Long A$$ Trip Report With Observations (sept 8th-15th)

Hi Everyone! We just got back from a week at Temptation after having to skip 2020 due to covid. We had a blast as always but we also had some interesting (and a few disappointing) observations for sure. So...instead we thought we'd make this more of a post about the changes we saw instead of a straight away trip report. I mean let's be honest, our trip report is the same as yours. We drank, partied and ate--the end lol. We also don't want to make it a negative bitch fest because after all, Temptation is a vacation like no other and we're always grateful to be able to go. We're just going to be honest and you can make up your own mind on your own trip.

A little background about us. This was our 3rd trip to Temptation. First was in 2018, second in 2019. We're in the lifestyle and have had some fun on past trips but when we're at Temptation, we're not "hunting" (we never really do anyway). We simply love the atmosphere, people and openness. We live in Las Vegas and before that, Los Angeles so we're very well acquainted with a party type of atmosphere and enjoy nightlife as well as day life often. We love meeting people/making new friends and we'll go out of our way to say hi to random folks because....why not?!? We're not premier members and don't really see the value in timeshares but if you do, awesome! Ok, let's get on with it.

Check in----
We arrived at about 3:30pm on a Wed and there was a little bit of a line. It moved fairly quickly and the bar in the lobby was open so it was easy enough to slip away for a min and bring a few back while we waited. While in line, one of the premier sales people (Poncho) was already feeling us out and asking the usual qualifying questions ("is this your first trip?" "First time in Cancun" etc). In the past, once we told them that we knew what they were selling, a simple "we're not interested but thank you" would usually do it. Not this time. Once we got our room number and were making our way over to the baggage area for help, there was Poncho again. This time, he got a little more aggressive and was only speaking with me. He started lying and said "I'm not trying to sell you anything, I just wanted to let you know that you can only make dinner reservations with me and I have to give you a tour of the restaurants." So again, I nicely countered with "ok..thank you, we're not sure if we're going to make any now but we'll let you know."

At this point, my fiancé spoke to him in Spanish and after a min, I could tell she was getting a little upset (which is beyond rare for her). She said a few sentences and Poncho finally walked away. She said that he was rudely asking "why are you both so scared to talk to me" and then also dismissively asked "so does your husband let you make decisions too?" etc. She basically told him that she didn't appreciate that and that if he kept talking to us, we'd head to a different resort. Not a great impression this time around. We get it, you have to sell memberships but also know when to cut bait and move on to someone else. Plenty of newbie couples fell for the tour and we'd see perhaps 10-12 a day being led around thinking they were getting special treatment only to be led back to a table with confused looks on their faces and paperwork in front of them lol.

The Room---
Our room was located in the building right across from the gym (floor 9). Our balcony looked down directly into the gym for perspective. Room was perfectly fine for us but honestly, it looked a little worn (small stains on headboard, dirty vents, floor wasn't swept well) but totally not a show stopper. We were also pretty close to the lobby and 50 feet away from the gym which was super nice. Music from Bash would definitely bleed through clearly each night but that's not a big deal as we were usually pretty buzzed when getting back and sleeping was easy. Sorry to say, no balconies in front of us, so no shows but I'll let you know in a little but why that was unlikely to happen anyway.

The Food---
We're not big eaters on vacation. Usually it's a small breakfast, afternoon snack and then late night food like a burger or fries. We've gone to all of the restaurants before and while they are all definitely nice, this time around, we just wanted to chill and do things on our own time. The restaurants now (from what we saw) all require reservations and those can only be made between certain hours. I'm sure this is to enforce capacity limits due to covid. The buffet didn't disappoint as usual and it has more than enough to keep us happy.

At night, as we would leave Bash, I swear those hamburgers taste like the greatest thing in the world lol. But seriously, there is no bad food at Temptation. We're not foodies but I can't see how you could be disappointed with the options. We respect people who make food a huge part of their experience when on vacation but for us, a few tamales, and club sandwiches make us happy.

Bash--
We know alot of people have a love/hate thing with bash. We love Bash for what it is....a place to dance and feel like you're in a club atmosphere. As for the dj, (and I say this as a person who used to dj in radio/clubs for 20 years and was a partner in a nightclub for several) he KILLED IT each night. The energy, music choice, flow, etc was all on point. I think what people have to understand is that in a traditional club, you would usually "warm up" the crowd for the first few hours. At Bash, after the show is done, the DJ basically has to go into prime time mode and start off right away with the energy. He played a good variety of genres and lots of familiar remixes. Was it loud? Hell yes but that's the way it's supposed to be. Plenty of areas away from the dancefloor to have a convo if you wanted to and of course, there is always the lobby as well.

On glitter night (the one night where everyone seems to be most vocal about) he DID play plenty of 70's and 80's music. Perhaps you didn't hear the original version of Sweet Caroline you'd hear at the stadium but he played the dance remix which everyone still sung along to. You'll be ok.

The Playmakers--
We loved seeing that JJ is still doing his thing. Always a super nice guy and very friendly. He makes the contests fun and his jokes/sarcasm always keeps the flow going. We didn't recognize any of the current playmakers (I mean, it's been 2 years so we get it) but this new crop did not seem as friendly for some reason. Could have been us and our radar was off but they actually seems like they were worn down a little and less outgoing. It's a very tough job so we respect that they won't always be "on" 24/7. Still...they were all good sports about everything.

The Staff--
Absolutely the best part of Temptation is the staff!! From the bartenders, to the waiters, security, etc...Temptation has perhaps one of the most outstanding groups of employees anywhere. Seriously, make sure you tip well because we know the staff has been dealing with alot these past 18 months. We don't need much anywhere we go but they always make you feel like you are at home. We spoke to several on our last day and they wished us well and said "come back home soon." You can feel that they really do love what they do.

**********Now on to the observations (not a lot of great news here for the veterans)**************

General Crowd---
Well, I'm just going to come out and say it....this isn't your daddy's crowd anymore. I hear alot of people say that it's been due to cheap rates and more stimulus money but I honestly think the ship has sailed for much of the original crew. What we observed was a crowd that was far less friendlier and way more ratchet than ever before. You can thank the power of social media for this one. Look up Temptation trip reports on Youtube for the past year and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Those video reports, selfies, Facebook posts etc in turn influence a whole new generation of visitors and well...here we are. For the dates we went, the majority of the crowd was in their late 20's--late 30's which we're fine with but often we would float by people and lift our drinks out to them only to get blank stares back 60% of the time. In the past, we'd get probably 95% participation or atleast a smile.

Since we've spent so much time in and around this scene ourselves over the years, it boils down to the new crowd not understanding the culture of Temptation. In a regular/vanilla club/pool party, women for the most part are on the defensive which is kinda normal and men are extra douchey which is normal as well. That demographic is carrying over that same attitude to Temptation not realizing that they don't need to. I will say that the pool was absolutely crazy Thursday --Sunday but it was a seriously rowdy atmosphere. For reference, look up a few photos of Wet Republic pool parties here in Vegas and you'll get an idea. We noticed that the veterans stayed closely packed in the area of the pool by the bridge. Once you approached the edge of the bar, the entire rest of the pool was madness. Sucked, because that lessened the mingling even more. One couple we spoke to that arrived on the same day we did, cut their trip short by 4 days because they couldn't take it. We tried to talk to people and mingle too but it was super tough to strike up a convo with anyone. We had much better luck on Monday and Tuesday when the crowds died down a little and most of those folks left home.

Examples of what we saw

1) Dudes throwing stacks of dollars at Playmakers as if they were strippers

2) Women fighting in the hallway (happened twice on our floor...for real)

3) 4-5 Twerk contests at any given time poolside (never figured out why girls just twerk with no crowd present but..meh...whatever)

4) A few guys calling girls bitches to their face because they wouldn't sit in their cabana

5) One incident of domestic violence on Sat night swim where some guy grabbed his partner and put his hands around her neck. Several of us in the pool started to yell at him to stop and he did. Security came over but they literally said "it's their relationship, not for us to get involved" but they at least stuck around and kept an eye on her after he left. We know, odds are at any given time there are probably 4-5 women on the resort suffering through that but to see it brazenly occur at the pool....it's a whole other level.


Monetization---
This deserved it's own category because it WILL affect you at some point. Temptation is a business and honestly, they've been smart about monetizing the things that the rest of us accepted for free. They know their new demographic as well as social trends and are happy to milk them for all they can. I can't blame them either. That's the whole point....MONEY. The 3 most obvious ones were Cabanas, bottle upsells and hookahs.

1) Cabanas---The biggest demographic of people renting cabanas were groups of single women who spent most of their time posing for selfies and laying there trying to look like Kim K on vacation. Most of them never left their cabana and weren't interested in getting in the pool or wet at all. Also on Glow night (Saturdays) there is a significant area by the pool that were couches for rent as well. One night at Bash (Sunday night) they brought up a cabana from the pool and put it next to the stage so a few single guys could feel important. Laid on the bed all night while people danced around them.

2) Hookahs---these things are EVERYWHERE. Personally, we hate smoking and hookahs give us a headache but to each their own. The men mostly rented these and some of them literally sucked on that hose for 5 hours straight like a security blanket. The issue with the hookah is that when the pool is super busy, they will set these up all along the bar and hookah smokers will take up residence on the stools. A few times, I got some dirty looks trying to inch my way in to get a drink because these dudes think this is a real club and that part of the bar is the real estate they paid for. At one point, I counted 9 hookahs on the sexy pool bar and usually 2-3 dudes each crowding around them. Makes it hard to get a drink but if you're patient and cool, most move out of the way for you to order or understand to be cordial.

3) Bottle Upsells---perhaps the silliest (and most genius) thing I saw were groups of dudes and girls buying bottle service. Now, it's silly because it's an all inclusive resort and drinks are free but it's genius because there were a TON of people doing this. The part that you had to watch out for was that there was no control over how much was being poured. I saw several people holding a bottle one moment and 15 min later, being carried out of the pool to a wheelchair. The only people I would trust to pour alcohol from a bottle into my mouth would be a playmaker. The single guys mostly used them to try and impress women and get them to drink. Didn't see many women take them up on their offer.

Single Guys--
We saw a few groups of single guys but for the most part, they were respectful and chill. BUT--there was one large group that were straight out vultures. One husband left his wife at the pool to go get something to eat and 3 of them immediately surrounded her. After a few min, she edged her way out from them and swam to the stairs and left. Any girl that looked to be single, they moved on her. Good thing is that I think alot of these women were talking shit right back to them and just laughed and left. They also had a few Don Julio bottles in their hand and you just had to keep an eye on them. There's always a group of guys like this so nothing really new except there was no feel of "community" amongst the people in the pool to really keep an eye out for the girls.

Boobies
Personally, I know this is a topless resort but I don't care much if a woman decides to keep her top on or take it off. I'm not entitled to see her breasts and honestly, it's up to her and her comfort level. I'd say at any given time, there were about 40% topless. If the woman was under 35 or so...or in a cabana, it was pretty much tops 100% of the time. Going back to my comment about this new demographic at the resort, it's about the selfie/image not the freedom.

Theme Nights
I'd say on any given night, about 40% of people dressed up in theme. Nice thing to see this time around was that for those that didn't dress in theme, they made much more of an effort to come out looking sexy (goes for the guys too). The theme night with the most participation was Nerd/School girl night because it's the easiest to pull off for the guys. Glow night had a good turn out and so did lingerie night. Again, alot of the guests are new to this and might not understand how much fun it can be. A Lot of the ones we talked to that didn't dress up told us that they didn't want to be the only ones not doing it and embarrassed.

Overall thoughts
Still...with all that Temptation looks to be moving to and becoming, it's still the best resort in Cancun when it comes to atmosphere, friendliness, and openness. Where else can you party starting at 11am and go until 2-3am?!? Even though I mentioned a few of the negative experiences we had, we still had a great time and met a lot of great people. I think however, you need to prepare yourself that the resort is possibly cannibalizing itself with it's new crop "one and done" guests. Meaning, that before they were happy to survive off of repeat visitors, premier members and steeper prices. I think the new normal is deals, upsells and churning through guests as much as they can for new revenue opportunities. That's ok...it's a business and it's not our resort.

Will we go back?? Hell yes...but next time we'll lower our expectations a little bit. The old saying of "no one knows you and no one gives a shit" is now more like...."no one knows you and they give too much of a shit about what others think."

Thanks for hanging in there

 

Thanks for the great report. we will be there on saturday and now know what to expect. This is like 14 or 15 times there. We have had great times at the quite pool. If things get to crazy that is where we will go. Can't stop us from coming to the best vacation spot.

 

Thanks for sharing! We were there early August and there isn’t anything you said that we could strongly disagree with! We do love it there and definitely keep everything in perspective because clearly, things are changing. We are already planning another return in April.

 

Thanks for your report. My wife and I are going for the first time Feb. 12-16. We are excited and hope to have a good time.

 

Agree! Especially with your last point....we will go back and have a great time, but with lower expectations (and less anticipation). Definitely not the same resort as before covid. Probably going to Desire this winter to see if we can capture the same magic as our first trips trips to TTR.

 

Appreciate your full and honest report on your experience, fits with many others, although find it very sad and that such a party resort has now become a Wannabe destination... hey, ho. Thank you for sharing it with us. Still hooked on TTR but finding it more and more difficult to place it as our top resort and also now find very few of our friends now going either...... will have to find another way to make the Boobs Cruise which is still unique (we hope !!)

 

Great feedback, we're heading back in May for our 2nd visit, first was pre covid in 2019 with the Amazing October Wedgies. We had an awesome time meeting people of all ages, shapes and sizes and we're hopeful that we will get a similar experience. Never understood the pretending to be a vip thing but each to the own and more space on the floor for us to make some drunken shapes!

 

Just a great time of year to be there! You guys will love it!

 

hubby and i were there sept 1-10th yes it has changed a bit, but all things do. Im glad you still plan on returning. the more repeaters who go the better the party!!!

 

Yeah...I hate to think about lowering expectations but we truly enjoyed our time. We're the type of people that can have fun anywhere we go. But...when I remember back to just a short time ago (like 2019), it really was a whole other experience and the one we fell in love with in 2018. If this year had been our first, we probably would have connected with fewer people and thus been less optimistic about overall vibe.

We know the real Temptation is in there...we just have to all keep working on bringing it back out