A Loyal Guest’s Perspective: Reflections After Our 7th Stay

[Regina Lima]

We are a Brazilian couple and this was our 7th stay at Desire Pearl, from January 14 to January 23. The journey was long, with a connection in Lima, and despite all flights being on time, we arrived quite exhausted. Cancun Airport was extremely crowded, baggage delivery took longer than expected, and the transportation arranged through the hotel turned out to be confusing. We were unable to locate the representative upon exiting the terminal and, even after finding him, the vehicle took a long time to arrive.

Upon arriving at the hotel, check-in was fast, courteous, and efficient. The usual sales presentation was politely declined by us and was very well accepted by the staff, without any pressure.

However, when we entered our room, we were met with a strong and unpleasant smell of mold and sewage. We immediately reported it, and the maintenance team was promptly sent. A temporary solution was implemented so we could rest that night, which was greatly appreciated given our fatigue after the long trip.

The following day, we were assisted by concierge Mayte, who is absolutely lovely and very attentive. She promptly offered to resolve the issue and suggested changing rooms. It appears that the maintenance team worked intensively to mitigate the problem, and since we mainly use the room just to sleep, we decided to remain in the same room.

That said, it is clear that the rooms have reached the end of their useful life and are in urgent need of a retrofit. Issues such as poor sound insulation in doors and windows, low water pressure, and fluctuations in hot water supply no longer meet the expectations of this category of resort. With today’s engineering solutions, these improvements could be phased in tower by tower, starting with the oldest ones.

It is somewhat surprising that, given the consistently high occupancy rates, the facilities have reached this condition. Perhaps the significant investments made in Miches, the expansion of Desire Riviera Maya, and the Desire Mansion led to these upgrades being postponed — something we sincerely hope will be addressed in the near future.

The Mansion, in particular, deserves a separate comment. In a light-hearted way, my wife nicknamed it the “Ghost Mansion”, as it is usually empty. Even guests who have access to it, easily identified by their wristband color, tend to prefer staying at the original pool area, which is far more engaging, welcoming, and social. At Desire, what truly matters is interaction with other guests — no one comes to this resort to feel isolated. This seems to have been a misjudgment in concept.

Stepping away from the usual tone of hotel reviews, I would say the group may have fallen into a common trap: forgetting that most of its clientele values intimacy, social flow, a sense of belonging, and well-balanced sensory stimulation, rather than architectural extravagance. Smarter investments might have been the organic expansion of existing areas, better distribution of social pools, the creation of hybrid spaces (bar + water + music + shade), and universal accessibility as a standard. In short, incremental renovations rather than monumental ones.

Criticism aside, the praise is sincere and abundant. Every single staff member, without exception, turns the stay into something truly special — an experience we carry in our hearts and remember with great affection. The food is well balanced, thoughtfully prepared, and of excellent quality. The drinks are very well crafted and generously served, making the overall experience even more enjoyable.

Despite the long journey required for us to get there, the trip is always worth it. Always.

[Mr&MrsS&L]

Thank you for sharing!

[Lkncouple]

Thanks for sharing. We are headed down in a month. Do you remember your room number?

[Regina Lima]

Thanks for sharing. We are headed down in a month. Do you remember your room number?

Room 56..

[Cheers2US]

Thank you for your review! We are very familiar with that musty mold smell. My husband is very sensitive to smells and when that kind of odor hits him, we have to change rooms.

We were last at Pearl shortly after the mansion opened. We didn't stay there, but we passed by and checked out the lobby a few times. Also seemed empty at the time. It makes sense that many guests prefer to hang out with others, rather than an elite few.

What did you two think of the entertainment, themes and activities?

[Regina Lima]

After almost ten years of visiting Desire, we naturally attend fewer shows and games, simply because they’re no longer new to us. I’ve seen some guests complain about the entertainment team, but honestly, it goes both ways. Without guest interest and participation, it’s hard for them to take things to the next level. Everyone needs to be involved for the party to really come alive.

As for the party themes, we personally didn’t find them very exciting and felt they were a bit underwhelming. On the bright side, the new outdoor show area is a big improvement and much more comfortable than the old lobby. The sound, big screen, and overall setup offer great visibility for everyone. The shows themselves still vary in quality—some nights are great, others not so much.

[BashfulDesires]

What did you two think of the entertainment, themes and activities?

We stayed at DP in December. We liked the new ET staff, thought the new ET Manager had the team gelling and they all seemed to get along very well.

The new outdoor space is fantastic, love the dance floor area and the new bar area. The lobby was still under construction with restrooms in the Spa but that I'm sure is fixed by now.
The elevated stage for performances was nice but the shows are boring compared to previous visits - we miss the acrobats & the gymnasts. The song & dance routines were pretty poor in quality. The Stripper show was solid with good crowd participation and the ET staff did a nice touch by getting the birthday or anniversary celebrant on stage.

The nights are disjointed tho - some nights the show would pause, DJ would get the crowd dancing, and then it was back to the show...Other times the crowd was out on the dance floor and then the music would end and it was over. Is the Disco open, is it drink time, is it hot tub time? We'd wander to the Disco to see 10 people, then 5 people as the DJ would clear the dance floor and then its off to the HotTub.
Our suggestion was to leave the disco closed and let the party continue outside for those nights with a DJ and other nights open the Disco and announce it!

DJ was horrendous, same playlist nightly. The live bands played the same songs the previous band covered the night prior and all were pretty shit with full backing tracks.

RM is far superior to Pearl for nightlife but I'm hoping the new ET Managers gets it figured out.

[BBTD]

Good review. Thanks for sharing! Have any of you ever stayed in the mansion? Just curious…..

-BBTD

[BBTD]

@Bashful, we agree that the disco is much better attended at RM. Our experience is the jacuzzi isn’t nearly as lively as Pearl’s though. Might be the size and the depth? We haven’t seen the jacuzzi at RM nearly as well-attended. Maybe it was just the weeks we were there! Ultimately it’s personal preference right? If we all wanted to go to the same resort, there’d be half as much availability!

-BBTD