Just got back from our 1st time at Pearl and had a terrific time. To set the stage, we are an older couple (chronologically anyway but young in spirit and body) and are not in the lifestyle (more later). So here goes, hope this doesn’t turn out to be too long. I’ll start in reverse order:
The ugly: - Well as you know by now, the seaweed is terrible! We walked along the beach to Porto Morales and there were crews of 10 – 15 guys piling it up in stacks 5+ ft tall. They had a front loader and 3 dump trucks hauling the stuff away. That gives you some idea of the mess. At the resort there was someone cleaning the beach with a rake and wheelbarrow but basically the beach is unusable now. There is nothing more Pearl can do about this, enjoy the pool until the seaweed clears up.
The bad: - Not too much to say here, there really wasn’t much bad. The only three things I can put in this category were wakeup calls, steaks and shower. On three occasions we requested wakeup calls, the first one was 30 minutes late and the second two never happened. Don’t know why they can’t get this right. I’m just glad we found that out before we asked for a wakeup to get to the airport on time. We just started using the clock in the room.
Now, unless you’re willing to pay $30 - $60 for a decent steak you are not going to get one as all inclusive. They had “T-bone” and “rib eye” one evening at Aphrodite. We ordered the rib eye and it was about ¼ inch thick and over cooked. My wife’s was so knurly she couldn’t eat it. We didn’t order steaks again.
As to the shower in the room, it was tiny. We always shower together and given the atmosphere at Pearl it only seems logical. However, it’s almost impossible to get two people in the shower (and we are HWP). Heavens forbid if someone just touched the water regulator it would get scalding hot! The water in the sink and shower was very difficult to regulate. It took a long while before it reacted to the change of the regulator so you never really knew how hot it was going to get.
The good:
The people - The people are amazing, both the staff and guests. All of the Playmakers were fantastic and friendly and kept the party going. Kia is a package of dynamite. Candice, Chanel and Roberto went out of their way to be friendly and the “Ringmaster” Charlie kept things moving along. Victor and Antonio always had chairs available for us in the shade by the pool and greeted you with a smile and a good morning. At the Pearl restaurant where we ate most of our dinners, Eduardo the Matre’d and our waiters, Eric and Willbert were top notch and very attentive to our needs. Jose, Jesus and Horacio in Aphrodite were also standouts when it came to service and friendliness. Our two masseuses, Raphael and Paola were also excellent. Everyone else, the bartenders and pool waiters were all excellent unfortunately I don’t know their names.
I would say about 98% of all of the guests were very friendly. As I mentioned, we are an older couple, in our 60’s, so we didn’t get any “advances”, rather, everyone kept telling us that they wanted to have the same attitude and fire as us “when they grow up” (just slightly paraphrasing ) Actually they never mentioned age but it was inferred. There were other older couples there but I don’t think they were nearly as active as us. There were quite a few non-Americans, people from all over the world. I would say it was about 60 /40 Americans to non. We met people from Ghana, Austria, Columbia, Mexico, Brazil and other places. It was amazing how friendly everyone was. I would say the average age was mid 40's and ranged from 30's to 70's.
The Resort - The grounds are beautiful and well maintained along with the pool and hot tub. The rooms are about average but you really don’t spend much time in them. I wish the layout of the rooms were a little different. We had an ocean view room with a good ocean view but because of the layout you could not see it from the bed, you had to be on the patio or couch area. All of the areas of the resort were top notch.
Food – Except for the above mentioned steaks the food was very good. The selections at breakfast and lunch were abundant. If you couldn’t find something good to eat then you must be addicted to fast food junk food. I mean there was meat, fish, shellfish, chicken, pork, salads, breads, fruit, antipasto, you name it, I can’t remember all of the selections they had out. Dinner in Pearl was also excellent. They rotated between three menus, French, Italian and Mediterranean. All of the desserts at Pearl and Aphrodite were tasty and nicely portioned. You could always take as many as you want but I didn’t feel guilty eating dessert because of the portion size.
Entertainment – We enjoyed and participated in all of the entertainment. As I mentioned, the Playmakers get the party going and keep it going. The activities around the pool are loads of fun especially the foam party. The shows in the disco at night were very very good with the Neon night show being exceptional. I don’t know if they do the same shows all the time but I would not mind seeing any of them again. I was a “Chippendale” on lady’s night and my wife “walked the runway” on lingerie night. I would say most people who went to the disco dressed for the theme nights. We went to both of Lauren and Richard’s Art of Touch sessions and enjoyed them immensely. We highly recommend the sessions. We did not see any PDS outside of the hot tub area but did see plenty in and around the hot tub and after the Art of Touch sessions. PDA all over the place, it’s just that kind of atmosphere. All I can say is GO, PARTICIPATE, RELAX, and ENJOY and you will have a great time.
As I mentioned we are not in the lifestyle. Prior to this we have been to CO resorts, mostly in St. Martin at Orient Beach but never any lifestyle friendly resorts. Before we left for Pearl I wasn’t sure if my wife would even wear any of the sexy clothes I bought for her and she swore there would be no public sex for me. So like everyone says, go with no expectations and let whatever happens happen. Well, not only did she wear all of the sexy outfits and may I say very well but by day three we did have sex in a hot tub bed in public and also after the Art of Touch Class. Everyone else who attended the session wound up having sex afterwards on the mats. On top of that she kissed a woman for the first time. I’m talking a hot naked kiss with a 30ish 11 on a scale of 1 - 10. (She was my crush during the week) She was a super nice and friendly beautiful woman. So this all begs the question, are we in the lifestyle? I guess if there is a continuum from voyeurism and exhibitionism to full swap then we are somewhere along it and in the lifestyle.
Bottom line, Go, you will not regret it, actually you will love it. It was one of the best vacations we have ever taken and we have taken quite a few.