Feb. 2023 - A trip report with mixed feelings

[racingsplit]

Desire really has a unique concept and has built a tremendous loyal following. That being said, they seem to really be increasing the price, while cutting corners and for the first time, I think we are starting to see a crack in the loyalty. The last time we were there, the entertainment was okay, the playmakers seemed tired and were just going through the activities. The food was average, the low end rooms at RM have not been touched in 10 years. If is obvious they are investing in the super high end guests, but really are turning their back on the majority of their guests. For example, we went last year the first week in March, RM was booked solid and there was a waitlist to get in and there was no availability for March. I think we paid around $500 a night. If you look on their site now, for the month of March there are only 6 nights that are sold out, but the room rate for the basic garden room is $892.00 a night. By doing this, they are having people start looking at other things like Cruises, Hedo, Takeovers etc. What the owners don't realize, it isn't about the property, but the people make the property. If they chase off the people that make Desire special, then they really are just going to have an overpriced resort.

What I am really surprised is that a resort in Cancun has not taken over the Desire concept. What Desire really needs is competition.

I agree 100% with your comments. Our feelings exactly.

[Cheers2US]

Desire really has a unique concept and has built a tremendous loyal following. That being said, they seem to really be increasing the price, while cutting corners and for the first time, I think we are starting to see a crack in the loyalty. The last time we were there, the entertainment was okay, the playmakers seemed tired and were just going through the activities. The food was average, the low end rooms at RM have not been touched in 10 years. If is obvious they are investing in the super high end guests, but really are turning their back on the majority of their guests. For example, we went last year the first week in March, RM was booked solid and there was a waitlist to get in and there was no availability for March. I think we paid around $500 a night. If you look on their site now, for the month of March there are only 6 nights that are sold out, but the room rate for the basic garden room is $892.00 a night. By doing this, they are having people start looking at other things like Cruises, Hedo, Takeovers etc. What the owners don't realize, it isn't about the property, but the people make the property. If they chase off the people that make Desire special, then they really are just going to have an overpriced resort.

What I am really surprised is that a resort in Cancun has not taken over the Desire concept. What Desire really needs is competition.

There is another thread on this forum viewtopic.php?f=54&t=12660 that addresses some of what has been said in this one. Its title is "PRICES ARE GETTING OVER THE TOP!" and in that thread I had also mentioned that competition might be a healthy thing for Desire.

We last visited in July 2022 (DRM) and we can't see ourselves going back with the way prices are going.

[Turk7]

Jamaica is now advertising online they are an alternative to high price Cancun clothing optional resorts without mentioning any names but we can guess who it is aimed at.

[Orcowgirl]

The "Jamaica resort" is in not, in any way, the same experience! It can't be compared as it is just not the same vibe, service, quality and same demographic of guests. We had fun, but going to try Grand Micas in April, back to Pearl in July.

[LuckyCpl]

We had our 9th visit to Pearl in early February.
It's getting very expensive.
We don't have any real complaints about the rooms or the food. We go expecting resort food and that's exactly what we get.

We've always been disappointed by the playroom. Small, hot and seldom used. (the mansion playroom is another story)
Could have just been the week we were there, but we've seen a definite shift in age to a crowd that is 90% over the age of 50.

We enjoy the hot tub and I'm a little confused about some of the comments above regarding bottoms or a wife chatting with a guy wearing bottoms while she is nude...?
It's a clothing optional resort. It's not mandatory like the nude side of Hedo. To be blunt I don't want to see many of the guests in the nude anyway!
I frequently wear a suit bottom as it leaves a little to the imagination. I have always said the crowd at Pearl is very non-judgmental, maybe I'm wrong?
It never, ever once occurred to me to judge someone who chose to wear a suit at a clothing optional resort.

Generally we concur with the above that it's getting older and much more expensive. Perhaps the high cost is keeping those in their late 30's and 40's away ? A lot of middle class types may have extra money when the kids are gone, but not so much in their younger years?

We will likely make our next visit to RM, largely for the younger crowd.

[No_Regrets]

It never occurred to you to judge someone not nude and you feel the crowd at Pearl is non judgmental, but as you said you don’t want to see many of the guests in the nude….hmmm you are definitely the non judgmental type, and must be such a pleasure to talk with! You are right you leave little to the imagination with your comments.

We had our 9th visit to Pearl in early February.
It's getting very expensive.
We don't have any real complaints about the rooms or the food. We go expecting resort food and that's exactly what we get.

We've always been disappointed by the playroom. Small, hot and seldom used. (the mansion playroom is another story)
Could have just been the week we were there, but we've seen a definite shift in age to a crowd that is 90% over the age of 50.

We enjoy the hot tub and I'm a little confused about some of the comments above regarding bottoms or a wife chatting with a guy wearing bottoms while she is nude...?
It's a clothing optional resort. It's not mandatory like the nude side of Hedo. To be blunt I don't want to see many of the guests in the nude anyway!
I frequently wear a suit bottom as it leaves a little to the imagination. I have always said the crowd at Pearl is very non-judgmental, maybe I'm wrong?
It never, ever once occurred to me to judge someone who chose to wear a suit at a clothing optional resort.

Generally we concur with the above that it's getting older and much more expensive. Perhaps the high cost is keeping those in their late 30's and 40's away ? A lot of middle class types may have extra money when the kids are gone, but not so much in their younger years?

We will likely make our next visit to RM, largely for the younger crowd.

[tj71903]

We had our 9th visit to Pearl in early February.
It's getting very expensive.
We don't have any real complaints about the rooms or the food. We go expecting resort food and that's exactly what we get.

We've always been disappointed by the playroom. Small, hot and seldom used. (the mansion playroom is another story)
Could have just been the week we were there, but we've seen a definite shift in age to a crowd that is 90% over the age of 50.

We enjoy the hot tub and I'm a little confused about some of the comments above regarding bottoms or a wife chatting with a guy wearing bottoms while she is nude...?
It's a clothing optional resort. It's not mandatory like the nude side of Hedo. To be blunt I don't want to see many of the guests in the nude anyway!
I frequently wear a suit bottom as it leaves a little to the imagination. I have always said the crowd at Pearl is very non-judgmental, maybe I'm wrong?
It never, ever once occurred to me to judge someone who chose to wear a suit at a clothing optional resort.

Generally we concur with the above that it's getting older and much more expensive. Perhaps the high cost is keeping those in their late 30's and 40's away ? A lot of middle class types may have extra money when the kids are gone, but not so much in their younger years?

We will likely make our next visit to RM, largely for the younger crowd.

So I actually agree with some of this. I've found the food quality varies based on where you're dining. The mansion off menu options are actually pretty good. Outside of that, for an all-inclusive, it's about as good as you can expect on a day to day basis. Agree about the disco playroom v. mansion one.

Not sure when you were there, but I'd say it's 80/20 if using 50 as the cutoff. I'd love it to get to more 60/40, but again I think the membership program precludes that which isn't going to accelerate the turnover.

The fully nude/partially nude thing is silly to me. I couldn't care less what others are doing. As far as judgement goes, I always laugh when people say "oh, there's no judgment at Desire"...I also have oceanfront property in Nebraska to sell you if you believe that. Whether or not you let it bug or consume or color your trip is up to you.

[LuckyCpl]

"It never occurred to you to judge someone not nude and you feel the crowd at Pearl is non judgmental, but as you said you don’t want to see many of the guests in the nude….hmmm you are definitely the non judgmental type, and must be such a pleasure to talk with! You are right you leave little to the imagination with your comments."


Haha okay I seldom engage in a back and forth, but I will make an exception!
To complain that people wear clothing at a clothing optional resort doesn't make a lot of sense... Clothing OPTIONAL. I can't imagine a scenario where I would be uncomfortable chatting with someone at a Desire resort BECAUSE they were wearing a bathing suit or whatever. But hey, that's just me.

My comment regarding not wanting to see some guests nude was a little tongue in cheek, but that is a matter of taste. It's no different than choosing Don Julio over Patron.
I don't make any judgements on a body type or whatever you are insinuating, I have friends of all shapes and sizes, doesn't mean I want to see them nude.

Hope that clears things up for you.

[golfandsun88]

I thought that the Hot Tub at Pearl requires Full Nudity...not optional...

[eddieandjojo]

I thought that the Hot Tub at Pearl requires Full Nudity...not optional...

Nope, never has! I'd say the majority of people are nude but as with the rest of the resort it is clothing optional.

[KnMnakey]

You have some interesting points to consider. Prices have significantly increased and honestly can’t think of anything that’s improved that much over our soon to be 5th trip—accept the pizza oven addition and the private mansion . We don’t care as much about the rooms as long as they are comfortable clean and everything works. We’ve always enjoyed the evening bands and entertainment in the disco but wonder why it’s often PG13 or R when it should be so much more. The playroom is fun still when busy but the DJ drowns out the sounds of pleasure and not much can be done about that. We respect each persons choice to be naked or not—yet would love to see the jacuzzi area nude only—-it does make my wife a little uncomfortable when a guy with trunks on is having a close conversation with her while she’s nude. And for the love of God stay off the limited jacuzzi beds unless your there to play—-go nap or read your phone somewhere else…….. having said this were soooo excited as we’re off this week for trip#5 because we just love this place……cheers!!

Well said! Yup, there are definitely things that could be improved, but the general atmosphere is still fantastic!

[TandD]

I'll join in just for the fun of it...

Agree that the prices are getting outrageous. I also appreciate the comparison with all the extra charges that you would end up paying at a more vanilla resort. I've always felt (until now at least) that we were getting a terrific bargain on overall price considering what you get - both "physical" (food, drinks, room, entertainment) and experiential (you know what I mean :-)).

Just to be picky about what's included in the "recent changes" - I wouldn't include the parts about more people wearing some sort of suit or the napping on the jacuzzi beds. That's been going on for years. Yep, it's annoying and they are valid topics but I don't think it should be lumped in with the higher costs personally.

I understand the sentiment (desire?) but I think it's naive to think that the resort owes anything to its "loyal" guests. The bottom line is if they can sell rooms at $800, that's what they are going to do. If they can't, the prices will come down until they can. They aren't worried about hurting anyone's feelings. I know, we *want* them to feel like we are part of their family and have been supporting them all these years but they are (it is) just a machine.

I really do hope the prices will come down. I don't want to be priced out of this experience but logically, I certainly can understand it.

[LuckyCpl]

I'll join in just for the fun of it...

Agree that the prices are getting outrageous. I also appreciate the comparison with all the extra charges that you would end up paying at a more vanilla resort. I've always felt (until now at least) that we were getting a terrific bargain on overall price considering what you get - both "physical" (food, drinks, room, entertainment) and experiential (you know what I mean :-)).

Just to be picky about what's included in the "recent changes" - I wouldn't include the parts about more people wearing some sort of suit or the napping on the jacuzzi beds. That's been going on for years. Yep, it's annoying and they are valid topics but I don't think it should be lumped in with the higher costs personally.

I understand the sentiment (desire?) but I think it's naive to think that the resort owes anything to its "loyal" guests. The bottom line is if they can sell rooms at $800, that's what they are going to do. If they can't, the prices will come down until they can. They aren't worried about hurting anyone's feelings. I know, we *want* them to feel like we are part of their family and have been supporting them all these years but they are (it is) just a machine.

I really do hope the prices will come down. I don't want to be priced out of this experience but logically, I certainly can understand it.

Exactly on point. It's a market system. They will charge what they can get. For now, I am willing to pay it because other than Hedo, there isn't a comparable experience.

[RanHe]

Desire really has a unique concept and has built a tremendous loyal following. That being said, they seem to really be increasing the price, while cutting corners and for the first time, I think we are starting to see a crack in the loyalty. The last time we were there, the entertainment was okay, the playmakers seemed tired and were just going through the activities. The food was average, the low end rooms at RM have not been touched in 10 years. If is obvious they are investing in the super high end guests, but really are turning their back on the majority of their guests. For example, we went last year the first week in March, RM was booked solid and there was a waitlist to get in and there was no availability for March. I think we paid around $500 a night. If you look on their site now, for the month of March there are only 6 nights that are sold out, but the room rate for the basic garden room is $892.00 a night. By doing this, they are having people start looking at other things like Cruises, Hedo, Takeovers etc. What the owners don't realize, it isn't about the property, but the people make the property. If they chase off the people that make Desire special, then they really are just going to have an overpriced resort.

What I am really surprised is that a resort in Cancun has not taken over the Desire concept. What Desire really needs is competition.

BINGO! ZERO Competition is the problem. Until they have to compete, nothing will happen to drive down prices, or invest in significant property renovations. It's a business. As long as head are in beds...

[DallasCpl]

This company has a monopoly on nude/swinger friendly resorts for couples. There isn't much to force them to update or make things nicer. They have resorts for casuals/ heavy party, heavy swinging/party/nude and pearl which is quieter, nude, light swinging. People will keep signing up for the nude, level of partying and chance to play with others. Until there is another option or reduction in attendance they probably won't step up their dining and rooms.