Desire Resort Forums

Hello,

My wife and I are wanting to visit in September of 2015 and trying to decide which resort to visit. A long time ago we went to Hedo 3 as it was a younger crowd than Hedo 2. But its hard to tell a difference in pictures between the 2 desires in Cancun. Can anyone give us their input on what they have seen and liked or disliked between the 2 resorts.

Regards.

We have not stayed onsite as guests at Pearl but have made visits to the Pearl while staying at DRM.
Pearl appears to be newer and the rooms are bigger and nicer. DRM rooms are well maintained but many are small.
Pearl has the better rooms on the 3rd floor and no elevators. DRM has only two floors on each building. Still the steps are uneven and treacherous at night.
Pearl is more spread out, yet has fewer rooms, thus the guests are spreadout further and socialization suffers somewhat as a result (IMO).
DRM is more compact, more rooms, more guests forcing more interaction (not that kind -- but maybe that kind) with the lobby bar and the jacuzzi being center of social activity.
DRM has incomparable service in the restaurants, bars, on the beach, etc. Not that Pearl's is bad, but it is certainly no better than DRM.
Pearl definitely has a "star" higher rating on their food selection (buffet) than does DRM. (Most noteworthy difference IMO.)
Don't get me wrong, I don't understand anyone who complains about DRM food quality, it's was just obvious that there was more variety and "adventurous" or "creative" food options at Pearl.
I refer only to the main dining buffet, because frankly I'm never much more impressed at the specialty restaurants (Suki or Sahlo).
They sure as hell don't know how to cook beef consistently. Order your filet med rare or med well and it could go either way. Just stick to the grouper, tuna, and salmon. The quail was good, too.
Side by side, I don't think Pearl is worth the additional cost unless you're OK with paying for "snob appeal".
JMHO

Life is Good!
DA

Yes, life is good! And we all differ.....
For me, Pearl WAY outweighs RM for breakfast, lunch (100%) and dinner. The service is better, the staff are more attentive....but that's just how we gelled...
We love the pool, the beach, the pier, the jacuzzi.
The only thing we dislike, intensely, is the ridiculous heat in the lobby bar at night where the band etc play.
Sort this out (promised in January??) and this is my paradise.....

Paying for "snob appeal"??? How you came up with that escapes us. We have stayed at BOTH RM and Pearl. You have not.

bb25 wrote:Paying for "snob appeal"??? How you came up with that escapes us. We have stayed at BOTH RM and Pearl. You have not.

Agree with bb25 100%, their opinion I suppose! Pearl is such a gem, we split time between both resorts but are going to Pearl this March and really have no desire to visit RM other than to see the renovations and a couple of the staff members.

When we were at Pearl in April, we met a couple who had spent a few days at RM and the were staying at Pearl, They suggested that the comparison between the two properties is like this "Pearls is Formula 1 while RM is NASCAR". Different strokes....

We don't mean to pile on DA, but we also agree that the "snob appeal" comment is not only off base, but unnecessary, and unhelpful. We planned to reply to this thread as soon as we saw it posted as we recently stayed at both properties, Pearl in May (our 1st time ever to anything like this) and then Riviera Maya over Labor Day weekend (cause the initial experience was so fun we had to come back, RM for comparisons sake).

First, let us say that unless you are extraordinarily unfriendly, a resort room hermit, or sloppily intoxicated, you should have a fabulous time at either property!

In our opinion, it is the crowd "in house" that makes the biggest impact on the trip. From what we have heard, either property may a higher level of "energy" depending on who is there (i.e. groups). We were lucky to meet plenty of friendly, fun loving, sexy people. If we were to make some 'generalizations', we'd say that RM skews a BIT younger, and somewhat more LS. That being said we saw some flat out hotties in the younger demo at Pearl. There was PDS at both resorts, but it did seem that there was more, and more rowdy PDS, at RM.

The beach looks better at Pearl, but it much better to swim in (sandy vs rocky) at RM. The pier at Pearl is a cool feature that RM lacks. It is doubtful that many would argue that Pearl's hot tub is much better (bigger, deeper, multileveled) than the one at RM, which has a nice view, and is more 'intimate', thus resulting in more inadvertent introductions. We like the pool at Pearl better but perhaps the pool renovations at RM will make this a wash. The foam party at Pearl is in the pool which is better than the tennis courts at RM.

RM has the Melange area which is a fun place to pre-party before hitting the disco, which we also think is better than Pearl. The sin room at RM is bigger, better laid out, and when we were there was more active.

Food was pretty much the same at both in our opinion. Service was great at both places, but if I HAD to choose, I give it to RM. Rooms seemed a bit better at Pearl.

Next time we go (and we CAN'T wait until next time), we will mostly likely go to Pearl. LOVE that hot tub! But it will probably be RM the time after that (and YES, we are already looking forward to the time after that). We can't imagine choosing just one property for all our future explorations!

Hope this helps.
P&C

Phil&KJ wrote:Hello,
My wife and I are wanting to visit in September of 2015 and trying to decide which resort to visit. A long time ago we went to Hedo 3 as it was a younger crowd than Hedo 2. But its hard to tell a difference in pictures between the 2 desires in Cancun. Can anyone give us their input on what they have seen and liked or disliked between the 2 resorts.

Regards.

Hi Phil&KJ,

I hope I can help to answer your question as we have been to both resorts (RM 3x and Pearl 1x). A quick background: married, in 40s, enjoy life and certainly do no consider ourselves as "snobs".
Both resorts have something special to offer, however we prefer Pearl and will be back in February for ten nights, whoohoo! We like the layout of Pearl with huge pool, nice accessible hot tub, rooms are larger with ocean views, pier to ocean, etc. RM rooms are more modern. Both have nice beach beds. Both have amazing service and good food, however we feel the selection of food at Pearl is better and we are excited about the new roof top restaurant. Enjoyed room service at both. As for the activity, RM could be a more active crowd but again it all depends who is there during your stay. It is all what you make of it....I participated in most activities during the day and had a blast, but if you just wanna chill and relax there is no pressure at either resort. Younger crowd, well what do you consider younger....I would say the same at both resorts...ages from 20s to 60s or maybe 70s. PDS: I would say both are equal from what I observed or heard, lol, a lot of ooohs & aaahs coming from the hot tub at night at Pearl. Oh, and if you do a search for rates Pearl is actually cheaper than RM during our stay....maybe RM has to make up for pool renos. We certainly would go back to RM as well. Hey, each to their own. Everyone has a little something different they want or expect on their vacation. How about trying a split trip

Mrs BottomsUp

Well, shit.............didn't intend the "snob" comment to come off sounding so pejorative.

It's like this:
Jan 1-7, 2015
DRM lowest cost: $3778.00
Pearl lowest cost: $5194.00
That's over 37% higher for Pearl.
I'll be damned if I can figure out what tangible things one is paying that much extra for at Pearl.
(Other than as I noted, the food variety and quality was noticeably better.)

It's like the Town Car, Grand Marquis, Crown Vic which (a few years back) all came off the very same line at the Ford plant.
Yet the Lincoln was prob about 37% higher in cost than the Ford. You got more "chrome". Other than that, it's "snob appeal".
Why would a person buy the Lincoln? (BTW - I bought the Lincoln. So, maybe I'm a "snob", hopefully not in a bad way.)

If you choose Pearl, I love ya for it. It leaves one more room open at DRM.
It was just an opinion.
And you know what they say about opinions: Assholes have them too.

Life is Good!
DA

desireaddict wrote:Well, shit.............didn't intend the "snob" comment to come off sounding so pejorative.

It's like this:
Jan 1-7, 2015
DRM lowest cost: $3778.00
Pearl lowest cost: $5194.00
That's over 37% higher for Pearl.
I'll be damned if I can figure out what tangible things one is paying that much extra for at Pearl.
(Other than as I noted, the food variety and quality was noticeably better.)

It's like the Town Car, Grand Marquis, Crown Vic which (a few years back) all came off the very same line at the Ford plant.
Yet the Lincoln was prob about 37% higher in cost than the Ford. You got more "chrome". Other than that, it's "snob appeal".
Why would a person buy the Lincoln? (BTW - I bought the Lincoln. So, maybe I'm a "snob", hopefully not in a bad way.)

If you choose Pearl, I love ya for it. It leaves one more room open at DRM.
It was just an opinion.
And you know what they say about opinions: Assholes have them too.

Life is Good!
DA

No worries DA, you nail the most important point... LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Cost difference, no doubt, is a factor to consider. Paying up now and again for the sake of variety, and other aforementioned features, are worth it to us. Heck, one of the reasons that we "pay up" for the Desire experience (over less costly vanilla resorts) is that Mrs. V wants some variety, haha!

p.s. RM may be adding more "chrome" with their recent renovations, hopefully they don't jack their prices accordingly!

Hmmm, trying to get your quoted rates to match the website and can't figure out how it's 37% higher. I get the following for 6 nights during the first week in Jan 2015:

Pearl Oceanview 6 nights = $3,630
RM Standard 6 nights = $3,084 (Deluxe Garden add $200)

Pearl is offering a free night for every 3 you book so that helps the pricing but by my math it's 17% higher than the standard room (if you can find one of the 12 or so they offer) or only 10% higher than the deluxe garden room which used to be their entry level room.

Like you said, it's a matter of opinion and we all are entitled to our own. Either way it's Desire so you can't go wrong with either property!

Not trying to advertise for any travel agent but expedia rates canadian are $608/night Pearl and $712/night RM....mid February. To me that's a lower price.
I agree with Eddie, you can't go wrong worth either resort.

Mrs B

eddieandjojo wrote:Hmmm, trying to get your quoted rates to match the website and can't figure out how it's 37% higher. I get the following for 6 nights during the first week in Jan 2015:

Pearl Oceanview 6 nights = $3,630
RM Standard 6 nights = $3,084 (Deluxe Garden add $200)

Pearl is offering a free night for every 3 you book so that helps the pricing but by my math it's 17% higher than the standard room (if you can find one of the 12 or so they offer) or only 10% higher than the deluxe garden room which used to be their entry level room.

Like you said, it's a matter of opinion and we all are entitled to our own. Either way it's Desire so you can't go wrong with either property!

You can't compare the Ocean View rooms at Pearl with the RM Standard Rooms. Pearl rooms are clearly nicer. You would need to compare the Deluxe Ocean to the rooms at Pearl, and even then... Just saying for an equitable price comparison, you need to upgrade at RM...If you do that, the prices are really too close to call. But you can stay at RM for less.

As I have mentioned previously, we, by far, found best cost when booking flight and accommodations via Orbitz. Regarding the two resorts, I think that going is a bit of a "splurge" and I think you simply go where you think you will be most comfortable ..... a couple hundred dollars is a small amount compared to the overall price! In our case, Pearl has been slightly higher but very very much worth the extra few dollars. Related, we are anxious to see their new eatery when we return in June!

I'll say this... I think the major barrier to Desire for younger couples is price. Lots of hot younger couples that we know that aren't real solid lifestyle couples would definitely go to Desire if it was cheaper, so I have to imagine that demographic would be a lot scarcer at Pearl. I'd love to see Pearl, but I'm not keen on the price and making a day trip during a RM stay just seems pointless... I mean, why would I leave Desire before checkout!?

As far as the rooms, I don't understand why people really care about hotel rooms that much in general. We like to get a nice big suite if we're inviting other couples over to entertain, but 99% of the time a hotel room is just a clean place to sleep off the party. If you're at Desire for the rooms... then I don't get it. We'd rather play at the jacuzzi lounge anyways, and if the other couple wants to head back to a room we can go to their fancy room. If their room is the same as ours, I fail to see how anyone can complain.