Cost

[tout.prest]

It's called supply and demand people...they charge because they can.....if it was your business, why the hell would you lower prices?!?!? I wouldn't, and you wouldn't.......

Whew !! I thought it was just my capitalistic attitude.

I wouldn't think of lowering prices. For myself, I would rather continually re-invest in the resort to make the appeal even greater, so when demand increases, I could charge even more.

I personally don't find the prices that unreasonable. And I don't know of anywhere My wife and I could vacation for much less $$, that we wouldn't get much less value/quality. Dont get mad at Desire because they are smart enough to offer a product that customers are willing to pay for...

Steve

[njdesirecpl]

We are leaving for our 8th trip to Desire on March 5. Our first trip we paid in the neighborhood of $250 per night for an oceanfront room in the building that was destroyed in the hurricane. this trip we are paying well over $500 per night due to going in early march as opposed to late april as is normal for us.

In our opinion, Desire has done much to upgrade the physical plant at the resort but in our humble opinion the food has gone downhill somewhat and we really miss the pier as well.

We will continue to go to Desire until someone opens a like minded resort someplace warm.

[GONE SOUTH]

Yes you are right. Supply and demand, Cant be mad at them.

So are only hope is they get some competition.

Lets break it down.

All Nude
Private room
Food ok
Beach sucks
Atmosphere Great
460 per night????

I am not the only one on this site who has an issue with the price and I am not mad at them.

Dont get me wrong if you can afford it the ATMOSPHERE IS GREATTTT.

Have fun....

[miranda]

Maybe I'm missing something here but what is it about Desire that we all "love"?

There are lots of clothing optional / nude resorts out there.

There are lots of adult-only resorts out there.

There are lots of resorts with way better beaches than Desire.

There are lots of resorts with better entertainment and discos.

There are lots of resorts out there that offer beach beds and beds on the property.

And there are lots of resorts that have great food and top shelf liquors.

If you combine all those things heck that, in itself, is a "turn on" for me!

Are you saying that the Hedo's are not competition for Desire? Having never been to a Hedo, (and from what I've read I don't want to go), but what's the difference?

As I mentioned before, why not try a Temptations? Same resort "family" but a heck of a lot cheaper.

[eddieandjojo]

Yep, supply and demand indeed! Prices fluctuate throughout the year and they do run some nice deals if you are patient and/or can go during the non-peak season. Examples:

January - we just got back, they were running a buy two, get one night free...heck of a deal if you go for 6 or 9 nights.

September - last fall they had a buy 4, get one free deal. Again, a great deal for a 5 night stay.

May - they start discounting the room rates and it usually gets booked very fast.

So, while the prices may be high right now, you can definitely go for much less than $400 per night as referenced above. Plus, depending on where you live, some flights are as low as $200 pp.

Last, if you break down the amount of all-inclusive items you get for the money, where else can you get this kind of value and still be in one of the most sexually, erotic environments that exists.

1. Meals - no, not 5 star, but very good at Suki & Il Piacere.
2. Drinks - heck you can drink brand name all day/night if you please. Try doing that at the Hilton or Hyatt and see what your tab would be for one person.
3. Watersports - free use of the Hobie Cat and kayaks. Snorkeling too.
4. Entertainment - nightly shows and/or music by the lobby lounge.

I could go on and on but you get my point. AND, it is just that, my opinion! I know it's not for everyone but we are hooked and we can't wait for our return trip (10th all together).

[Powderfinger]

Both Steve and Eddie make more great points......Original isn't simply sitting back and stuffing their pockets, in the past few months they've taken care of issues with the pool, hot tub (area), and now the disco. Thats money put back into the resort........Eddie's four points, well, you can find them at other all-inclusives, maybe at a slightly cheaper rate, but generally speaking, they are NOT going to be surpassed at those other resorts...and those other resorts sure as hell can't come anywhere near the Desire environment. Go to another all-inclusive, adults only or not, and report back on how many people will even say "hi!" to you. In fact, go and say "good morning" to everyone you see and count how many not only won't respond, but rather look away and pick up their pace...they're not folks like Eddie & Jojo who know most folks by the end of their trip and leave you going home wanting to do things you never could imagine, like reading Jose Canseco's book.....so, while you're doing that, we'll be back "home" for our 5th trip......

[oldseadog]

Agree with Powderfinger and Eddieandjojo; although we wouldn't have been this January without the 3 for 2 promotion, certainly with the £/$ rate at the moment.
We went to Temptations when it was Blue Bay Getaway, on an RCI last minute exchange when the plans went pear shaped at the last minute, and never again.

[GONE SOUTH]

You all have valued points.

Hopefully the rates go down and we can go again....

We have been to Temp but you cannot compare the two.

We unfortunately are new to this but we did enjoy the private room which I thought the Wife would never go for. Maybe next time we can break the Ice with other couples. Like I said we are new at this but would like to see the next level if it happens...

[mfay]

The subject of whether or not Desire is too expensive is one that we have thought about many times.
Probably at least 16 times, at least once before we booked each trip. But in the end we continue to go to Desire. We agree with many of the points made by Tout.prest, Miranda, EddieandJojo, and
Powderfinger, but we thought it might also be useful to the discussion to look back at some real numbers in comparing the Desire past to the present.
We started going to Desire early in 2004. We have gone at various times of the year, but we have been at Desire each and every September since 04 so we will use the September rates we paid each year as the comparison. Even though we weren’t there in Sept 03 we do have an ad from that year listing the Sept rates. Keep in mind that September is part of one of the slowest times of the year at Desire, and that these rates are for “garden viewâ€

[tout.prest]

Wow Mike ! All I can say is fantastic post. Not because you happen to share the same view as do I , but you broke down in such a well laid out manner. We never found Desire (or more likely, that we weren't ready for it) until 2008 so we really didnt have the costs to compare to.

Thanks for the post !

Steve

[mfay]

Thanks Steve. I think our Disney world trip last week gave me inspiration- and a new appreciation- for what Desire offers and what "overpriced" really means...
Wouldn't trade the experience with our granddaughter for anything though !

p.s.- I received an e-mail advertisement from a travel agent this morning announcing Desire's 2011 rates. It appears that the "rack rates"- standard rates without any promos- are exactly the same as 2009/2010 rates. The e-mail does say that there are early booking promo rates available but that you have to call to get them.

[nicenycpl]

You all make very good points...(as mel brooks put it...Howard Johnson is RIGHT!) Desire has become pricey, but as long as they are the only game in town, they can and will do that ! (who wouldnt?). Part of what makes them such a success is the repeat customers, who are also usualy the ones "promoting" the resort to "friends", and on lifestyle message boards and websites.

Desire acknowleges that with their "repeaters cocktail party", But wouldnt it be great if Desire had some sort of Frequent Guest (no, not a timeshare!!!!! ) program?? Something like every X number of trips gets a discounted rate, or room upgrade, etc. Comp room upgrades are almost unheard of! Last time we were there the resort was barely at 65%, (a takover had just left) and I mentioned at check in that this was our 6th trip, wink wink, and are there any suites available for an upgrade? I was told there were 4 Passion suites and 2 jaccuzi suites available for the increased rate but not comp... I asked why they dont do comp upgrades, and was told they hold these rooms for walk up busness!!!!! REALLY? has anyone EVER walked into Desire, on a whim, and checked into a passion suite?? (its not a holiday inn!) Just a little pet peeve, thats all...we just like to see a little acknowledgement from the managment of our loyalty to their product is all....

That said, we are planning trip #7 for August... We considered trying Caliente in Tampa, but just have not been able to find any really good reviews about the place, so we will stick with what we know works!

[mfay]

Just a follow up FYI here- If you haven't seen the ads yet, it looks like Desire has announced their 2011 rates- and they are once again at the 2009/2010 prices. No increases. And the garden view room specials are again available at the same pricing as 2009/2010 with early booking- various deadline dates according to the month you are looking at.

[newcpl24]

Caliente , a clothing optional resort based in Tampa , is starting a new competition with Desire in the Carribbean. "Caliente Caribe" has always been a private all inclusive nude resort- (very lush and tropical) and I have heard from a company source that they have researched Desire to a great deal and are eager for the "lifestyle" share of all inclusive nude travelers. Already they have made moves with "lifestyle weeks" more often this year than ever before and have built their first beach bed.(This is a private resort so sex on the beach is more than implied- its encouraged, especially during lifestyle weeks. ) I am not sure what they will do about singles - they probably aren't either, but I encourage competition.
In full disclosure we have been to both resorts Desire and Caribe - and will continue to go to Desire over Caribe until/unless Caribe becomes more like Desire. Just thought you all should know what is happening.

[ctcpl24fun]

We travel to Mexico a lot. Sometimes with the family and sometimes (Desire) without. Aside from the Lifestyle side of things Desire holds it's own in the marketplace. Check prices along the beach there at Desire and they are priced competitively for what they offer. And there are certainly more expensive places to stay.

As for upgrades, twice now we have been given free upgrades from Garden View to Ocean. Never asked and didn't find out till check in. We often stay for long weekends (4 nights) so easier to give up inventory for shorter periods of time (verse someone staying a week).

Also for us a huge plus for the resort is that it is 15mins from an airport we can fly directly into (LGA).

In our opinion they charge a fair rate for a good value.