We were at Pearl, June 4-11. Room 72 - third floor master suite . Very large room with two balconies and two bathrooms, and essentially no style whatsoever - which is fine. That’s no why we go to Pearl.
Flights: from Minneapolis Delta is easy. Leave home at 7. Arrive at Desire at 2. USA Transfers was in place, on time and we literally never had to stand still between getting our bags and climbing into the vehicle.
Reception: very nice, but they should stop asking if we have specific wants if they have no plan to follow through - all I asked for was more water and more decaf pods. No follow through. Ended up chasing down housekeepers and begging.
Room: cleaned and ready before we finished lunch. We love the view from 72 and had requested it again. Each day was relaxing and our room was always fresh and ready for us. Housekeeping is out of this world.
Food: massive improvements over last year. First night salmon at Suki could have been every meal all week. Pearl had exceptional offering each night and the waitstaff in Pearl are my favorite five guys on earth. They bring us joy every visit. Even the general buffet at Aphrodite is much improved. Fresher, more carefully stocked, higher quality and matched with better service. No sacrifice to the all-inclusive culinary demons.
Theme nights: we had a great time. The shows are repetitive and 40% too long, but we still had a great time. We really preferred last year’s theme nights, but we had seven great nights and tried to dress the part each night. Except dungeon night. Not our thing.
We’re 56 & 58. The crowd was older than we are when we arrived on the 4th and way younger than we are by the 11th. No way to explain it. Both sets were fun and welcoming. Every single person we actually spoke to was great. We had dinner with several different couples and whether they were lifestyle or not, everyone was fun, charming and disarming.
The beach was a no go. Our poolside bed was exactly what we wanted.
Biggest disappointment: they need to change the erotic massage to sensual massage. Happy endings are now againsr the rules. Last year I loved hearing Sandy come before I joined her. Not an option this year.
Biggest surprises : crowd was better than ever, and the food was delicious.
Oh, and we made friends with naked people who made us laugh, come, and be merry.