9/25 -10/2

[Powderfinger]

Well, wasn't going to do this, as pretty much we had the same great time we always do, but I know that before our first trip we read every trip report we could find....

This was trip #3, and the first one not in winter. Therefore,our first off-peak visit....so, when we arrived at the Cancun airport, we couldn't be sure if it was so dead due to the season, the swine flu BS hype, or a combination of both. On our Friday noon arrival, we made it through immigration and customs within ten minutes, a far cry from all our previous Mexican trips. Even more amazing was the trip home, also on a Friday. We walked into the airport, right up to the counter, checked in, went to security, NO ONE else there, right through, total time less than five minutes. It made our rinky-dink Syracuse airport look like Newark or LaGuardia. Transport companies all want to pick you up at Desire 3-4 hours prior to your flight....after our first trip we said "screw that!" as it left us in the airport way too long. Now we grab a cab about two hours before our flight, even in January it still left us time to kill waiting for our flight...this time it would have been hell. We ran into a couple in Margaritaville that was going home from Desire as well, they had been picked up almost four hours before their flight, and were going stir-crazy...

Once again at check-in Renate tried the "breakfast meeting" pitch. Funny thing is, she started right out saying it wasn't a time share, it wasn't points, it was now a "membership". She even called later in the week to try to get us to change our minds and give it a listen. So, we talked to three couples who attended or tried to.....funny how it still was the 40,000 RCI point deal, even after being told it wasn't points anymore. One couple had every question answered, another kept being told that they would have to talk to yet another person to have certain questions answered, and the third....well, about 20 years ago he had a travel agency and had some RCI dealings. As soon as they heard that they said they couldn't talk to him, "conflict of interest" (?!?!), "good bye". Ummmmmm, huh?!? If that doesn't illustrate the BS of the whole deal, nothing could.....

One other thing at check-in, we asked about occupancy, and were told that for the weekend it was about 70%....we didn't ask later on, but there was a very noticeable drop Monday/Tuesday.....talking to a travel agent in the pool in the middle of the week, she said the Mayan Riviera as a whole was running about 35%, Cancun in the low 40% range.....

The pool resurfacing was definitely due, two people cut their feet during the week....to go along with the woman who waded into the ocean at night and stepped on a sting ray, the man stung by a jellyfish on his shoulder, the guy who stepped off a poolside lounger onto a cat and got bit....this was a dangerous week! lol Sounds bad, all were laughing about it later...What really needs work is the hot tub, many, many missing tiles, and every trip sitting in it seems to bring a greater and greater chance of standing up with ceramic shards in your ass. Best bet is grabbing a towel and bringing it in the tub with you, and sitting on that......how they shut down the hot tub for work I don't know, that would be missed more than the pool (we wouldn't want to be there at all if that was closed), but at some point it has got to be done...

We met some great, great people (wish we could do dinner with y'all tonight!), as always, folks we know & hope we will see again, but the crowd as a whole was very, very tame. All the wild things we've seen at the hot tub in the past the things you talk and laugh about later, were nowhere to be seen....the energy level as a whole was down.....of course, we kind of were the same way, between the overall tameness, and a few issues I had (not resort related), our energy level seemed low as well. We had a great time, and can't wait for our January return, but it was a different "great"....

The new theme nights........Superhero night won't last. Almost zero participation, all the guests pretty much rolled their eyes over the whole thought. Eyes Wide Shut, on the other hand, proabably had the greatest participation. Many, many capes and masks. When asked for volunteers, think eight couples stepped forward.....was actually funny to watch, ECs had fun with it to, with lots of "Quiet!"s and "Shhhh!"s in response to the giggles and laughter. Most of the volunteers got into what they were told to do, although one couple froze at the order to strip their partner naked....they looked like deer in the headlights as those around them were going down on their significant other like they were filming their first porn....everyone stayed with their partner, there was no forced changes or switching....except at the end when the women were pulled to the middle of the stage, where there was just a little bit of touching and rubbing.....

All in all, we had a wonderful time. Every Desire visit is great in its own way, and its always about the people you get to know. Many, many thanks to the "doctor" we had the pleasure to spend time with, and thank god you had something with you that finally got rid of my 2 1/2 day headache! J & K, y'all kick ass and can "take good care of" C anytime ya wish, lol.......First timers, join the Yahoo group for the time of your trip, just seeing someones pics before your trip makes it easier to meet people when ya get there....we met pretty much everyone whos pics we'd seen prior to our trip, we all recognized each other.....

[miranda]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Much appreciated.

[CokeMann]

Powder - Thanks for posting your TR.

Both newbees and all us veterans need our daily " Desire fix" and can never get enough news about the place and goings on - LOL

[youme69]

Was a true pleasure meeting and hanging out with E and C (Powderfinger) can't remember ever laughing so hard. It was a fairly quiet crowd but still had a Great time and wish I was still there. Weather was awesome also!!
J and K

[Yankeefan]

Honestly, the place just isn't what it used to be back in the day. Yes, its still beautiful, the food is better, the decor is great. However the beach sucks, and for what its worth, it was better without the beach beds. The beds almost "force" you to be isolated whereas the old days, you would lay in the lounges and it was very easy to have conversations without feeling you were "intruding" on your neighbors. The sexual overtones arent there much and there are more groups that hang out together alone.

The service hasn't changed...its still incredible as is the entertainment crew. Wonderful folks.


Just my 2 cents.

[eddieandjojo]

Powder - great report, thanks for taking the time to share! Looking forward to our January trip, I know that at least 6 (friends of ours from LA are going as well) of us will keep the energy level very high up in the hot tub, pool, disco and play room.

We'll have that resort rockin' for sure!!!

E&J

[NebraskaCouple]

Thanks for the TR guys. The towl in the hot tub trick is a good one that we learned when we were at the Cabo Desire last November. I bet the staff hates the fact that 1/2 of all the towels they pick up at the end of the night are soaking wet. The hot tub in Cabo was in great shape, and from what I understand, much larger, but the pebble surface of the floor and seating area is too abrasive, so the towels helped considerably.

So, what did you conclude about the lack of traffic at the airport in Cancun? Was it due to Swine Flu worries? We should be immune to H1N1, as it seems to have gone through our whole family already. Some had it worse than others, but we think we are all in the clear now.

As for theme nights, we hope participation is fairly good when we get there. Originally, we didn't anticipate dressing for that night, but we happened along a couple of really good costumes, so we said, "what the hell", and bought them. We are bringing our own masks and robes for EWS night, and although we may not volunteer, we intend to participate to the level that our egos allow.

[miranda]

Yankeefan - I think you've got the right idea about the beds on the beach.

Although we haven't been to Desire Cancun, from what I've seen of the pics, the beach isn't much, especially if you are beach people like we are.

I think the beds are a waste of space and not too condusive to chatting with others.

In Cabo, we could never understand why folks wouldn't take their towels out of the hot tub when they were done with them.

[eddieandjojo]

Miranda - as wonderful as the beach was at Desire Cabo, it was tough because you simply couldn't go in unless you wanted to brave the surf and undertow. Believe me, we love Cabo enough that we got married on the sand just outside the hot tub area back in Feb 08! As a South Beach regular during my youth, the beaches were similar but the difference was that you could enjoy the water anytime you wanted to cool off. My whole point for bringing this up is that while the sand area in Cancun isn't much to speak of at least you could actually go in the water and cool off, take a sailboat out, float all day if you want to, etc...!

Yes, we definitely agree that the hot tub in Cabo is much, much nicer but the pebble bottom/surface was definitely tough on the knees after a while so a towel was definitely in order!

Is it January yet.....LOL! 14+ weeks before we head back!

E&J

[mfay]

A couple things to remember about the Desire beach situation.
Up until Wilma's rath, there was about 3 times more beach at Desire than there is right now (maybe some of the veterans could post some pictures of the way it was back then).

And even since then, various minor storms have at times added and then taken away from the beach. At some time it's likely that the beach will come back to it's former state. And almost all the beaches from Cancun down the Riviera Maya region are in the same boat.
I certainly understand the point about too many beach beds. But of course the reason there are so many there now is that, over time, one of the biggest
complaints in the past was that there were not enough shaded places for people to enjoy the beach-and what spaces there were were constantly being "fought over". So, in response, Desire has added more and more beds in an effort to accommodate everyone.

[Powderfinger]

The change in the beach from January to last week was pretty big, with the water lapping up against the foot of the beds at some point....walking the beach to the north you come across a pier where the steps up to it are now 20 feet out in the water, whereas last winter it was at water's edge. Not much you can do about Mother Nature, other than let it take its course. It also puts beachwalkers from other resorts right up with Desire guests, which provided some entertaining moments.......

Yf, we never made it to Desire prior to them having beach beds, so we can't compare the two...however, for us, we like it with them.....I need some shade or I fry, and, really, we tend to nap on the beach and go there for a bit of relaxing...for conversing, the pool....Really, there's no way they can please everybody.

108 days til we get the "resort rockin'", E & J!!!

[miranda]

I completely understand all the points of view here regarding the beach beds / shade, the beach / water in Cabo, the hot-tub surfaces, etc.

Are there just some basic loungers and palapas (umbrellas) at the beach as well as all those beach beds?

I can't lie around on a bed all day and would prefer to sit in a lounge chair but should we bring our own umbrella?

It's great that when people talk, Desire listens!

[Powderfinger]

Just your basic loungers are on the beach, along with the beds, Miranda....no umbrellas.....

[mfay]

There are a lot of loungers now on the beach across from the pool- more and more popular for folks who want to enjoy the beach but still be involved at times in the pool activities. They have at times tried to provide some shade there- but it's tough because most any type of unbrella tends to be a safety hazard when the winds pick up (pretty common). The wind also tends to tear them up pretty quickly- they have the same problem with the umbrellas around the pool.

[CokeMann]

Mfay wrote:
A couple things to remember about the Desire beach situation.
Up until Wilma's rath, there was about 3 times more beach at Desire than there is right now (maybe some of the veterans could post some pictures of the way it was back then).

Here is the beach area right when Desire opened in 2003 - before any beach beds had been built


and again the same beach area in the summer of 2005 before Hurricane Wilma hit the resort