After our 15th trip to Desire properties over 9 years (our 5th to Pearl), we are writing our first trip report. We thought we could give a pretty good perspective and share our impressions and observations of Desire Pearl. We will attempt to categorize our comments instead of a day by day report.
Overall Service: Still one of the best assets of DP. Everyone from the waiters, bartenders, pool staff, housekeepers, front desk staff, etc go out of their way to accommodate you. However, there were some gaps in service, particularly at the restaurants, as there were many new workers being trained while we were there. I’m sure this is a temporary gap that will be resolved.
Dining: This is one area where we would like to see improvement. Breakfast and lunch options are great and food quality is very good. There is a buffet and also menu service available for both meals in Aphrodite. But there needs to be more than 2 options (Aphrodite and Pearl) for dinner. While the food quality is good, the menu options are very limited. It would be nice if there was a buffet option or another quick, casual option for those that don’t want to get dressed or sit down for a couple hour meal. Several meals took way too long. We had a couple 3 hour meals at Pearl and even 90 minute + meals at Aphrodite. The new sushi restaurant on top on Aphrodite was only open on Friday and Saturday evenings and had 2 seatings. Would be nice if they expanded this to be more like Suki at RM. Did a beach BBQ for lunch one day and Fish Market another day, in addition to the normal lunch menu and buffet.
Bars/Drinks: Generally very good selection and service but there were a couple instances where a bar “ran out” of a certain liquor, which is not acceptable. The pool bar had “last call” around 4:30 everyday which is way too early considering the sun sets after 7pm and there are a lot of people socializing in the pool late afternoon before heading to hot tub. Should stay open until 6pm to accommodate guests.
Entertainment Staff: They all did a great job and were more engaging with the guests than ever before. A special shout out to Zoe and Marco who both went out of their way to spend time with us many times throughout our stay. The staff not only tried to rally everyone to participate in the various day time activities but were also very involved in evening activities (much more so than we have experienced at RM in past 2 years).
Theme Nights: Themes stuck to the posted schedule. Unfortunately only a small number of participants on most nights (20-25% of guests). Neon night was the greatest participation (75% or so). Hopefully more will participate in the future.
Nightly Entertainment: Most evenings there was a band or other performers in the lobby prior to the disco opening. The nights we attended we felt the entertainment was excellent. There was also a show in the disco every night as well. These performances lasted about 15-20 minutes and were a great warm up for the disco. There were a couple contests as well that were a lot of fun (Chippendales, lingerie, etc).
Late Night: Disco - Music selection was improved and very good. Disco was very active until about 11:30 then quickly emptied out (many to the hot tub). There were a couple nights where several couples hung out in Disco until after 1am. Hot Tub - very active, much more so than previous trips. On average 15-20 couples in tub late night and a fair amount of “activity”. From midnight until 2am the beds were rockin (90% occupied at all times). We closed the bar a couple nights and there was still activity in the beds after 2:30am. Lobby bar - not many people there after 1am but there were a couple people around until as late as 4am a couple nights. Unfortunately the late night snack options are not so good. Alternate between tacos and pizza, but neither very good. They need a better option, similar to RM (fresh pizza, club sandwiches, chips and salsa, etc).
Rooms: Rooms are very nice and housekeeping staff was great. They serviced our rooms 3 times per day with fresh towels, turn down service and little surprises (rose petals in the tub, chocolates, etc). Definitely a big plus over RM.
Pool/Beach: Victor and staff did a great job accommodating us at the pool. Chairs and towels were always ready for us. There was a DJ at the pool several days. Music very loud (too loud for some after 4pm which is usually time to mellow out a bit). But you could always sit on the quiet end of the pool if you wanted to nap. The foam party was fun and most people participated. (were 2 foam parties last week…..one for the group that was there). Staff did a great job getting participation in most activities (volleyball, water basketball, water polo, water aerobics, beer pong, etc). Lots of umbrellas at pool….plenty of sun and shade. Beach was generally in the shade except for early morning, unless you pulled a chair away from beach beds and palm trees. There was a delightful breeze everyday that made the 90 degree heat and bright sunny skies bearable.
Interesting observations: there were 2 days where nearly 90% of the women and 50% of the men were not totally nude. This is something we hadn’t observed before. By the end of the week it was more like 60% of the women and 80% of the men were nude. This might have been partially attributed to the high number of “first timers” in attendance. There was a also a group there where many kept their bottoms on. Certainly not judging just making an observation. To each their own……
Other: Sue and I both enjoyed massages at the spa with Veronica and Rebecca who were both excellent. The resort was extremely well maintained and spotless. Every night the crew was scrubbing the pool deck, restaurants and common areas. First time ever i did not get eaten alive by bugs. The windy conditions helped and they also sprayed every evening. I did not hear anyone complain about bugs.
Overall it was a very enjoyable week thanks to the many great people we met and new friends we made. We really enjoyed hanging with Mark and Jo, as well as Tony and Maria, Brad and Kelly, Mark and Suzanne, Ken and Kim, Frank and Kallie and several others. We are looking forward to our next visit in November.
Hope this report helped. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Sue and Mark