Trip report July 06 to July 13, 2014

[bird8364]

Well we returned from another trip to Desire RM and will report the following things we saw for others to review and hope that they see what we did at the Resort.

This was our 9th year at Desire RM and decided to go the week of July 6 -13th instead of our normal week of the last week of June into July. As always our transportation was there waiting and I must say this new company All do tours was waiting for us instead of us waiting for them like in the past with other companies. Arco was there waiting and greeted us home and check in was quick. We arrived early and of course our room was not ready but we always plan for that since we always take an early flight out. In the lobby of course they are like do you want to speak to time share. We are members so my response was nope we will pass we are already members so why ask. We requested a specific room and it is under renovations so they gave us the building next to our requested room. Later Rafael came to find us and said there was an issue with that room due to pipe breaking we are moving you to building 1000 I was like HELL NO not facing the parking lot but they put us on the pool side which was ok. The only draw back was the room was right next to the steps up to the Jacuzzi so you can imagine some of the noise we experienced but I found that if you drink ALOT you don't hear the noise, problem solved!!!!

Food wise we found the food and the dinner changes to be very good and they now do a Brazilian Rodizio night which was very very good. All the meals were good as in past. We ate in all the restaurants and never had a bad meal in any of them We found the new Sahlo restaurant to be not as intimate as the old white restaurant was. We ate there 2 different nights and both nights were VERY loud. If we wanted noise we would have eaten at the Buffet, which we thought was actually less noisy. Also not a big fan of the video shows they show while eating but that is IMO.

Drinks were good and NOT watered down at all. I had read on here about how others felt the alcohol was watered down and I must say after consuming ALOT of the alcohol never found that to be at any time or ANY bars. Sylvia was great as always. Africa did a great job too at the beach bar. The only issue we found in the restaurants was the lack of attention as in the past. We all have encountered the half glass full in them and them filling it up right away be it water coffee juice if you sipped it they filled it well not anymore. You can wait quite a few minutes for them to refill your coffee or water in all the restaurants. I feel they are understaffed and not able to handle the crowd that was there. This was bought to Mgt attention a few times but they shrugged it off. AGAIN if you have gone a lot over the years you will notice it if you are newer the service is great. We miss the old staff of Manuel and other waiters that were there for many years and we know change happens. Just hope they get it under control.

The pool people are not in sync yet but thy are trying. We spoke to them and they listened they really did we spoke to Nemo the Entertainment guy and he admitted they are not there et but working on it. Again if you are a long time repeater you will see it but if not all Is good. They just don't interact and dont have a lot of activities going on to keep people interested. But they are working on it.

Foam party we did it it was ok not our thing and all but others enjoy it. I think they need to keep the option of the Disco open at the same time for people who don't want to partake in the foam frenzy lol. The shows again IMO are a waste and need to be changed before the disco and even in the Disco. Need more interaction but again we enjoyed them they are just getting old.

Now for the really REALLY BAD We are members don't flaunt it or demand anything. Well we were at the pool and it was like mid stay to our vacation and Maggie from the timeshare actually came to seek us out and said they needed to go over the updates in our package. Well we said we don't need to hear the updates and what are they Her reply was well you need to come to the front to talk I said we didn't want to and they cant change our contract at all without compensating us, Her reply was oh there is no changes just updates. I again asked if this was a sales pitch to change our program and again she said no just want us to be updated. So we went to the front and as soon as we sat down again stated we will not change our package. Maggie started by saying they do not offer our package any longer ( we have weeks they now offer days) and want to bring us up to speed. I was like we are aware of the changes from the last two visits and understand that what our the changes to OUR package. They stated that they wanted us to get the new package so I went off on them as to what didn't they understand we are not going to change our package. Maggie didn't like our answer so called the Mgr over and she attempted to get us to change and argued with her that they are wrong for bothering us at the pool we were members and not going to switch what we have and if they wanted to buy what we had then do so but we would not switch without being heavily compensated. Her reply was they are not in the business of paying but in the business of selling their product. We again said not interested So they get a Spanish seller Juan Carlo to come and try it on us Again told him off and he gets and American salesman Rick to try. So again after putting it all on the line with him and as politely as possible informed him that if they change our contract they violate it and it clearly states on our contract that any changes need to be equal to or better then what we have and has to be compensated for. He tried and said they don't offer certain things in our package any longer and again my reply was that fine for new people but out contract is till in effect for another 19 years so not our issue. We are not there for this hard pressure sales and walked away he chased us but we didn't care This to us is the BIGGEST draw back to Desire.

Hot tub well what can we say other then still hot and sexy up there late afternoons and late evenings cant mess with that too much lol

We had found a very different vibe this trip in the resort and we were not the only ones. It is tough to explain it to others and you need to experience it I guess. We do feel the new Resort being built RIGHT NEXT Desire and I mean RIGHT next to it may hurt the feeling depending upon how high they build the building and layout and all and hopefully the newer updates with the pool swim up bar and more beds We just hope it stays as homey as it always did. We also heard they are looking to get another property in MX and in Dom Republic too so we hope the Della Pena family is not stretching themselves out too far and lets this place go down hill.

We also must say that we had a GREAT time with the Refugee in Paradise crew and made us feel at home. If anyone follows these forums I had an issue in not knowing what to expect from this group and the other group ( which cancelled their stay) since we had bad trips with other groups there. We must say that the R I P group is part of the reason we may change weeks to this week since they are TRULY GREAT PEOPLE and what they do every day with the Mexican raffle for the employees is TRULY great to see. If you ever get the chance to vacation with them they are a fun group.

Hope this report helps others and in recapping it was a GREAT GREAT trip with old and new friends and we will be back again

Steve and Jo

[candtdesire07]

Spending the week with you two & the Refugees In Paradise group made our trip.
Thanks everyone!

Chris & Tracy

[allovatan]

we too got hit with the "exciting changes to your membership" push too......didn't appreciate it either

[TwoDV8s]

On behalf of the Refugees..Thanks for the kind comments. FYI - Next year its July 11th to 18th due to the 4th.

Don and Vicki

[MandD]

We have expierienced the high pressure sales tactics on two trips to Desire. If they try it again on our next trip we will not be back. We love the resort, but when i say im not interested they need to back down and leave well enough alone.

[Mark and Clis]

Steve and Jo thanks for the kind comments regarding the Refugees in Paradise. Our goal as a group is to treat each other like family and everyone we meet like family. We all enjoyed meeting you two and would definitely welcome you guys joining us next year. As for the raffle it is one of the highlights of my year to have the pleasure of handing the winning employee a $50 bill. Through the generosity of our group members and many non members who also donated money we make a lot of people smile.

Mark aka Butters

[bird8364]

Butter

Would love to learn more about you guys and I know the BEAUTIFUL Mrs said you guys had a web site or FB page but cant seem to locate it. Would love to stay in touch with you guys and other great people we met in your group. So if you don't mind can you pm me or just let me know here what the groups web site is please. Also we are looking onto the week for next year but not knowing this far out is always a trying time lol

See you all again hopefully next year

Steve and Jo

[Mark and Clis]

Hey Steve and Jo

I guess I should check posts more often lol here is the link https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Ref ... adise/info

Mark