TL;DR It’s a wonderful, magical place all lifestyle folks, dirty vanillas and/or nudists need to check out if they have the means and time.

Disclaimer: everyone’s experience will be different with this place. It will greatly depend on what your goal for the vacation is and who is there on a given week. The first part you can control, the second obviously you can’t, unless you bring a group with you. For those that don’t know us around here, we’re a late 30’s, very early 40’s couple that’s been in the lifestyle for 5 plus years. We look for FWBs with an emphasis on quality over quantity. A big thank you to u/Swinging-Downunder for helping us with tips and tricks prior to booking. That was huge in helping us feel comfortable booking the vacation.

Leading up to it: We joined the kik group that covered our rough time at the resort. Really wasn’t our thing. They all seemed like good people, but the thread quickly devolved into a photo swap. If anything was interesting in the thread, it was way too far back to bring it back up by the time we saw it. Our female half did split off a conversation with a nice couple from that thread, and we did connect with them once they arrived. Was also connected with a couple via SLS because we had posted our travel dates and SLS profile name in the desire forums. We connected with them almost immediately upon arrival.

Resort: We chose RM over Pearl. We wanted more of a party and RM seemed like the right choice for that. Talking with many people this week that have seen both, it sounds like a good choice. Nobody had a bad word about Pearl. If anything, it sounded like the property was in better shape. But RM was noted to be slightly younger, and more party oriented. RM had everything we’d want. Good pool. Plenty of seating around it including lounge chairs and beds. Even being non-premier guests, we didn’t feel we were missing out on much. We spent a few days dodging the sales pitch for Premier. We originally said yes, but after talking with a bunch of people that did it, the hour long pitch is really 2.5 hours. Not how we want to spend that much of our vacation. If you’re going to go a lot, I bet it’s worth it, but given our place in life, I doubt we could go enough to make it worth it.

The “playmakers” were awesome. Super friendly and great at getting people up and interacting with each other. Our female half enjoyed dancing with a few of the guys and ladies at the shows.

Food: Really good. I don’t think we had anything bad. The buffet is solid. The fancy restaurant is good. The Hibachi was a lot of fun. We could have easily stuffed ourselves on the food, but given the type of vacation, we focused on small meals that weren’t too heavy.

Crowd: We booked 4 nights during Desire’s “lifestyle” month. In theory, this means more swingers than normal, but we have nothing to compare to. There was certainly a mix. Every type of couple was represented from all out lifestyle to the couple that didn’t realize the resort was more than a clothing optional spot for couples. We were definitely on the younger side. Not the youngest, but pretty close. Even for the crowd being on the older side of the swinging age bell curve, it was a good looking crowd in general.

Socializing: This is what we came for. This isn’t your typical tropical vacation where everyone mostly sticks to themselves and the groups they came with. Instantly, we felt welcomed. Within the first hour, we stumbled across the couple we connected with via SLS. They showed us around. While passing the Villas, a group invited us in their private pool. We spent the next couple of hours getting to know a few couples in there. For us, that’s insane. We’re a very shy couple that has a hard time approaching people.

Typical Day: Each day had a similar flow to it for us. As soon as we woke up, we went out to secure a spot by the pool. We’d hit the gym quick to wake up, grab some breakfast and head to the pool. We’d spend the day periodically dipping in and out of the pool and socializing as we met people. At some point, we’d take a break and hit the buffet for lunch. Around 5 or so, most would migrate to the hot tub. That wasn’t really our thing. We did it a little, but mostly we grabbed an early dinner. Then we’d sit at the bar by the lobby and grab a little caffeine to get us going for the night. There was usually people there to socialize with. The show would start sometime between 9:30 and 10. These were pretty awesome. Usually a live band followed by some sort of sexy show. Great entertainers. Very sexy stuff. After, we’d head up to the disco. These were some awesome dance parties. It’s not often I can totally lose myself in dancing. After a couple hours, people would start heading back to the hot tub. Again, not quite our thing, but we tried it out, at least briefly.

Experiences: We can’t recommend the photo shoot enough. Wow! That was awesome. Ruben (the photographer) is great. Really knows how to make the most of it. I was in awe of my wife and just grinning from ear to ear. We wound up picking way more pictures to take home than I would have liked to buy, but we couldn’t help it.

We did a standard massage. It was solid. Nothing too special and certainly overpriced. But that’s too be expected at a tropical resort. We did not try the sensual couples massage as we heard many mixed reviews and it didn’t seem like our thing.

We did not find play until the last night, and honestly, it was more about “now or never” than finding the right fit. We had fun, don’t get me wrong. But it was a couple we met right at the end of the disco on our last night and we just went for it. I wouldn’t call it a regret, but it wasn’t ideal. Nothing at all against the couple. They are great. It is just not usually our thing to meet and play right away.

Nudity: She went topless!!! That’s huge for her. It took until the first full day, but once she lost the top, she got very comfortable. She never lost the bottoms, and I don’t think she ever will. It doesn’t seem to be a comfort thing, but more of a preference. I only lost my trunks once in the Villa pool. Otherwise, I kept them on. I don’t care either way, but for her, her preference was not to see guys fully nude, so I respected that. As for the rest of the resort, I’d estimate it was 95% topless, 50/50 on the bottoms for women. About 75% of men went fully nude. Nobody gave a shit either way. It really was a non issue.

What we’d do different next time: NAPS! More naps! Most nights, we flamed out not long after the disco. Then we’d wake up too early. Never broke that cycle. The last full day we ensured to schedule some downtime to nap by the pool. That definitely helped.

We probably would like to go with a big group next year. We purposely wanted to run this time just us, and no regrets on that front. But bringing our own friends is probably better for our preference in play. We much prefer FWBs to ONS, so it would probably be better bringing friends we know we’re comfortable playing with.