We arrived on Thursday around midday. Our room wasn't ready, but we slipped off to the spa to get 'changed'...
Found a nice spot near the wall on the pool...gave a nice tip and asked if we could have the same chairs for the duration.
Thursday was very tame. We noticed a much older crowd. At 40 (her) and 50 (him), we definitely seemed to be way towards the young end of the crowd. Not that we care about the age of the crowd...as there has been some very fun times with older people there, but the crowd seemed very low-key. Had a great dinner at Pearl, then off to bed. Travel day...so we wanted to rest up...
Friday our seats were ready after breakfast. It was nice having 2 pool / foam parties this trip, as we weren't aware of Mexican Independence Day... and the resort had a foam party on Friday and Saturday. Again, the resort seemed very low-key and not a lot of 'hooting and hollering'. I loved the poolside dinner Friday night, as the celebration of MID was continued with a Mexican Feast!!!
Saturday we could definitely tell a difference in the crowd and it started having a much more fun vibe and a buzz...
Sunday the rejuvenated vibe continued.
A couple of observations...
The beach was basically unusable (for us). From the sea grass and the sand disappearing, we spent about 15 seconds on the beach...then went back to the pool. The DJ around the pool seemed to play much better music this trip too.
We haven't been to RM, as we like to be naked, and aren't in the lifestyle... we've heard the RM is much more 'aggressive'. But after the first couple of days, we were talking about going to RM next time (this was our 5th trip to Pearl). But after Saturday and Sunday...it felt like the normal Pearl that we love!!
I noticed how VERY little the majority of people (that I saw) tipped. I was SHOCKED!!! At breakfast in 4 days...I saw 1 person leave $3 and 1 person leave $2. We did lunch outside most days, so i didn't see that. At all 4 dinners, I didn't see one person leave a tip. However, I wasn't inspecting their tables...just noticing... The amount of service that the workers give and the amount of workers that are there to wait on your every request, definitely deserves tips..and good tips. Orrrr...maybe I received excellent service because of my tips? I don't think I give an exorbitant amount... Just kind of give what I feel I would spend if I was paying cash for each service.
Here is what I "usually" tip (there are always exceptions for EXTRA amazing service).
Pool chair attendant - $30 first day - $10 each day after
Pool drink attendant - $15 per day (or $20 if there are 2 that attend to us)
Pool bartenders - $15 per day
Hot tub bartenders - $10-$20 per day
Lobby bartenders - $10-$15 per day
Breakfast - $10
Lunch - (if eating inside) - $10-$20
Dinner - $30-$50
All in all, it was a great trip and we can't wait until next time!!!!!