This trip report is posted as thanks to everyone who’s contributed to these forums. Your comments and advice helped us decide where to go, what to talk about beforehand, what to bring, and how best to enjoy our time. We wouldn’t have had the wonderful experience we did without taking the many hours we did going through these forums.
A word of warning: This report is a little on the long side. However, I figured completeness is more useful than brevity. And writing down the details will just help us remember things better
About us: Married 16 years, not part of the lifestyle, though we are somewhat adventurous in our sexuality within our own relationship. We’re in our late 30s with 3 children and are expecting our 4th in December (so 4 months pregnant at the time of our trip).
The instigator for taking the trip at this time was the pending arrival of our fourth child. While we might be able to get grandparents to watch 3 kids, asking them to watch 4 is likely to be too much. So this was our last chance for a "couple only" trip for quite some time. We approached my in-laws about babysitting while we went on a couples-only vacation, and they offered us two weeks. We happily (and somewhat guiltily) booked the whole time.
We’ve been Original Resorts members for seven or eight years now, having originally joined when they were still called “Blue Bay” and we’d taken our first trip to Cancun and stayed at their family resort. We were aware of the Desire concept and had talked about the possibility of going there. My wife was a bit concerned about whether the overt sexual atmosphere would feel a bit overwhelming. As well, my wife and I are somewhat different in the types of vacations we enjoy. She likes to “do” things, whereas I’m happy to do very little.
After some discussion, we settled on a compromise. We’d start out spending 4 days intensive touring elsewhere before heading to Cancun to ensure enough activity on the “doing” side of things. Once in Cancun, we’d book the Sea Adventure for 4 nights and Desire for 4 nights, split 1-4-3, with the ability to change a couple of our Sea Adventure nights to Desire nights if we found we really enjoyed things. And of course, if we/she really hated it, we could move after fewer than 4 nights, though we’d lose money doing so.
The next decision was whether to do Desire RM vs. Desire Pearl. Based on the reviews, our choice was obvious. Aside from some initial growing pains, the reviews of Pearl had been positive and the major gripe was the lack of “vibe” and low occupancy. As newbies, we were more concerned about too much “vibe”, and less people = quieter & more relaxing, so neither of these were negatives. As well, the property looked beautiful. So Pearl it was.
Flights went well. We used USA Transfers for our trip from the airport to Sea Adventure with a one hour stop-off at Walmart. They were exactly where they said they’d be and the van was comfortable.
Sea Adventure was much as we’d seen the previous time we’d been there, with the addition of a new water park. We checked it out in detail as it’s a much more likely prospect to travel to with our kids once they’re a bit older. Transfer the next day had been arranged for 10am by the Pearl via TransBeach. They were a few minutes late, but no issues with the transfer. The Pearl lobby was beautiful, though warm. Because it’s open directly to the environment, there’s no air conditioning.
On check-in, we were offered non-alcoholic beverages as I’d given them a heads up previously about my wife’s pregnancy and shortly there-after were escorted to our room. Unfortunately it was one of their standard ocean front rooms when during early web check-in I’d requested an upgrade to a master suite. I mentioned this to the porter, he immediately got on his walkie-talkie and when we got back to the front desk, the manager was there waiting for us. Shortly there-after we were escorted to a master suite near the quiet side of the pool (room 65). In my early reservation, I’d requested an upper floor room, but I wasn’t about to raise a fuss again, and it turned out that having a sliding door that allowed us to walk out right to the pool was very convenient.
The room was enormous with storage out the wazoo. Two closets to hang things plus one with numerous shelves. Six or seven cupboards in the kitchen area plus more in the bedroom as well as drawers under the TV. There were even baskets under the tables on either side of the bed, which we promptly filled with sex toys and similar paraphernalia. We had two full bathrooms, one with just a shower and one with shower and separate tub overlooking the bedroom. The bathrooms also had more than adequate storage. The room had two deck areas, one off the living room and one off the bedroom. The former was somewhat bare, but the latter had a nice table and chairs as well as an outdoor futon, complete with towels.
The rooms were clean, bright and very comfortable. The furniture seemed relatively new, and included two TVs including cable, pay-per-view movies (and porn) and DVD players. For those who have heard about issues with lighting or limited availability of power outlets, those limitations don’t seem to hold for Pearl. 5 lights in the bedroom, even more in the living room area. As we were unpacking, housekeeping arrived and began placing candles and flower petals. On request they also fetched us more hangers.
When we were done getting organized, it was on to lunch. We took an outside table with a beautiful view of the ocean and got our first taste of Pearl’s excellent service. We picked a mixture between the buffet and the al la cart menu before heading back to the room to prepare for our trip to the Jungle Spa (see separate review here: http://desiremexico.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2742.)
We arrived back very relaxed (and me somewhat sore) and changed into something comfortable for dinner. My wife chose one of the more conservative of her sexy outfits, as we weren’t sure whether the typical attire we’d heard described for Desire RM would hold at the Pearl. It turned out to be hard to judge as the restaurant was empty other than us, though a few couples filtered in as we were leaving and we visually confirmed that yes, sexy dress is definitely on at the Pearl too. We were well served and entertained by the wait staff feeding the fish in the pond with tortilla crumbs. We later learned that the low turn-out was due to a combination of very low occupancy combined with us being at dinner at 6pm as opposed to the more typical 8pm. After another excellent meal, we headed back to our room and enjoyed ourselves for a bit.
We dressed up for the disco, and headed down to see what was happening. As it turned out, we were one of only four couples (and one of those disappeared about 20 minutes into the evening). We were given the option of being driven over to Desire RM, or partying together with the small crowd. We were feeling a bit tired and opted for the latter. The entertainment crew kept things energized and fun despite the small group of us and managed to talk my wife into participating in the Sexiest Legs contest. The go-go dancers were good, though they turned out to probably be the weakest of the entertainment offered while we were there.
The mood must have been effective because we concluded the evening by wandering through the rain alone to the jacuzzi area and taking advantage of one of the beds. The excellent service included delivery of towels directly to the bed as we were making out, though the offer of drinks as I was helping my wife out of her things with obvious intent was a bit unexpected
. My wife enjoyed being observed from a distance by the bar tender who was doing his best to not look, but must have been bored to tears and it was hard to begrudge him his sole evening’s entertainment. His subsequent smile each time he saw us became one of the highlights of our week.Day 2 began with free room service for breakfast on our deck, arranged by one of the staff the night before. This was followed by a trip to visit Claudia. Enough has been said about her elsewhere. Suffice it to say that my wife was nervous going in and ecstatic coming out. (I was pretty happy too . . .)
Unfortunately, the rain we’d had the previous evening became the pattern for the second day. We didn’t let that discourage us though. After a nice lunch – we did a non-menu meal of burgers, fries and milk-shakes – we wandered around the resort and tried out the pool – which was empty and a bit chilly in the rain. I started out suitless and my wife pleasantly agreed shortly after entering to do the same. We moved to the Jacuzzi which was warmer without being too hot and enjoyed each other there for a couple of hours before the magic hour of 4 o’clock arrived and more people began filtering down, right about the same time as the rain paused for a couple of hours.
A bar tender invited my wife to participate in the chocolate. She was nervous at first, but after watching a couple of other women’s cleavage being enjoyed she agreed. However, the bartender had a different plan in mind for her and laid out a towel on the side of the Jacuzzi so that the chocolate might be enjoyed from more places including her nicely rounded belly. As I was enjoying myself, a friendly lady asked if she could assist. My newbie answer was “of course”. The correct answer would have been “it’s ok with me if it’s ok with her”. However, she took care to check in with my spouse as well before sampling my wife’s nipples and having a friend come join her to do the same. Not bad for a couple of non-swingers after only 1.5 days at Desire.
Unfortunately we had to hurry away to prepare for my wife’s body painting session. More unfortunately, the painter never arrived, failing to answer repeated calls to his cell by the hotel staff (who were most apologetic).
Dinner was excellent again, and this time there were more couples in the disco, closer to 8 or 10. The strippers who provided the entertainment were quite good. We opted to check out the play room and enjoyed it across the room from another couple. When we were finished, we found a large puddle on the floor (from a leak in the roof – not us!). Nothing like the rainy season to help identify where a property needs some work. The good news is the resort had it patched by the next evening.
Day 3 was met with more rain. The entertainment crew was offering games in the disco, but we opted to try one of the resort’s massages instead. My wife did a hot mud massage and I did a chocolate relaxation massage. Neither of us were thrilled, though we’d both been spoiled by our experiences at the Jungle Spa and at Claudia’s. The Spa itself is absolutely beautiful. However, the massages themselves were merely competent - far from excellent. We both got a sense they were going through their standard set of motions rather than tuning the massage to what they sensed in our bodies or our reactions. My wife’s mud was quite thin, and I could barely smell the odour of chocolate on my skin when the massage was complete.
The disco was busier again, closer to 20 couples and the various performers were amazing. We adjourned to the Jacuzzi and ended up in a pleasant tangle with a couple of other couples before they headed elsewhere to take things “to the next level”.
Day 4 brought a break in the weather and our first opportunity to lie in the beds by the beach. The beach is deep and beautiful and most of the beds provide decent shade by nearby palm trees in addition to the adjustable side covers. We took advantage of the weather and booked dinner on the pier with another couple we’d met, though the wind picked up enough that the meal was starting to get uncomfortable at the end. With better weather, it would have been perfect – well worth the additional cost.
We’d sampled enough of the feel of the resort by this point that it was an easy decision to cancel our remaining nights at the Sea Adventure and extend our time at Pearl.
The theme was casino night and there were at least 30 couples at the disco. Neither my wife nor I are gamblers, so we threw away our play money on roulette. One of the entertainment directors was kind enough to provide us a bit more so we could each enjoy a partial lap dance with the female and male stripper.
Day 5 had me waking up with intestinal issues, so I ended up spending the day close to the room, enjoying a good book. Room service was excellent, providing fresh croissants and fruit later in the day when I felt up to eating. A group visiting from Desire RM further bulked up attendance and my wife enjoyed her time at the beach, the Jacuzzi and at the disco.
Day 6 started out sunny and we enjoyed some beach time before deciding to visit Desire RM. My wife had met someone visiting the previous day. They’d found mutual attraction and she wanted a chance to pursue it. As well, we were both interested in seeing what the other resort was like. In a word – packed. People everywhere, chairs around the pool were totally full and the sense was more crowded than relaxed, though there was definitely good energy. The lunch buffet was pretty good, though we missed the a la carte option. The Jacuzzi was even more packed, with barely room to turn around, though that improved somewhat when the rain started up – and improved further on the arrival of thunder. Definitely a difference from the vast Jacuzzi pool at Pearl.
After the Jacuzzi, my wife had a chance to pursue her encounter and we learned the meaning of “rainy season”, as well as the importance of drainage. By the time we left Desire RM, we knew of at least one room that was flooded with several inches of water and several areas around the bar and gift shop required walking through 4 or more inches of water. We had hoped to dine at the Italian restaurant, but it was closed due to the weather and we were feeling fairly soggy, so back to Pearl it was. The disco at Pearl was smaller that night, around 12 couples, but still a nice time.
Day 7 was our last full day at the resort. We enjoyed some beach time and packed what we could before opting to try out the couple’s sensual massage. My wife was slightly disappointed that both masseuses were female, but we couldn’t complain about the quality of the service. It was extremely pleasant, though it felt slightly odd to have the massage continue after they put the two of us together. (We could have sent them away if we wished.) For the evening we opted to go back to Desire RM to try out one of the restaurants for dinner and see what the other disco was like. Dinner was wonderful and the disco was quite energetic, though less crowded than we’d feared. Certainly many excellent costumes. Unfortunately the play list seemed to be exactly the same as at Pearl. The same songs every night in a slightly different order got to be a bit much.
Day 8 started with last minute packing, followed by room service breakfast on the patio and then it was time to leave. Transport to the airport was arranged via Pearl by TransBeach the evening before. (Apparently they like 24 hours notice, but made it work anyhow). The trip home was accompanied by anticipation of seeing our kids again and sorrow that a truly wonderful vacation was no over.
General comments
We fully agree with all of those describing the friendliness of the people at both resorts. We made several new friends and had no difficulty starting or joining conversations. There were one or two people who were “overly” familiar (they didn’t stay long, thank goodness), but the vast majority were both respectful and a pleasure to hang out with.
Service and food at both places was amazing. The a la carte restaurants at Desire RM have a slight edge for dinner, but we liked the flexibility of the buffet + a la carte + “ask for what you want” that Pearl offered for all three meals.
Both resorts are nice, but Pearl has a definite edge in terms of space. Even at full capacity it will feel much less “dense” than Desire RM. When we come back, it’ll be to Pearl
Nits:
These aren’t major concerns, but in the event anyone from the resort is listening:
- The number of choices on the menu and at the buffet that were appealing was sometimes a bit limited. There was always something we could find to enjoy, or we could have them make us something custom, but I’m hopeful that over time as they get a sense of what items are frequently ordered/eaten and which aren’t, the menus and buffet will evolve a bit.
- Eating outdoors in the late evening was a bit of a problem for mosquitos. We had insect repellent which would likely have helped, but were reluctant to use it due to the limitations that would place on subsequent body part nibbling. The resort did spray most evenings, so it’s not as though they’re not aware of the problem or aren’t doing anything about it.
- The backs of the Pearl restaurant chairs aren’t the most comfortable I’ve ever sat in, though they are attractive.
- There’s no ATM at Pearl, and the percentage charged for the privilege of taking out cash is quite exorbitant. In most cases, you’ll be better taking a cab into Puerto Morelos and using one of the ATMs there or taking the shuttle across to Desire RM.
- The Jacuzzi temperature varies significantly from day to day and based on time of day. It would probably be good to pick a target temperature, have a thermometer to measure where the water is at and adjust to keep it as desired. There were times when it felt a bit chilly, and other times when it was too warm for my pregnant wife to be comfortable remaining submerged for more than a few minutes.
- There were a few times when we had appointments for massages or whatever and needed to keep track of the time. That’s *remarkably* hard to do at Pearl. No clocks in the rooms, at the restaurants or at the pool. The bartenders actually needed to go elsewhere to check the time (and thus weren’t necessarily that reliable when asked “can you let me know when it’s x-o’clock).
- I recognize how hard it must be to keep pastries crispy given the temperature and humidity of the area. However, somehow they manage to do an excellent job with the croissants. If they could take the same approach with the others, that would be wonderful.
- The beds on the beach had nice covers, but those at the pool did not. For someone who sunburns in the moonlight, covers are essential. (And more beds will be needed as Pearl approaches fuller occupancy.)
- The dance music way too repetitive, particularly at the disco. Even on the 70s & 80s night, we only got 3 songs that weren’t part of the standard techno-beat playlist, and that’s because we complained to one of the entertainment directors. Surely there must be more songs that can keep people up and dancing than the 50 or so they rotated through.
Conclusion
We booked this vacation expecting it to be our last couple-only vacation for the next 15 years or so (4 kids is a bit much to dump on grandparents given that they aren’t getting any younger). However, we already desperately want to get back. Our challenge in the coming years will be to find the necessary babysitting. We’re definitely going back, just hoping that it won’t be a 15 year wait.
