Background I am not one of those guys that count beers or count trips but it is getting up there. Long time fans of Temptation that started to limit our trips as we thought the resort was getting too run down. Once we tried Desire we fell in love and started going there more with a TTR trip thrown in here and there. We returned to TTR for the soft reopening August 15th and 16th and despite issues I wouldn’t even expect in a soft opening...no ac, limited water, sewage backups in restrooms...we had a great time and saw the promise of the redone TTR. See our live from ttr Report here... Jen and Kyle live from TTR! I also wrote up a more opinionated trip report but never posted it. Mostly because I needed to edit ‘the goodies’ in some pics before posting. ***Anyone recommend a photo editor app?*** I have seen some pics with a happy face posted over private parts. That would seem perfect for this. Maybe I will post that too despite the lateness as I bet people would like the perspective of what it was like upon opening compared to now (plus the pics ) Anyway, more background. We first visited in 2010 looking for an escape from reality. Very vanilla. Curious about this new world. Life focused on little kids and work and well the Mrs possibly interested in other Mrs. in the right scenario. Whatever that means. Let’s just say everything was right about that trip and we have taken baby steps through the years primarily focused on the party first and foremost and whatever feels right from there well hell yeah. It has been said before but it means so much to us that I will say it again. Through the years we have met so many open, interesting, fascinating, fun people that we could talk to for hours or days and I so wish were our neighbors so I could see more of you (well maybe not all neighbors as I am sure I would come home to many of you naked on my couch). Every trip there is someone where I leave saying I love that guy or that girl or that couple and I get sad when we drift apart. We are not good at maintaining long distance relationships. I work a ton and we have 3 kids. So there are many people thru the years that we miss terribly. And this trip was just the most amazing trip ever for us as people we missed from 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017 etc all by pure coincidence, not planned, happened to all be there this past weekend. I likened it to our wedding where you invite the people you like most in the world. Once in your life (hopefully only once) you get to party with your favorite people. I can’t think of another situation where that happens but it was close this past weekend. I don’t like to list names in reports as I always fear naming someone that doesn’t want to be named or leaving someone out that I didn’t mean to. But I have to say the following had a big influence on our evolution in this fun world or are simply great people that I wish were those neighbors.. teamteenyweanybikini (incognito on here so not sharing names), Jace/cat, todd/Cindy, Tim/Michelle...great seeing and partying with you all again. So happy for the time we got together and looking forward to more. And this doesn’t even list all the great new friends we made this trip. For additional background on our journey then read some of our past trip reports here... good times Jen&Kyle Trip Report 2/24 to 3/2 Jen&Kyle Trip Report 4/26-5/3 Jen&Kyle Octoberbreast 2013 Trip Report Jen&Kyle Trip Report...Desire Pearl vs TTR vs Desire Pearl Trip Report Octoberbreast 2014 - Jen & Kyle trip report Jen & Kyle Desire RM May 2015 Trip Report Jen&Kyle Trip Report Octoberbreast TTR + Desire RM 2015 Ok if you can’t tell yet I am long winded and this will be a several day process and not for everyone. After our August opening visit we decided to book for after the grand reopening October 16th to experience the new ttr with hopefully everything done. When we looked on all our discount sites and even original resorts website all rooms were sold out for our target weekend of nov 2-5. This weekend being my birthday weekend we were pretty much set on it. Tim/Michelle from ccc and who we met opening weekend came to the rescue and gave us a premier referral. Ended up booking a Bash tower room for $350 a night. Not a bad deal. More than we paid for the opening but expected since technically the soft opening was over and the resort, at that point, was sold out. Those that know me know I tend to over analyze things and I checked prices and availability right up until our arrival Thursday nov 2nd. I was curious if ttr was playing games w holding rooms, prices, etc And surprisingly about early/mid October almost all of a sudden all room types (including penthouse) with the exception of plush jacuzzi room became available at very cheap rates via original resorts website and discount sites. I guess they released rooms. We r never willing to wait to see if that happens. But something to consider if you see it sold out months in advance. Not sure if they had cancellations, saved for Premier and then released or didn’t open these rooms up yet as construction completion was iffy??? Anyway could of gotten a garden view for $226 a night or a Bash for $310 a night. More later on why I think the only rooms sold out were the plush jacuzzi rooms. Related to the new Premier member deals. Due to our issues in August I had been communicating with the front desk manager Karina about compensation. After lots of back and forth and promises never met, like sending us a voucher for a free night, she eventually said don’t worry we will take care of you this trip. So we roll into the lobby and visit the premier desk for check in around 11am Thursday nov 2nd. Bash room is available right away, great. But no mention about ‘taking care of us’ which I hoped would be an upgrade to lush, master or even penthouse which I saw was available online for yikes $1700 a night. So I ask them to bring over Karina who remembers me right away and says she will see what she can do. Tip: so several people have asked what upgrades cost on site. In the past I have found everything negotiable. Like at the old ttr we would negotiate an upgrade from the cheapest room we could find (garden view on a discount site) to a jacuzzi room for $50 a night. They would usually start at $150 a night and I would work it to $50 after a little bit of friendly discussion. This time it wasn’t so easy. They did what Desire typically does. She looked up my price and started by deducting my paid price from the rack rate. Yikes, so the upgrade price for lush was rack -350 (our pre paid price), master rack -350, penthouse rack -350. I explained to her, nicely, that was not a deal nor was she ‘taking care of me’. She then called someone. Took another 10 minutes or so. Kept asking if I minded waiting. Almost hoping I would give up. Ha. My response was I have been here 10+ times and don’t mind waiting. So eventually the offer was... free upgrade to a Lush oceanfront suite or upgrade to a master suite for master cost - cost of lush which worked out to be about $350 more a night or upgrade to a penthouse for $1000 a night. My counter was make it $500 for the penthouse and we have a deal and she said no deal and that I was only getting these offers due to our troubles at opening. So we went with the Master Suite. Just loved that room for the opening and couldn’t take advantage of the large jacuzzi on the balcony since we were mostly without water and always without hot water. More on the master balcony jacuzzi later in the report. We were introduced to one of the butlers and off to the master suite we went around noon. Master suites you get a butler. For the opening we were taken on a great tour (nothing to do w the premier tour) and to the room and then over two days we never saw the butler again. Plus he didn’t even know how to work the tv or lights or Bose stereo system. Was disappointing. Made me question the value of the master suite. Quite the opposite this time. Not only did the butler give us an easy way to contact him but he spent the time taking us thru the room and showed us the tricks with the blinds and lights and tv and ordering room service (room service is free w the master and u can order thru the tv). And most importantly of all he checked in on us pool side and at Bash, wherever he saw us. Giving us first opportunity at opening at the hibachi when there was a cancellation, offering to save chairs for us in the morning, etc. Butler was Alejandro. He kind of has an aggressive personality but I think u want that in a butler who is looking for ways to help u out and ensure u r having a great vacation. More about the Master... amazing view from bed Sitting area Huge wrap around balcony with a table and 4 chairs, a bar (not stocked, u can pay for that at a 25% discount on bottle purchases), 2 lounge chairs and a 6-8 person jacuzzi. Much bigger than the Lush oceanview rooms, Plush jacuzzi rooms or Temptation suites (only 2 of the 12 even have them outside) Big rain shower and separate soaking tub Great Bose speaker that we were able to connect to Bluetooth We were third floor this time (second last time) so the view was amazing. See our ‘live from’ opening trip report for more pics but I did take some this time... 4143E6C4-33ED-4F2D-A7AE-BA6149A1B57F by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM 7C0ACC56-AD1A-497E-B931-4734FC7CCD2F by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM 16B2EA40-958B-43FC-8A43-7A2D15C1F01E by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM EAE4EA7A-45BA-42A9-8C51-51B23663A296 by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM A0440A7D-5086-40AC-9F02-EC58A709B94E by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM 18F518F5-ADC2-49BC-8E4A-5820701DCD32 by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM 3F69E1EB-A9FB-482E-A8EC-E585EF58363E by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM 310B8B48-3DF9-40A3-8640-223BDE84BE1E by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM 8702BFBB-DAE0-42B9-96A9-54FA0544279F by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM 894DEC74-24A8-49AA-9F1C-8B026A613F2F by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM AD7B144F-079A-48FD-A44D-46CE7D1525F0 by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 8, 2017 at 10:48 PM Ok that probably put enough people to sleep for the first entry More later
I just feel we rarely spend enough time in the room to even justify the Quiet Pool Jacuzzi suites we currently get, but those rooms you posted do look great. As for a photo editor. You can pmail me, and I’ll gladly see what I can do.... I agree with your point about meeting people at TTR, probably one of my favorite things about the place.
Super helpful review and thanks for the pics of the Master, we booked that for December and were worried about the readiness etc., this report helped a lot!!
Anxiously awaiting more. Jen is so right. You should be a writer!!! Loved finally meeting you both! <3 More time next time please. Xo
Not to worry. They were some of the first rooms ready and in our opinion are worth it. Can’t believe I am saying that w how much they cost but the location, view, largest hot tub and great butler service w reservations made it worth it for us. I will say I tipped the butler a good amount and that may of been a factor. But for us it was worth having everything taken care of for us.
Great meeting u too Mel and your guy. Enjoyed the convo and wish we had more time. How did u like Desire?
Off to the sexy pool. First observation is at noon pretty much all the chairs were taken or reserved in one way or another. We had friends from home that happened to be there at the same time who saved chairs for us as while we like to socialize and mingle we also like spending some time working on our tans. Which is a pain in the ass with these chairs as evident in this pic... Lying on stomach by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 9, 2017 at 1:26 PM Totally agree w recent reports on the chairs at the sexy pool. Only positive is it is easy to store stuff under them. But as you can see you can’t comfortably lie on your stomach and they are pain to get into and out of. We do enjoy the chairs that are in the pool too for a combo of sunning and socializing and watching the games... Morning pool view by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 9, 2017 at 1:26 PM Morning pool view by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 9, 2017 at 1:26 PM As for chair reserving and location. The best spot for game watching is the center of the pool area. Either on the side of the pool bar (not many chairs here and they seem to be reserved 1st) or on the side of the buffet, front row, between the center walkway and the end where the raised jacuzzi is. On Friday, likely due to the Boobs Cruise, chairs were available poolside until about 10. On Saturday they were all gone by 9ish and even the Premier section was full. So if you arrived at 10 your choices were sharing or the beach. Lots of action in the pool Saturday so not a bad day to dump your stuff under a chair and hang out in the white in the pool chairs or the pool bar. Some more observations about the pool area... I had trouble finding slippery spots and I was looking for it. Either they added texture or this maybe is a little overblown The one slippery spot to be careful are the ramps to the restroom. The restroom I agree is too far. Way over towards the quiet pool. I like how the pool is much bigger than before. Water is much cleaner and less diluted with well who knows what as a result. This definitely makes the water colder though. Less ability to be warmed by the sun due to water quantity. Great for summer months. Likely not so great for winter months Big hang out spot late in the day is between the Premier bar and sexy pool bar. Big social spot during our visit where people mingled and danced Music at the pool way better than it used to be. Of course it depends on the day as the dj switched a lot when we were there. Also depends on taste. We like EDM / club music and the music definitely leaned more that way than the mishmash stuff of the past. My biggest complaint was the alcohol supply situation. We were on premier referral so had access to the Premier bar. Regular pool bar never had grey goose. Had to go to Premier bar. At some point Thursday afternoon they ran out. Didn’t restock on Friday or Saturday. Switched to kettle one Thursday afternoon. On Friday they ran out of kettle one. Moved on to sky. Saturday they had restocked the kettle one but not the grey goose. Friday they also ran out of fireball but had it back Saturday. Fireball is Premier only. Grey goose I am not sure as I was able to get it in August when I wasn’t Premier. Note the lobby bar never ran out of goose or fireball so if the resort had it but the premier bar didn’t I wish they would of made the effort to restock it Not the end of the world but at Desire when a bar runs out someone goes and gets more almost immediately. Slightly different service level and organization I guess. Saw complains of issues getting drinks in other reports. Never an issue for us. Didn’t think ratio of bartenders there customers was bad. Maybe once or twice I had to wait 5 minutes? Most of the time right away. Tipping definitely removes your wait time. If I have cash in my hand they almost always skip over others to get me first. Just the way the world works I guess. So the event at the pool Thursday is the foam party. The foam does not get as high as the old TTR or Desire. This is a good thing in our opinion. More spread out and lower. Not anything confining it to a small area. Fun and you can pretty much get away with what you want in there. Security was very cool all trip. As long as you didn’t blatantly do something in front of them it was cool. For example some people said f the suits and walked around naked. Old TTR they would be swarmed immediately. New TTR they got scolded but only once they walked right by the security guard naked flaunting their breaking of the rules. Entertainment staff... Love love love the new staff and the vibe they create/support. One of the best adds to the resort. Justin was the staff manager in August and as many know JJ has replaced him. Apparently there were some issues w Justin I don’t think I want to share but clearly he wasn’t very popular as a manager. But back to JJ, he isn’t always the front end man which is fine w us. We get how some love him. Think this is one of those different strokes for different folks thing. His yelling f this f that style isn’t a fit for us. But he has toned that down some. But what we really like is the new staff. Mauricio ran the activities mostly Thursday and Friday with jj Saturday. Mauricio had a fresh take on some old games. What I mean by that is some clever humor thrown in. New lines. Made some old games interesting and new to us. More about the new staff members (this isn’t all inclusive as some were off when we were there or only involved for an hour so this is those that were mostly engaged in games and guests) Pedro. Great eye candy for the ladies. Or so I am told Dancing and flirting machine. Great personality and fits in perfectly with the games. Does a great job getting people involved Pedro by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 9, 2017 at 1:26 PM Noella. Pedro’s equivalent on the female side. Soooo sexy. Dancing and flirting machine. Really sets a great sexy tone while dancing, flirting, amping up the party. Noella by Jen&Kyle posted Nov 9, 2017 at 1:26 PM Laura. From the uk. Takes the time to interact w guests. Very fun and bubbly personality. Good at getting people involved and amping up the party. Mauricio. On the mic a lot. Little guy from Mexico I believe. Another one that is great in getting people involved in the games and party. You can see a theme here. Very intelligent and smooth with the mic which is why I think he has emerged as the main front man among the new staff. Estephan. Nice guy. A good sport with the games. A little bit of a language barrier. But tries hard. More of a background guy. Blonde girl from the Ukraine. Forgetting her name. Something like Mia maybe? Another one more behind the scenes but nice. I think she was off for one of the days we were there. Belin. No longer part of entertainment staff . Now works in the gym. Was shy in August but wow so attractive. Guess entertainment staff wasn’t a fit There are others more behind the scene we didn’t get to know. I assume they have to rotate some as man the main 4 above were working like 15 hour days the days they were on. Vibe... Going to steal this from my August live from Report as it still very much applies... The reason this is so tough is a good vibe is different things to different people. What is good to me may not be good to others. Jen and I (note we were intoxicated at the time lol) together decided we would sum it up like this... Feels like they are trying to remove the raunchy. No longer describe as 'spring break for adults'. Going for a sexy vibe. I don't think they are targeting the beautiful people but want people to feel beautiful here. I know that will illicit many questions. But simply put we LOVE the vibe. The vibe remains sexy sensual. We heard some long time ttr diehards missing a raunchier feel, maybe more casual, want people closer together. But we really liked that people dress up a little more, music is more clubby (most nights), environment is nice and about the party. Will say this was probably the youngest crowd in all our trips. We know age is a mindset as we can party with the best of them but way more 30somethings this trip than 50somethings but it is important to note all ages and looks were welcomed to the party. That is one of the best things about ttr. It remains a nobody knows you and nobody gives a damn type of atmosphere. More observations about the demographics this trip... still very diverse crowd and we love that. All shapes, sizes, interests, background. Makes meeting people more fun. I tend to get bored easily. Never at ttr. Way more lifestyle % than any other trip. Maybe we just looked good this trip? Ha just kidding. Or maybe the new resort just attracted that demographic. Also there was a partial takeover group CTT which increased the numbers. Loved them. No one be scared off by this please. All were very respectful and you never have to do anything you don’t want to. Definitely the dress was more classy / clubby. More slacks and nice pants than gym shorts for example. We like to dress up when going out so we liked this. Definitely more nakedness. Hey a win for everyone! People got away with it more everywhere...pool, jacuzzi, Bash. Yes some were told to get clothes on when getting too rowdy so the rule still exists but it isn’t as strictly enforced. Less single males and females this trip. Not sure why. Price point maybe? Met some very nice single females and males just less of them and mostly no packs. One story on that later in the trip report. Ok that is enough for entry 2. Will continue with Thursday night next. Teaser so you don’t give up on reading... I did sneak into the sky bar and rooftop area and took pics More on that in the Friday entry. It is worth the wait.
Oh one other tip I remembered as soon as posting which will likely become more of an issue as the season gets later. The shade from the tower covered part of the center area of the pool as early as 3 and expanded as the day went on. A good spot to be at for sun worshipers is the end further from the quiet pool and restrooms. Took much longer for sun to get blocked there. Or on the newer of the two premier decks
OMG just what the Dr ordered after a week at Temptation. Can't wait to go back but definitely do more nights at Desire. Everything was fantastic.
