Newbie Report - June 13>15th, 2015

[bradandstaci]

I am definitely not the one to usually write a trip report, but our 1st experience at Desire warranted one.

Ok. So let me set the stage of our two and a half days at Desire...rain. We got caught in the tropical storm "Bill". We vacation in Mexico yearly and have been caught in tropical storms before and have had a great time in them. But, at Desire it was a different story. Let me get to our disappointment about the resort first and end with the positives.

Desire is in need of major renovations. The amount of rain that fell over two days was understandably hard to deal with. But what was unacceptable was the major leaks within almost every building of Desire. The breakfast buffet literally had a river running thru it, the nightclub had ponds all over the place, the weight room was like working out in a swamp (the roof even caved in while we were working out), and many of the personal suites had major leaks. This created a MAJOR safety hazard as we witnessed over 8 women (my wife included) slip and fall hard on the wet tile within the resort...not outside, and not alcohol induced. Between the exposed electrical and slippery conditions, safety was a concern for us...and that isnt acceptable. Desire price point is too high for this type of infrastructure issues.

Now, lets get to the atmosphere. Overall, people were very friendly at Desire. We were a little disappointed that there werent a few more younger couples as we were obviously the youngest. The only thing that bothered us was that most of the people that we engaged in conversation with automatically thought that was an invitation to do more. And they kept trying even after it was obvious that we werent into swapping...a little sleazy. Ironically, the first couple we met had been in the lifestyle for years and got to that question with us immediately. Once we said we werent, they were actually the nicest couple that didnt have a hidden agenda that we met while at Desire. But overall, people are more friendly and less judgmental then at regular resorts.

Because of the conditions of the resort we were ready to leave after day 2 and get to the other resort that we were going to finish our vacation. But an interesting phenomena happened while we were at the other resort. As days went by, we talked more and more of how much fun we actually did have at Desire. Afterall, my wife couldnt show up to the club in lingerie or as a naughty school girl.

Will we go back to Desire? We arent sure. We were really disappointed in the quality of the facilities. Does the experience of this type of resort outweigh this issue at the current price point?....not sure. We might think about coming back if we find a few younger couples to meet up with.

Brad and Staci (Josh and Jessica).

[Kscpl]

Hey guys,
Sorry the rain screwed it up for you. Before you give it up all together, try the sister resort, the Pearl. We've been to Pearl three times and on our last trip we had rain about three out of five days with no issues. The rain did put a hamper on things for us that trip as well.
We haven't been to RM, but if you read this forum much, you will see that folks agree that the Pearl is the"fancier" of the two resorts.
As age goes, you will also find that it just depends on the time you go. Our last trip in October last year had a younger crowd that our trip last July, so you just never know how the crowd will be.
We are not in the lifestyle either and have not had an experience when we were "hounded," or expected, to participate. Folks who were interested in U.S. did ask, but when we declined, it was all good. Never had a issue with them going away unhappy or trying to convince us. They usually became our hot tub buddies to hang out with.
Think about it and give it another shot. Don't let this last experience be your gauge.

[TandD]

Sucks about the rain - people try to be positive when it rains but it still sucks compared to sunshine. Tropical storm rain is even suckier. I suspect it's hard for them to handle deluges like that but there's no excuse for causing safety problems. I hope your wife (or any of the others) was not hurt badly.

I agree that Pearl might be newer and better able to cope with lots of rain but at least one recent review said there were some problems there also.

Do you know if the second resort you went to had any problems with the rain (assuming it was in the same weather pattern)? I would hazard a guess that all the resorts struggle with infrastructure problems that are highlighted during extreme weather but I don't know if that is true.

Also curious about the way you showed your names - Brad and Staci (Josh and Jessica). Did you use different/fake names while at the resort? I don't care one way or another - just curious. The question of using fake names came up in a post a while back and I'm pretty sure most people said they did not.

[CLG]

We have been there during a "normal" rain and did not experience the degree of water issues that you described; those tropical storms just dump a lot of rain that may be just hard to contain. I'm certain the staff did the best they could, the always do.

We are not in the lifestyle and in our many visits, we have been approached and on a rare occasion, there has been a person or two that would require a stern "no thanks, not interested", but the overwhelming percentage of people show respect.

If you have read these boards, Desire provides an environment that brings people back and back again, after your reflection about the trip, you may want to give it another try.


CLG

[bradandstaci]

We really apreciate the replies and feedback. But let us clarify a few things. First off, we by no means meant to offend anyone's opinion of Desire. We know that the staff works really hard to make sure people have a good time. And we are a very understanding, level headed, couple.

About the rain...yes, as stated, a tropical storm brings in an amount of rain that is difficult to deal with. But by no means should a resort's facilities not be able to keep water out of buildings. A few little leaks here or there is expected, but we are talking small rivers, pools, roof integrity issues, etc. We are talking about standing water right under hanging electrical outlets, lights, etc. And to answer the question about whether or not the other resort we went to (Secrets Maroma Beach) had any of these issues....we actually spoke to management there because that was our 4th time to visit. Although they had pools overflow and some small issues with standing water outside, no water made it inside any of their facilities.

Seriously, it was bad enough to be a major safety hazard. Like i said, at least 8 women fell right in front of us...hard.

To clarify more about our experience with others. We really enjoyed everyone that we met and talked to. It was more of a situational thing, and we realize that. When its raining like that, the only option you have is to hang out all day at the bar with people who have been drinking all day. And the flirting was fun and flattering. But eventually the touching by the same people over and over again after they clearly know that you aren't into that is a little sleazy. Nothing major at all! We realize it would've been totally different if we were all out in the sunshine at the beach.

Like we said, we didn't post this to attack Desire. We only did so for management to possibly see this and know how disappointed we were that safety was a concern.

As to our names...yes, we used fake names (brad and staci) to register to this forum before going. But wanted to state our real names as we used during our stay (Josh and Jessica).

We appreciate the suggestion of Pearl. We actually were going to go to Pearl. But after reading about how the younger and more active crowd usually ends up at DRM, we changed.

Josh and Jessica