DRM Trip Report 4/18-4/25, 2021

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DRM Trip Report 4/18-4/25, 2021

Postby Crossling » Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:45 pm

My wife and I had been to DP twice since 2017, but it had been 2 years since we went on vacation so we figured we would try out DRM. Primarily because we were approached 3-4 times by different couples at Pearl during our last stay who questioned why we were at Pearl and not RM. So we figured, what the heck.

The expectations had been set, more or less, with our DP visits so we figured we would really be able to enjoy ourselves as we wouldn't be learning the ropes while we were on vacation. This was mostly true. Outside of the stresses of travel during a pandemic we had a fantastic time with very few draw backs.

The transfer, check in and check out went flawlessly, even with the new COVID restrictions.

Staff: For the most part, the staff at both resorts we pretty comparable in that they were fantastic. Daniel was awesome and did a great job at getting us close to the pool every day. Tipped him $60 (which we didn't think was that much) and the next day we had a cabana saved for us (we have yellow bands). Concierge was fantastic, wait staff was attentive and pleasant. Play makers were great. We had Kevin for the 1st day, then it was Javi, Anna, Zac, Viri and Shirley for the remainder. The only even remotely negative experience regarding staff would be our frequent interactions with Leo. As there aren't too many guests that play volley ball, Leo would usually step in to fill the team. He seemed friendly to one or two players that had either been to the resort frequently or were members. Everyone else he was just kind of deadpan and cold which is odd, considering his occupation. It may also just be naivety, but it definitely seemed like the individuals that walk up and down the beach (sometimes into the volley ball court while a game is in progress) selling cigars and hats, etc. take direction from Leo. It would certainly suck if they were Desire employees hawking goods on the beach.

Food: Food was comparable. We aren't huge foodies so we never put too much weight in this category. We did the breakfast and lunch buffet every day, so nothing to exciting. We found we preferred Suki for dinners. It didn't matter what we chose, it always tasted fantastic.

Activities: The games, etc. held during our time there were pretty much identical to what we had seen at Pearl both times in the past. The only difference was there was more Play Maker participation. We experienced our first foam party which was great. A little difficult to navigate at times but a fantastic experience. My wife rounded that out with a three-way kiss with a few of the women we had met there. This being about halfway through the vacation it definitely acted as a catalyst for interaction for the remainder of our time there. Ultimately, our favorite is and probably always will be volleyball.

Room and housekeeping: We had a room looking out over the pool and was right under the hot tub. Was good for the view and proximity to everything. We also like the style a little better than the rooms at Pearl. The downsides: Unless the temperature in the room was set to 15 degrees Celsius, the floor throughout the entire room was always wet. We never slipped, but it still left the room feeling uncomfortable. When housekeeping would come, they would do a decent job cleaning and organizing, but they always left something out when stocking towels/wash cloths etc. If we had enough towels, then we only had 1 wash cloth. If we had enough of those, then we didn't have a bath math. Nothing earth shattering, just observations. On the 2nd to last day, the resort was having some power issues apparently. We lost water and the AC was off for about 6 hours. Luckily it came back on before we went to bed that evening. It was difficult to sleep in the room, unfortunately. The noises from the disco (if we went to bed on the earlier side) the hot tub above us, people talking or closing doors even remotely close to the room, all usually kept at least one of us awake until 2-3am. If we actually stayed out at the disco or hot tub until later, then we didn't have an issue. But we only did that once or twice.

Shows/theme nights/disco: The entertainment at DRM was comparable to DP, but with the extra space provided at DRM, it did seem a little better. My wife loves the theme nights at Pearl and it is one of the things she gets excited about when we go so it was a little disappointing to see that probably only about half of the guests actually participated. We actually didn't go to the disco until the very last night, which we are kind of kicking ourselves about. We had heard from another guest in the first 2-3 days of our vacation that the disco only has like 3-4 people dancing and the bartender, so we never thought it was worth it (or things like the hot tub.) But it was packed on the last night and my wife and I danced for a few hours before realizing that we had to wake up to catch our transfer to the airport in 5 hours. We both feel that we made more "connections" on our last night because of our trip to the disco, than we had in the week prior. It obviously came with the regret that we wished went up sooner (neither one of us is a comfortable dancer) but it is definitely something that we will capitalize on next time!

Overall experience: It probably took 3-4 days for the experience at DRM to really settle in before we could make a firm comparison to Pearl. Over all, with the exception of the issues with the room, we are definitely leaning towards DRM. The age group was definitely at least a little closer to ours, with some people actually being younger than us. It could also be our comfort level increasing with each additional trip, but we actually met and remembered 8-9 couples at DRM during our 7 night stay. At Pearl I think we were lucky if we remembered 1. Will definitely be back!
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Crossling
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Re: DRM Trip Report 4/18-4/25, 2021

Postby jonxenakis » Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:50 pm

Great review and comparison. Can’t wait to get back to desire six weeks from today.
Thank you for your report.
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Re: DRM Trip Report 4/18-4/25, 2021

Postby dinkswithkinks » Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:44 pm

Great report! *wink*
For the record, we both think you look great on the dance floor!!
:D/
SLS & Kasidie: DinksWithKinks
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Re: DRM Trip Report 4/18-4/25, 2021

Postby Crossling » Sun May 02, 2021 10:04 am

dinkswithkinks wrote:Great report! *wink*
For the record, we both think you look great on the dance floor!!
:D/


Thanks! The feeling is mutual!
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Crossling
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We are from: USA
Will be at: Both Riviera Maya & Pearl
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