We did express check in a few days prior to arriving. Once we arrived, the check in process took about 7 minutes and we were off to our room. We stayed in the star building, which I requested prior to arrival. Got the building and exact room number I requested. The room was magnificent and pretty large. Air conditioner worked great! We had a private jacuzzi on our patio which was wonderful. Along with direct access to the beach from the patio. Our shower water pressure was close to horrible, no biggie. Just meant it took a little longer to shower. No deal breaker for us. Fridge was stacked with water, soda, beer and a bottle of champagne. First 5 minutes in the room and a complimentary bottle of champagne was sent to us, we didn't even ask for it.
The layout of Pearl is breath taking! The grounds were constantly worked on and everything looked picture perfect. Pool and beach were both beautiful. Small resort, but large in its own weird way. Our days were spent swimming and just lounging on the beach/pool beds. As far as getting a chair or bed, 2 ways you can be sure you get what you want. (A) Wake up at 7 or 8 and place your towels on your desired seats. (B) Just let Victor the pool concierge take care of it for you. We did not get up early to hold spots. We told Victor where we wanted to be, and he made it happen for us. We tipped him 20 dollars mid stay through our vacation and never had a problem. He gave us the same great service before he was even tip motivated, it all worked out.
The food was great! Breakfast and lunch were both buffet style. Not as large of a buffet as other resorts we have stayed in. Fortunately, we loved all the choices anyway and had no complaints. Dinner is served A La Cart. Different menu in each restaurant daily. Mexican, French, Mediterranean, Grill and I can not remember the other few. They were all fabulous. I am allergic to sea food and there was an abundance of it on the menus every night. The appetizers and soups mainly. They allowed me to order from the chef what ever I wanted, so again, no complaints. Portions were small, but you will not leave hungry. One night my steak was so small, I ended up ordering another one. Another night we ordered 3 main course meals, the waiter didn't even flinch when we ordered. Very accommodating. The set up for dinner is very romantic. Nice dim lighting, entertainment some nights while you eat. They really know what they are doing over there. We only went to the Pearl restaurant one night. It was also beautiful in there. Service was at a 10 in both restaurants. Pearl you will need pants and a nice collar shirt to dine fellas. No sandals either, closed shoes or sneakers. Aphrodite you can come as you are, just look presentable. I wore slacks and a polo collar to Pearl with sneakers. Aphrodite I wore sneakers, shorts and a T shirt nightly. Always color coordinated, always looking good and smelling good! I'm a New Yorker, so to give you an idea...I dress like someone you would see in a rap video lol, but I stay fresh to death! My wife always wore very sexxxy dresses for dinner. I purchased all of her outfits on line from "Yandy.com". She was always looking stunning and received many compliments.
We ate late, around 8:45 nightly. This way when we were done, we would go rite to the lobby for the entertainment. The entertainment starts at 10:00pm. We found if you eat to early their is a little to much down time to wait on, until the festivities begin. So eating at 8:45 worked that rite out. A show in the lobby from 10:00-10:30 and then a show in the disco from 10:30-11:00. Then its dancing in the disco from 11:00pm on. Unfortunately, the music was very repetitive every night. Not the best music either. The theme outfits are really only worn for an hour or two. Those that stay up late make there way to the hot tub between 11:00 and 12:00. From what I saw, not to many men participate in the theme outfits. Some nights no men did, myself included. Their are a few brave souls though, I tip my hat to them. Cherry/Strawberry theme had the best turn out. Many participated wearing some sort of red.
The jacuzzi was where the real party was! Every night, as we say in NYC "It was on and poppiN!" My wife and I are not in the "Lifestyle", and it really didn't matter. You will see some all out swinging, but for the most part you see couples that like getting it on amongst themselves with an audience. In the jacuzzi, the sides of the jacuzzi, the beds, on the bar lol it gets crazy! We loved it! We like to watch and be be watched. That's pretty much our thing. We were approached with the Lifestyle questions daily, always replied that we are not in it. Always respectful and our answer never made the conversation just die out. I must say, you guys and gals in the Lifestyle are some the nicest people we have ever met! It was a pleasure to meet all of you! Great convo, great energy and just all out great people!! I love partying with yall! I did have to check one person there for throwing my wife's bikini top and towel on the floor to use a bed. Bad move on his behalf, cause I don't play that sh*t! I immediately pressed him, he apologized and we went on about our night. I guess we shouldn't of had our stuff on the bed if we weren't using it, but I'm just not going for some one throwing my stuff on the floor, bottom line! All in all, it was resolved quickly and I didn't have to take it any where else.
We went to RM for one day to check it out, loved it. They had a lot more people close to our age range, but honestly, I think I still like Pearl better. A lot more jacuzzi action in the day at RM, but the jacuzzi looks like a kiddie pool when compared to Pearl. That 150$ day pass thing has to go! I did not have to pay for a day pass, but that's because I booked my trip about a week before the new rule went in effect. Pearl gave us a complementary day pass when I explained we booked under different pretenses. We were grateful. For the amount of money spent on this vacation, I strongly feel they need to do away with that new policy. They are catching a lot of slack from their loyal customers about it. Hopefully they will realize that's not the policy to roll with.
The drinks were good. Every bar tender had our drinks ready before we even ordered them, once they new what we were drinking. Grey Goose, Johnny Walker red and black label were my choices. I did not like that if you wanted Ciroq or Belveldere vodka you had to pay 120 pesos a shot. Price wise it doesn't even make sense as black label is more expensive then both. They should definitely change that.
Tipping is not required, and most resorts I've been to, I honestly don't tip. I did how ever at Pearl. At the end of the day, I feel like the service at Pearl exceeds any resort I have ever been to. I also googled while at Pearl "How much do resort attendants make in Mexico". I was shocked!!! Literally horrible!!! You can do what you like, but this is how we did it. 5 dollar tip at every dinner. 3 dollars for every breakfast and lunch. 20 to Victor by the pool 1 time. 20 to the bartender by the jacuzzi and 20 to the bartender by the pool 1 time each. I gave Luis 5 dollars also, he is who greeted us and took us to our room when we arrived. The pool ladies that bring the drinks by the pool and beach, I also tipped 10 dollars each 1 time. Around 150 dollars in all and worth every penny! Next time I will honestly do more. You will get the same great service with out tipping, but you will want to do it..Trust me! We were schooled by a couple of veterans on the resort of how they do it, and we followed suit. Shout outs to my good friends from Boston that are Yankees fans, whom we met at Desire!
One tip before I go.... If you plan on being in the jacuzzi your whole trip, which is almost every one. Bring some anti-bacterial soap and wash at the least twice a day. When you exit the pool or jacuzzi rinse off immediately when you get out. I developed a slight rash on my chest, sides and back while at Desire. Nothing crazy and not even noticeable. I only new I had it when I was showering and rubbing my hands on my chest. I researched it while there and found that it is common at resorts when one does excessive jacuzzi and pool swimming. I think my skin is just more sensitive then others, as my wife spent the same amount of time in as me, and was not effected. Unfortunately, it said it does come from jacuzzi's not being properly cleaned. lol Go figure. While I would hope that the jacuzzi is 100% decontaminated... I also know what goes on in there and am not naive to it. I wasn't the only one who developed this rash while there, but again, it was very mild and not even noticeable to the naked eye. Didn't itch or bother me in any way, just was there. Shout outs to my tatted up couple from Jersey! It was a pleasure!
Anything I mite have missed, feel free to message me and I will answer what ever I can. Before we went I made sure to ask a lot of questions and it all paid off! Thank you CokeMann for all the knowledge you shared prior to our trip!
Well hopefully we all get to cross paths at Desire in the near future Mr. HeavyG! At the end of the day, we had a blast at Desire & can't wait to get back!