Well, that was underwhelming -Oct 2024-

[AnimalHouse]

Hesitant to post this, but it was shocking how underwhelmed we were based on what we've read here. This was our first time to a place like Desire. We are not in the lifestyle, but enjoy luxury travel and are familiar with the trappings. Perhaps all of the below was some strange, random coincidence that just happened to all happen to us on our first visit.

Upon arrival/check-in, the room was an hour late being ready. We finished the check-in process and the host said, "Your room will be ready at 3:00"; it's currently 3:30. We were told to just go enjoy ourselves while fully clothed in Chicago fall weather gear during the middle of the afternoon. We grabbed a drink in the shade, settled in. Go back to the lobby at 4, room is ready. They say they will bring our bags later. Um, hello we have on long pants and a sweatshirt, we will take the bags now. They bring out a bag with our room number on it; that's not our bag. They assured we had the right room number, and I point the bellhop to our bags, which are tagged wrong.

We wander to find the room on our own, get there. Discover we weren't given a WIFI password, and never told about how to access extras we paid for ( butler and pillow menu). Head over to the dinner reservation desk to see if we could get in anywhere for the night. Sommelier says everything is booked, but there is a strip tease dinner thing that we could pay to get into. Sounds fun, so he tells us when and where to meet.
We show up at the time and place, they have no idea what we are talking about but they can "squeeze us in" for dinner.

Dinner was ok. The common theme for the trip was one dish was good the rest were mediocre to bland. This was the Mexican restaurant, in Mexico.

Evening two- while dressing for dinner, the butler shows up! Asks when we would like the chocolate covered strawberries, schedule that. Ask him to reserve us dinner the following night for the Hibachi. Tells me to reach out to him if we need anything. (How to reach him, I'm still unsure)
That is the last we will hear from the butler. Strawberries never arrived, and dinner reservations, you guessed it, were never made.

Next day we have the membership presentation. I'm still finishing my morning routine, when the phone rings at 10:01 to make sure we are still coming.

Two minutes into it, the gentleman says, "your body language is telling me to don't want to be here", so we are immediately on the defensive, and don't even know what he's trying to sell us. He begins the discussion asking us how we found DRM, what we knew. We told him an acquaintance who is a member recommended it as a fun couples get away, and we thought it sounded fun. He seems confused that they didn't discuss how much they paid for their membership with us and that we didn't have in-depth discussions with them about the cost of membership. We both ask him to please tell us what membership even entails/gives us multiple times and he just dances around it.
He takes us to a model room and asks if this type of upgrade would be something we would be willing to pay extra for. The room is decent, but it overlooked the utility fence. We say, if we are coming to Cancun, paying that price, no we would not be happy looking at a utility fence. This again baffles him and he begins to question my wife for saying she would pay extra for a nice room then saying we wouldn't like that room. Fully on the defensive now, she tells him his sales pitch is done, we would like to go back to enjoy our day. They won't let this stupid thing end until someone goes back and signs a decline paper, which I do so she doesn't start crying from this fiasco. Thanks asshat!

We salvage the remainder of the day at the quiet pool/beach. Show up to dinner, discover the reservations were never placed, seeing my wife enraged, they tell us we can squeeze into the hibachi if a couple no-shows. Luckily for everyone, they never came so we at least got the dinner we wanted. Dinner was actually decent and the margarita actually had alcohol!

Later that evening they call and ask if they can help us with our bags in the morning for our departure. No thanks, we can take it from here.

We both truly loved the experience, enjoyed and took advantage of the amenities, and had some nice conversations with some people. The staff though could not get out of their own way to make the experience at all fond to look back upon.

[BashfulDesires]

Ouch!

As RM now includes Butler service for every Eden room the Butler service is overwhelmed and service has never been worse. We thought they would grow out of it, but it's been 6-months and the complaints continue.

It's really sad how far service has degraded, years ago, the resort had its flaws but consistent excellent service was not one of them.

Travel Tips:
Always pack a day bag inside your luggage for when you arrive! Swimsuits, sandals, sunscreen, cover up, hat. Upon check in, excuses yourself to go change and stuff your travel clothes back into your checked luggage. Pro move is to do this at the airport as you wait for transportation. Let the party begin!

Checking into Desire after 1pm is a rookie move, book a hotel offsite for night one and just get a 8am cab ride over the following morning - travel days suck the life out of you, you're exhausted and cranky, rooms often aren't ready til 3 or 4pm. Get a nice night of rest at the Marriott, wear your pool clothing over in the morning and you will be having breakfast by 9am, poolside partying at 10am and be ready for Sand VB at 11am!

Premier time-share spiel - The incompetent junior sales members are useless. If you are at all interested in actually buying, just ask for a Manager and start in on numbers. Most folks just nod there heads for an hour to get the massage credits, hence the incompetent junior sales member. If you are there for 5+ days it might be worth it, as you were there for a short 3-night stay - Don't waste your valuable vacation time.

[AnimalHouse]

Cool, so it's my fault for not expecting incompetence and only having a few days to spare. Cool.

[BBTD]

@Animal House, sorry you didn’t have an amazing trip. However, BashfulDeisres was trying to be helpful. There are a few tips, like the ones suggested by BashfulDesires, that make a difference at these unique resorts.

BB and I have not been overly impressed with the service at RM on occasion. We definitely prefer Pearl for several different reasons. Nobody that pays for a Desire stay expects poor service, nor should you. BB and I enjoy several luxury trips each year. We love our trips to Desire, but slightly temper our expectations compared to other luxury/high end resorts. Desire Resorts are a uniquely formatted, adult playground specializing in the exclusivity of an open, sexually-permissive atmosphere!

I would reach out to customer service and express your concerns to them. Our experience is that resort management will be responsive to reasonable feedback and guest concerns. I hope you and Mrs. Animal House give Desire another try. Thanks for the trip report!

-BBTD

[Cheers2US]

Sorry you had a less-than-stellar experience. We are going to DRM in a week and I'm getting antsy. We haven't been to DRM since 2022.

It seems much of your negative experience can be attributed to the butler service. We have only used a butler once, and it was a waste of time and tip money. I hope you enjoyed the entertainment, the sexy vibe and the company of other guests. Those are the main reasons we enjoy Desire.

[Johnwal]

unfortunately service at desire RM has spiralled down beyond recognition, They have added extra restaurants that can't be staffed so sometimes two are closed on the same night, the service at the restaurants is slower than ever and trying to even get a refill whist waiting takes effort. Butler service is terrible but to be honest, theres so many rooms and members that are entitled to a butler nowadays they are on a loser, they haven't upped the butler numbers and unless you're willing to tip heavily upfront then any requests get lost in the ether!

last visit was the first time we didn't tip a butler and thats because the service and attention was terrible, they've even done away with the whattsap service so now every day we have to play 'Hunt the butler'. I notice they were at the taxi when we were leaving though!!

saying that, the staff do work extremely hard and its' not their fault usually, they want to do their best but they haven't recruited enough staff for the expansion, typical of Desire these days. The resort and the vibe makes up for most complaints though but just accept it used to be luxury, now its just mid range at a high end cost. As for the restaurants, you don't need a reservation at the buffet and Suki, they are just walk in ( except hibachi) so theres always somewhere to eat, just not necessarily at a time you want.

There's nothing like Desire though and that's why we love it and the people we meet there. Were going to RM and Pearl at xmas and after that we're giving it a break to see if it improves, would we renew membership, not again, it's just not worth it anymore but we will keep going because it's Desire and don't be put off by complaints, its still an incredible place.

[zimuscpl]

We are arriving on the 26th of october so will report back on how it is for us

[WaltDogs]

We returned last night from a week at DRM Eden. The butler service was fantastic - they were friendly, responsive and always did what they said they would do. I'm sorry you had a less than enjoyable experience with that service.

[travmex]

Arriving after 1 pm is a rookie mistake?? Can’t agree with that. As a very experienced traveler, I always try to arrive were possible mid afternoon, because that’s when hotels’ tell you rooms will be ready for check in. And then I shouldn’t have to hang around to get in my room.
Everyone has their own priorities, and I suppose some feel arriving late does not squeeze full value at an all-inclusive resort. But value or not, the idea of arriving, going from the airport, checking in and hanging around one hotel, only to leave early next morning and then checking into another hotel, where you know the room will not be ready,…. is an inconvenience many people will not want. And I am certainly in that camp.
The OP is 100% correct here, Desire are who made the mistakes, not him. Desire is unique, and we all know that allows them to charge a premium. But they still have to deliver top quality at these prices.

[desireaddict]

Desire is unique, and we all know that allows them to charge a premium. But they still have to deliver top quality at these prices.

Its uniqueness is the only reason it continues to survive (and prosper?). It's only real competition is the other Desire property, and let's face it there is now only ONE other Desire property. Cabo(RIP) was our favorite and it closed years ago and Grand Miches never got off the ground for some reason. (It wasn't around long enough for us to even try it.)

After just a couple visits we saw that most of the butlers were only attentive upon our arrival and departure when they expected a big tip. (And I think we got marked as generous tippers.) There were a couple of them in the past who were exceptions, but they have since moved on elsewhere. Save your tips for those who really do give the extra effort.

I think occupancy will continue to be good with all the members who make frequent trips. A membership ("investment") pretty much guarantees that couples will continue to frequent the properties and the discount and perks make it more affordable.

YMMV

[Justskin]

We just returned from a week at DRM, had a great time. Our 17th visit.
There are a few things that stand out to us: The influx of (Eden) humanity and lack of staffing to accommodate said overall increase is a huge loser.
Things are now woefully understaffed in our opinion. Also we miss the quiet poolside bar.

The ocean is quietly winning the turf war. The beach bar is getting swallowed up, albeit slowly. Water now laps below the structure.

We would never spring for a huge 'villa' suite or butler, our trips are for day-long pool, Malange and disco fun, most of which doesn't occur at our room--there are sexy evening exceptions.
Our only real complaint is the 36 grit hot-tub finish, it literally tears the hell outta one's feet and asses in said tub. They need to drain it, robustly sand (grind?) it, repaint and refill.

Prices are high, but it's a first world offering, one-of-a-kind and with that comes a premium. Hedo is a comparative dump.
We'll shop around and likely return to DRM around April or May. About time to get back to DP as well....

[Justskin]

Desire is unique, and we all know that allows them to charge a premium. But they still have to deliver top quality at these prices.

Its uniqueness is the only reason it continues to survive (and prosper?). It's only real competition is the other Desire property, and let's face it there is now only ONE other Desire property. Cabo(RIP) was our favorite and it closed years ago and Grand Miches never got off the ground for some reason. (It wasn't around long enough for us to even try it.)

After just a couple visits we saw that most of the butlers were only attentive upon our arrival and departure when they expected a big tip. (And I think we got marked as generous tippers.) There were a couple of them in the past who were exceptions, but they have since moved on elsewhere. Save your tips for those who really do give the extra effort.

I think occupancy will continue to be good with all the members who make frequent trips. A membership ("investment") pretty much guarantees that couples will continue to frequent the properties and the discount and perks make it more affordable.

YMMV

Yep about 10-12 Cabo Desire visits for us, will always be the best!!

[nokidclub]

We just returned from a week at DRM, had a great time. Our 17th visit.
There are a few things that stand out to us: The influx of (Eden) humanity and lack of staffing to accommodate said overall increase is a huge loser.
Things are now woefully understaffed in our opinion. Also we miss the quiet poolside bar.

The ocean is quietly winning the turf war. The beach bar is getting swallowed up, albeit slowly. Water now laps below the structure.

We would never spring for a huge 'villa' suite or butler, our trips are for day-long pool, Malange and disco fun, most of which doesn't occur at our room--there are sexy evening exceptions.
Our only real complaint is the 36 grit hot-tub finish, it literally tears the hell outta one's feet and asses in said tub. They need to drain it, robustly sand (grind?) it, repaint and refill.

Prices are high, but it's a first world offering, one-of-a-kind and with that comes a premium. Hedo is a comparative dump.
We'll shop around and likely return to DRM around April or May. About time to get back to DP as well....

We were at Pearl last week, and it’s as great as ever. Great service by the pool and in all restaurants.

[Justskin]

Great to read, we're talking about returning to Pearl this year, last visit was in '18, too long.

[shrimp1992]

Ya don’t go to Desire for the food, service, or customer service.

You go to desire because it’s one of the few lifestyle focus resorts in the world. I’ve been to lifestyle hotels, pools, resorts, etc and it’s all the same. The premium is because it’s a LS resort, that’s it.