SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

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SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby trubluz » Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:19 pm

I contemplated writing this as Desire Pearl was always hands down our favorite annual trip. We have met so many amazing couples that have become life long friends but unfortunately this trip has soured us ever wanting to return in the near future.

Started off with lack of communication to have our 20yr vow renewal performed which was originally planned to take place on the pier. Antonio the guest manager never returned emails or calls to verify and confirm arrangements were completed. Thank goodness a good friend of ours was arriving a few days early and assisted with the final details. We were never informed until her arrival that the Pier was not available due to it being in disrepair. They gave us the option of the beach or lobby lagoon area. After she checked out the beach situation (no beach all seaweed) our only choice was the lagoon area. Our original package email the one and only time Antonio responded with pricing and what it included was to include a private dinner buffet for up to 10 couples in UNIK. We had planned our renewal on a Sunday to accommodate. When we arrived the Friday before renewal Antonio was not around so we met Saturday morning. He informs us that it will now be a prefix menu with choice of the one of each of the following entrees. Beef, Chicken and Fish. We specifically requested a nice Grilled Steak entree with NO SAUCE on it. He agreed. We were also informed the dinner would be on the terrace outside of UNIK - UM NO it's JULY mosquito and humid 100%. They moved it to a section in Aphrodite. Upon check in we informed Husband is allergic to Cilantro. This was reminded to Antonio for the dinner as well. He charged us $150 CASH for flowers that were to be at the ceremony including a bouquet of red/white roses for me, 2 long roses for my gal pal, and 3 boutonnieres for the gentlemen - groom, he best man, and our bestest bud who was our photographer. Had to have the money that Saturday so he could order. NO FLOWERS AT LOBBY CEREMONY. Only the bouquet, boutonnieres, and 2 single roses. Really that cost $150... The ceremony area was still gorgeous Vince performed the vow renewal and the DJ was amazing and so were the bar staff and waiters. We had 7 couples total. The spa staff were great to let us ladies get ready in the Salon area and they brought Chardonnay when asked for champagne but that was rectified with the help of one of our ladies.

Our dinner well that did not go so well at all:
Menu was practically the same all the other guest so Aphrodite got that night. Soup that they served my husband had Coriander seeds (Cilantro) yep he got ill had to leave the dinner for a while had to send some friends to check on him as he was gone for over 20 mins. Steaks had sauce on them and were way over/under cooked. Chicken was very dry. Fish well it tasted way to fishy. We didn't even get to cut into our wedding cake due to my husband being ill. Asked them to bring up to lobby bar area later for us and other guests to enjoy. After my husband took some meds he was okay to continue the celebration but not at 100%. The quality of food lasted our entire stay no matter which restaurant we visited. Some nights we pretty much went without dinner as we had to just walk out due to the quality of food being served. He was very ill on the 4th of July day didn't make it out of the room till almost the foam party. Which by the way was the worst day entertainment foam party in 5 years of 4th of July trips.
Foam was not very good, they typically in past had a american rock/roll band. This time they had 3 guys singing love songs from Sinatra era and a girl doing a pole dance next to them. Everyone was pretty much falling asleep.

When we voiced our complaints to management Antonio became very confrontational and talking to the GM Alberto Martinez who we have known since Cabo days it felt as if our concerns fell on deaf ears. Turns out my husband tried to order some type of entertainment for our group during the wedding night or my birthday which was the following night but Antonio flat out refused. WHY? We do this every year hiring some type of dancers for a private show? You advertise it as well on your website. We want to spend more $$ with Desire.
My wedding cake never made it out on our wedding night until hot tub time when one of my gal pals went on a hunt for it and brought it out herself. We got a slice to share but were told we could not have it at the hot tub so we requested they bring it out the next day. That never happened either - nor did I get the birthday cake that was ordered for me by a friend the next day either. She also gave them decorations to decorate our room for my birthday which I found out after the trip when she asked if they decorated our room for my birthday - UNFORTUNATELY NO -
There was no grilled fresh fish during lunch this year - no ceviche on buffet or at dinner - the burgers looked like frozen walmart patties that kept falling apart.
We were originally scheduled to return Halloween but we are in the plans of canceling that trip and we are not going to be returning to Desire anytime soon. It took us almost a month for my husband to get over stomach issues from this trip. Oh and the alcohol seemed watered down, which was a first for us. There were also a lack of chairs poolside even for members due to the beach conditions everyone was at the pool areas and unless you got up early and got a spot you were out of luck. Do love the new bathrooms at the hot tub. And they beds were being used not for storing items well most of the time however one night when a friend and her s/o went to use a bed that just had towels on it another lady yelled from inside the hot tub, hey that's my bed and she politely told her well use it then, needless to say she didn't get out of they hot tub to use it so it was put to good use by our friend and her man. The regular wait/bartend staff were great, EC team GREAT, our returning and new friends AMAZING if it wasn't for them being there with us we would have checked out early.
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever (2018

Postby Powderfinger » Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 pm

That sucks. I don't know what's going on there, but our trip there last week was the worst Desire trip out of 19 for us. This HAS to stem from the top, with management. They couldn't pay us to go to Pearl now.
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever (2018

Postby trubluz » Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:51 pm

Powderfinger wrote:That sucks. I don't know what's going on there, but our trip there last week was the worst Desire trip out of 19 for us. This HAS to stem from the top, with management. They couldn't pay us to go to Pearl now.


Yes we agree it is from the top. From what we were told they lost a lot of money this year doing the cyber sale due to guests got to pick their resort. They were hounding people to upgrade memberships the entire time we were there even offering the ability to piggy back with another couple. Not sure what is happening but we really hope they turn it around QUICK. We were actually planning on going ahead with a membership since it has been our annual summer trip since Cabo 2012. However after the first few days quality of stay we didn't even mention we wanted to attend the presentation. WE USED TO BE HARD CORE DESIRE ADVOCATES always telling everyone Go Go Go try it you must you'll love it. Will have to try and get some honest feedback on RM but this trip has turned us SOUR against the entire Original Resorts.
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby red88vette » Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:22 pm

Wow, sorry about all the troubles you experienced, very disappointing about mgnt's handling your problems. We were just there in May and it was great. Heading back to Pearl next week, so very concerned, in that this is not the first recent disappointing comment on the forum. RM was fine mid July. Only issue I had was no 1921 at the bars.
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby Explorer79 » Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:57 pm

Those are some not so ringing endorsements. Very odd that it would be slanted towards Pearl only and not seeming to affect RM (yet?).

I'm not sure how valid a conclusion that they lost money on cyber sale due to location would be other than the lower price (which would be their own fault). For sure if they didn't do the cyber sale we would be having only one trip this fall, not two - so from our perspective, only because of the cyber sale, and only because we could choose RM and not enter the "random resort but yes you'll be going to Pearl" methods of the past. There's probably $2K right there that that gained by having the cyber sale.

However, it does make sense that it would be $$$ related. I wonder if they've gotten themselves in a little trouble on the investment side dumping all the money into Temptation renovations and the new location(s), probably accrued some debt with all that, many millions tied up in those projects I'd imagine. Last time there, I definitely got the impression that they were doing everything they could to get cash NOW (this was shortly after the Tempation reopening).

They rely so much on repeat business (the demographics seem to bear that out), I don't think their model would succeed at all if they think they can just pull in from an endless stream of new people open for this type of experience. Compared to everywhere else this is still a very niche market.
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby Markopllo » Thu Aug 09, 2018 9:31 pm

This report and a few others I’ve read are very disconcerting. We did get buy during the cyber sale and got a great deal for sure. We currently have 3 days at RM and 5 days at Pearl. This will be our first time at Pearl and our fourth time at RM. Now, I’m thinking we made a big mistake by booking 5 days at Pearl? These last few Pearl reports are quite the downer. I’m just wondering if we should try to adjust the days at each resort now? What would you do?
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby Moon » Fri Aug 10, 2018 6:59 am

This year we split our trip. Four days at Pearl, Four days at RM. We normally just go to Pearl, but we thought we would change it up a bit this year. I am so glad we did! As mentioned by others, the food at Pearl was awful this year! The dining at RM was not spectacular either, but it did not make us sick... and I have an iron stomach (few things bother me). The sexual / party vibe did not seem to exist this year at Pearl. The hot tub was empty around 1:00 on most nights. The disco cleared out pretty early and we never saw anyone in the playroom. We used the outdoor jacuzzi beds once, but us along with one or two other couples were the only people who played on these beds during a four night stay. RM was completely different. Huge party from Noon to 3 am. The pool games were fun, Disco was great . . the dinner buffet food was pretty bad, but the reservation restaurants and breakfast and lunch were ok. I guess these things are cyclical and hit or miss. We are going to try a split trip again, but this time we'll do it in May. We'll see....
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby TandD » Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:07 am

Hmm, I usually don't pay much attention to negative reviews figuring that it's just a one-off issue or mis-aligned expectations but these types of reviews and comments are starting to build some momentum. Plus, they are coming from people who have been there before and loved it - just like us.

We were at Pearl in May and didn't really notice any of these problems - except maybe lower quality tequila. Heading back in December so I guess we'll see.

It's a little like the newbies who can't believe how easy it is to get naked in front of people - I can't/don't want to believe it's as bad as people say it is until I experience it for myself.
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby trubluz » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:13 am

Markopllo wrote:This report and a few others I’ve read are very disconcerting. We did get buy during the cyber sale and got a great deal for sure. We currently have 3 days at RM and 5 days at Pearl. This will be our first time at Pearl and our fourth time at RM. Now, I’m thinking we made a big mistake by booking 5 days at Pearl? These last few Pearl reports are quite the downer. I’m just wondering if we should try to adjust the days at each resort now? What would you do?


I would recommend adjusting and doing minimal days at Pearl, just so you can experience it for yourself. We used to be such Pearl advocates but this trip it wasn't just us experiencing the extremely poor food quality, stomach issues, alcohol quality and lack of service all around. We loved RM's dining options especially the hibachi. We've only experienced RM once for Halloween but we would definitely return although I dread the stair climbing for the hot tub.
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby trubluz » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:31 am

TandD wrote:Hmm, I usually don't pay much attention to negative reviews figuring that it's just a one-off issue or mis-aligned expectations but these types of reviews and comments are starting to build some momentum. Plus, they are coming from people who have been there before and loved it - just like us.

We were at Pearl in May and didn't really notice any of these problems - except maybe lower quality tequila. Heading back in December so I guess we'll see.

It's a little like the newbies who can't believe how easy it is to get naked in front of people - I can't/don't want to believe it's as bad as people say it is until I experience it for myself.


Trust me it was not a easy review to write and there was so much more to our trip that was such a let down this year. We have loved Pearl so much since opening and have encouraged so many to go and experience it over the years but after this trip we have to rethink when and if we will return to Pearl again. We really think its the current management staff which is very disappointing as we had such high hopes for an even better time since Alberto Martinez was transferred there from RM. As he always made Cabo and RM experiences top notch. Antonio the guest service manager he is very confrontational with guest and we witnessed this first hand with us and others. We really miss Paloma who was originally there the first couple of years. She was amazing to work with and went over and beyond guest requests.

All I can say is that hopefully my survey at check out was not deleted and that upper management changes some things. Upon check out we actually had to ask for the tablet to do the survey as they did not offer it to us as they have every prior trip.
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby Meet ya on the beach » Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:06 pm

We're coming for our first trip on 1 Sep, and have just sent a note to the resort citing the recent bad reviews, detailing the issues they call out, and asking them to speak to those issues. Don't know if we'll get any meaningful response. However, hotels/resorts are more sensitive to bad reviews in these TripAdvisor-driven times, and I did mention that we vacation 4 times a year and write really, really detailed reviews (particularly when disappointed).

I'll let you know what they say! (I'm sure it will be full of reassurances and such that may or may not have any meaning, but at least it's making them a bit more aware that the negative press is being read and reacted to.)

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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby av80r » Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:11 pm

As a very active and happy couple who loves vacations we are very excited to make our first trip to pearl late sept...a few of these recent reviews are very unsettling.

I have read hundreds of pearl reviews and even on trip advisor yours is one of the only serious negative ones in a while. Don't get me wrong, i am certainly not questioning your version at all. I just find it odd that repeat loyal visitors like you are treated so badly on so many fronts (clearly not just one service or meal issue), while 99% of the current reviews seem to be over the top positive.

It would really be nice to see management respond on here with a detailed rebuttal of what exactly is going on or changed, and how they are addressing concerns going forward. A few bad reviews posted on here and trip advisor can easily cost them tens of thousands in bookings if they choose to not take them seriously and address it fast.

Will be interested as we were 100% pumped and really wonder if we made a bit of a mistake if this place is taking a dive. :oops:
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby eddieandjojo » Fri Aug 10, 2018 2:22 pm

av80r - congrats on making the choice to experience Desire and Pearl has been a wonderful property over the years so keep the pumped vibe going because it will be awesome. I can tell you though, this review is backed by several other reviews equally as concerning that occurred just last week. We personally visited the resort during the day to visit a few couples that we knew were there. Each and every one of them said it was certainly an off week and not customary of past Pearl experiences. We also know of three couples that left Pearl early and checked into RM for the rest of there vacation.

This forum is great and independent of the resort, so reviews are straight forward and unedited! Point being to my rambling is that the recent reviews point to an issue and in my humble opinion, I feel if enough people point it out here AND on Trip Advisor, something will be done! As a last resort, if you are unhappy at Pearl, request a transfer to RM (not guaranteed they will honor it) if they have availability.

We love Desire and are booked at Pearl this coming March trusting things will be ironed out!
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby av80r » Fri Aug 10, 2018 2:52 pm

Thanks Eddieandjojo.

We will certainly do our best to have a great time no matter what the resort delivers, we do hope for a fun crowd when we are there as that should certainly overcome any short comings of the resort. Just rumours that the food sucks, bad or re bottled crap booze and bad service really kills the buzz. Anyway thanks for the reassurance. Would really like management to chime in like they do on Tripadvisor.

Ps...really nice pic. :D

Cheers R an T
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Re: SO DISAPPOINTED Worst Desire 4th of July Trip Ever(2018)

Postby Powderfinger » Fri Aug 10, 2018 3:18 pm

av80r wrote:Just rumours that the food sucks, bad or re bottled crap booze and bad service really kills the buzz.


This is why we've been reticent to post much on this trip and have yet to post our own trip report. This isn't rumors. We were there. We experienced it. It was far from our first rodeo at Desire. All the others posting were there. They experienced it. It wasn't their first Desire rodeo. The reviews you're reading on your Trip Advisor bible, even the recent good ones, are mentioning service and food issues. Nobody wants to kill your buzz, but HERE is the place to get unvarnished up-to-date reports. We are the fanatics, who don't want to have anything negative to say, but sometimes the facts get in the way....

No matter what, you're going to have a great trip. Would we go back to Pearl? Not if you paid us. HOWEVER, that's because RM exists. Even with all our bad issues, the trip was better than going to ANY other resort in the Riviera Maya EXCEPT for RM.....
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