1st Timers Trip Report - DRM July 2024

[minnycpl]

We are a non-lifestyle albeit sexually adventurous couple in our late 40s. We’d previously been to resorts with nude beaches and really enjoyed the freedom of lounging around naked most of the day. The opportunities for public nudity coupled with a naughty and stimulating atmosphere drew us to Desire Riviera Maya, and the resort did not disappoint.

We arrived in the Yucatan on the same day as hurricane Beryl. Our flight from the US was delayed an hour due to the storm, but otherwise went smoothly. The Cancun airport had just reopened as we landed. This turned out to be advantageous as the immigration line was relatively short. We prebooked with USA Transfers for our ride to the resort. The driver was fantastic.

We arrived at the resort in the late afternoon. At that time, the resort staff was fully engaged in the post hurricane clean up effort. The lobby area was nearly empty. Thankfully, this meant that the membership sales staff wasn’t at their desks, so we were spared any sort of membership sales pitch. Although we arrived after check in time, our room was understandably not yet ready. After issuing us our bracelets, the staff stored our luggage until the room became available.

While waiting for our room, we walked the grounds for a bit. Beryl’s impact on the resort was readily visible. The tops had been torn off nearly all of the palm trees. Roof tiles were scattered about the resort. The beach had more-or-less completely vanished due to the storm surge. Both pools were closed for cleanup, so the playmakers and several guests gathered in the central lobby bar and played what sounded like a very raucous game of bag toss. The jacuzzi was open, and a few guests were there drinking at the jacuzzi bar.

Our room was ready around 6pm. We’d originally book a standard Garden View room through Expedia. I don’t know if it had something to do with the hurricane or the fact that we are platinum level members on Expedia, but we were upgraded to a magnificent Beloved Garden View Jacuzzi Suite in the new Eden section. The room was on the top floor. It was very clean, well decorated and spacious and had a partial ocean view from the balcony. The large jacuzzi opposite a full length mirror and a huge walk-in shower were definitely highlights. On most of our travels we tend to spend very little time in the room, so such amenities are usually not worth the added price, but at Desire we found ourselves spending a large amount of time in the room either dressing up for dinner and theme nights or taking full advantage of the sexually charged atmosphere. Therefore, we greatly appreciated the upgraded room.

The room also came with a friendly butler who went by G. He set up all of our dinner reservations and made sure our minibar was stocked with our favorite beverages.

Because of the hurricane recovery, the only restaurant open on our first night was Eros, where the staff set out an impressive buffet dinner. The theme that night was Angels & Devils. We both dressed as sexy devils. I highly recommend dressing up for all of the various theme nights. I know that it requires some extra packing, but it’s extremely fun and freeing to dress up. When we were there, probably seventy percent of the guests dressed, at least to some extent, for the themes.

The entertainment on our first night consisted of a band at the lobby bar followed by a burlesque show at the disco. Both female and male performers stripteased on the dance floor. More than once, performers pulled members of the crowd onto the dance floor with them, and with the crowd’s encouragement, helped them shed some of their own clothes and inhibitions.
After the performance, the disco really heated up as many couples, including ourselves, took to the dance floor. The disco playroom is right next to the disco restroom. We peaked in the playroom during a bathroom break. We saw one couple playing in there. We didn’t make it to bed until 3am.

The following morning, you could hardly tell that a hurricane had hit the property the previous day. The staff obviously worked very hard to get everything back up and running. The quiet pool was still being refilled, but the main pool and all of the restaurants were open. After tipping the pool attendant at 9am, we managed to secure a comfortable pool cabana where we spent the majority of the day. Because of the hurricane, the foam party (which is generally held on Fridays) was pushed to Saturday. We took advantage of the foamy surroundings to engage in a some surreptitious sensuality.

We had dinner at the Kahlo, their Mexican restaurant. The food and service were excellent. It was definitely our favorite restaurant on the property. The theme that evening was Latin Night, which is a fairly ambiguous. Those who dressed up, including ourselves, tended to go with a flashy, semi-disco look. The playmakers led a conga line on the lobby bar dance floor before people headed upstairs for the disco and jacuzzi. Yet Again, we didn’t t make it until 3am.

Day three started much like day two. I tipped to pool attendant at 9am so that we could secure another pool cabana.

Some notes on the pool: We were surprised that pool cabanas seemed fairly easy to get. From reviews I’d read prior to our trip, I was expecting the cabanas to be mostly reserved by members, but at least half of the cabanas were available for non-members every day we were there. Unlike many guests who seem to enjoy basking in the scorching Yucatan sun all day long, and therefore seek out the uncovered pool loungers, we both burn fairly easily. The pool cabanas were perfect for us. No matter how much sunscreen we applied, I think we would have had a rough time spending all day at the pool without frequent access to shade.

The music the DJ played at the pool was generally decent and not annoyingly loud. Our only complaint was that later in the afternoons, the DJ would get mired in long stretches of 70s and 80s rock. I like classic rock as much as most people my age, but it comes off as very tired and somewhat jarring when played too often poolside. It just didn’t fit the vibe.

The pool games are fun, surprisingly competitive, and a great way to interact with other guests. I played both pool volleyball and water polo. The playmakers do a fantastic job keeping things lively. Like almost all of the staff, the playmakers work long hours six days a week. Given their effort and sunny dispositions, in my opinion, the playmakers should be at the top of the list when it comes to tipping. Generally, we found tipping etiquette at desire to be a little confounding. The pool attendants and butlers seem to be tipped the most, although in retrospect they have sparse guest interaction other than securing pool chairs and dinner reservations. We tipped bartenders and wait staff of course. We also left a a tip for the housekeeping staff at the end of our stay.

Most of the guests at the pool were either nude, topless or wearing almost nothing. Some guests spent a lot of socializing while others kept mostly to themselves. Almost everyone we interacted with was polite and welcoming. There was one guy, who I assume was a frequent guest, that routinely blew a whistle that he wore around his neck and shouted “No photos!” - apparently as a joke as nobody was actually taking photos. That got irritating very quickly.

We had dinner at Eros on our third night. The Mediterranean fare was good, and being able to eat outside listening to the lapping surf added to the romantic atmosphere. The theme that night was Wet Dreams/Lace. The resort website recommends that guys wear suspenders for this theme. That perplexed us, as we’ve yet to encounter anyone who includes suspenders in their list of sexy attire. Maybe the website designer has a suspenders fetish. Nevertheless, we didn’t see any guys wearing suspenders. The women, however, looked fantastic their skimpy lace outfits. The pre-disco entertainment consisted of a very good band playing an eclectic mix of dance music. The disco itself was rather quiet that night, but there was a lot of action taking place at the jacuzzi. I grabbed a late night BLT as a snack before we headed back to the room. Yet again, we didn’t make it to bed before 3am.

Day four once again started with a 9am cabana reservation and then a day spent lounging at the main pool. The quiet pool had reopened by this time. Prior to our trip, we’d anticipated spending much our our time at the quiet pool because we thought the main pool might be too boisterous for our tastes. As it turned out, the atmosphere at the main pool was the perfect mix or energy and relaxation. We didn’t end up spending any time at the quiet pool.

We had dinner that night at Suki. With its long tables and mixed seating, it’s a wonderful place to meet other guests, if that’s your thing. As a non-lifestyle couple, we probably would have preferred a quiet table by ourselves, but the food was good, especially the sushi.

The theme that night was 69 Shades of Desire, which we’d been excitedly anticipating because it allowed us to show off our bondage gear. Apparently our outfits hit the mark, as Babi (an amazing playmaker) pulled us onto the lobby bar dance floor as soon as we arrived and started raving about our outfits and performing a sexy and humorous dance with us. It was definitely a trip highlight. We certainly weren’t the only ones into the bondage theme, as the pre-disco festivities had a very high turnout and it seemed that nearly everyone dressed for the theme at least to some degree. We even saw at least two groups of people engaged in some paddling and flogging. The disco that night felt like a rave. Everywhere we looked, sexy couples were making out on the dance floor. We had some tacos for a late night snack and once again didn’t make it to bed before 3am.

On our final full day, we secured a pool cabana on the edge of sea wall. It was closer to the back of the pool bar than we liked, but we loved being able to look directly at the ocean from the back of the cabana. We even waded out into the water and took a few clandestine photos of one another. We had lunch at the pool, which we’d highly recommend. At four we headed up to the jacuzzi. If you’re interested in engaging some public friskiness without a ton of people in the immediate vicinity, we’d recommend going to the jacuzzi right at 4pm. Most of the guests are still enjoying the pool at the time and the vast majority of the beds will be open. By 4:30 or five, a lot of people start to filter up to the jacuzzi area. The only downside of using the jacuzzi beds at that time, especially the ones right near the back wall, is that smokers tend to gather near there to light up. I’m not sure if the resort has designated that space as a smoking area, but there are few things less arousing than second hand smoke wafting over you as you’re getting down to business.

We ate our final dinner at Sahlo, which is billed as a romantic restaurant serving international cuisine. We found the decor to be rather dated, and the food to be so-so, but the service was excellent.

The theme for our final night was God’s and Goddesses. Just dress for a toga party, and you’ll be fine. The pre-disco show consisted of acrobats and contortionists. I won’t ruin the show by describing it in detail, but suffice it to say, both the performers and the staff members who mopped up afterword should be commended for the excellent job they did. A DJ from Belgium provided the post show dance music. The disco was very crowded that night, so rather than dancing, we decided to spend a bit more time on the jacuzzi beds. The beds fill up much faster at night than they do during the late afternoon. The jacuzzi itself was full of frolicking naked people. Having gotten scant sleep for four nights in a row, we decided to head back to the room early. I think we made it to bed by 2am.

On our final morning, we ordered breakfast from room service. It came a little later than the time we’d specified, but the food was great, and it was nice to to relax in our beautiful room for a bit before checking out and catching our transfer back to the airport.

That was our Desire Riviera Maya experience. We’re already talking about making a trip back at some point, although I think we’ll try Desire Pearl next time just to try something new.