Feb 15-22, 2023 - A birthday trip well worth the wait

[tj71903]

We completed another stay at Pearl this past week and after winding down and reflection, it was one of our better trips down to Puerto Morales even with some frustrating occurrences here and there.

TRANSPORTATION

Our first brush with frustration was courtesy of USA Transfer which is the preferred/partner service of the resort. We utilize USA not because of their service, but because of their cost (it's included with our membership). Technically it's "free" because of the inclusion, and this time we certainly felt as though we got what we paid for...landed and through customs within 20 minutes (utilizing the new passport stalls over the in-person maze). Bags out within five additional minutes and able to proceed past the guards and sniffing dogs without being asked to open bags. All is going well, and we're looking forward to moving on through to the resort.

We walked outside and see the group of taxis, vendors, etc. USA is nowhere to be found. No problem as we both know where to find them based on past experience (back right corner near Margaritaville). Sure enough there they are, clustered together doing something on their phones. We walk up, give a name and are told "we need to find a car for you".

What? You knew when we were landing. You knew because we confirmed...literally the night before. Yet you don't have cars prepared? Ok... I ask how long the wait will be and am told 15-20 minutes. Not the best, but then we see friends who had been told the same...45 minutes ago. Wife goes and asks and is told "oh, my colleague will explain it to you"...the colleague says it could be a bit longer than the original plan. So, no, that's not going to work. After a bit more time we agree with our friends to double up our ride so that we can get to the resort on time. We're told because we booked two different car types...we cannot double up. At that point we kindly but clearly inform this guy that he's incorrect, we'll be placing both couples' luggage in this vehicle and he's welcomed to call his superiors to dispute these plans if he wants.

Magically, we're on the way after he has a conversation with someone else.

There was a less culpable issue on the return trip. As most who travel to Cancun know (or should know) there's road construction from the airport into Cancun which creates a bottleneck of traffic around the airport exits. Accordingly, it takes a while to return from Desire to CUN. On our return trip it took 2:25 minutes due to no fault of the driver. What didn't sit well with me, however, was his casual demeanor as time began ticking away. Whereas other drivers were weaving in and out of traffic and driving with some urgency, we might as well have been on a Sunday drive in the country, happily meandering along. We arrived at the terminal gate 31 minutes before our flight was scheduled to board. Thank goodness for airline status...

THE ROOM

By now (this was trip 29) there's not much at the resort we aren't familiar with. We've stayed in most every category of room and this was our fourth or fifth time in the new Mansion Ocean Front rooms. We were fortunate enough to open them in July of last year and since that time we've noted their location (good) and that they are continuing to finish up the final touches (work in progress). This trip I'd say they are 95 percent complete having installed new furnishings, additional storage pieces, refinished the wall paper and putting in mirrored ceilings in both the living and bed rooms. It reminds me forcibly of the villas you see at the Bellagio or similar in Vegas. Very pretty and modern. The private pool is terrific and was routinely in the 100-102 degree range for heat and makes a wonderful hangout spot for late afternoons and after night time entertainment. We also appreciate - as with the Penthouses and master suites- the second bathroom as some of us (in our case the fairer sex) tend to monopolize that space when going the rituals of making oneself presentable. Also, the size of the bed is impressive. It's bigger than a California King which makes for plenty of room and space.

THE REST OF THE GROUNDS

Again, nothing new from our perspective but you can tell that daily maintenance is going on. The beach has seen the return of the seaweed and the staff was busy relocating it each and every day. All day. By hand and wheelbarrows. It's a never ending and thankless job but they do as well as could reasonably be expected. The barrier is back and does what it can, but defeating Mother Nature isn't easy. I would expect the slivers of turquoise water that's there now to be gone within a few weeks as more and more seaweed shows up.

Even so, the resort is doing what they can to maintain the beach, battling erosion and incoming seaweed. The volleyball court is still playable, and they have an array of beds still set up along the beach if that is your thing.

The pool has gotten crowded and there are many chairs which are almost touching when looking at the first row. The resort has added more concrete and space to accommodate those guests demanding day beds be place at the pool (for some reason). With a finite amount of space, the inclusion of these beds is bothersome to put it nicely and downright dumb to be more direct. Regardless we were able to set up shop in a manner where we weren't as crowded as we could have been.

As an aside continued suggestion I've made is to install some sort of shade sail/cover over the pool to provide some mid-day relief from the UV rays which were BRUTAL this trip. Beautiful days, but man it was hot. Peak sun times saw groups huddled under the pool bar shade or on the perimeter of the pool stealing whatever relief they could from the umbrellas, etc. Again, something to consider in the future.

FOOD

Over New Year's we tried out Aphrodite's new dinner menu and were pleased. This trip, however, they missed the mark a bit with food quality at both breakfast and the one time we tried dinner. The selection was nice, but the execution in cooking and prep was lacking. I do appreciate the BBQ menu at night, but the final product was...not there.

We did Pearl once for Italian night and it was very nice for what it was. The waitstaff was, as always, exceedingly kind and attentive. We had salads leading into spaghetti (they took lasagna off the menu) and then a glass of wine (her). Similarly, we returned to Suki for the first time in many trips and were pleased with the improvements there. The meal's cadence was far better, and the orders came out timely and hot and fresh. Bartender (Cobb) even made the wife the drink they "designed for her" in November which was a sweet gesture.

Our best meals were in the Mansion where breakfast was unreal (we'll probably do breakfast there most days now) and dinner was also well done. My favorite meal was the rack of lamb mixed while wife got lobster. Both were cooked perfectly and accompanied by fresh sides that were prepared perfectly. As we were celebrating my birthday, they also prepared a cake for me that we shared with our friends joining for dinner.

For lunch we generally either skipped it or got something quick from the grill. Always pretty good, but a ton of food so we generally just split something - either wings or quesadillas.

ENTERTAINMENT

During the day the routine is usually static for us. Get to the pool around 8 and relax in the near solitude then do some walking around the resort, on the beach, etc. Generally, after that we'll work (boo!) for a bit and then take time away from the grind to play beach volleyball (me) or lounge in the shade near the beach court (her). This trip was a lot of fun as the volleyball participation was pretty good with several games of 5 or 6 aside being the standard for morning games. After three sets we generally head back to the chairs and prepare for whatever sports games they are going to play. This week it was football, water polo, and water basketball. All a lot of fun. For those days when sports are not offered, we would watch the water zoomba and similar classes before turning attention to the various pool games being played at the DJ booth with the playmakers.

Speaking of the playmakers, the team continues to evolve but has a great energy at present. Sam and Will really complement each other and the new guy, Johnny, is also doing well. Bella, Kia, and Candice along with Shirley have it all down to a science and the new PM, Ale, is also starting to settle in. All were full of energy and all complement one another in a way that makes the team versatile.

The afternoons - post lunch time - we would generally hang around for either water volleyball or beach. If it was water, then I have a tolerance limit of 5 or 6 aside and no more. Anything further is way too crowded in which times I'll just head down to the beach for a more enjoyable game if there are enough like-minded types. On this trip that was the case on four of the seven days.

In the evening this was our first trip of the year experiencing the new theme nights. Of the seven, I have always loved neon night and dungeon night. Both of those were a lot of fun this time as well (more below). As for the other nights, flower power was fun with the 60s flare though the disco show was exclusively 80s music. Angels and demons was fun, but we still think the addition of white night is redundant to this one. Plus the lighting of the white night reminded me forcefully of an operating room. The dessert menu offered on the floor also was a neat idea but seemed forced somewhat. Also think that takes away from the erotic dinner experience. Latin night was fun as usual though the audio for the band wasn't tuned well which made things hard to hear. Surprisingly enough we really enjoyed Pirate night as well. Fun costumes, fun music, and a good show (though the major change in the routine was the costumes).

Regarding Dungeon Night, they really do that well. A couple of pieces of sex furniture in the lobby with a lot of fun lighting and much leather and latex for costumes. On this night we had fun in the lobby with the St. Andrew’s cross and then at the disco the wife got pulled up on stage to be a prop for the performers as part of their act. Only regret is that we didn't have (or had to common courtesy not to use) a camera ready to shoot it. Still, the visuals with her outfit and the theme worked very well. Thanks to Ernesto and company for that.

The last and best theme night for this trip was the neon night party on the 17th. Instead of it being in the lobby the resort held it outside with some turbo charged entertainment. The first act saw a jet ski and jet pack in the pool complete with an LED suit and then a flame thrower followed by a finale with fireworks. After a brief intermission the next act saw blue man group style drummers bring on a troupe of fire eaters and dancers. Very cool and choreographed well to the music. That act finished with LED backlit costumes and a couple of fire spinners. Surrounding these performances (which lasted nearly 45 minutes combined) there was dancing, drinks, and a full bar service at each end of the pool. The chairs were all removed and black lights were hung around the pool itself. Post show the DJ came in and played until around 12:30 (show started at 9) and created a great environment. Much more active than your usual disco night. Plus, the hot tub area was lit with black lights so everyone there for late night who had been neon painted continued to glow. All in all, a whole lot of fun.

EXTRAS

On our second to last day the wife worked with Provoke to do another photoshoot session. What started as a short session ended up taking nearly all day as we worked with some of their new photographers, all of which have a very good eye. If you are hesitant about the photoshoot, I would absolutely suggest you take the plunge. It's a wonderful want to spend a day and the memories you make will be lasting.

MISC

By now we pretty much know what to expect when it comes to a trip to Pearl. The age demographics vary day by day but for the most part, but we found a number of contemporaries in one form or another. It does seem that the resort is around 75 percent members at this point, something I think they need to consider when pricing in the future. They need to certainly market to new blood at some point and I believe that will come.

[Orcowgirl]

Love the report, thank you! Love the idea of neon night outside, our favorite part of the trips are the theme nights as we can't dress up and go out in our small town (and of course getting naked). See you in July!