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Mansion - Questions, looking for info

PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 6:55 pm
by shsignup
Hello all, while search is usually your bff I have not had much luck finding some info (not found on the Desire website) on some items that would make our decision to stay in the Mansion vs Penthouse. If anyone has stayed in the Mansion and could share this would help me and possibly others in the future. Sorry my list is rather long and not expecting any detailed or full responses... but maybe if a few were to fill in these gaps it will make decision on "do I book the Mansion, is it worth it" a quick search for the next couple :-)

Dining:
How is this setup? is this it's own restaurant with kitchen or just a eating spot where orders are taken and food cooked at one of the other locations?
Is the food menu (specifically dinner) different than the reg restaurants? Can anyone share a pic of it?
Is the food quality and presentation in the Michelin / Gordon Ramsey restaurant level?
How was booking and the wait for food?
Any pics of 24 hr room service menu?

Top Shelf Alcohol:
Any pics or list of what's in the room. Everyone might have top shelf expectations a bit different than the next guy. Johnny Walker Black might be top shelf to red, but gold would be to black.... and blue to gold....lol.
Are these brands avail in reg bars for Mansion guests or only in the room and Mansion pool bar?

VIP Transfer:
What type of vehicle was used?

VIP Welcome Kit:
Is this a fruit bowl, or perhaps maybe something erotic that might need batteries? :-)

Included Spa:
Surely there must have been limits to one massage per visit, per day etc? What was this package or options to use it?

Butler:
Was he/she around? How is direct contact offered? In my last VIP resort they issued resort cell phone to be able to call.

Playroom:
Is there anything feature wise in here that's not in the reg playroom?
Was is very quiet or empty due to only 8 max couples in the Mansion if at full capacity?

Guests:
While this will be our first time to an adult only, open minded resort we're not in the LS. But having the opportunity to share the Mansion with another couple as guests, how would we approach let's have some fun but not LS.

Room Selection:
The ground floor opens to the pool (no balcony Jacuzzi) while the 2nd floors have a one with no direct access.
Which would you recommend?
Are both rooms of equal size and luxury inside?

VIP Beach Area:
Was this nice? any pics vs reg area?

Mansion vs Penthouse:
The Mansion is isolated with extra perks.
The Penthouse is approx 30% cheaper and has a private terrace and view of the ocean. Yet lacking Mansion perks.
If money were not the deciding factor, would you return to the Mansion or Penthouse?

Lastly, was the Mansion experience something you'd rate as once in a lifetime, worth it or was it just a big (no pun intended) money grab.


Hoping there might be a few Mansion guests out there that might be able to help.... if not, I'll fill this all in when we return (if we pick the Mansion lol).......



Look forward to meeting and joining the Desire family of friends...

SH.

Re: Mansion - Questions, looking for info

PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:00 am
by Bruce&Pam
I suppose I can answer a few of your questions, as we've stayed in both at one time or another. I'm not a dining or top-shelf liquor expert, though. Someone else will have to help you there.

We've only spent one night at the Mansion. We prefer Master Suites for the price and the two bathrooms, but we wanted to try out a Mansion room to see what it was all about.

The restaurant has only room for 8 couples. We had a bad experience our one time there, but we're willing to give it another try. There was practically a takeover the one time we were there. Four couples decided to make the Mansion their own. Not so hard to do when there's only 8 rooms, total. When we scheduled dinner through our butler, he suggested we wait for another night because the "party" would be loud and it wouldn't be a good experience. From what we saw of the "party", he was right. When we did eat at the restaurant, I can tell you the food was top notch, maybe even a little bit too fancy for us. We're pretty plain folks. We're staying there, again, for a week in January. We won't have all our meals in the Mansion restaurant because the others are plenty good, too. But we'll have some.

We didn't notice any liquor in the rooms, although there is a "self-service" bar in the lobby, downstairs. We had a 2nd floor room with a private hot tub. That might be nice when we have time to make friends to invite over. Anyone in the Mansion can use the private pool, although the lower floors are "swim-up" rooms. The pool isn't warm, so the jury's our for me on whether I'd prefer a 1st floor or 2nd floor room.

One thing you didn't mention but might matter to some. The Penthouses are 40-50 steps up and down each time you go to your room. The Mansion has an elevator.

The regular playroom at Pearl is no bigger than a large walk-in closet. Whether it's used or not depends on who's there that week. I've seen it packed most every night and I've seen weeks with no one ever using it at all. The Mansion playroom is HUGE by comparison. It has three king-size beds separated by curtains, which I find are unnecessary. It also has a shower, which could be fun. Our bad experience continued with the playroom, however. Since the "takeover" was half the Mansion of friends travelling together, either the playroom was empty (except for us) or they took up the whole place. We tried to join them once, when one of the men got up and deliberately pulled the curtain between us. I told Pam that we should go because we were obviously not welcome in their group. I thought the playroom was supposed to be the more the merrier, but apparently, not always. One of the women apologized to me the next day, citing Covid concerns about us strangers, but that's all I'll say about that in this post.

Since we were only staying for the one night, we didn't see a welcome VIP kit, transfers, or a free massage. Maybe next time. From what they told us, you get one free massage per couple per stay. You have to book at least 4 days to get the transfers and the massage.

We've been to Pearl over 20 times and have yet to see any private VIP beach area for Mansion members. Don't know if that's just rumor or if that's something they might be planning. I can't see how they could cordon off any portion of their small and slowly disappearing beach for Mansion guests if you ask me.

The butler is easily available by phone from your room. Don't know if he can be reached by cell or not. He's a good guy and our friend. That happens when you go as often was we do.

We haven't stayed in a Penthouse in several years, but they haven't changed. I think they have two bathrooms, like the Master Suite, if I remember correctly. They each have a plunge pool, which is a rectangular hot tub. Ours seemed to be always either too hot or too cold. The large patio/terrace was nice with an outdoor bed on it. The views of the ocean and the surrounding property were wonderful. The view from the Mansion rooms are only of the restaurant and the private pool, below. They sort of missed the boat on the location of the Mansion if you want a view. There's just not one.

In a nutshell, we go to Pearl about 3 or 4 times a year for a week at a time. We've decided to spend about half our trips at the Mansion and half in a Master Suite. We don't care for the Penthouse because of all the steps several times a day. We spent 3 weeks in Penthouses and have been there and done that. If you've never stayed in a Penthouse, it may be nice for a one-time trip. I wouldn't recommend it for folks like us who go often. That's all I know. Whatever you do, Pearl will be a slice of heaven on earth for you. It is for us.

---Bruce

Re: Mansion - Questions, looking for info

PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 1:48 pm
by red88vette
SH:

We have not stayed in the Penthouse, took a tour and it did not appeal to us. It does provide excellent views and enough rm to host a huge party. We stayed at the Mansion for a wk last month and loved it, will be booking the mansion twice a yr going forward. If this is your first time to a Desire Resort, I suggest that you book a master ste and take in all that Desire has to offer. We are not LS, but love the sexy vibe and the guests are unbelievable. Theme nights are fun and sexy. While in the Mansion, we spent most of our time at the regular pool, its the only way to met all the other guest.

Dining - we enjoyed it, felt the food was a step up from the other restaurants. No wait for your food, as they provide a menu so you order a head of time. We love the other 3 rest's as well, Suki is our favorite.
Top shelf - we found a few diff items, not at the regular bars, some I never heard, so tried them all. that had the bar right outside the dr. so very convenient.
VIP Transfer - Large Suv
Welcome Kit- do not recall seeing one, we always had a fruit and cheese platter and wine everyday after 6. As a member we get that in a regular non mansion rm. They did have a container of Pringles, a jar of mixed nuts and Toblerone bar and a refrig with sodas, champagne, wine, etc. You can request whatever you want.
Butler - yes available 24/7, use your rm phone to call or ask any employee for him if out and about.
Other guest - always friendly, pool was never crowded.
Room selection - we preferred the swim out, if you want a hot tub, then its a 2nd fl.
VIP Beach - No such thing, may have been a thought. just the regular beach, which has been batted after the last 3 storms.

Hope this helps, let us know if you have other questions or PM

Geoff & Toby

Re: Mansion - Questions, looking for info

PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2020 8:02 am
by NaughtyKittenandB
We have been to Pearl and RM 20+ times as well as all of the Desire cruises so far, so we will try to help here.

We are Mansion-level members, although we most frequently visit RM and stay in the villas. We did stay in the Mansion this summer at Pearl.

Dining:
How is this setup? is this it's own restaurant with kitchen or just a eating spot where orders are taken and food cooked at one of the other locations?
Is the food menu (specifically dinner) different than the reg restaurants? Can anyone share a pic of it?
Is the food quality and presentation in the Michelin / Gordon Ramsey restaurant level?
How was booking and the wait for food?
Any pics of 24 hr room service menu?


If you are expecting Michelin/Gordon Ramsey levels of presentation, you will certainly be disappointed. The Mansion breakfast, lunch and dinner menus are different than the other resort restaurants and we thought the food was very good - but certainly not a Michelin experience. That doesn't mean it was bad. Certainly the best on property. Breakfast and lunch could be ordered when you came to the restaurant. For dinner, a reservation was recommended and we made our menu choices ahead of time.

Top Shelf Alcohol:
Any pics or list of what's in the room. Everyone might have top shelf expectations a bit different than the next guy. Johnny Walker Black might be top shelf to red, but gold would be to black.... and blue to gold....lol.
Are these brands avail in reg bars for Mansion guests or only in the room and Mansion pool bar?


Everyone's top shelf is different. We'll just say that they could get pretty much whatever we wanted for the pool bar or for our room.

VIP Transfer:
What type of vehicle was used?

Yukon Denali or similar. Always a luxury SUV.

VIP Welcome Kit:
Is this a fruit bowl, or perhaps maybe something erotic that might need batteries? :-)

Think wine, champagne, etc. There are also daily treats - and you can be specific with your butler about what kind of snacks you might want and when you want them delivered.

Included Spa:
Surely there must have been limits to one massage per visit, per day etc? What was this package or options to use it?

One free massage per person per visit - and that can be done in room if you want. There were other spa options, of course.

Butler:
Was he/she around? How is direct contact offered? In my last VIP resort they issued resort cell phone to be able to call.

We have also stayed at resorts where you contact your butler by cell phone. That is not the case at Desire. But ask pretty much any staff member to contact your butler and they will contact him. You can also reach them anytime by calling the butler extension on your phone. Lastly, they are also visible and present around the property. If you see someone in a black uniform with pink trim, that is a butler and they can contact your personal butler immediately. Our butlers generally check on us multiple times per day. It would not be unusual to see your butler on the way to breakfast, again when they check with you in the pool to make sure everything is ok, again when you leave the pool and once again when you depart for dinner. The small (comparatively) size of the resorts (both Pearl and RM) means you won't get forgotten in the corner of a megaresort.

Playroom:
Is there anything feature wise in here that's not in the reg playroom?
Was is very quiet or empty due to only 8 max couples in the Mansion if at full capacity?


The Mansion playroom was very nice, but also very empty for most of our stay.

Guests:
While this will be our first time to an adult only, open minded resort we're not in the LS. But having the opportunity to share the Mansion with another couple as guests, how would we approach let's have some fun but not LS.

Well, most people at Desire will not pressure you to "join the LS". In all of our travels, we'd put the ration at Pearl of lifestyle vs. non-lifestyle at about 50/50. This is more of a matter of how you handle yourself in social situations than a resort question.

Room Selection:
The ground floor opens to the pool (no balcony Jacuzzi) while the 2nd floors have a one with no direct access.
Which would you recommend?
Are both rooms of equal size and luxury inside?


The most expensive rooms are the Royal Suites on the top floor. In order of desirability (to us), it would be Royal Suites, then the swim out suits, then the middle level. Royal suites are larger than all of the others. The swim-out suites have direct pool access but are small by comparison. Some people we met complained that they didn't even have a chair to sit in other than patio furniture or the small dining table inside the room.

VIP Beach Area:
Was this nice? any pics vs reg area?

There is no such thing.

Mansion vs Penthouse:
The Mansion is isolated with extra perks.
The Penthouse is approx 30% cheaper and has a private terrace and view of the ocean. Yet lacking Mansion perks.
If money were not the deciding factor, would you return to the Mansion or Penthouse?


We have stayed in the penthouses many times. It all depends if you prefer more luxury or a more desirable location. We declined to "buy in" at the mansion level multiple times because we were skeptical about the location and the view. Why would they add their most expensive rooms in a location that is furthest from the ocean? Our concerns about location turned out to be true. The view from the Mansion is largely of other buildings. One other concern was isolation - by default, Desire works best for people that are social. The Mansion is the opposite, where about 10% of the resort capacity is set aside from the rest. We spent most of our time using the "normal" pool, jacuzzi, etc. Two positives about the Mansion pool. One, on very hot days (we were last there in August), there is very little shade to be found in the Pearl pool but you can find shade in the Mansion pool. Second, the Mansion pool (and pool bar) are open late as opposed to the Pearl pool and bar that close basically at sundown. If you prefer to be naked in the pool with a drink in your hand after dinner, that's an option at the Mansion. For everyone else, that would be a trip to the jacuzzi. On a cool night, that's where everyone will be. But if it is a hot night, the Mansion pool is the only one open.

If you want a view of the ocean, the pool and potentially the jacuzzi all from your terrace - the penthouse is for you. If you want the exclusivity of the Mansion, then naturally you can make that choice.

Lastly, was the Mansion experience something you'd rate as once in a lifetime, worth it or was it just a big (no pun intended) money grab.

For us, it was not once in a lifetime - but we do travel a lot and have stayed at many resorts all over the world. Don't get us wrong, it is very nice.