Buckle up, this isn't going to be a short review. But if you're curious about the place, and want to know what it's actually like beyond what their website tells you, read on. My wife and I booked a 6-day stay here (we just returned home), so this is early Sept. I prefer to do high-level synopsis first with some more detail to follow. The Good: - Staff are incredibly friendly. Every single one. - The rooms each have an AC unit, and easily keep cool. - Plenty of space along the beach shoreline to soak up the sun and waves. Including cabanas (we never had to wait for one). - The bartenders/mixologists really know what they're doing, and make fantastic drinks. - The visitors are generally friendly, the atmosphere is generally inviting. - If you want a safe place to disregard clothing and not feel weird about it, this place nails it. - Group events (almost exclusively at the pool) every day, entertainment every night (shows, dancing). - Being all-inclusive, 100% of your food and nearly all drinks are included (some premium wines, other liquor costs add'l). - Carlos and others are among the friendliest and most accommodating I've encountered in their industry. The Bad: - You should expect to be sales-pitched the moment you check in, and for the duration of your stay. We found this to be exhausting (more on this in TripAdvisor). - If you don't opt to participate in the late night events and dancing, you can expect a bit more of a bland experience overall. - There is only one pool, and it is small considering the size of the resort. The hot tub is nearly the same size, for reference. - The website advertises one of the three restaurants as offering "lunch + snacks" which is misleading; it has operating hours and basically you can't get an actual snack anywhere. - We had to be moved to another room midway through our stay, and that room also had an issue (more on this in TripAdvisor). - We felt that - considering the overall cost - the aesthetic was good but not great; in some ways the place really shines and in others it feels...janky. - If your main goal is to avoid a resort with kids, but you're not necessarily keen on walking around naked all the time, you will feel out of place here. - The gift shop prices are outrageous. We paid $50usd for a standard bottle of sunscreen because we ran out of what we brought. - Speaking of insane prices, anything not included here is extremely overpriced. For a couple's massage, they want somewhere between $300-$450, depending on options. By contrast, we were able to find a local business who did this for $100 for 60 min and it was fantastic. Overall, this was not "the place" for us. We did find that folks who tend to enjoy "the lifestyle" find this place to be a haven. If that sounds like you, you will absolutely love it. If not, you might wish you'd stayed elsewhere.

This is one of my favorite places to go with my Beloved. We just renewed our contract. However, there are a few things that bother me. We switched from one room to get one with an ocean view. We had a problem with the air conditioner in the room we moved to. My partner called the office, and a repair person would make an adjustment but never fixed the problem. On our last day there, the air conditioner just didn’t cool us down. They need to fix the problem and make the air conditioner work properly. Another issue, we were in the large hot tub upstairs when the sun was going down. I got a whiff of something that smelled like petrochemicals. Two minutes later, I saw a big puff of smoky stuff coming up from below and heading in our direction. I turned around so I wasn’t facing it when it got to me. I believe it was the chemicals that they sprayed for mosquitos every evening before the sun went down that I breathed. There must be another way to kill the mosquitos. The food was amazing--as usual. There is one issue for me, though. In the morning, you can have your eggs prepared in many ways, including fried eggs, an omlet, or Eggs Benedict, to name a few. But, I just don't like my eggs cooked with the griddle spray that is usually used. So, I find it important to ask the cook to please use butter. You might want to, too. I would like to recommend that they use avocado spray instead of the yucky griddle spray.

Desires RM is a great place to relax. The staff makes the resort the best! Ilse one of the great playmakers she keeps everyone engaged and entertained day and night. We cannot say enough about Ilse! Our butler Alfredo 5 stars. The resort is beautiful can’t wait to return next year!

Absolutely amazing honeymoon trip! Drinks at the pool from Angel and Africa. Naughty pool time fun with Javi, Steth, Sergio, Leo and Tania. Great service with a smile from Daniel and G our Butlers. Also, some others to mention.. Rogelio serving us drinks at the lobby entertainment, the amazing staff who prepared our romantic dinner on the beach you all did great setting up the space, wow and Alberto who was our waiter during the romantic dinner. Thank you all so much for a wonderful experience!

We decided to spend some days in Desire Riviera Maya Resort because our aniversary. Me and my wife had heard good opinions of the resort. Everything was perfect since our arrival. The staff makes you feel welcome at any moment The place is beautiful, the vegatation, the architecture, the pools, the restaurants . Our room was excellent, clean, new, confortable, and very relaxing. The activities around the pools , keep you interested all day. We played Pool balleyball with the Animator Ilse, who is a beautiful mexican girl, who kept us active for a while. We enjoyed her talk and that special charm she has. We ate at the Arrecifes buffet, where the food is always fresh and delicious, Later in the evening after taking a nap, the activities get hotter and if you are willing , its a good time to add some spice to your life. Definitely a place to return

Lots of fun. Friendly guests and super friendly Desire staff at every turn. Playmakers in the pool keep everyone engaged and having fun with great activities. All the playmakers are so fun. Food is great and plentiful. Drinks are always flowing and we both had a great time. Can't wait to be back.

Playmakers were amazing!!! The resort experience was quite interesting; I found it was not the place for everyone, especially for us; however the playmakers made our trip worth going back there again. Me and my partner ain’t in lifestyle so the resort was not the best choice from our end however we are glad that we been there as all the staffs and guests were extremely respectful and helpful; so our trip was excellent. I have to mention some names as they were extremely friendly and helpful to make our trip memorable. Leo and Broccoli(Luis) were always there in the beach to make sure we are safe. Leo took us on sail boat to show us around the resort, it was special. If you visit the resort look for them they are amazing. Kevin, Felix, Serge became buddies to us as we played everyday beach volleyball and pool volleyball. They were amazing in creating such interesting games whole day such as water exercises; I better not tell everything you can visit and find out lol. I know ladies would enjoy the dance of Felix, Xavi, Serge and Kevin 😀 Playmaker Ilsa and Tania, we thank you for your presence; you guys are the heart of the resort; without you guys the trip wouldn’t be the same. Special thanks to Ilsa for teaching me Salsa for the first time. Talking about food, must try Hibachi at Suki, Rouye is a special chef, he will entertain you all the time. All the foods were delicious, specially the tacos and nachos. Thanks to Said, Arial, Jorge for their service in the restaurants. If you are into drinking, you will be in the best place, 24 hours bar is open so you can drink until you get bored; I enjoy the virgin drinks and those were amazing. Another amazing part is the performance each night, it starts at 9:30pm. The best show to me is the acrobatic show(Monday Night) and fire show(Wednesday Night). Try to attend these days if possible. You can take spa there but just keep it mind it will be expensive; it may cost you around $200 and more based on what you take. Also remember you have to pay tourists tax per day and that you have to pay at the checkout. Having cash USD is better for you I would suggest. Overall excellent experience, once I am very grateful to all the playmakers for entertaining us all day long.

Everything was just amazing this was our trip numer one and we always do temptation and is incredible the vibe and the party here, service is excellent, thank you to the playmakers for their attention specially Kevin, Javi, Ilse, Steph, Tania and Felix. We will be back soon.