave until there was one in my
hands. When I got back to the room with it and put it on the bed,
it was full of holes and covered in stains. We made the best of
what was a poor situation, and tried to enjoy the trip as much as we
could. We were there with a lot of friends, we participated in the
theme nights, relaxed on the nude beach (I don’t care for the nude
pool at H2, it’s too small, too crowded, and when the group is on
resort, too hard to get a chair), so it wasn't all bad, of course.
It was talked about by my SO and I, and we decided that it was time
to try something different until we felt we could be happy with the
changes being made at H2. Of course, our experience happened in
March of 2013. From what I’ve been hearing in recent months, it
sounds like the new owner is definitely making some positive
changes, and we are excited to hear about more as they happen.
Another reason that we decided to try a different resort while
the changes were being implemented in Jamaica was due to (again,
just our own humble opinion), safety concerns. My SO would not let
me walk anywhere at night at Hedo unless he was with me. Allowing
day passers and locals to come on resort was an area of discomfort
for him. Over many of our trips, we had seen some unsavory behavior
coming from day passers, enough to warrant a chaperone when walking
the resort at night. I am by no means lumping single men in to this
category, as our group has traveled with many single men who have
been nothing but respectful and wonderful. But in our experiences
in Jamaica, there had been problems with locals and or day passers
while onsite. Desire only allows couples to book stays, and there
is security at the highway entrance, as well as at the resort
entrance. Every passenger is accounted for, and no one without a
booked room is allowed onsite. If guests decide to day trip in to
town, your names are noted with security, and the transfer company
that takes you off resort is responsible for you. The resort knows
exactly who is onsite and who is offsite, and who they are with if
offsite. Desire does not allow or sell day passes to singles or
couples and does not allow singles to book a room. For the SO and
I, this is a big plus in terms of safety. There have been zero
security concerns while we’ve been there, the security detail on the
resort makes their presence known, and in two trips, we have not had
any incidents where anyone’s safety or privacy have been
compromised. For those who may be on the fence about traveling to
Mexico as a whole due to the recent problems there, I can assure you
that I never once, in two trips, felt scared or uncomfortable. I
felt even more so at ease there than anywhere else.
A huge advantage to Cancún over Jamaica is the distance to the
resort from CUN - it’s just under 20 minutes away. When you’re so
excited you can barely stand it after arriving, it’s so fun to know
that you can be poolside in 60-90 minutes from touchdown on the
Tarmac (customs and luggage pending, of course). CARM Tours has
shuttled us now four times, to the resort twice and from the resort
twice, and all four times they were at least 10 minutes early to
pick us up. I would recommend them to anyone! Another advantage,
at least to me, is that my home city offers direct flights
to Cancún, whereas I will need to make a connection when traveling
to Montego Bay. Instead of taking a redeye so that I could get to
Montego Bay earlier in the day, flying to Miami and taking a hotel
for a night, or having to take an entire day to get to Negril, I can
get a good night’s sleep, leave my house at 7:00 am and be poolside
by 3:00 pm. One final point I’ll make is in regards to the pricing
between the two resorts. Desire is definitely more expensive.
There’s no getting around that. However, you get what you pay for,
and we absolutely feel that the increase in price is worth the
superior rooms, food, location, staff, parties and even clientele.
We’re blessed in the sense that this price point doesn’t make or
break our vacation. I’ve seen the pricing for the new rooms at H2,
and honestly, once all of the room renovations are complete at H2, I
think price difference will be a moot point.
So, back to the room… The room we loved so much is located on the
ground floor of the hot tub building. It is along the path to all
of the restaurants, so it is a very social location, and we were
able to meet every single couple who was staying in the resort. We
had a beautiful patio area that included a sofa, a table, two
chairs, a huge hurricane style tea light candle holder, and
a beautiful green plant arrangement. We brought along two blow up
pool chairs, and each day, we would put them both on the spacious
patio and never compromised our patio space. Our view was
incredible as well; we looked on to the pool, and just beyond the
pool was the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean. The room is
considered an ocean view room.
The rooms at Desire are all laid out quite differently. We loved
the layout of our room. We had a very comfortable king sized bed,
loaded with 4 or 5 sleeping pillows, with nightstands on each side
of the bed, and while lying in bed with the shades open, could watch
the pool and beach area. We had a total of eleven drawers in the
bedroom, nine dresser drawers, as well as the two additional drawers
in the nightstands. We also had a dorm sized refrigerator that was
stocked daily with large bottles of water, and cans of Tecate, Dos
XX and Coca-Cola. We also had a coffee maker with
the accouterments to make coffee, although we never used it. The
bathroom area of the room was located behind the bedroom, it was
very large, had a big, above-the-counter bowl sink, and had tons of
counter space (much needed for all of my beauty products). Every
day, we had at least four bath towels, three washcloths, and three
hand towels. Each day, I took all of the complimentary soaps,
shampoos, conditioners and body washes (peppermint scented, so
good!) and stashed them in my suitcase as I donate them to the
parents who stay at the Ronald McDonald House while their children
are in the hospital. The items were replenished every day while we
were there. We also had two white terry cloth robes in one of the
two full-sized closets. Our closets were built in the wall (not
a separate wall unit / armoire like H2) and along with a clothing
rod and loads of hangers, we also had multiple shelves. The safe,
iron, ironing board, luggage stand and an umbrella were also in the
closets. Overall, we had more space than actually needed to unpack,
which is pretty great considering I brought three suitcases and he
brought one large suitcase. Another big plus was that the space
under the sink was big enough to put our empty suitcases, which kept
them out of our way the entire time and didn't compromise any room
or closet space.
Besides the bowl sink, the large counter space with huge mirror,
the two full sized closets and the toilet, the bathroom also had a
very, very large stand up shower with a glass door that opened both
inward and outward, no sticking sliding doors to deal with. There
was a three bar towel rack inside the shower, and because of the
overall size of the shower, using it to put a towel to use after the
shower was convenient. The shower head had been replaced since our
last stay at Desire, but it was still a dinner plate sized rainfall
shower head. It was lovely. There was never a shortage of hot
water; sometimes the water was a bit too hot! There was a good
sized lip at the entrance of the shower, and that prevented any kind
of water spillage or leakage to the bathroom floor (another issue we
had frequently in JA). Each day, we were given a rubber suction cup
type bath mat for in the shower, and a cloth bath mat for when
exiting the shower. We placed a towel over the towel bars and made
a make shift shelf to hold my multiple shower products. It worked
like a charm.
Our room was cleaned beautifully each day while we were there, and
each afternoon, we came back to a lovely towel creation on the bed.
I prefer the room a little warmer, he prefers it a little cooler,
so on the second day, I requested an extra blanket and was given one
right away. Each day, the bed was made up with the blanket on my
side of the bed. The housekeeping service was fantastic, and we
never wanted for anything. We were given plenty of washcloths, bath
and hand towels, and never had to request more.
The pool area is where we spent most of our day. The rule in our
room was that whoever was up first would go out and speak to Daniel
about getting set up with chairs. We preferred the lounge chairs to
the poolside beds only because we were with a group, and it was nice
to have us all seated together, but there are choices of a covered
palapa, poolside round beds or the typical pool loungers. There are
also many shade umbrellas available, just ask Daniel if you’d like
one, he’ll move it over to your chairs or bed. Daniel is the pool
concierge, and he works his buns off. The guy is constantly doing
something, whether it’s setting up the chairs and rolling out the
big, fluffy pool towels on the chair for you (honor system towels,
no cards), cleaning, wiping, mopping, removing cups, moving
umbrellas, you name it, he is working nonstop. After the first
couple of days, he remembered us both and our preference for where
we like to sit during the day, and would set us up there. Sylvia is
also another employee always on the move and who does her job better
than any poolside server I’ve seen. Just as in the fall, the woman
remembers drinks like none other. Order it twice, and you’ll never
ask again. She has a memory like an elephant! I just loved that
every time she’d walk by, I’d get an “Everything all right, mama?”.
Since we brought our own big insulated mugs, everything usually was
alright, but when it wasn’t, she was off to the bar to fill it up.
She is absolutely fantastic. Having a pool concierge and a
dedicated pool server makes a huge difference. Not having to fight
hoards of people in the pool to get a drink is fabulous. Those
added services really make a big difference in the overall
experience.
The hot tub is not right at the pool like as in Jamaica, but is
located on the roof of the building next to the pool. The view from
the hot tub will take your breath away. There is a dry side and an
in hot tub side for the bar, which is so convenient. There are also
four four-poster beds around the hot tub, as well as sofas, bar
stools and even a big glass enclosed shower! No need to run back
downstairs to use the restroom, the separate men’s and ladies’ rooms
(2 stalls) are also located upstairs next to the hot tub. There are
loads of beach sized towels in the cubbies near the restrooms, grab
as few or as many as you’d like. The resort offers an additional
cubby hole area where you can place your things while in the hot
tub. Besides the bartender, there is also a hot tub concierge who
make sure things are clean, towels are stocked, and the restrooms
stay fresh. The hot tub is smaller than at H2, but very rarely did
I feel overcrowded up there. On the occasions that we did make our
way up there, it was early evening. I didn’t make it up there
during the late night hours, but from what I’ve heard, it’s quite a
bit of fun!
We ate at all of the restaurants while we were there. I was very
impressed with the food in all of them. The Japanese restaurant did
not require reservations for regular table dining, it was first
come, first serve. We ate there 3 nights and never waited more than
5 minutes for them to set us up a table. I found the menu to be
extensive, and would not have overlapped dinner items at all had I
chosen not to. I will say I am a bit of a sushi snob, and the
nigiri, rolls and sashimi in the restaurant were very delicious.
So delicious, that while everyone else ordered entrees, I ordered
more sushi instead! There are two hibachi tables in the
restaurants, and for that style of dining, you do need a
reservation. While I found the meals to be pretty tasty at the
hibachi tables in Jamaica - when you could get a reservation -
I didn’t care for the sushi there. We ate at the hibachi at Desire
one night, and the entire meal was fantastic. Our chef was quite
talented, and the shrimp were an oxymoron - huge! We loved it.
The newly remodeled White Restaurant (reservation required) is
gorgeous on the inside. The servers are dressed in pressed white
shirts and long aprons and everything is decorated very elegantly.
The menu consisted of well-thought out items and great pairings,
and were beautifully arranged and presented. Be prepared, it is by
no means “fast food”, and it can take upwards of two hours to get
through all the courses. Being that we were eating with 3 other
couples at our table, it didn’t bother us in the least. It was
great for conversing and enjoying one another’s company. The
desserts in the sit down service restaurants were all incredible!
In all my trips to Jamaica, I never found a truly yummy dessert,
but at Desire, I’d usually order two - the creme brûlée and the
chocolate fondue, which came with marshmallows, bananas, sometimes
strawberries, and little vanilla donut-y cake-y bites. The other
desserts were also very popular in our group. Yum, yum, yum.
The morning and dinner buffet are exactly that - buffets. You
won’t find a ton of difference from day to day on the breakfast
buffet, but do you anywhere? Breakfast is breakfast. An omelet
station, a hot bar with scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage,
etc., a cold bar with yogurt, fruit, granola, a bread station for
toast and cereal, and juices. Isn’t that pretty much universal?
The dinner buffet, on the other hand, is changed out each evening
during the week and food is selected based on the theme of the
buffet; Steak Night (all cuts of steak available), Mexican Night,
Brazilian Night, Italian Night, etc. I always felt there were
plenty of options, and each evening had a grill offering for
made-to-order items. There was also evening entertainment in the
buffet restaurant during the dining hours. On the nights we ate
there, we had two beautiful dancing ladies up on the wall ledges and
on another night, two xylophone players that were actually really
entertaining! I wouldn’t be able to do the buffet every night, but
on those nights we wanted something quick and easy, it was perfect.
The lunch time buffet is served next to the pool. There were tons
of options each day. There are plenty of tables, and being that
they’re next to the pool, you don’t have to go far or leave the area
to grab a bite to eat. The tables are also manned by servers who
will clear plates as you finish and will fill drink orders. The
grill was always running, where you could get fajitas, burgers,
steaks, fish, etc., a big selection of hot foods that changed daily,
fresh pico de gallo and guacamole every day (my kryptonite), a salad
bar, desserts, soups, nachos, and on occasion there was a manned
taco bar. Any time an item on the buffet was running at less than
50% full, a replacement would appear. Few people are aware that
there is a sandwich menu available, also. If it’s not on the table,
ask a server to bring you one. At lunch, we never went hungry,
that’s for sure.
The Main Bar is open 24 hours a day, which is awesome. I was there
every morning for a delicious cappuccino (at home, I’m at Starbucks
about twice a day. I have a problem), and sometimes, more than once
a morning. It was also our meeting ground for after dinner. The
ladies typically would wear sexy little dresses to dinner, the guys
in their long pants as is the restaurant requirement, and
after dinner, we’d change into our theme outfits. This year, we
participated in Lingerie, Cowboy, Couples Costume, Black & White,
and Desire University (School Girl). I would say that more than
half participated each night, and it was a highlight of my day to
see how creative and sexy my fellow vacationers could get. Each
evening had an event of some sort in the Main Bar area; a lingerie
fashion show, a dance show, a band, etc. After a couple of after
dinner drinks, we would usually make our way up to the disco.
Sometimes there would also be shows upstairs as well. The disco
always was busy on the nights we went up (which were most of them).
If I could make one suggestion to the DJ at the disco, it would be
to mix up the music a little better. While we all love the oldie
but fun songs, like YMCA, throw one in in-between the current dance
music, not as part of a 30 minute block of 70’s music. It was a big
treat for me to watch the Latino guests dance salsa and meringue, I
would kill to dance like that! The disco itself is gorgeous. It’s
well decorated, and is a very sexy environment. It was always far
busier than the disco in Jamaica, which was great for me, because I
love to dance! There is also the Playroom located in the back
corner of the disco. Because I go just to enjoy my SO, we didn’t
use it, but we did go in there to check it out, and it was spacious,
clean, and very, very sexy! The bathroom is semi-unisex and very
cool. After dancing our pants off (literally), we usually would
head back down to the Main Bar to have a couple nightcaps, chat with
friends, meet new ones, and order some late night snacks. The Main
Bar, starting at 11:00pm or 11:30 pm, will make you made-to-order
pizzas and BLTs. They are made-to-order, so be creative! They
serve food all night long. While over there, watch for the local
kitties and raccoons who are looking for their own late night
snacks.
Desire offers their guests free resort-wide wifi, which was
fantastic for sending messages and Facetime-ing home when necessary,
keeping up on email (not work ones, I promise!), and posting
jealousy-inducing pictures to my Facebook friends back at home. I’m
still deciding though if it’s a blessing or a curse to
have complimentary, well-functioning wifi. It was nice in Jamaica
to completely disconnect electronically for a week. I did not ever
pay for the wifi services in Jamaica, as at the time, I had heard
from others that the connectivity was spotty, and for the price,
I wasn’t going to risk it. I have since heard that the connectivity
in JA has improved.
The ECs we had on this past trip were mostly different from our
trip in the fall, with the exception of the lovely and sweet
Vanessa. They really work hard to ensure that everyone is having a
great time. We enjoyed talking with them and hearing their stories.
Emmy was a great addition to the team (and smart as all get out, to
boot) and Coral a total sweetheart. Get involved as much as you
can; they are always doing something, whether it’s Beachside Corn
Hole, beach or pool volleyball, trivia games, guessing games, water
aerobics, you name it, they’re doing it, so get involved and have
some fun! The staff as a whole never seemed put out by any
requests, always had a smile and a “Buenos Dias” as they passed, and
truly seemed to enjoy being there to assure we had a wonderful
vacation.
As far as the guests, I would say the average age was in their
40’s, also a bit of a difference from Jamaica. The guests that go
to Hedo have been going for a very long time, so it makes sense that
as the years pass, the average guest age would increase as well.
Many Hedo guests are fiercely loyal, which is highly commendable!
I’m sure the average age varies in both resorts depending on the
week, the groups, the time of year, etc., but in my two experiences
at Desire, I’d say the average guest was in their 40’s, which is the
average age of the SO and I as well. While each vacation is what
you make of it, in my two experiences, I’ve found the ambiance of
the resort to be sexy and sensual. While we partied and had fun, I
didn’t see anyone passed out in a bush or throwing up over a
railing. The guests seemed to have a great time while keeping
things classy.
Finally, I will speak to the group of photographers who are set up
next to the pool, called Breathless Photography. If you’ve got a
few spare dollars and want an incredible, life long souvenir of your
trip, talk to Jonathan or Antonio in the yellow shirts. These guys
are masters with a camera. I’ve taken up photography over the last
year, and I can only hope to some day take pictures as beautifully
as they do. There are only a handful of available appointments each
day, maybe 3 or 4. I signed up early for a time a bit later in the
week so that I could rock a killer tan in my shots. I picked a
later time in the day, 3:00 pm, so that I didn’t feel like I had to
rush in the morning to be ready. I had my photo session
with Jonathan, who spent just over 2 hours with me. I had set aside
a bunch of outfits and shoes, and when we started, he helped me to
pick out the items that he thought would photograph the best, and he
was spot on. We took multiple pictures in the room, did a couple of
outfit changes, took some more shots, then went out to beach area to
take more. What’s great as well is that they’ve been doing this for
so long, they know that resort and the beach area like the backs of
their hands and know exactly where to go to get the best shots. You
can be as clothed as much as you want to be, but may I suggest to
definitely take some nude shots. They ended up being some of my
favorites, and I will absolutely love to look at these when I’m in
my 90s and say, “Dayum, girl, you were hot 60 years ago!”. LOL.
After the session, he and his staff painstakingly go through all of
the photos, pick out the very best ones (in my case, 72), touch them
up in LightRoom (similar to Photoshop, just better), and set them up
in a slideshow set to music. The presentation of the photos was
amazing, and while I had gone in to it hoping I could walk away with
10 decent pictures, I ended up having a terrible time narrowing it
down to just 35! They have all sorts of packages and really can
work with any budget, so I can’t recommend them enough. My absolute
favorite souvenir ever!
So in closing, we are very, very happy with our change, at least
for the time being. We would love to go back to Jamaica again in
the future, but as I stated earlier, we plan to wait until the
renovations are complete and that we hear consistently positive
reports from the resort. We are thrilled that the new owner is so
passionate about restoring the resort and is listening to the
guests, and we look forward to seeing the upgrades soon. For the
time being, we absolutely love Desire Riviera Maya, and
will continue to spend our vacation time and money there.
My Tips:
* Hit the bank before going and bring lots of $1s and $5s. Tipping
is not discouraged, and we liked to recognize those who went above
and beyond the already stellar service for their hard work.
* Bring a mug for around the pool or at the beach if using the
beach beds. My insulated Bubba mug kept my drinks cold for hours.
* Participate in the theme nights. It’s just fun.
* For the best chair or beach bed, get up early and work with the
concierge to claim your spot. They start at 7:30.
* If you participate in the Foam Party (ridiculously fun), either
go naked or wear something you don’t mind that gets damaged. Also,
grab one of the supplied washcloths to wipe your eyes when
necessary.
* Do the photo session. It’s pricey, but it’s the best souvenir
I’ve ever come home with, and the only one I’ll remember purchasing
6 months from now. They do gorgeous work.
* Use one of the many $1s you brought along to tip the bartender
when you order a delicious cappuccino at the Main Bar. They are a
pain in the tushy to make, especially when they’re busy.
* If you’re an Equal (sugar substitute) lover like myself, pack
your own. Equal is not available in Mexico. You’ll be offered
white sugar, brown sugar and Splenda.
* Bring a wireless speaker if you’ve got one. I loved having it
for listening to music when I got ready in the evenings, and we used
it for the white noise app on my phone at night.
* Pack a power strip. We had phones, iPads, Kindles, cameras, etc.
plugged into it on the nightstand. Also helps to ensure you won’t
leave any random cords behind.
* Take the outside stairs up to the disco. The inside winding
steps upstairs make me very nervous for the ladies in mega heels!
* The breakfast buffet maitre’d has daily copies of USA Today.
Just ask for one.
* Be social. Even though we were with a group of old friends, we
met tons of great new folks while we were there.