Has Desire Lost Its Mojo?

[smoothsailing2]

Having just returned from a week at Desire Riviera Maya, one has to wonder if Desire is losing its Mojo. Having been to this property somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 visits, I have seen many changes; both good and bad. However, I have never felt Desire was cheapening the experience or disregarding necessary maintenance until this visit.

The week started out extremely rainy which of course is no fault of Desire. However the rain did make it extremely obvious that maintenance on the palapa roofs was long over due. The disco was leaking in many places and at one point the area behind the bar was ankle deep in water. It was practically raining inside the disco. The leaking was so bad that the disco had to be closed down for 2 days for emergency repairs to be made. When the disco reopened, it was still leaking but not as badly.

I am aware of at least 2 couples that had to move rooms due to flooding from roof leaks. The palapa area in the lunch restaurant by the pool leaked profusely with obvious daylight showing through in at least five places. The palapa roof in the main buffet restaurant leaked but was manageable. This was not the "normal" leaking from the air conditioners. The palapa roof below our porch had HUGE holes all in it and the people below us reported leaking in their room.

The rooms at Desire seem to have lost all of their "sexy" and are not as nice as many low budget hotels. There is no color but white and a touch of brown. The plastic flower decoration is really quite tacky and not sexy at all.

During the disco closure the disco activities were held in the dining area and had the feel of a junior high school dance. Quite frankly, it was unacceptable and very few stayed long. During the rainy days (all day rains) the activities staff was invisible. No games were brought out and very, very few rainy day activities were offered. Those that were offered were not publicized in any way so nobody knew about them. A note under room doors or white board announcements would have made a big difference. This may seem picky but we have been to Desire many times during extreme rains and there have been much better attempts made to keep folks entertained.

The new evening entertainment at Desire leaves a lot to be desired. Gone are the Mother Funkers the Reggae Band, the Rock band, Illusionists, and gymnast pair. Instead they offered very low energy flamenco dancers (could have been sexy but was not) and very bad opera singers. The power went out while the opera singers were singing and the whole bar and lounge area cheered that they could not sing anymore! The "special" disco entertainment was also cut back upon with 2 male dancers and no female dancer. The DJ in the disco played the exact same songs in the same order nightly. We finally just quit going to the lame entertainment activities which is sad because it used to be some of my favorite time at this hotel.

The food in the buffet was, in my opinion, much improved from previous years with the exception of the desserts. I also feel the food offerings, especially noticeable on Mexican night, were much less than in the past. The pace of the meal in the "white" restaurant was a death march.

The booze at Desire has always been watered down and I have been okay with that. However, this time the booze was so watered down that it was difficult to ever feel like one had been consuming alcohol at all. The top shelf brands were also watered down and sometimes tasted like inferior brands poured into top shelf bottles. The repeaters party was a joke...terrible cold food that was intended to be served hot and premade mojitos. No free nights or hats or jewelry were given away.

The staff were very accommodating, as usual. However, none seemed as happy as in the past and many have left or been fired. It is clear they have been told to be more "in the background" which was often awkward. What has always made Desire "work" was the staff and vibe which is changing dramatically. It seems as if management is trying to create a less sexy and tamer environment. This is not the vibe that keeps us coming back.

The pushiness of "the membership" (read also time share) program was much more evident than in the past and many guests were complaining about this.

We did have a nice time. The hot tub still hops (but body shots are no longer allowed on the bar) and the service is still good. However, at $550.00 per night per room (garden room) the price has become so expensive that putting up with all of the issues I have mentioned becomes harder to take. While other properties in the area are charging similar prices, they are much more upscale and better maintained. I am willing to pay a bit of a "fun tax" for the Desire concept but no longer feel the property is worth the cost. We used to go 3 or 4 times per year and now only go once per year. If things do not change based on this visit, I'm not sure we will return. There is a HUGE 600 room property being built right next to Desire and one has to wonder if the "concept" can continue next to such a large property. The construction runoff during the rain flooded the Desire Kitchen and "white" restaurant. Something tells me this problem will only get worse. The cooks were wearing firefighter boots to cook in the flooded kitchen,

While I hope the ownership and new management will take heed to return the property to its former grandeur; one has to wonder if the Desire mojo is gone for good. Competition from lifestyle cruises and travel groups as well as the sale of Hedonism2 and its refurbishment should concern Desire. They have two properties that require constant care and feeding.

For now this swinger is going to swing past Desire and go to Hedonism 2 for Halloween. At this time it is a better value for money and I feel the management and ownership there are trying.

[CokeMann]

Thanks for your TR - btw what dates where you there ?

[eddieandjojo]

Always good to get different perspective, that's what this forum is all about! Having just been on our 21st trip in March for 12 days (6 at each resort) and going again in 30 days to RM for 7 more days, we certainly don't feel the same. The resort continues to spend money on upgrades and renovations over the past couple of years.....is it 4 or 5 stars, no but we would certainly not call it a low budget hotel. AND as far as Hedo goes, we went once and will never go back......that is definitely NOT our vibe! As I said, we respect people's perspective but in our humble opinion, Desire still has the vibe and now Pearl is not far behind which is great since it's a great property.

Oh, by the way, we did plenty of body shots at both resorts jacuzzi lounges, bartenders were happy to help us out with towels!

[WhiteSands]

They definitely do have a problem with flooding though, this was our Deluxe Garden Room last December, with our own indoor swimming pool! When we called reception to tell them water was literally pouring in over the door step, they sent a lovely little Mexican girl armed with wellies and a squeegee! Not very effective!

[Barerunners]

We started coming to Desire back in 2003. They have always had problems during heavy rain. The resort is too close to the beach, it has no elevation to help with drainage. The swamp behind the resort fills up and creates its own path to the ocean sometimes.. Plumbing also suffers.. I think they do a marvelous job despite their predicament. Fortunately we have only had one plumbing problem during all of our stays. It's sad to hear folks having a bad time..those of us that have been have grown to luv it!

[BigB&CrazyK]

When we were at DRM in November the staff told us they were getting bids to drain the swamp so they could avoid the flooding. When we went the entire road was flooded in to DRM as well as the parking lot in front of the entrance to the front desk. I didn't hear any complaints of flooded rooms, but there really isn't much complaining going on at the resort.

The only other thing I can concur with 110% is the music. Same old tired playlist every single night for months (years?) without much change. This happens at all of the properties (TTR, DRM, and Pearl). Despite our best efforts to persuade any DJ to let us request a song or bring a cd/ipod/etc, it never happened.

You've brought up some valid points. We love DRM and Pearl, but in our opinion the best atmosphere for everything was Desire Cabo. So sad to see it gone now.

[CokeMann]

When we were at DRM in November the staff told us they were getting bids to drain the swamp so they could avoid the flooding.

Unfortunately that is bad info, the "swamp" (ie big pond) between the road and the front of Desire Riviera Maya is part of the federally protected mangrove - ie natural wildlife habitat area.

[olderII]

i like it when the rain brings all the land crabs from the swamp!

[BigB&CrazyK]

i like it when the rain brings all the land crabs from the swamp!

Or the crocks to the storm drainage area behind the restaurant...

[2naked]

We are here right now and I cannot comment on conditions when it rains since we haven't had any but there is no lost mojo. There are several rooms being painted/upgraded, something new being built at the lobby where the hanging beds were, 2/3 of the beach chairs are new, they have added 7 more member beds at the beach, the food last night at the buffet was the best we have ever had, new china at the restaurants, the music at the lobby was good, etc... The activity people were almost non existent so that is a let down since Vanessa and Hector are gone. Still the best and I'm not worried about their future at this point.

[tikihutguy]

something new being built at the lobby where the hanging beds were.

Didn't know the hanging beds were gone... Been a couple of years since we attended. (DRP in a few weeks ). What's going up

[2naked]

Can't tell... Construction is still going on...

[CLG]

This thread has information for some of the items described in this trip report: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4574


CLG

[Allaboutus]

Simple answer ... no. Is it perfect? Of course not but what is. We just got back from our 5th trip and loved it as much as always. The service is as amazing as always. I am currently having serious post Desire depression and I am counting the days until my next trip.
As far as the music, they play what is popular in any club in the states. the dance floor was packed every night.
Quick story.. We left Sunday. Picked up at 3:30 so we spent a few hours at the pool. Then quick shower in a friends room, grabbed our stuff and left. When I got to the airport.. Shit! I left my phone by the pool. I called the resort at the airline terminal and spoke to Rafael. They had my phone in a cab in about a minute and got it to me at the airport in 20 minutes. Where else can that happen? Only at Desire!

[kjc]

Have to agree with original poster,,been there 23 times now and slowly things have been going south,,ha. It's usually the small things that made this place special. E.g. Anyone remember the sax player on Tuesday.during the fashion show,,,it was a nice touch...it's just one but it's the small things that go away we all notice...almost like the window washes on the nyc streets...small. But noticeable...but we will return until somewhere else figures it out