However, that was not our experience at all. There were TONS of young, hot, fun people (we are 34 and 40) and the excitement level was perfect. We joined the Yahoo group (and then a KIK group) and honestly that was what made our experience. We met people (virtually) in advance and that made it easier to socialize quickly once we arrived.
Here's a quick summary of the pros/cons:
Pros
- The resort is very classy. We have heard it is nicer than RM (and also Hedo) and that was one of the things I liked about it. I got the c/o and lifestyle aspect without sacrificing some of the finer qualifies that you find in vanilla 5 star resorts.
- The resort is small, which makes it easy to meet people and get to know everyone.
- The staff is INCREDIBLE!!!!! The service is top notch and I have to say that is my favorite thing of all about Pearl.
- The Jacuzzi area is the highlight. I have heard that it is WAY nicer than the one at RM. The Jacuzzi was my second favorite thing about Pearl.
- The photoshoot. DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jahel is AMAZING. We intended to buy one or two photos and instead bought 40 (at a fraction of the price I would have paid at home and for pictures I would not have got out of a regular boudoir shoot). I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THAT YOU MUST DO THIS!!!!
- Beach left something to be desired. Compared to the white sands and crystal waters of the immediate Cancun area, the beach at Pearl is full of seaweed, and the water was worse. This was by far my LEAST favorite thing about the resort. It might be the reason I don't go back as often, as the beach is very important to me (although I will say that the pool is very nice, and is not a bad consolation prize)
- Food was so-so. The décor of the restaurants is nice but I found the food to be mediocre.
- Disco-although we enjoyed ourselves at the Disco each night (we LOVE to play dress up) we found that the disco emptied out very early (perhaps because the draw to the Jacuzzi area was so great). Also the music was SO REPETITIVE. By night 5 I was predicting the playlist by memory.
- Erotic massage-This was very disappointing. We had heard such great things. But honestly it was weird and awkward. My masseuse kept awkwardly blowing in my ear. The "touching" was aggressive and did not feel very good. My man didn't get aroused. All in all it was a disaster, but one that we salvaged on our own once they left the room. I would say that since so many people recommend this, you should try it but make sure you request specific people you have heard good things about.
We have discussed whether we will return, and I think we will. But we are going to try out Hedonism first, to get a comparative experience and see what suits us best. If that turns out to be Desire, then we will definitely be back!
James and Tasha