To say that Desire is unlike any other resort we have stayed at is certainly an understatement. We typically go for luxury type properties with impressive grounds and facilities but having dabbled in the “lifestyle” a little bit, we really wanted to try this place and see what it was all about. We knew that it wouldn’t measure up in some respects to the other resorts that we have stayed at but we were fine with that. As soon as you enter the lobby and seeing everyone walking around naked outside, well - you know that you’re not in Kansas anymore Toto!
Service – Outstanding. Minor a\c complaint was fixed in a flash, specific minibar requests were taken care of in minutes. Waiters at poolside, bars and at restaurants were all terrific and friendly. Wish I could remember his name but the waiter at the Italian restaurant was so good and so nice that we tipped him double what we would normally give.
Food – On the whole pretty good. We did not really need or want a gourmet experience here so I think we were pretty easy to please. Having said that, the meals that we had at the Italian restaurant were fantastic. It was as good as most places in Boston’s North End. The Asian place was ok but what I ordered turned out not to be my cup of tea (or Sake, LOL) The breakfast and lunch buffets were more than adequate in terms of selection and quality. No reservations required for dinner (I heard that is a new policy there) is a huge bonus. Food is available 24x7 at the pool bar.
Booze – Included wine was good, beer selection …umm we only had Dos Equis in minibar or poolside so I don’t know if they had any others. Liquor selection was good enough – not true top shelf but just a notch below.
Rooms – a little bit on the disappointing side. We upgraded to Ocean front for $25 per night. The view was fantastic and it was nice to sit on the shared balcony to see\hear the gentle waves and be literally right on the beach. We only had a queen size bed (it was comfy) the room was small, kind of dated looking and the bathroom was lacking in certain things (i.e. dual sinks, tub). There were certainly much nicer rooms to be had but at a hefty premium. We barely spent any time in the room so not a big deal. Lots of people choose to leave their door\window curtains open so you will certainly get an eyeful walking by many of the rooms.
Pool and Beach – small pool with decent amount of chairs and beds crammed tightly together. This makes for a good social environment and easy to talk to your neighbors. They do have a policy, and they enforce it, where if your chair is unoccupied for 2 hours, they will remove your stuff if someone else needs the chairs. Wish more resorts would do this! Lots of beach beds to be had. They have a certain number of beds where you can pay to reserve one for the day or week, and a bunch more where it’s first come first serve.
Grounds – very nice. Much more lush and jungle like than other resorts we have been to in the area. We did find ourselves ducking a lot due to the overgrown palm branches but that’s not a complaint - it was beautiful.
Entertainment & Atmosphere – That’s what you come here for. Lots of fun at the pool with dance contests & lessons (belly dancing, pole dancing), volleyball, trivia, etc. The entertainment staff works looooong days and for them to keep up the energy and get everyone involved is remarkable. Pretty much everyone is naked at or in the pool, beach, or just walking around. Women may stay topless to eat lunch by the pool bar but otherwise everyone must cover up inside.
No public sex is enforced (they say) during the day at the pool and supposedly on the beach as well although by late afternoon, the action on the beach beds to picks up significantly. After hanging by the pools, beach, etc until mid afternoon, we would head up to the rooftop hot tub. Thirty naked people in the tub plus more on the beds and chairs was certainly a sight the first time we went up there! Some days there was plenty of activity outside the tub and other days people were just napping. Some folks put on an appetizing show and others – well just don’t watch, lol! It was lots of fun to meet and socialize with folks and it really takes on a whole new vibe when you’re doing it naked. You get used to it pretty quickly though.
Nighttime entertainment had various theme nights (i.e. Lingerie, Leather. Eyes Wide Shut and others) Takes a lot of nerve for some of the female guests to get up on stage and model their fashions for the night but the ones that did put on a great show. After that it was off to the disco between 10:30 and 11:00 for some great music and dancing. We found it very strange that the disco really seemed to peak very quickly, stay fun for about an hour or so and then empty out. We figured maybe people went into the playroom in back of the disco but everytime we went in there it was fairly empty. After the disco we would head back to the rooftop hot tub, which stays open till 3AM. The scene there late night was very much like it was in the late afternoon, but a bit more wild. For the most part, it was limited to couples playing with each other on the beds and chairs surrounding the hot tub area. There were some naughty blindfolded games in the tub where you go around and try to guess which of a specific body part is your partner’s (i.e. five women sitting on the edge of tub and guys blindfolded trying to find their partner by using their mouth). That was fun. Aside from that we did not see as much swinging\swapping as we thought we would. We witnessed only minimal amounts of girl\girl play and no out of control “group” activity. We see much more of it at our local lifestyle club. I know that the atmosphere all depends on the crowd and I am guessing that we hit it at a low occupancy time and when there were a lot of nudists, but not necessarily swingers, were there. We met some great people and had a lot of fun. Most of the guests were mid forties or older. Only a handful, including us, were younger than that.
Would we go back? Yes, but may try to time it with a lifestyle group visit so we can ensure the crowd is a bit younger and the atmosphere will be more of what we are looking for.
