Very poor review of Pearl on Trip Advisor

[cancouple1975]

how long is this sales pitch? I hear you get some coupons....is it worth it?

[TandD]

how long is this sales pitch? I hear you get some coupons....is it worth it?

It can be as short as 1 minute. They say "Hey, we have a program where you can become a member and get additional benefits. Here are some coupons if you want to hear more about it." At that point you can say you are not interested and that's the end of it. Whether the coupons are worth the extended pitch and whether the membership is worth the extra money is something only you can really decide.

I can't remember all the coupons but it was for things like x dollars off of a massage or fancy dinner. It also seemed like many of the coupons were applicable only at DRM, not Pearl so they didn't really help unless you wanted to take the trip over. For us, it wasn't worth it.

[K&RinTX]

how long is this sales pitch? I hear you get some coupons....is it worth it?

We got the coupons on check in after agreeing to hear the "pitch", and used a few of them. We checked in on Sat and the visit was scheduled for first thing Monday morning. We met the guy, went and ate breakfast while chatting with him, then went to a room where he presented the options/prices etc. It probably took about 45 min total.
As we have access to timeshare properties through a relative, we were somewhat interested in a "Desire-only" package. My one complaint was that we were only at the resort (our first CO trip) for 36 hrs before the meeting, and needed more time to decide for sure if we were coming back. I told them "if you really have an answer today, the answer is no, but we might like to talk about it later in the week". That was the end of the meeting, no problem, and they never asked to talk about it again.
As it turned out, we did decide we would be returning to the Desire properties, and I contacted them by email after coming back home. The same deal was offered, no further discounts, and I ended up taking them up on it after carefully calculating costs of future trips. I'm happy with the deal, and it was easily accomplished by email with no pressure. It's not for everyone, but I'm happy with the outcome and was able to do it on my terms from my home when I wasn't blinded by all the beauty of Desire (and it's great guests!). I have our first return trip booked already, and will go again in the fall, at which point I will be at roughly the "break-even" point with many discounted nights still to come, so I'm satisfied.

[K&S4Fun&Sun]

The one thing rarely noted is that Mexican law prevents a business from attempting to sell you the same product or service once you have given a clear and declarative "no". I think the Desire membership can be a great deal for some people but no one should worry about getting a hard sell. If you say no that concludes your business. If you say anything less they will keep talking. If you say "not sure" they will keep offering new options in most transactions. Just some FYI.

As for having the meeting too soon...we were worried about that. So when we checked in on Tuesday we scheduled the pitch for Sunday AM. This gave us many days to take in the resort and make a more informed decision. Worked out very well for us. Obviously...we're going back in March.

[PK North]

how long is this sales pitch? I hear you get some coupons....is it worth it?

You can keep the presentation incredibly brief and still get the coupons. They met us for breakfast, and we told them we only take a trip like this every few years. She asked us to sign a note starting that (for her boss to know she has spoken to us). With that, she left us to our breakfast. 2 minutes, tops.

[funcpl27]

reading the above descriptions of coupons and presentations and signing papers so bosses know they presented the con..... I fully stand by my statement that this is not the kind of thing a premium/upscale resort should be doing

[TandD]

reading the above descriptions of coupons and presentations and signing papers so bosses know they presented the con..... I fully stand by my statement that this is not the kind of thing a premium/upscale resort should be doing

Not trying to argue but you keep calling it a "con". Aside from whether you think it's tacky or not, do you really think they are duping people into buying the membership? Not whether it's a good deal but they are actually deceiving people in order to get them to buy? If you really think this is happening, I'd be interested to hear more about what you've discovered.

[Budlee]

Yeah... I don't like it being referred to as a con, either. Calling it a con implies that they are trying to pull one over on you, when in reality, you ARE getting considerable benefit, if you decide to buy into their program.

We sat with someone upon arrival ("our room wasn't ready" - not sure if that was so or not, but we did arrive before official check-in time), who offered to set us up with the official meeting, and we declined. It was a big fat nothing, and had zero impact on the rest of our week. I didn't think it lessened the upscale environment of the resort. It was as low key as to be totally forgettable. If you want no part of the presentation, then that's really the end of it.... move along and don't get worked up about it, but don't paint it as something underhanded, pressure-laden, inescapable, because it's simply not that.... at all.

[animal hats]

As with everything else at the pearl, RM,H2 etc...NO means No...don't waste anymore vacation time, because if you do, then your coning yourself out of a lot of money which you've already paid! As for us,we joined when they first opened,and found ways to make it work for us. As we tell anyone who ask, it has to work and make sense to you and your wallet.even being members, we are still asked if we would like to upgrade...No..lol

[Beth/Elton]

I can't even believe that report? We have been there 5 times and just planned our next trip. That sounds like a report of some of the other places we have tried. The time share presentation in NOT mandatory, you CAN refuse it, we always do. Yes you can purchase upgraded drinks and food but the regular drinks at Desire is already a step above the upgraded drinks at other resorts. The food on the normal package is a huge step above other resorts. If you are looking for a buffet to pig out on, this is the wrong place, you get very well prepared dishes using only natural and fresh ingediants. We know good food in South Louisiana and we love the food at Desire!
You won't find a better more friendly staff anywhere! The big sun beds on the beach or for the penthouse rooms and that's undrestandable, other than that ther are no extra pay for spots. For a small tip the towel guys will have your favorite spot ready for you everyday !
I can't emagine where that report came from?

[feverpair]

And now we have another poor report on TA. Just like buses, you wait all day, then two come at once.

"I had a litany of disappointments to list off, but having read the review by Harry W that is titled "Misleading and Scam (actually a weird "time share")", I really have to say his feelings echo my entire review. However, I will say a few words to bolster Harry's opinion.

Having been on several trips to Hedo II and III, I consider us veterans of clothing optional resorts. We have also stayed at Desire RM twice in the past two years. This year we opted for Pearl, after doing a day pass for the Saturday foam party last year. What a disappointing trip this year. Not only are your hammered about the "time share" package, it's done at check in. Who wants to listen to that crap after traveling all day ?? If you don't do the "upgrade", be prepared to spend a lot of time on the beach and not by the pool. We counted 16 empty chairs by the pool one morning at 9:30 on our way to breakfast. We asked for 4 chairs and were told all the empties were reserved for "VIP's", but there were chairs on the beach. At lunch, there were still 14 empty chairs. Guess we should have dropped 15k for a good seat by the pool.

Desire RM is a different breed of crowd. While the resort still pushes the time share package as well, it seems the guests are friendlier and more social. There is more participation for the theme nights and the disco is packed til closing each night. There were four people dressed up for the "ABC" night at Pearl and it was us. All the other guest stood around in their $200 t-shirts and party dresses, laughing as we walked into the disco. There's nothing more fun than a group of pretentious people, posing and posturing the night away. I get that not everyone parties the same way, but RM is definitely the friendly party crowd right now.

I'm not sure if we will go back to RM any time soon, but we definitely will not return to Pearl. It may be time to go back to where the party started and that's Hedo II.

We'd like to send a special thanks to Pablo and Eli, who are both great bartenders. Not only did they remember our names, but our favorite drinks as well. They were the bright spot on this dismal trip.

Roll on May, the excitement is building and we can't wait to get there. These miserable tourists need to go back to Hedo and leave Pearl to those that appreciate it.

[desireaddict]

QUOTE: "Unless you walked with your eyes closed, you had to look at her genitals going into and coming out of the restaurant!!! Not my idea of appetizing!"

I'm thinking I'd have gained extra weight just from entering and leaving the restaurant so many times.

In comparison, on our one-and-only trip to Hedo 2, they had cakes decorated to look like a vagina and penis at the dessert table (designed by someone with very limited talent).
Can't agree with any of their opinions about Desire other than the time-share promotion gets a bit pushy tho not to the point of getting obnoxious.

Life is Good!

[BandK]

We got the "presentation" as well on our first visit back in July. Simply said no thanks and nothing else was said. As far as the things costing extra - you're not forced to purchase anything else. Sounds like this person isn't happy unless they have something to bitch about. Your own attitude goes a long way in determining the type of time you'll have at any resort/vacation spot.

[miranda2]

We've been to DRM multiple times and they have always tried to give us the sales pitch but they have always backed off when we said, "No Thanks" . Low pressure

On our last trip in November we were 'slammed' with the sale's pitch right at check in and we could barely get out the, "No Thank You". Seems they are pushing the sales pitch far too hard (High pressure) and at the wrong time. As mentioned, after travelling all day the last thing we want to sit through is a sales pitch.

Re the review - now, if that really was the way they experienced DP, sounds like they didn't have a great time. I wonder if that's really true about the pool loungers. For members only?????????

[K&RinTX]

Re the review - now, if that really was the way they experienced DP, sounds like they didn't have a great time. I wonder if that's really true about the pool loungers. For members only?????????

Miranda, we've been to Pearl once, as non-members, and got great seats by the pool each day. We went down in the morning before breakfast and chose our seats from those which hadn't yet been reserved...no problems!