Trip Report -- Sophomore Slump? Don't Think That's Ever Happened At Ttr.

Trip Report 11-24-2018 to 11-30-2018

Way back in 2017, we pulled up to Temptation as wide-eyed newbies—mostly unsure of what to expect. This year, we returned as seasoned veterans, excited to reunite with friends we’d made on our first trip, and to improve on our experience. As I’m sure most of you have found, the second trip has an entirely different feeling. While it can’t replicate the wonderment of the first trip, it’s a chance to streamline your experience and put some of the wisdom you’ve acquired to work. I’ll use the same format as my trip report from last year, and hope that you’ll find my thoughts and ramblings to be helpful. This is an admittedly-long report and I won't be offended if you stop reading short of its end.

First Impressions/Walking In

Our decision to take the advice of so many on this board and use USA Transfers marked the first big improvement over last year’s trip. We used the USA Transfers app and walked straight out from baggage claim to the team of baseball-cap-wearing USA Transfers employees, who found our name on the list and sent us straight to the awaiting van. We didn’t wait more than a few minutes and were on our way. We’d landed around 12:30 and knew we couldn’t check in until 3pm, so we were in no hurry (but who wants to spend even an extra minute at the airports?) I asked if we could make a stop at Wal-Mart, but, after calling his home base, the driver told us that their schedule was too jammed to make that long of a stop. He offered to stop at a liquor store, but we figured we could just run across the street later. $30 (for the stop at Wal-Mart) would definitely be an expensive add-on, but I think we’ll try to do it next year. We’d like to hit the pharmacy there and stock up on snacks and extras for the trip. Next time.

The check-in process was now familiar to us, but we were sorry to discover that the front desk is still slow and a little unorganized. They do at least have separate check-out and check-in desks now, and one desk designated for dealing with room keys. Kudos to the resort for taking those steps. We came prepared for the wait before check-in and had packed our suits in a backpack that we could carry with us out to the pool.

The Room

We added another day to the front of our trip at the last minute. At that point, the only rooms available were “trendy garden view” which was just fine. At the desk they told us those had been oversold, though, so they placed us on the 5th floor of the Bash Tower. Since we’d been located in the Quiet Pool area the year before, we were kind of excited for the change of pace. The Tower is a lot of fun. More space, another bathroom sink (didn’t need to use our suction cup hooks), and a great view of the ocean, of the Sexy Pool and—most importantly—of the balconies on the other wing of the Tower! It felt a little like a really sexed-up version of an opera house or the Roman Coliseum. We indulged in a few balcony shows that night and returned the favor ourselves (at TTR, it’s only fair to give AND receive, right?) For those inclined to use their king-sized beds rather than the balcony furniture, it was convenient to leave the blinds open. We hope that everyone enjoyed all the shows that night as much as we did.

The second day, we moved to the room we’d booked for the bulk of our trip—a Lush Tower Suite. The suites are located in the—for lack of a better term—“crotch” of the Tower and are both larger and have a Jacuzzi on the balcony. While the added space is nice, the Jacuzzi, IMHO, is really too small and shallow to be of much use. We tried it for 4 people at first (way too small) and then for two (still too small). I’d advise saving your money and sticking with the Bash Tower. We WILL however book the Bash Tower next year, if only because it gives you access to the rooftop pool. Speaking of…

Rooftop Pool

This was one of our favorite new discoveries this year. It wasn’t finished when we were there last December and it doesn’t seem like a whole lot of people are aware of it this year as it’s definitely under-utilized. It’s open only to those at the Bash Tower level or above (all Premier members included) and is a beautiful space that includes two large hot tubs and a small, very warm pool that is particularly welcome if you’ve found yourself shivering on a cloudy or windy day at the Sexy Pool. There is a large (if somewhat understaffed) bar, two big TVs showing sports, and a fantastic menu of food. Actually, this was some of the best food we had all week. Great appetizers. The rooftop also offers some very nice lounger chairs/beds that can be spun around to make the most of the sunshine. This place is only open from 11am-6pm and is closed one day each week, but even despite its restrictions I expect this place to get more and more popular as it becomes more well-known.

Sexy Pool

This remains the heart of the resort and with good reason. It’s the very first thing that tells every new guest that this is a completely different resort and then goes on to show the place’s personality. You can honestly be as wild or as mild as you like here. Now that I’ve seen it in consecutive years, here are my over-arching thoughts.

-you simply have to get down there early to reserve a chair that has unfettered access to the sun all day. Those chairs closest to the building have their sunlight blocked out by the numerous umbrellas during the middle part of the day and then by the building as the sun moves behind it in the early afternoon. If you’re someone who wants a chair on the more favorable side of the pool and you don’t want to get down there before breakfast, you’re going to be very frustrated with all of the towels laying claim to those chairs (despite the fact that many of those claimed chairs won’t have people sitting in them for much of the day).

-the pool is on the cool side. I don’t think this is a problem come March, but for now (Nov/Dec/Jan) it is when the clouds are out or the wind is up. If you’re someone who is sensitive to the cold, try the rooftop pool—or load up on Fireball shots

-this is a great area to people-watch and to get an idea of who the more interesting people are at the resort at the time you’re there. The games are going on, the stronger personalities step forward, and chances are you’ll see them later at Bash. I think the best time to meet people in the Sexy Pool is around 3pm when buzzes are kicking and everyone is feeling extra social.

Boobs Cruise

We did this for the second year in a row, and for the second year in a row, it was probably our favorite day. What’s more, I say that having had a very different experience than the year before. First off, Omar was the one leading the festivities from the mic, not Chinos—and this year I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, when last year the whole thing was completely new. Once again, we had a beautiful cruise up and down the Cancun coastline with a group of really fun people who were up for anything. Once again we ate a mediocre lunch on Isla Mujeres (just fill your damn stomach to soak up the alcohol, right?), and once again we stopped to swim and to skinny dip, and we danced and met all sorts of cool new people on board. Once again, my beautiful wife drew the attention of other beautiful women on the boat, and watching them gather together and let their inhibitions fly away like a lost bikini in the wind is a treat in which I hope every husband gets to partake.

But there were many other differences from last year. Kristin took the place of Sara69 and added a fun, energetic new element as she toured the boat serving shots and primed the crowd. Omar had many of the same great qualities as Chinos, but brought his own brand of humor and influence. I’m not sure how much of the credit goes to him, but this cruise got “wilder” than last year’s. I’ll leave the juicy details out but assure you that no one was made to feel stupid or goaded into anything crass. I saw no one who seemed uncomfortable. There’s a certain understanding that comes with stepping onto the Boobs Cruise, but that understanding isn’t much more than the one that comes with booking a trip to TTR to begin with. I credit Steve, Omar, Chinos, Kristin, Sara and the rest of the crew for consistently rallying themselves, week after week, for the sake of those of us lucky enough to take just one of these cruises per year. On that note, the Boobs Cruise is one of those things that makes me want to stay “young” forever—if only so I don’t have to stop doing it. For those of you who haven’t tried it, I would offer you these last words of encouragement: each time we’ve done it, we’ve met people with whom we’ve hung out for the rest of our trip. We’ve even carried BC friends over from one year to the next. If it’s nothing more (and it’s much, MUCH more), it’s your very best chance to meet fun people in a situation where everyone is having a blast with their guard down and their mind open. How often does that really happen in your normal life?

Restaurants

She

We tried this for the first time this year and while we weren’t disappointed, it’s probably not for everyone. This is a two-hour dinner, where the meals are divided into many courses and the courses come out slowly, one by one. It’s an excellent place for intimate conversation, as the servers are great but not frequent to your table. It’s a quiet atmosphere and there weren’t any groups larger than four while we were there. Not sure if that’s a requirement or not. The food was very creative and pretty good, though we thought there were better restaurants at TTR, for sure. It’s something every guest should try once, but don’t come in with a giant appetite as you’ll likely leave hungry (even if you cleaned every plate, as I did). The “main course” is of course the exotic dancer who works a stage at the center of the room with two poles. She was really talented, and we enjoyed the show a lot. To answer a common question, no, the dancer doesn’t get naked or even topless. That’s a little strange, isn’t it? You’re at a club where you’ve seen the whole crowd topless, but not the dancers


Romanza

If you’ve got that same two hours to spend on dinner, but you’d like better food (and more of it), I’d suggest picking Romanza over She. This is a beautiful, dark room with great place-settings and a pretty skilled bartender. We’d loved this place on our first visit and didn’t change our opinion at all this time. It can’t be easy to serve Italian food to Americans and Canadians. The dishes came over from Italy and have been tweaked by us a thousand times to fit our special tastes. If you’re an international resort in the Caribbean, do you follow the Italian model or one of the 1,000 American or Canadian ones? This place does a far better job with stuff like cannelloni and carpaccio then any other resort we’ve ever been to, so I’ll say they made some good decisions.

Sea Flirt

Beautiful, beautiful room, though it’s a little small and filled up each night we went. We’ve not had a bad meal here, though I should point out that we ate here right after the Boobs Cruise each year (yeah, we’d showered and put our clothes back on) so maybe our palettes weren’t in their most discriminating form. Ceviche is great. Shrimp dishes on the dinner menu are very good.

Rain (buffet)

Our busier schedule this year forced to eat here more often—probably too often. Don’t get me wrong, this is still one of the best buffets you’ll ever find at an all-inclusive resort, but it doesn’t change much from day to day and unless you’re just looking to quickly fill your stomach and go, I’d advise you to branch out to Amore’s or Sea Flirt for lunch on days in between buffets. Decent ceviche here, too, and as I’ve said before, the pizza is refreshingly predictable (=good) and recommended for hangovers.

Sutra

This is our favorite restaurant at TTR. The food is excellent, the atmosphere is livelier, and we love Juan---the server who is always, always, always in the type of mood that makes you wonder if he’s the one vacationing at a topless resort full of beautiful women, not you

The sushi here isn’t going to impress the aficionado from the States or Canada, but it’s not bad at all. Tom yum soup, chicken tikka masala, and the drinks are good here. Next time we’ll hit the hibachi. I know, I know—I said that last year. This time I mean it. Unless we do the TTR Cruise…

Amore’s/Flame

We didn’t hit these places this year.


Spa

So this was one of our big additions this year. I socked away some money during the year, plugged it into my account right be fore we left, and we hit the spa with no worries mid-way through our stay. I felt like this might help our bodies recover a bit from three days of drinking, late nights, and unusually-athletic sex and I was right. She got the “relaxing massage” and I got the “deep tissue massage” for $145 and $155, respectively. The visit includes pre and post-massage runs through their excellent sauna, cold-water plunge, steam room, and “bucket shower” and you’re invited to take all the time you like. The massages were 80 minutes long and the masseur and masseuse were excellent. Hell with that—they were almost TOO good, you know what I mean? They were both attractive, really skilled and…well let’s just say that next time we might actually book that “Sensual Massage” because it you’re just about at that point anyway. I digress. Both of them were absolutely professional and we highly recommend this. We can’t wait to go back (think I’ll do the relaxing massage, though, as MAN did that petite woman work my back and shoulders!)

Day trip to Isla Mujeres

Here’s something else we tried for the first time this year and will certainly be doing again. Some of the friends we’d made last year (with whom we reunited this year) invited us to come along and we took them up on it. We followed them down to the ferry (easy walk just down the street from TTR) and took the 25-minute ride across to Isla. We’d been there for lunch on our Boobs Cruises, but those were brief lunch stops and hardly a look at the whole island. We rented golf carts, did a little shopping and walked around a bit, but mostly we made a bee-line to the famous Soggy Peso for the greatest margaritas we’ve ever had. Of course, the margaritas here aren’t just good, they’re also strong—like plow horse strong. I’m a grown man who can hold his liquor and I’m buzzing after drinking just half of one. The food here is also excellent. As with the Boobs Cruise, I’ll cut the risqué details short in the name of public safety but, yeah, we got a little nuts and had a ton of fun there and, yeah, that impressive pink bra hanging from the rafters was courtesy of our group. Peace out, Soggy Peso—we’ll look forward to seeing you again next year.

Bash

This deserves to stand on its own as, after the Sexy Pool, this is the most important part of TTR, IMHO. It hasn’t changed much since we were there last year, though there was construction going on along the wall opposite the bar. This seems strange, given the resort is a little over a year old, but perhaps they’re adding to the late-night food service area or making some other type of improvement. I’ll be interested to see what they do with the space, as it’s an important one.

The place is full each night, so it’s probably no surprise that the bartenders are slammed, but it seems to me that both the outdoor and the indoor bars could each use one more person back there to help. Other than that, no problems. Having been thoroughly impressed by the dancers last year, we made it a point to watch them this year and I think the talent has actually improved—which is really saying something. If you’ve ever been to another all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean, you’ve seen the “Disco Night” or “Michael Jackson Night” shows and when you get to TTR, maybe you’re expecting much the same. Nope. These are truly beautiful women dancing with very capable men and they’re talented and seem sincere in what they’re doing. The audience is fully engaged and compelled to clap and cheer and sometimes just stand around with mouths open. It’s strange to consider that, at TTR, you’ll see everyone but the female dancers topless.

Holly is a huge fan of dressing up for the theme nights, and I’m one of those husbands who gets a thrill out of watching her put her outfits together in the months leading up to our trip. I think it’s a little sad to see the women get all decked out while their husbands/boyfriends show up in street clothes, so this year I tried to step up my theme night game a bit. Next year I’ll try even harder (but seriously—what are men supposed to do on lingerie night? I’d just worn the red silk robe and boxers for Heaven and Hell!)

I’d still like to see a resort photographer set up near the giant “Temptation” sign at the Bash balcony to take photos of the guests in their outfits. Light it well and then make the photos available the next day for sale in the lobby. They’d make a killing.

Staff

I was delighted to see some of the same faces we remembered from last year, but there were quite a few missing as well. I can only assume that the jobs here turn over like everywhere else. That said, the staff here is fantastic. While some are always going to be better than others, I’ve never had a bad experience with anyone connected to TTR—and that would apply to the Boobs Cruise and USA Transfers as well. We’ve always found the service in Mexico to be better than that in Jamaica or the D.R. but TTR is better than anywhere else we’ve been. I tip here because I WANT to, not because I feel obligated, and my service has been the same whether I’ve tipped or not.

Complaints By Others

TTR is a place with such a high rate of repeat business that I think people feel like they’ve got a bit of an ownership stake in it. Premier members can probably argue that they actually DO. Either way, that leads to some higher expectations and likely bumps up the volume on complaints. Yes, the Sexy Pool is a bit too deep and a bit too cool. I found this to be even more of an issue after visiting the warmer, shallower rooftop pool. Then again, we were there in late November/early December. In warmer times, the Sexy Pool might be perfect.

Many of the slippery floors have been remedied. There’s now some carpeting on stairs and tread strips in other spots. It’s improved.

The bedroom “closets” are funky and maybe even weird, requiring a daily routine of Whacka-Mole before finding the one you need. One of our closet lights wouldn’t turn off, but whatever. At some point this will either all be fixed or all of the guest will realize that they might as well be complaining about the wine list at a Roman orgy.

Lifestylers

It’s funny to consider that Holly and I were once worried about this aspect of TTR—as though they were “gonna come get us.” This is prejudice and ignorance, plain and simple. We can now say—after two trips to TTR—that some of the nicest and most interesting people we’ve met there (and can’t wait to see again) are lifestyle couples, and the opportunity to talk with them about their lives has been a real treat. The idea that there is one way and one way ONLY to love and be married and maintain that marriage is a silly and small-minded as the idea that there’s only one way to cook or make music. Humans are complicated beings and love might be our most complicated endeavor, so it should be no surprise that many of us find new and different ways to navigate it. I watched plenty of people hit on Holly—mostly women. I decided to take that as a compliment, and, with the exception of a couple of men who needed to be gently reminded that I was there and I was watching, that seemed to be a good policy. And in those few instances, I don’t know if those men were lifestylers or not. They probably weren’t.

Honestly, I think the lifestyle couple we’ve run into most often thus far is the couple that is mainly only into each other. They like to watch and/or be watched, and likely have sex in the same room as one or more other couples, but they don’t really do any “swapping”, save for maybe some girl-on-girl canoodling (what a goofy word). We’ve found those people so similar to us that I’m not sure there’s much of a line to draw between us. The bottom line is, if you’re open-minded enough to consider TTR then you’re open-minded enough to recognize that any ideas you might have about “swingers” were probably formed without actually meeting many of them. They’re not zombies; they don’t work on commission; and they can certainly take a hint. Don’t open your mind to a place like this only to close it again.

Premier Membership

We don’t have nearly enough vacation to justify the kind of memberships some of our friends have purchased at TTR, but we’re officially envious (and maybe even interested). If anyone is interested in sharing a referral with us, we’d be game. Thanks in advance.

Next Time

There will be one, or I will be dead—I’ve reached that level of certainty about TTR. Here’s my list of what to bring and do in 2019:

-more time to run over to the pharmacy. We did stop in twice and made some purchases, but we weren’t really sure what we needed and weren’t real educated as to what a “good” price was. There’s a lot of money and hassle to be saved in buying pharmaceuticals abroad and we’ll be better prepared next year.

-leave the big Bubba mugs at home. We brought two last year—didn’t really use them, and one this year—didn’t really use it. I know many people swear by them, but we didn’t use them enough to justify the space they take up in the suitcase. We brought a large, insulted coffee tumbler which we used much more. We’ll stick with that next year.

-again (I said this last year), more theme night outfits for me. It’s not fair that Holly goes all out and I don’t do a better job of representing. Also makes for great pics for the rest of the year (life).

-stop at Wal-Mart to stock up on snacks and drinks for the room. Do it right away on the way in from the airport and get it out of the way.

-consider spending the last 2-3 nights of our next trip at Desire? We’ve heard over and over again that this is something we REALLY need to try, and I think we’re game for it. Thoughts?

Final Thoughts

Okay, so I’ve once again gone on for way too long. No doubt some of you bailed several paragraphs ago. For those of you who’ve persevered, I’ll offer up some final thoughts. TTR is a place for those who love people. Maybe not all people, maybe not even MOST people—maybe you just love your wife or husband. Whatever the case, you get more of your people at TTR than anywhere else I can think of. More skin, more interaction, more honesty, more joy and definitely more open conversation. You will see and meet people here that you will likely never meet in other parts of your world and you’ll see them in ways you’ll not see them elsewhere. Whether you prefer to sit back and watch or get directly involved, it really doesn’t matter—the opportunity is there to grow your world (yeah, it sort of sounds like I’m talking about lifestyling here, but I’m speaking in general terms). Speaking from experience, you can get really wild and crazy here and then, yes, go right back to your normal life with no lasting repercussions (other than the fact that you’ll be counting down the days until your next trip. Our first trip to TTR was the best vacation we’d ever taken—until we made our second trip to TTR.

We made more new friends this trip and met others who, had we had more time, likely would’ve become new friends. Here’s to the hope that there’s always more time at TTR—for all of us.

If there are any glitches in my memory, I apologize, but point out that I had a good buzz going for at least half of my waking hours at TTR.

Probably more than half. It’s vacation, right?


Peace and Love,

Argon and Holly

 

One of the best trip reports I have ever read. Detailed, well written and kept me interested all the way to the end despite it's length.

I think you really hit the nail on the head with your paragraph about lifestylers and your concluding sentence which I quoted above was one of the best I've seen on the subject.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to write such a great report!

 

Thank you for a wonderful and entertaining trip report. You eloquently summarized many of our same feelings from our recent "sophomore" trip.

We felt exactly the same way about the rooftop pool. It is a gem of the resort. I plan to spend more time there on our next trip. I hope that it draws a larger crowd but maintains that chic, sexy, chill vibe that makes is so unique. Don't get me wrong, the sexy pool is THE place for the party action but the rooftop pool has a laid back vibe that is perfect for certain days.

Your summary of TTR being a place for people who love people is spot on. In just two short trips we have formed tighter connections with people we've just met than many people we have known for years. It is refreshing to meet such open, honest and fun loving people.

 

We never got that picture and I passed out on hottub night Argon! Therefore, do over

 

Wow, what a great and complete trip report. Thank you for taking the time to write it and giving me a bit of mental escape at the office this morning.

Hit the nail on the head = "TTR is a place for those who love people. Maybe not all people, maybe not even MOST people—maybe you just love your wife or husband. Whatever the case, you get more of your people at TTR than anywhere else I can think of"

 

Another great review!

 

Thank you for your detailed review. very entertaining.

 

Love the review! I guess we were there at the same time (agreed, very curious what they are doing with the Bash "late night" food area) this year, also our second trip! Nothing will take away from that first trip haze, but there was something magical about kind of knowing the ropes this time. The Boobs Cruise has also been the highlight of both of our trips (hosted by Chinos & Sara69 both times for us) and we would recommend everyone go (we were almost tempted to jump on the second cruise - I guess the one you were on with Omar & Kristin). This time we had the pleasure of sitting with both Steve & Chinos for a while - both incredible people. There is nothing like TTR, the staff and the people who go there. Our one complaint (which we had from last time as well) is the front desk staff and just the general lack of customer service from anyone who isn't a server/bartender type position. This time we needed laundry service (we had gone to Playa before for a few days) so we called to get the low down. We filled out the form, put the clothes in the bag, left them on our bed with our regular tip for the day... came back to our room at 6pm to find that the person had cleaned our room, taken our tip and nicely left the bag of laundry dirty on the floor for us. The real kicker was I had booked a photoshoot for my boyfriends birthday two days later (through TTR which I HIGHLY recommend) as a surprise and we needed some of the clothing. I went down to the front desk who told me that there is no manager there (sure, no manager works at TTR... I totally buy that). Daniel from Premier (who I thought was quite helpful... at first) stopped a VERY angry me in the hallway. Long story short, he said he would try and get it done for us as soon as possible the next day... it arrived LATER than their actual return time (I believe it was 6pm and ours arrived about 6:30pm). He stopped me the next day and I told him thanks for nothing. We ended up paying full price too. We aren't Premier members and as I told Daniel... why in the WORLD would anyone ever give them more money when this is how they treat guests (who already pay a small fortune to go there). My opinion may be different than others but I actually walked away from the Daniel lip service with a pretty sour taste in my mouth about TTR management and their actual practices on customer service.

 

It’s a must, Rich. What were we thinking? Two beauties, one picture—it’s all any man really wants, right? Great to meet you guys. Let’s do it again soon.

 

I sent your review to a handful of people we have talked to about going. I hope it helps them understand what the resort is about.