First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

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First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby ssdh47 » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:58 pm

This forum was tremendously helpful in planning our trip so wanted to say thank you by posting this trip report.

Thanks everyone!

Us
Southern california couple in our 50s together for almost 30 years. Occasional trips to nude beaches/small nude resorts over last 20 years. Couple of trips to larger family naturist resorts in France and Croatia. Trips 4 of the last 5 years to Cap d'Agde, the naturist village in France where Sex on the Beach is not the name of a drink and where the nude foam party originated.

Travel
We took a redeye Sunday night which arrived nearly 30 minutes ahead of schedule - well before 6 am. Immigration hall was completely empty and we were the first to get our passports stamped. We did have to wait 2 minutes to push the red/green button at customs as the worker there hadn't even arrived at her post yet.

We had booked USA Transfers through the forum. We called the phone number indicated for pre 6 am arrivals. Call was answered immediately and our van/driver was there in 5 minutes. High marks for USA Transfers in both directions.

Even though it was barely past 6 am, Desire bellman was there to greet us getting out of the van and a staff member at the front desk got us checked in quickly. Everything had gone so smoothly, it wasn't even time for breakfast, so we roamed the grounds a bit and enjoyed the sunrise.

Room
Staff informed us that a quiet side Master Suite (which we had requested) would not be available until 3 pm. They offered us the option of taking one immediately on the activity side near the Jacuzzi and that we could switch to quiet side the following day if we wanted. We took them up on their generous offer. Sleeping on the active side was not a problem, but based on reports here, we assumed nights later in the week would probably be noisier than the Monday night we spent on active, so we chose to move. Both rooms were in great condition, clean, everything worked, etc. Having two complete bathrooms is a nice plus of the Master Suite even if you don't really need the huge amount of living space. Wifi was flawless in room, at pool and at beach. Never did any streaming but for email and browsing it was perfect. Was even able to access a couple of VPNs without issue when a couple of work issues arose.

Food and beverage

We are the crazy health nut Californians your mother warned you about. We do not eat wheat or refined sugar. Minimal amounts of dairy and not a lot of meat. Wife does not drink alcohol at all, I'll have wine a few times a year to accompany a nice meal. Yes, we are always at the top of party invite lists. :)

Breakfasts
We were amazed at the quality and variety of food especially at lunch. At breakfast, I was able to construct a fantastic fruit salad every morning from over a dozen different kinds of cut fruit and top it with chia seed, almonds, pecans, coconut, cranberries, etc. Staff made it clear every morning that the kitchen would prepare any hot dishes we requested, omelettes, chilliquiles, etc. to supplement the buffet.

We never took them up on it as even on the days I was indulging a bit, the buffet contained freshly scrambled eggs, several kinds of goat cheese and good quality smoked salmon that pushed all my buttons for a great breakfast. In addition to typical breakfast juices, the buffet also included beet juice, a greens juice, and a very interesting and tasty guava water with chia. For those wanting to celebrate the arrival of another beautiful day, a cart circulated the breakfast room offering custom made mimosas to each guest.

Also on the health nut kick, each morning staff happily prepared capuccino with foamed almond milk for my wife and presented it with a little personal decanter of honey. They even delivered this concoction to her each day out at the beach around midday when she requested.

Lunch
For us, lunch was the truly amazing meal each and every day. Often when we travel and want to eat vegetarian and wheatless, this means kitchens offering to steam some vegetables for us. Desire's lunch buffet each day had at least a half dozen different interesting and well done hot vegetable dishes in addition to a wide ranging cold salad bar. And they did not take the easy way out of just drenching veggies in butter, cheese or salt. Not a single veggie dish seemed greasy or oversalted. Carrots were always excellent, along with various pepper, onion, eggplant, zucchini, squash and mushroom dishes. Good quality portabello mushrooms appear frequently at lunch and on the dinner menus at all three restaurants. If anything there is too much variety, as a cold beet salad I loved was not present every day.

Vegetarians and gluten free folks should have no apprehension - you will eat well at Desire. Dinner menus clearly display vegetarian and gluten free options.

While few folks did it our week, we got our lunch plates from the buffet and took them out to our pool side bed for our daily nude picnic - great memories that will last a long time. Staff every day got utensiles and cloth napkins together for us and offered to carry our plates out each day.

Dinner
3 nights at Unik were certainly the highlight for us. While staff at all restaurants were great, the folks at Unik were the standouts for us.

Unik's location is just one of its advantages. Located on the second floor on the south end of the property with no other buildings to Desire's south for at least a quarter mile, you have unobstructed views over the water and all the way down the beach to the Puerto Morelos town beach. We dined there 3 evenings around sunset to take in the changing light and watch pelicans floating at eye level before diving in to the surf to get their dinner.

While Desire titles Unik a "gastro bar" and at first glance the menu looks like just a variety of burgers are on offer, the level of cooking on some dishes is much much higher. The menu, almost strangely, includes an Osso Bucco that was, all 3 nights, the equal of what you would have in a nice Italian place in LA or Manhattan. Also highly recommend the shrimp and octopus appetizers (if they have any left as we ordered multiple servings of each on each night).

Desire definitely excels in how they do all-inclusive in this regard. Serving sizes of appetizers and entrees are for the most part on the small side but the kitchen was super fast in getting plates out so we found it worked to order a selection of interesting things and circle back with second orders of things we liked and wanted a little more of. Enabled us to try more things than if they provided huge dinner platters of a single selection.

We thought the Mexican menu was the weaker of our two nights at Aphrodite (Italian and Mexican).

We ate one night at Pearl. We dined with another couple and the conversation was so engaging all evening, I really didn't take much note of the food or service.

Environs
From Pearl you can take a barefoot walk along the beach easily a half hour in either direction. I prefer the walk to the south (turn right when you hit the beach). To the north you will reach a string of uninspiring, mega textile resorts where it seemed like you could feel the positive energy from Desire being sucked away. To the south is Puerto Morelos.

We love Puerto Morelos' energy. It has thus far avoided the type of development seen in Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. Just a few blocks of quiet, sleepy shops and restaurant around a little town square set right on the water. The tranquil vibe has attracted a community of hippies, artists, yoga and wellness practitioners, etc. Weekend evenings are especially lovely as the square and pier area fill with mostly local families with the local artists selling their creations from tables and stands set up in the square.

On the 20/25 minute walk from Desire to Puerto Morelos, you will pass a stretch of the town beach that is superior to Desire's beach. At one spot, there is very good snorkeling right off the beach. When you reach town, there are lots of small boats that will take you less than 10 minutes out to the protected National Marine Park reef for $25. It so cool that I can grab breakfast at Desire, walk down the beach, grab a 9 am boat, snorkel part of the second largest reef system in the world and be back at Desire by 11:30. The reef is in great shape and while the fish may not have the eye popping colors you see in the Virgin Islands, I think there is greater diversity of coral, plant and fish types here.

Having lots of living things around feels good. And back at Desire there is so much life on land and water. There is lush landscaping which supports a variety of birds, at least a couple of good size iguana, and 2 cats. And along the shoreline, every day you are going to see dozens of pelicans diving into the water in addition to at least three other bird types. Maintaining eye contact with a pelican less than 10 feet away is a cool feeling.

During our week in March water conditions at the beach (in terms of roughness) were a mix of yellow and red flags - though earlier in the day was always better than later. Even though I was often the only one swimming in the ocean, there was always a life guard watching. At the beginning of my week, he kept a close eye on me when I would swim out to the buoys, walking along the pier to monitor my progress. While there is seagrass washing up on shore, staff are constantly clearing it away. During our time, the seagrass only impacted water clarity the first 10 or 15 feet from shore. Once you got past that, water was crystal clear. Just walk out to the end of the pier, hop in the water from there, ride the surf in and repeat. Water temperature was great. So lucky to be able to spend the week swimming and floating in the ocean naked.

Staff
As everyone has written here, the staff is fantastic at Desire. The problem is with my memory - so kindnesses performed Monday got overwritten in my memory by Tuesday's, and Tuesdays' by Wednesdays' etc. Next time, we are going to do a better job of keeping track of everyone's names.
Dayane, Victor, Irving, Marquez, Caesar, Lalo, Latecia, Edu, Mia are just some of the names that we do remember who are great at what they do, genuinely care about the guests having a positive experience and are interesting and fun to talk to.

Guests
I think a common thread is that everyone at Desire has something they like to do that they recognize most of the rest of the world thinks is a little bit weird. I know that most of the world doesn't want to be naked in as many places and as often as I do. Another person at Desire wants to dress sexy more than the rest of the world. Another person at Desire wants to have sex along different parameters than mainstream boundaries.

I think folks at Desire are each saying I know I am a little different in this thing(s) that I like to do. I am looking for a place where I can do it and not feel judged or criticized. So nothing counts as weird at Desire. Consciously or subconsciously everyone seems to be saying "I see that person's individuality and I know how I want to be treated about my individuality so that's how I am going to treat that person in respect to their's." It becomes easier to see ourselves in another. Empathize with them. Increases our humanity and well being. Reduces conflict and stress. Vacation starts as a getting away from the negative but when it also becomes enhancing the positive, now you've really got something.

And by seeing others taking such joy in their "thing", we perhaps try it on for ourselves and see how it suits us - becoming braver in the process - open to new experience and tolerant of more "things".

All in all a wonderful place and much easier to get to than our usual spots so we plan to return.
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Re: First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby Ch14 » Thu Apr 06, 2017 5:14 am

This is a different but wonderful review you've given us. So helpful in so many ways. Thank you for your time and thoughts. We are looking forward to our first Desire experience in June though, like you, we are no strangers to the CO scene. But this line of yours -- "And by seeing others taking such joy in their "thing", we perhaps try it on for ourselves and see how it suits us - becoming braver in the process - open to new experience and tolerant of more "things"." -- sums it up beautifully.
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Re: First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby D&H » Thu Apr 06, 2017 9:09 am

What a great review! Thank you for the detailed information about the food. We eat a clean, organic, gf diet, and now I am confident that we will have a multitude of dining options on our trip.
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Re: First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby Eric696 » Thu Apr 06, 2017 11:07 am

Thanks for the snorkeling tips! My wife and I will definitely be taking a trip down the beach next time. We did some snorkeling and saw a few fish and some starfish over by the pier but not many.
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Re: First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby nokidclub » Fri Apr 07, 2017 3:40 am

Thank you for this outstanding review! We are both vegan, and you really helped me be less concerned about the range of food options. And bravo for writing a review that covers some of the less discussed aspects of this unique resort.
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Re: First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby ALcape » Fri Apr 07, 2017 8:09 am

Best trip report I have read on this site bar none. Thank you for this well written and informative trip report. ^:)^
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Re: First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby mrstommer » Sat Apr 08, 2017 7:58 am

Thank you for the wonderful report, reminding me that one can order whatever one would like to eat, for example. While the selections are always delicious and amazing, I have found that my usual routine at home of not eating foods swimming in butters and sauces is interrupted when on vacation. Thus, resulting in an upset stomach. There are wonderful fresh options, salads, fruits, and the smoked salmon, grilled salmon and grouper, are also delightful!!

We, too, enjoy the walks to Puerto Morales, but have not yet ventured into town. Maybe this year we will. :)
living, loving life and each other...cheers!
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Re: First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby curious-couple » Sun Apr 09, 2017 8:09 am

thanks for the great trip report. Can you share some more info on the snorkeling?
Did you bring your own gear?
Can you get a mask and fins at the dive shop?
When you walked into PM, was the good spot to snorkel close to shore obvious?
when you took the boats out to the reef, did you use your own gear or theirs?

Thanks
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Re: First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby Cpl du Nord » Sun Apr 09, 2017 11:59 am

ssdh47 wrote:I think a common thread is that everyone at Desire has something they like to do that they recognize most of the rest of the world thinks is a little bit weird. I know that most of the world doesn't want to be naked in as many places and as often as I do. Another person at Desire wants to dress sexy more than the rest of the world. Another person at Desire wants to have sex along different parameters than mainstream boundaries.

I think folks at Desire are each saying I know I am a little different in this thing(s) that I like to do. I am looking for a place where I can do it and not feel judged or criticized. So nothing counts as weird at Desire. Consciously or subconsciously everyone seems to be saying "I see that person's individuality and I know how I want to be treated about my individuality so that's how I am going to treat that person in respect to their's." It becomes easier to see ourselves in another. Empathize with them. Increases our humanity and well being. Reduces conflict and stress. Vacation starts as a getting away from the negative but when it also becomes enhancing the positive, now you've really got something.

And by seeing others taking such joy in their "thing", we perhaps try it on for ourselves and see how it suits us - becoming braver in the process - open to new experience and tolerant of more "things".


I think this statement sums up better than I ever could have why we love Desire so much. We are pretty mainstream by Desire standards, but a lot of the things we enjoy at Desire are pretty far out there by vanilla standards. One of our favorite things about Desire is just watching people be themselves. Kinks and all.
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Re: First Trip Mar 20-26, 2017

Postby LouKYScuba » Sun Apr 09, 2017 6:53 pm

curious-couple wrote:thanks for the great trip report. Can you share some more info on the snorkeling?
Did you bring your own gear?
Can you get a mask and fins at the dive shop?
When you walked into PM, was the good spot to snorkel close to shore obvious?
when you took the boats out to the reef, did you use your own gear or theirs?

Thanks


Haven't been to Pearl yet (planning on doing sometime this year), but I've spent a lot of time in Puerto Morelos over the past 18 months. I've done over a month there diving, reefs, wrecks and cenotes, including shore dives at the Ojo de Agua (there's a freshwater outflow from the cenote network in the vicinity of Don Ernesto's, about 35 yards out from the surfline). I've walked to the Pearl and swam the beach the next property north. From my viewpoint, vis and current make it not worth the work of the swim (things can get choppy) or the risk from strikes from small boats. I've not seen better than thirty feet of visability close in at PM, and that was over the course of a year.

You'd be far safer paying for a proper snorkel trip to the reef on a boat, and the views are a lot better. Wet Set in PM does a great job, and they do both snorkel and dive trips.

Just my two cents. I've experienced good and bad, both diving and snorkeling, and good is more likely to keep you safe.
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