Pearl Fan's Report on RM - Dec. 2014

[danbo]

Our first visit to RM took place Dec. 17 to the 22nd, and was our third Desire trip so this will be a comparison report in some ways.
We were pleasantly surprised to find at check in that they had read and acted upon our room request from the online check in. We were unpleasantly surprised to find that our room had no balcony or patio as described in the web site room description. For some people this would not be a big deal as they view the room as nothing more than a place to sleep. For us, however, we always (till now) check to insure we have a place to sit outside to enjoy morning coffee and evening drinks or just to get away from the hustle of the crowd for a while. If you get room 2001, or any other end unit along the beach, your patio is the sidewalk. There are seating areas in the middle of the building, but this means you are sitting in front of someone else's room. Not only inconvenient, but kind of intrusive for the other guests. The room itself was fine except for the little 2" step just inside the bathroom door that blends into the tile floor until you stub your toes on it once or twice, and then you remember it's there. As most other people who have been to both properties have stated, Pearl wins in the room department.

The grounds are nice and well looked after and we must say the beach is a bit better than Pearl's as it isn't rocky in the water plus it has a safer, more open volleyball court. The new pool is nice, but as with Pearl, the chairs are jammed in to accommodate as many as possible. Here we give one of our fav. people at RM a salute. You must find Danny for all of your outdoor seating needs. The others are okay,but can't come close to matching Danny's enthusiasm and friendliness.

We found the food/restaurants about on par with Pearl. Both are good if not very good.

Now we get to the best and the worst of RM.
The disco, and especially the DJ, are by far and away better than Pearl. We don't usually stay till closing but we did a few times this time because we were kept entertained and occupied the whole evening. Between the good mix of music and the lively (sometimes naughty) crowd, it was a hoot.
Where RM stumbles, and badly, is in the activities department. Other reports have mentioned this problem but we could not believe how bad it was. Having been entertained by the staff of Pearl's activity team, it was difficult to believe the hotel management could be unaware of how things were with RM. They are invisible. They do less than half of what is published on the schedule, and they will cancel an activity if a drop of rain falls from the sky. On our forth day, some guests and I were waiting for someone to show up to get the beach volleyball going (11 am) One guest finally said that he had had enough after 1 week of similar no shows and went the management to complain. Shortly after, 2 staff emerged from somewhere and one announced over the PA that the game was going to start. By then I was the only one left waiting and he said to me "why did someone complain, there's no one who wants to play" I told him the others had left but might come back if they saw some activity on the beach, but he was pissed off about the complaint and said he had checked earlier and there was no one at the court (a lie) and that the guest that complained didn't pay for activities, only the sex and the pool, the rest was just a bonus. Oh really? Anyway, the next day you couldn't turn around without tripping over a playmaker doing something or other. Clearly the word was out to get going. BTW the best thing they could do for that dept. would be to get rid of the ego that is Jay. He is the rudest, crudest hotel employee we have ever seen in 35 years of vacationing. A young guy (Alex I think) with some great tats. was the exception on that staff. Outgoing, friendly and enthusiastic. I hope he sticks with it.

As far as the hot tub goes, there are those who like the tiny size and shallow water for encouraging "intimacy". We just thought it was too small. One day at about 430 pm we were elbow to elbow with about 50 others, when we saw a couple we knew come up the stairs and look over at the scene. They came over and said hi, but they couldn't see any space to stand if they did make it in at all. Pearl takes that one.

So, would we go back to RM? Hell yes! There is something undefinable about the place that stirs the blood (some call it the vibe) and makes you stay up till 4 am doing things you never thought you'd do, night after night. It's the same wonderful people that you will find at Pearl that make Desire what it is. We hope to do a block of time at each of the properties next time, but we aren't sure in which order. That might be important.

[CLG]

We were there from Dec 19 - 25 and had a great time in the disco too. We closed it down every night, the energy was great, and the 3 DJ's during our stay worked a good mix of music. We just love to dance and this was another great time!


In regards to the entertainment, we had the chance to sit down with the new Entertainment Manager, he has been there for about a month. They are in the process of evaluating all aspects of the entertainment program, so there are changes being planned for both the day and night events.

CLG

[2naked]

We have been to both a few times now and mostly agree with your comparison. Please know that the activities at RM used to be much better before Vanessa left. She never took no for an answer and there was beach volleyball and every other activity every day and the schedule was always accurate. She also made the evening activities enjoyable as well. I hope they get this aspect back on track. Even though there are no private balconies, we have never had an issue with using the common table/chairs in the mornings as we enjoy coffee in the AM also. We have been in the center room and it has never been an issue with others using it in front of our room. However, I get what you mean and a private balcony and every room ocean front is a definite nod to Pearl. The Hot tub topic is a difficult one. The Pearl hot tub is spectacular and could hold almost everyone on site with no problems. I think that is what makes the "vibe" a little more relaxed there since people can be separated and not have to interact. I agree the one at RM is a bit crowded but I truly believe this is what makes the RM "vibe" what it is. If you dare to get in, even if it is crowded, you will no doubt have a few new friends in no time. I would also have to give a slight nod to the staff at RM also. Nothing I can really put my finger on, but slightly noticeable. I like the palm trees and palapas on the beach at Pearl, but the size of RM's better. You nailed it with the disco. A lot of fun whereas the one at Pearl has always felt a bit awkward for some reason. Anyway, great comments. We will be there in 36 hours and can't wait!

[danbo]

Thanks for your input. I hope you let us know we you get back if that surge of momentum we saw among the playmakers was maintained or wether they went back into hiding in their nooks and crannies.

[desireaddict]

Our most recent trip was in September.
Among the entertainment staff, we thought Kayla was GREAT!
Please tell us she is still there as we are returning next week.

Life is Good!
DA

[miranda2]

Great trip report and you mentioned a couple of issues that we also are a bit 'disappointed' with at DRM but but they don't affect us so much that we have ever had a bad time at DRM. A private balcony would be nice but it doesn't make or break our experience and I've learned to enjoy the shared sidewalk/patio tables while sipping my morning coffe. I agree exactly what you posted about the entertainment staff (I don't think we met Kayla) and I was hoping we just hit a 'bad week. We are heading back to Desire in May and hope to see some changes with the entertainment staff by then. We were very disappointed with most of them when we were last there in November. I would have thought by now there had been already.

[CokeMann]

We are heading back to Desire in May and hope to see some changes with the entertainment staff by then. We were very disappointed with most of them when we were last there in November. I would have thought by now there had been already.

FYI - the entire EC crew at Desire RM, other than one, has been changed including the EC coordinator.
I expect(and hope) we will see a dramatic improvement over what we all experienced during the Nov. Swingset trip

[desireaddict]

We are heading back to Desire in May and hope to see some changes with the entertainment staff by then. We were very disappointed with most of them when we were last there in November. I would have thought by now there had been already.

FYI - the entire EC crew at Desire RM, other than one, has been changed including the EC coordinator.
I expect(and hope) we will see a dramatic improvement over what we all experienced during the Nov. Swingset trip

We were there during the pool remodel in mid-Sept. I think the Swingset group was early November, so that likely means that the odds are that Kayla is among those no longer there. Too bad. She was energetic and classy. A real sweetheart.

Sadly, in the corporate world, a "clean sweep" usually is another term for "throwing the baby out with the bathwater".
DA

[M&E]

We are heading back to Desire in May and hope to see some changes with the entertainment staff by then. We were very disappointed with most of them when we were last there in November. I would have thought by now there had been already.

FYI - the entire EC crew at Desire RM, other than one, has been changed including the EC coordinator.
I expect(and hope) we will see a dramatic improvement over what we all experienced during the Nov. Swingset trip

We were there during the pool remodel in mid-Sept. I think the Swingset group was early November, so that likely means that the odds are that Kayla is among those no longer there. Too bad. She was energetic and classy. A real sweetheart.

Sadly, in the corporate world, a "clean sweep" usually is another term for "throwing the baby out with the bathwater".
DA

We were there last week and Kayla was still there. The problem really is not the entertainment staff but Alex the manager, he lacks planning and he has absolutely no people skills. I think he should leave the microphone to the team and also he should remain he the background. We were told by the staff that he wants to tone down the entertainment which was a disappointment to us, we go to RM to party and have fun not to play those silly old games (no offence to the older crowd). All the EC had the same comments about Alex, he has no plan, everything is last minute and he changes his mind all the time. And when there is bad comments about the entertainment, he blames the team. Memo was so much better.

[tikihutguy]

We've enjoyed the 2nd floor Ocean Front room. It does have a balcony - it's just shared with 4 other rooms. The more the merrier Never minded people sitting in front of our middle balcony room Memo was entertainment coordinator??? He was always a favorite as beach drink server (Afrika too of course) and waiter. Haven't been to DRM for a few years. Guess we're overdue DP this summer....

[CokeMann]

Memo was entertainment coordinator???

Bob - different Memo - Guillermo Padilla was the EC coordinator and his nickname(that everyone used) was Memo

[desireaddict]

M&E, thanks for the update about Kayla!

Hope you had a great time!

DA

[2naked]

We are here now. They had a pool party 2days in a row for 2hrs each... A little much. This morning they were supposed to do a sexy massage. They set up 8 chairs, had the oils ready, then quietly walked around and asked a few people to participate. No announcement on the microphone. A few minutes later they put the chairs away. There are currently only 2 men playing beach volleyball. Sad for those of us who have memories of Vanessa.

[Nigel & Wendy]

When we were there in October I played beach volleyball every day and often morning and afternoon. There seemed to be a bunch of us who really enjoyed it and as people left we persuaded others to join in. We often had 12 players. Leo was really good at making sure players of all abilities enjoyed the game. For the staff there is always a fine line between persuade and pester. If you are keen to play then talk to others beforehand and make sure there will be enough players to make a game.

[SJCrazy]

Danbo, sorry that the timing on your trip didn't line up with the real fun of the week! As others have said Kayla is still there, but she was on vacation and I think she got back in the wee morning hours the night after you left. Our trip was spaced out a few days after yours and I agree, the entertainment was sorely lacking until Monday or Tuesday. Our only guess is that Kayla must be the catalyst that gets the whole crew going, because her return seemed to turn everything back on. Our first couple days there was no daytime activity at all and they didn't even make a schedule board! Once Kayla was back everything shaped up immediately. Kayla mentioned something about how she expects to spend another 6 months or so at Desire and then find something new, but we're no authority on Kayla.

Jay's ego thing is just a schtick. He jokes around and makes fun of the guys to turn around and hit on their women. It's just a gag. To really have a lot of fun, fire back at him 110%; the other entertainment staff will join in when you make fun of him. It's all fun and games.