April, 2014 Trip Report

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April, 2014 Trip Report

Postby AAsotb » Sat Apr 05, 2014 11:00 pm

April, 2014

Desire Riviera Maya Trip Report

Desire \di-ˈzī(-ə)r, dē-\
noun- A magical place in Mexico where the world's most delightful people gather to bask in freedom & sunshine while having the time of their lives.

The ease of travel to Cancun is one factor that keeps us coming back. Don't let the media propaganda fool you, we've been to Cancun many times over the past decade and have only been beheaded once. I have to compliment the Mexican customs personnel, they are friendly, efficient, and professional every time. We use TransBeach for the transfer to Desire; there may be less expensive options, but they have performed flawlessly each time and are private. I cannot stop smiling as we rumble over the bridge and arrive at Desire's front door.

We are greeted with the usual “Welcome Home” by the bellman and my smiling turns to a giggle in anticipation of the pending shenanigans and general good times. Check-in was quick, painless and aided by the delicious blue “Check-in” drink called the Summer Dream. We declined the timeshare presentation as usual, but I am getting curious as to the pitch. That's a decision better made at home because once I saunter through the sliding glass doors I am a different person. We arrived very early (before 9am) so our room was not ready as expected. As grizzled veterans, we packed swimsuits, sunscreen, etc. in a beach bag placed on the top layer of the suitcase. A quick change in the spa (in hindsight it was odd to worry about having a place to change), and we headed to breakfast to start our trip.

The rest of the trip's days follow a similar playbook: breakfast, reading at pool or beach, volleyball, games, play in the ocean, lunch, volleyball, reading, naps. Life at Desire is good. I see no reason to leave the resort although our trips are relatively short. I have never thought, “I'd like to be on a tour bus right now” as I'm relaxing next to my beautiful naked wife, being delivered drinks by the indefatigable Afrika & Sylvia.

Breakfast is buffet style but a waiter will handle your drinks and generally dote over you. Breakfast is good, especially when you don't have to cook it or clean it up. Bacon, eggs with fixin's, and some coffee and green juice have me ready to go while my wife prefers to traditional Mexican fare.

We like to spend our mornings readings at either the beach beds or the pool beds. The tireless Daniel made sure he got us a place in the shade as requested. The area of round pool beds in front of the restaurants stays shaded most of the day and is appropriate for the fair skinned and vampires. Rene was very helpful at the beach and even made adjustments to the beach bed to keep us shaded. We never had a problem getting a spot at either location, but we are relatively early risers . The music and vibe are serene until the activities start at 10:30 or 11am.

Beach volleyball is always a fun time and is a great way to meet other people and sweat out your hangover. Leo, Jay, Edgar, Vanessa, Coral and Emy keep the games fun and interesting. There is usually another game at 3pm if you're feeling particularly spry. There are all sorts of other games and activities throughout the day such as: water polo, pool volleyball, ping pong, and various spring break type games. There are also kayaks, sailboats, and other watercraft to use at no additional charge. Leo is a great, patient teacher on the sailboats and we were fair to middling sailors by the end of the trip. Lunches are buffet style near the pool – burgers, fajitas, pizza, etc. There is a pretty active hot tub scene in the late afternoon, but we typically chose to nap or have downtime.

The nighttime has its own routine: drinks at the lobby bar, dinner, more drinks at the lobby bar / show, dancing in the club, hot tub & related activities, pizza at the lobby bar. The newly remodeled Sahlo was very good. The service by Ivan and the other waiters was attentive but not smothering. The Asian themed restaurant was good as well. We never tried the buffet. I prefer the live music and guest related shows to the professional dancers. I'm still singing the cover band's version of All Night Long that would have made Lionel proud. The dancing in the club is as fun as you make it. My dancing is bad even by white people standards, but we tore it up regardless. The DJ takes requests and by the end of the week started playing Shake That Ass when he saw me to save me the trouble of asking. After dancing, the nude hot-tub is a unique experience that shouldn't be missed; use your imagination. If you choose, the lobby bar has late night pizza and sandwiches to replenish your energy.

The real draw of Desire is the people. We have consistently met people that are kind, interesting, sexy, entertaining, and fun. I think I laughed to point of tears at least once a day. We literally made dozens of friends on this trip alone. Names will be withheld to protect the innocent but my Lifecoach, the drowning Brits, and all of the Canadians deserve a special mention.


Random Thoughts:

1. We had a Garden View and used it mostly for showering and sleeping. The housekeeper did a great job of keeping it clean and there was plenty of room for our things. The TV's appear to be upgraded – I think there were 20 or so channels but we only used 2 of them.

2. Drink water all day and all night in between drinks.

3. We are mid/late 30's and would estimate the median age to be in the mid 40's. There were some couples in their 60's which I thought was awesome. I hope we're still doing this in 25 years!

4. Don't be embarrassed to dance at the club no matter how white you are. Bad dancing is better than sitting there watching and looking miserable.

5. “You Don't See That at Sandals” is versatile line good for a cheap laugh in a variety of situations.

6. Try not to drink too much, see #2. I didn't follow this advice and coined a new level of drinking progression. The progression now goes: Charming Humor → Obnoxious → Dancing → Smoking → No Longer Scared of Resort Raccoon drunk. There are a number of cats and raccoons that come out at night and I drank enough on the last night to not be bothered when the raccoons were circling my legs while I ate lobby bar pizza. My wife thought I looked like a drunk Snow White – You don't see that at Sandals.

7. Bring some bug spray for the evenings if you are typically bothered by mosquitoes. They treat around the resort each night, but the family grade off seemed to work for us.

8. We like to tip the waiters, housekeepers, bartenders, bellhops, etc. because we think they deserve it. It is optional, and you'll get great service either way.

9. You can make reservations by talking to the head waiter at breakfast. This wasn't a problem, particularly if you don't mind eating at 7 or 7:30.

Feel free to message if you have any questions.
AAsotb
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Re: April, 2014 Trip Report

Postby eddieandjojo » Sun Apr 06, 2014 6:44 am

Great report! Thanks for the laugh this morning....ah yes the familiar progression, I'll take it one step further as I thought it was a great idea to feed one raccoon peanuts. Yep, this particular raccoon took the peanut right from my fingers with his mouth.....about 15 minutes later I realized it could have ended much worse than it did, yikes!
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Re: April, 2014 Trip Report

Postby lynnandjoe09 » Wed Apr 09, 2014 11:34 am

Don't feel bad Lynn fed them pizza once the same way. Then I smacked her hand. Told her if she was brave enough to do that she should go hand feed the crocodile.
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Re: April, 2014 Trip Report

Postby CokeMann » Wed Apr 09, 2014 1:38 pm

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Re: April, 2014 Trip Report

Postby AAsotb » Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:42 pm

I feel better about the whole situation, thank you both! Desire - Even the rodents are fantastic.
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Re: April, 2014 Trip Report

Postby PollyDave » Tue Apr 15, 2014 10:31 am

Like you guys, we are a mid/late thirties couple going to DRM this Sunday for 5 nights - this will be our first time going and we are very excited. You didn't make mention of the theme nights in your review - did you guys participate in the themes - or what did you guys wear to those?
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Re: April, 2014 Trip Report

Postby AAsotb » Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:27 am

You should be excited, you will have a great time! On the themes, if you're into it, go out all out, if not, it doesn't really matter. You won't be excluded from dinner or dancing because you weren't able to find a neon tank top in men's XL! The themes aren't a big part of our Desire experience, but we enjoy seeing those that put in the effort. In short, don't worry and do what you want.
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Re: April, 2014 Trip Report

Postby njcpl » Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:48 pm

assotb - thanks for a good detailed review. we are planning our trip in july, hopefully its not too hot then.
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