Desire RM Review April 13-22, 2015
This is our first review of our trip to Desire Riviera Maya Spa and Resort and our second visit to a lifestyle type resort in less the one year. As a precursor, we are late comers to vacationing at this type of resort having just started in the last two years and being in our early sixties, we hope to bring a different point of view to this forum. The Mrs. and I are not full lifestyle (soft-play at best) but we greatly enjoy the freedom these resorts offer. As with Hedonism 2, we approached our trip to Desire RM with an open mind but plenty of advice and opinions from our friends. I will attempt to make a realistic comparison of the main areas of the two resorts from a first-timers point of view rather than a day-by-day activity breakdown.
Enjoy!
The flight to Cancun was fairly short and easy; leaving at 0620 and on the ground in CUN at 1128. We had arranged for private transfer and a sign with our name was easy to find after snaking by the time-share booths. We were on property by 1230 and after bypassing the Desire time-share presentation, in our room by 1300 and pool-side by 1310. Total elapse time from touchdown to poolside: Under 2 hours!! Desire Wins!!
Grounds: The resort is beautifully landscaped and very clean. The buildings are staggered with level pathways winding throughout. The property was very easy for the Mrs. to walk in heels and she was happy to have brought her favorite CFM shoes. There was constant evidence of maintenance on the property from palm-tree pruning to replacing showerheads on one of the many wash-off stations (no open pipes here). There always seemed to be someone cleaning even the smallest blemish anywhere on the resort. All the public bathrooms were clean and constantly maintained; in fact the Disco had an attendant assisting patrons every night we were there. The guys at Hedo could definitely go to school in this area.
Beach: Nice sand the full length of resort and water was comfortable. Like Hedo, you can’t really swim due to the sea grass but you can walk out at least 50ft or so (about waist deep). The water was clear on every day but the last two (more on that later). April is seaweed season so the beach was covered in the AM but there was a daily tractor sweep that took care of the issue. There are daybeds and loungers the length of the beach, some reserved based on your room type and some if you are premier member. We had no problem acquiring a daybed on any day we were there. There are no floats unless you bring your own. As the beach area is open to the public, PDA is not permitted and the area is patrolled by security.
Main Pool: Big and beautiful! Very nice swim-up bar at one end. There were plenty of loungers and daybeds to accommodate everyone even when the resort was at capacity on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Clean towels were available on demand and nicely managed by Daniel, who knew our name and lounge preference by the third day. Again, the whole area was kept impeccably clean by all staff every day. We’ve been to some Ritz’s that don’t have this act down like Desire. Kudos to all the staff!
Jacuzzi: Smaller then Hedo but well-maintained, clean, and nicely controlled temperature; it was never uncomfortable to use regardless of the time of day. There is a large swim-up bar that is also accessible from the non-water side. Five canopied queen day beds occupy one end of the area and several cushioned loungers run the length of the deck by the Jacuzzi. The area also has its own bathrooms and small lounging area with cubbies for your beach bag and CFM shoes if you go up after the Disco at night. Towels were in abundance any time. The place was very active from about 4pm to 7pm and then from 11pm after.
Food: Sahlo and Suki were excellent! In fact, several dishes we had at Sahlo were very inventive and appealing and we eat here four of our eight nights. The Mrs. also loved the Teppanyaki table at Suki’s which had a nice show and plenty to eat and was a great way to meet people (we always made a point of taking the middle seats on the table for six). We only eat at the main buffet one night and Hedo’s evening buffet blows Desire’s away in this one area. We did use the main buffet every morning for breakfast and I still wasn’t impressed even being fruit and cereal morning people. Hedo has this act down nicely. The lunch buffet at Tentazione poolside did have a nice mix of fare every day and the flavors were good.
Beverages: Kind of a mix in this area depending on the server. Not all drinks were mixed the same. We tend to stay with Tanqueray gin and tonic and there is a difference in the tonic Desire uses which affected the flavor. Alex and Ci Ci were fantastic and seemed to be the only ones to make a properly spicy bloody mary. All drinks were strong if you asked for the right type but the house specials of the day always seemed weak. All drinks were served with a smile and never a wait of more than a few minutes.
Entertainment: Very good simply because it wasnt blasting over you while you were eating your dinner. The different shows started at 930PM in the main lobby bar and lounge and featured a live band five of the nights. The EC’s were all great and very talented and never hesitated to mix in with the guests on the theme nights or pool activities. Sofia was one of the newer EC’s and she is a dynamo. The Mrs. and Sofia clicked on neon theme night and Sofia never missed a day greeting her by name and chatting throughout our stay. The pool activities were a mix of water aerobics, water volleyball, and one fantastic foam party. What a blast! They must have run that machine a good half hour and it filled most of the larger end of the pool a good 4+ feet above the water. All the female EC’s jumped in the pool, topless, and started giving champagne shooters. This was the only time the pool felt crowded. Great fun was had by all!
Water Sports: Almost non-existent. Couple of hobie cats and sail boards; never saw anyone use them. The resort totes snorkeling and diving but dig deep for any of these options. Your better going off- property to get the best bang for your peso.
Disco: OMG…I wanted to get my leisure suit out of the mothballs!!! Just kidding, Desire actually has a working disco and it was nice. On the small side but never seemed crowded, sound system was good but missing the “thump” we are use to at Caliente Tampa. The raised lit dance floor was a freaky reminder of the disco clubs of the 70”s and how old we are. We did enjoy the themed shows each night but dancing was almost impossible once more then 20 couples got on the dance platform.
Staff: Everyone was wonderful and accommodating. All had smiles and were willing to serve. If you needed something, you just had to ask. Most staff in the restaurants knew us by name by the third day. Even Carlos at the main lobby bar knew our drink preference by the third night. The Mrs. and I used the Jacuzzi daybeds every afternoon and by the third day our Gin and Tonic drinks were being brought to use before we even lay down. Very impressed!
Room: We had one of the older OVD rooms in the last building towards the Azul resort side. It was a little larger than the premium room we had ad Hedo but only a queen bed and no private terrace. No ceiling mirror but a large floor standing mirror to the side of the bed. Bed was comfortable and there was plenty of storage and closet space. Mini frig was stocked daily and the housekeeping was outstanding. Other than the water is hot or cold when you want it, Hedo’s new bathrooms with the dual sinks top the room we were in by a mile. Desire is renovating the OVD rooms and we did see some of the work…it looks good.
PDA/PDS: We are mixed in opinion on this one. There was no lacking of activity in the Jacuzzi on any of our visits. Unlike Hedo, PDA activity was very subtle or non-existent in most other areas. This was probable the one freedom Hedo gives you that we missed the most. We did not find that this detracted from our time spent at the resort as we took full advantage of the Jacuzzi day beds every day of our visit.
People: We went to Desire with the same mind-set as Hedo; have fun. And we did. Everyone was friendly and pleasant. Most were 30/40 something but we never felt out of place. We meet several couples of the same interest as ours; had dinner and fun and exchanged emails. Desire is couples only so the creepy single guys are nowhere to be seen. The party atmosphere is more subdued than Hedo but it’s still there. The Mrs. never felt uncomfortable anywhere on the property.
Misc.: There is a huge property being constructed past the water sports hut. The word is it will be an all-adult resort like Temptations. Once it’s done and the beach front area gets cleaned up, you will be able to walk the three miles down the beach to Pearl. For now, you will have to tolerate the workers sitting at the fourth floor of the buildings watching you during fiesta time. Also, on the last two days of our visited, the construction site started dumping silt into the water which turned the water brown and uninviting. Desire management could not do anything to prevent this as Mexico does not have laws prohibiting this type of action.
The Breathless photographer on property is awesome. He was busy everyday and does fantastic work. We had our pixs taken and love them. A little pricey but you can negotiate. PM me if you have any questions.
Overall: If we were to choose today which resort to repeat, it would be Desire RM for its staff, cleanliness, maintenance, food, entertainment, and overall quality. Oh…and it actually has a disco you can enjoy. Since both resorts are now pushing the same room type for almost the same dollars, Desire is by far the better investment. Hedo does have the more open, permissive, and party atmosphere but we can’t get past the underlying quality issues we experienced on our first visit that simple didn’t exist at Desire. Please be mindful that these are our first visit observations and we do plan on a second visit to both but Desire will get our money first simply because they earned it. As for one resort being a better “people meeting place” then the other, I don’t buy into that thought. You make friends wherever you go based on your personality and you have a fun vacation because you go with an open mind. That being said, we had great vacations at both resorts, met many wonderful couples, got closer to each other (several times on some days), and can’t wait to pick our next lifestyle destination.
That’s it for now. We hope our views do not offend anyone and we are happy to respond if we missed any area of interest; just post a reply or PM us.
Karen & Richard
