Desire Pearl Resort & Spa

We recently stayed at Pearl in September. We have stayed there about 10 times over the last 8 years. We would rate all our prior stays at 5 stars. However, this trip our experience was totally different, forcing us to now consider other options/resorts in the future. First of all, the good stuff...the workers and playmakers all work very hard and do an excellent job, delivering excellent service. Thank you to the following, for making a very positive experience for us. Claudia at the Melange bar...5+ stars, she was the best! Gilberto and Orlando do an awesome job at the Pearl. Love you more Gilberto!! 🙂 Gabby at the pool, Kia and the playmakers, Antonio and all the pool / chair attendants, provided top notch service. Now for the areas that need some attention: Restaurants: Two nights while we were there, they closed the restaurants due to low occupancy, and our only option was a buffet. We understand possibly not being able to keep all the restaurants open but providing ONLY a buffet option when you are paying $$$$, is NOT acceptable.  Sargassum: Sargassum was awful. We realize this is not totally in the resort's control; but it was just awful. It was piled high on the beach and sat there without any clean up attempt for 3-4 days. There were workers out there that started working on day 4-5 of our stay, but it just continued to pile up on the beach each day. The worst part is the stench; it was bad throughout the entire resort. Someone told us, you'll get used to the smell...so not true.  Pools: Something was off with the pools. There was a continuous dark line around the entire interior of the pool located at the water line. The pool attendants were constantly trying to clean that area. After spending time in the pools, we discovered a film or scum on you after leaving the pool. You could even see the residue on the tan pool towels, if you did not shower off first. We never saw them shock the pool during our entire stay and there was never, ever even a hint of a chlorine smell.

The resort was small and quaint. The room was just okay. The ac worked well. The food was just okay. The sargassum was awful and smelled horrible. We couldn’t t even get close to the beach. We didn’t like that the resort kept trying to up sell us on everything. We talked to couples that had bought into it and they told us to beware and that they regretted it. They said that they get treated worse and worse every time they go. That was our first time there and last.

ONE STAR — ABSOLUTELY NOT A FIVE-STAR OR WHEELCHAIR-ACCESSIBLE RESORT # **THIS IS NOT A SWINGERS RESORT. IT DOESN’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH SWINGING. NONE OF THE ACTIVITIES HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH SWINGING—NOTHING AT ALL.** We paid $5,300 after an advertised 45% discount, and I still feel completely ripped off. At the supposed regular price of nearly twice that amount, this would be outrageous. I am an above-knee amputee who uses a wheelchair. The accessibility problems began the moment our van arrived: there wasn’t even a proper wheelchair ramp from the unloading area into the lobby. During check-in, an employee simply drew on a map and tried to explain the resort. Nobody gave us a tour, showed us the restaurants, explained which facilities were open, or showed us the playroom. Before we had even finished checking in, however, they were already trying to arrange a sales presentation. They had time to sell us something else, but apparently no time to introduce us properly to the resort we had already paid thousands of dollars to visit. The first doors beyond the lobby were manual sliding doors. Imagine trying to operate those while driving a wheelchair. The first accessible route included an extremely steep ramp. When we finally reached our supposedly wheelchair-friendly room, staff had to bring over a wooden platform so I could even get inside. The room was absolutely not wheelchair friendly. There was barely enough space to manoeuvre around the furniture, cabinet doors blocked the limited space, and I couldn’t properly bring my wheelchair into the bathroom. The shower didn’t even have a basic shower bench for a disabled guest, and there were no adequate grab bars. A resort charging this kind of money could not provide a simple $50 shower seat. The resort grounds were also dangerously inaccessible. One night I missed a turn and my wheelchair went off the edge of a stairway. I barely caught myself before smashing my head on the concrete. My wheelchair went flying, and I had to collect everything and get myself back onto the pathway—with one leg. An allegedly accessible resort should never place a wheelchair user one wrong turn away from going down a stairway. The beach was nothing like the promotional photographs. The pictures appeared so heavily enhanced that the real beach was barely recognizable. It was severely eroded, covered with seaweed and smelled terrible. In fact, parts of the resort smelled bad almost every day. This was certainly not the beautiful luxury beach experience being advertised. As an adult lifestyle resort, Pearl was also a major disappointment. The resort mixes nudists, curious couples and swingers together, but provides no clear way of knowing who is interested in what. Guests are apparently expected to sit outside drinking in extreme heat and humidity until they somehow meet compatible people. My wife and I don’t want to get drunk while playing—we came for an adult lifestyle experience. The bracelet system shows exactly how backwards this place is. They take the time to colour-code guests according to their status or tier in the resort’s system. We were given yellow bracelets to identify us as first-time guests. Yet they don’t provide a second bracelet—or any other identification—to show what guests are actually interested in: full swap, soft swap, curious, nudist only or not interested in playing at all. At a supposed swingers resort, that is the information people actually need. Instead, nobody knows who is compatible with whom. Even worse, we had to wear the bright yellow Desire Pearl bracelet for the entire week and couldn’t take it off. When we left the resort and went into town, it advertised to everyone that we were staying at an expensive resort. We might as well have been walking around with signs saying, “We have money—charge us more.” It made us walking wallets and easy targets for inflated tourist prices. I am not some rich man with money to throw away. I am a working man who works six days a week to afford a trip like this. The resort was more interested in displaying our tier and advertising its brand on our wrists than helping compatible lifestyle couples identify and meet one another. We came specifically for a swingers vacation, and we didn’t even set our expectations particularly high. We thought we might have a couple of play dates during our stay. Do you know how many we had? Zero. We are fully open swingers. We aren’t shy, we genuinely enjoy playing, and we remain sober because we don’t believe in becoming intoxicated before we play. If a completely open and willing couple can visit a supposed swingers resort and leave without a single play date, that says everything about how badly the lifestyle side of this resort works. It was a complete waste of time. The small playroom doesn’t open until approximately 10:30 p.m. We were never shown it during check-in and only knew what it looked like from photographs. Why isn’t there an air-conditioned afternoon play period? Many working adults are tired or already in bed by the time the room opens. Suggesting that guests use the hot tub instead is ridiculous when it is around 40°C with extremely high humidity. The evening entertainment was cheesy, juvenile and mostly unrelated to a genuine adult lifestyle experience. It felt more like a poorly planned amateur show than entertainment at a high-end swingers resort. The food was mediocre at best. Much of it consisted of repetitive buffets, and some meals were served outside in oppressive heat. Restaurant schedules were unclear, menus were repetitive, and nobody properly explained what was open or when. We even had to find the excursion-booking room ourselves several days into the trip. The spa was another unbelievable rip-off. I went for a foot massage—and I only have one foot. We paid nearly the equivalent of $200 Canadian for approximately 25 minutes of massaging one foot. Back home in Canada, I can go to Happy Feet and pay about $50 for a full 50-minute foot massage, including having my foot washed. In a first-world country, I receive twice as much service for one quarter of the total price. At Pearl, in Mexico, the per-minute cost was approximately eight times higher. That isn’t five-star luxury; it is absolutely outrageous. Management came across as rude and unhelpful. They were eager to promote an extremely expensive Mansion area that ordinary guests cannot access, yet they couldn’t provide a basic tour of the facilities included in our own stay. I do want to separate management from the everyday employees. The servers, cooks, cleaners and buffet staff were excellent people who worked hard and did their best with what they had. My criticism is directed at the management, accessibility, facilities and misleading presentation of this resort—not the frontline staff. Desire Riviera Maya Pearl was sold to us as a luxurious five-star adult lifestyle resort. What we experienced was an inaccessible, poorly organized, badly maintained property with misleading beach photographs, mediocre food and very little genuine lifestyle atmosphere. At $5,300 on sale, I felt completely ripped off. At the supposed regular price, I cannot imagine being more disappointed. I would never recommend this resort—especially to anyone with a disability or anyone expecting a genuine, well-organized swingers experience.

For starters, we’ve been members for five years now, and the beach has never been worse because of the sea grass. The fish smell when it hits you is unbelievable. The prices are also getting out of control. We were quoted one price for a massage, but when we checked out, it was three times higher. They’ve also gotten rid of a lot of great staff. During the week, the resort was at 35% capacity or less. The vibe was still there, and we had a great time overall. We met a lot of wonderful people whom we hope to meet up with again in the future. They’re planning to expand by adding another 90 rooms. After the expansion at RM, many people are now going to Pearl because the atmosphere isn’t even close to what it used to be.

My wife (33) and I (32) booked a trip here for 5 nights which included Valentine’s day. The trip was going to be a redo of our Honeymoon since we both got sick on our actually honeymoon 2 months prior. We booked directly through Desire site, booking a Master Suite as we liked the idea of having 2 bathrooms, one for her to use to get ready and one for him. There was a package/deal at the time of booking, so our transportation to and from CUN was included and provided by Desire. About a week or two before our trip, they reached out to confirm our transportation, which was great. A concierge, Mayte, also reached out to let us know of available extras, and spa services available. We have previously been to Temptations in Cancun, and had been to Grand Miches in Dominican Republic, and had gotten massage during those trips, so we were definitely interested in that. With Mayte help, we booked two massages, a private dinner in the wine cellar, and an erotic dining experience in the disco. We also made her aware it was our honeymoon trip. Mayte was easy to communicate with through email, was always quick to get back to us, and when we met her at check in, she was kind, helpful and sweet. She helped make our trip an unforgettable one. The main lobby was undergoing renovations, so upon arrival we checked in at the Mansion lobby. Check in went smoothly, and we were escorted to our room. The room was good, and we had a nice view of the ocean, pool, and the jacuzzi all from our two balcony’s. The food during our stay was on par with the food we have experienced at their other resorts, above what you would expect for an all inclusive. We never had a bad meal, and always enjoyed the seafood options. The wine cellar meal was incredible and was only made better by the staff. Paola and Gabrielle, who knocked it lit of the park. They both went above and beyond for us, making the wine cellar dinner an unforgettable experience for us. They truly are great at what they do and we hope to see them when we go back. The massages were incredible. We had booked the couples massage and the four handed massage for my wife. We both thoroughly enjoyed the couples massage, and she really enjoyed her four hand massage. Would definitely recommend trying them if you go. The service/staff throughout the resort were always great, kind and helpful. Louis the drink maker who walks around the pool with a beverage cert making special cocktails is a gem. He always came up to us with a smile and would make us delicious cocktails based on what we liked and what he had in his cart that day. One day he muddled fresh fruit and made us the most incredible margarita. He really helped make the trip a great one, remembering our names and making fun small talk. He was great. We really enjoyed every aspect of our trip and really don’t have any complaints. All the people we met while there were kind, respectful and fun. We never felt pressured by anyone. Once we were home, we couldn’t wait to book our next trip and whole searching up dates, we saw there was an incredible deal going on and booked another 5 night trip for this December, Christmas week.