Had a direct, 2 ½ hour flight on Southwest. We travel with only carry on luggage. Made a quick trip through customs (have never gotten the red light!) Used USA Transfers (booked through the link on this forum). We've used them on many trips. The service is excellent. Great price, private, clean, efficient and friendly!
We were at Pearl at 9:15 a.m.! Our check in was smooth and very quick (did the express check in online). Happy to see Pearl had nice string and bead bracelets (YAY, no scrapes and pokes from the plastic type!) We were given a quick informational session about the resort. As soon as it approached “the pitch”, hubby stated we weren't interested and if we changed our mind we’d let them know. That was it, no pressure, end of pitch.
The room wasn't ready (as we expected). Our larger bags were left with the staff and we headed for the pool with our small “immediate need” bag. Two chairs were made ready for us while we went to the breakfast buffet. Back to the chairs, travel clothes were shed and the fun began!
Our room (73) was ready about 1:00. I’m a light sleeper and we got exactly the type room that was requested on the express check in (upper floor, quiet area of the resort). The four, short flights of stairs we did many times a day were part of our daily exercise! Nice, large room, king bed. Body wash, soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion provided. (Needed by us due carry on liquid rules). It had more of a palm tree view than ocean but that’s not an issue for us.
Junk settled in the room just in time for the foam party. Yay, our trip was Saturday to Sunday so we got to enjoy two! We've been at RM for one on the tennis court and one in the lobby bar. The ones at Pearl, in the pool, were our favorite. The entertainment staff was great at traveling the pool giving “juice” squirts. Jell-O shots were thrown out towards the end. Dipping under the water got rid of any eye burning issues we had.
We left the resort three times. Once, for a clothing optional catamaran trip. It left the pier about 10:30 and returned around 2:30. For $89 per person (+ tip) snorkeling gear, drinks and lunch (ceviche, guac & chips) were provided. Twice, we walked the beach to Puerto Morelos. Stopped at little places for margaritas and ate both times at El Merkadito (excellent lobster fettuccine and fish tacos!).
Days were spent poolside, either lounging or participating in activities. The entertainment crew (Charlie, Marco, Liz, Kia and Vince) did a great job. All are pretty darn nice eye candy
They invite participation but don’t pressure. We came home with several gifts. Visited the Jacuzzi either late afternoon or sometime during the evening every day. Watch out for that big drop when getting in! People….. PLEASE remove your used towels from the beds and stop using them as storage for your crap. They supply plenty of towels and there are more than enough cubbies for storage.Went to the lobby and disco every evening for the entertainment. Two of the nights in the lobby were a little uncomfortable, very warm, no breeze and high humidity. Thank goodness for a/c in the disco! Several of the bands were quite good and had people on the dance floor. For the most part, we didn’t care for the music played in the disco. Some nights we stayed at the lobby bar and went in to dance when we liked a song. Had many espresso martinis at the lobby bar!
The food was very good. Didn’t try Pearl. Suki was open 4 nights during our stay (Wednesday through Saturday). It was our favorite and we ate there 3 times (need a reservation). When the breakfast or lunch buffet felt repetitive we ordered from the menu. Several lunches were done outside.
All of the staff was awesome. Never passed a staff member, from gardeners to managers, that didn't give us a comment, nod or smile. We thought Mario was an exceptional waiter for breakfast and lunch. He’s so smiley, friendly, sweet and eager to please. Eby at the pool, oh my gosh, how does she do it?! A couple of days I needed drink suggestions and she introduced me to the Paloma (fresca, tequila and lime juice) and the Pink Paloma (fresca, tequila and grenadine)!
We met many people of all ages, sizes, colors and lifestyle preference.
Our only disappointment was when we couldn't get chairs in the main pool area (even at 7:30a). We were “stuck” at the quiet end of the pool our last two days. Apparently, there were lots of members present that had dibs on the chairs at the active end. Made the most of it and just spent more time in the water. NOT dissing members (and not getting into THAT battle on here) just don’t understand why a chair or bed has to sit completely unused ALL day.
To sum it up, there were things we liked about Pearl and things we like about RM. For us, Pearl outweighs RM a smidge. Unless there’s a huge price difference or availability issue, we’ll choose Pearl.
And we very much agree with you about the lounger situation.