First timer feedback:
This is in reference to our first stay at the Desire Riviera Maya resort in early August 2018. We are not in the lifestyle, but also are not prudes – and were actually pretty open to the idea of trying new things under the right circumstances on this trip.
Arrival/Check-in:
The Aventour car service from the airport was fantastic. Professional. They were on-time and felt high-class both to and from the airport. Good experience. Check-in at the resort was… awkward. Initial check-in process was fine, room keys, wrist band – pretty standard. The progression from that to the “sales pitch” was not natural and actually annoying (Desire, please STOP this process – if people want to buy something else, or hear about the other properties, make them aware that you are available to discuss and they can choose to do so on their own). We avoided a commitment to meet with the staff and endure the 1.5 hour long pitch – and were not tracked down and asked again, so I guess it was OK – but it seemed to have an “ick-factor”.
There is a little initial culture shock at the resort – and it takes some time to adjust. Our room was one of the less expensive options, and the initial reaction was not good. For starters, there was a live lizard running around the room when we arrived (the bag porter simply said “he is a small one – it is OK”)… this was actually NOT OK… not welcoming, and when combined with the bugs on the walls, the ants on the balcony, and the huge gap under the door to the balcony (which provided easy room access for all of these things) it made you feel uncomfortable. We ushered the lizard out on our own, and put the bath mat under the door jamb for the rest of the week. There were some obvious plumbing issues with the room (handle to sink came off in your hand, there were water stains on the ceiling of the bathroom, and the shower fluctuated temperatures during use). After a while the room got to feel more tolerable, but the initial reaction was awful.
Restaurants:
Night one (due to arrival time) was at the buffet restaurant. It had decent quality food (steaks looked good) but preparation was lacking a bit (didn’t taste great). The bigger issues were that the restaurant had a smoke detector that needed a battery change (and actually needed it every time we went in there for the rest of the trip), yet no one changed it (chirp…. chirp). Also, consistently buzzing over my wife’s head at dinner were ~4-7 mosquitoes at any given time. We only went back to this restaurant for breakfast the rest of the time – and while the smoke detector persisted, the bugs were not seen again. Breakfast was decent quality and had a wide array of options – good. The lunch area is near the pool and had standard lunch fare (salads, burgers, etc). The food here was decent and actually the quesadilla and red-sauce were very good. The restaurants which require reservations had set menus but both had decent quality food – we ate at Sahlo twice and Suki once (for Hibachi). I have no complaints on either restaurant. The reservation process was strange because you could only make reservations the day of at 10AM (in the breakfast restaurant), but I assume this is done to allow for equal opportunity on seating and works once you understand the process.
Pool/Beach:
We started at the pool area on the first full day – they assign chairs (you don’t pick them). It was OK and the area is nice with a swim-up bar and regular serving bar, but quickly became crowded. People very close proximity. My wife and I came to relax and get some time alone before considering time with others, so this was unsettling. We then ventured to the beach – great experience and actually swayed our entire opinion of the property. The beach beds are awesome. They are essentially free (we tipped ~$5 each time), and afforded you two beach chairs, towels, and a queen sized covered bed near the water – and separation from the people next to you. The ocean was full of seaweed which apparently could not be removed due to turtle nesting season, so it wasn’t extremely scenic, but it was a great get-away. We spent the majority of the resort time at the beach and liked it there.
Service and Bar offerings
The service was great (other than the porter who cared less about the lizard). All of the restaurant personnel were extremely helpful and seemingly went above and beyond. The crews at the beach and pool were rotating towels and maintaining the areas quite well and were quick to respond. Alejandro at the pool bar was my favorite – he immediately began to recognize me and had my drink order waiting. This was first class service and made me go back to him each time for a drink – even though we were actually closer to the beach bar most of the time. Various staff tried to sell items like spa services, erotic picture books (of us…), or tried to involve us in various activities elsewhere in the resort. They were pleasant, respectful, didn’t force anything, and basically left you alone if you politely said “no thank you”. The staff is a huge asset to the property. The bar offerings are pretty solid. The house vodka is Skyy or Absolut – both of which are a decent middle-brand. The beer is Dos Equis (they offer Tecate Light in the rooms too), & we stuck with house wine at the restaurants each night which wasn’t too bad.
Theme nights & Hot Spots:
We participated minimally in theme nights but went to the courtyard area to people watch – it was fun to watch the environment as it was getting started. Relatively tame outside (other than really risqué outfits) and was enjoyable. We did not participate in any of the playroom or Jacuzzi area activities. I think that the allowance for sexual activity in those areas was a unique feature of the resort (which I liked) and also helped to separate it from being “everywhere”. The beach is also an allowable area and was not overly “in your face”, but we saw several couples engaging in oral sex, some couples in the water (with the seaweed!) having sex, and we ourselves even may have enjoyed some manual manipulation on each other in this space – it was actually very open and relaxing (and seemed taboo and mysterious – so kind of fun).
Overall and general comments:
The resort has a lot of good ideas, but there were also some things that needed an extra step. The rooms are older, and NOT AT ALL soundproof. We listened to our neighbor vomit every 2 hours or so for an entire night, we could hear the music or sounds from the Jacuzzi (we were in same building) until late hours, people talking and walking near our room regularly throughout the night, a pressure washer for hours at a time, and I think even a circular saw at one point…? The noise was probably our biggest complaint.
My wife rarely wore a top at all on this vacation when outside typically with a G-string (went without bottoms on the beach also), and I absolutely loved the clothing-optional concept for the entire property – it was great to simply walk out of the room and go to the beach with only sunglasses and flip-flops, but sometimes the nakedness could be toned down (or have more sanitary considerations) – example: there was an outside grilling/food preparation area where (quite literally) penises and plates were inches (or less) apart. I appreciate the sexy clothing, but really nobody needed to see nipples and vaginas in the breakfast restaurant (I think some of this is simply clientele that pushed the boundaries, but it seemed to be overkill sometimes). Our opinion on day one was that we were going to be sorely disappointed with this vacation – and while it didn’t live up to everything we wanted (the room and capability to have some peace/quiet and downtime outside of the beach was too limited), we still had a pretty enjoyable time.
Overall, if you are looking for a fully clothing optional swinging experience with late night entertainment and opportunity, Desire is likely a good fit for you. We wanted some of this, but also a little relax time as well. I am not sure we will return to Desire, but may again try another lifestyle resort in the future.