Desire Riviera Maya Resort

Excelente service! The hotel has great people, Christian from front desk is really helpful, he always help with a smile on his face it is always the best greet coming in. Then the playmakers always make your day brighter, Bella is the best.

This was our sixth time at Desires in Cancun. I absolutely love it. We have the best time ever!! Ivan at the main pool bar is so sweet and he makes the best mint Mojitos. Dj Motherfukar played great country music at the pool. My favorite theme night was neon cowboy. The live band was so much fun. Edgar at the breakfast coffee hut is so sweet and makes great vanilla lattes. I appreciated Daniel the Butler sending the schedule via text. I think all of the playmaker are so sweet and fun especially Crystal. Africa one of the servers at the pool is amazing. I really enjoyed the wine and charcuterie board tasting night. I wish it had been advertised more. I felt nobody knew about it and it was very well executed. I like to stay on the Eden side. I enjoy the swim up pool

What an excellent trip and a lovely spa and fun experience. We have to name a few people who really made the trip great. Thanks to our butlers, Daniel and Cesar. Thanks to the playmakers, especially Candace. Thanks to the servers, especially Africa and Jorge. All of you made it a better experience.

Excellent sensual massage with Julio and Arely They gave excellent massage And very sensual

We have been loyal Canadian members of Desire Pearl and Desire Riviera Maya since 2007 and have visited both resorts many times over the years. We always appreciated the unique atmosphere, freedom, and sense of community these resorts once offered. It was something we genuinely looked forward to year after year. Before anything else, we do want to say that the staff throughout the resort were absolutely amazing during our stay. The service staff continue to work incredibly hard and many of them remain one of the biggest reasons guests continue returning. Unfortunately, after our most recent experience, it feels like the resort is slowly pricing out many long time loyal guests while simultaneously reducing the overall value being offered. We always booked well over a year in advance to secure the best possible member pricing. Even with that, the recent increases are extremely difficult to justify. For May 2027 the exact same room category pricing has gone from approximately $542 USD per night to roughly $881 USD per night. That is an increase of over 60 percent for essentially the same room and overall experience. To be clear, these prices are for standard Ocean View rooms, not luxury suites or premium high end accommodations. To be honest, once you move past the atmosphere and location the resort originally became known for, there is very little actual luxury about the Ocean View room category itself to justify pricing now approaching or exceeding $1200 CAD per night for May 2027 bookings unless you stay in Eden, and those prices are now extremely high as well. Another frustrating part is that during our May stay, occupancy from Monday through Wednesday appeared to be only around 50 percent. In our opinion, this may already be a result of the resort overpricing itself. If occupancy is already struggling now, it raises serious concerns about what management expects will happen by 2027 with room rates increasing another 60 percent. To make matters worse, several restaurants were closed Monday through Wednesday during that period. For guests paying these kinds of premium prices, reduced dining options and partially closed facilities during the week are simply not acceptable. The rooms are relatively modest in size and the resorts themselves are beginning to show their age. During our stays we have experienced various maintenance and plumbing related issues, which makes pricing at this level even harder to understand. We reached out directly to management and were provided a detailed explanation referencing inflation, taxes, rising wages, regulations, and operational costs. While we understand costs increase over time, those explanations simply do not justify a more than 60 percent increase for the exact same product. What is becoming increasingly frustrating is that while room prices continue rising dramatically, the resort itself now seems to be charging extra for more and more things throughout the property. For example, below the lobby where the show is, seating areas now often require expensive bottle service reservations, frequently involving bottles of wine around $100 USD simply to reserve seating areas. Not everyone drinks wine, yet it increasingly feels like guests are being pushed toward additional spending simply to comfortably enjoy common social spaces. The same thing is increasingly happening around pool areas as well. Even spa and hydrotherapy facilities that used to feel like part of the overall resort experience now come with additional charges. Members are given one complimentary use and then expected to pay afterward. It leaves many long time guests asking what exactly the benefit of membership is anymore when more and more features now come with additional fees attached. We also noticed a change in the overall feeling when using resort facilities before departure. In previous years we always felt comfortable using the showers and amenities before heading to the airport. Now we are being told we need to shower and get ready either at the gym facilities or near the jacuzzi areas instead, which honestly does not feel comfortable or relaxing for us at all. The massage pricing has also become extremely inflated and difficult to justify. We also had an extremely frustrating experience involving the spa and Premier membership presentation. We were originally offered two 50 minute massages each, which was actually the option we wanted from the beginning. However, during the Premier presentation we specifically asked several times whether taking the $300 USD resort credit instead would fully cover upgraded massages for both of us. Lisa clearly told us that it would. That is the only reason we agreed to take the credit option instead of simply keeping the included massages. In addition to the $300 credit, we also had two complimentary 25 minute massage vouchers. The spa accepted those vouchers and applied them toward upgraded 80 minute massages without ever clearly explaining that there would still be an additional balance owing afterward. Only at checkout were we informed there was still approximately a $70 USD balance remaining, which we reluctantly paid. Our frustration is not about paying for services received. It is about being repeatedly told the credits would cover the upgraded massages and then discovering afterward that this was not true. Had the spa and Premier staff been clear from the beginning that the $300 USD credit and the complimentary 25 minute vouchers could not fully be combined toward the upgraded massages without additional charges, we would have simply used the two complimentary 25 minute massages separately the following day rather than unknowingly applying them toward services that later resulted in an unexpected balance at checkout. For a resort now charging over $1200 CAD per night once exchange is factored in, clear communication, transparency, and premium service should be expected at all times. Another noticeable change over the years has been the overall atmosphere at Desire Maya. Part of what originally made Desire unique was the genuinely relaxed clothing optional environment where most guests participated together naturally. That atmosphere created a sense of equality, comfort, and freedom that made many couples feel completely at ease. Unfortunately, over time it increasingly feels like the resort has shifted away from that original naturist atmosphere. In our honest opinion, no matter what people may say, Maya now feels closer to 80 percent bathing suits throughout much of the resort. Of course everyone has the right to enjoy the resort however they feel comfortable. However, when more and more guests remain clothed while others are nude, it begins to create an imbalance that can make many couples feel self conscious rather than relaxed. Ironically, the more this happens, the fewer people feel comfortable participating in the clothing optional aspect at all. At times it now feels less like the traditional clothing optional experience that originally made Desire special and more like a standard adults only resort with selective nudity. We truly believe the resort should consider designated nude friendly areas or sections specifically for guests seeking a more traditional naturist atmosphere where couples can feel equally comfortable and fully relaxed without feeling exposed or out of place. One other noticeable change over the years is the overall social atmosphere. In the past, the resort felt far more open, social, and welcoming between guests. Recently, some of the larger playmaker and social circles can feel extremely cliquey. Despite visiting many times over the years, there are moments where certain groups barely acknowledge longtime returning guests at all, which changes the overall welcoming community feeling the resort once had. We have also heard from many guests who previously visited resorts like Temptation Cancun Resort that a similar shift happened there over time, with more fully clothed guests becoming the norm throughout much of the property. Desire historically stood apart from that atmosphere, which is one of the reasons so many couples remained loyal here for years. What is also becoming increasingly shocking are the membership prices now being presented to guests. The numbers being discussed are reaching levels that honestly feel completely disconnected from the actual product being offered. For aging resorts with modest sized rooms and shrinking inclusions, it begins to feel unrealistic and out of touch with what many long time guests can reasonably justify. As Canadian guests, the exchange rate makes this even more difficult to justify. What was once a manageable and exciting yearly trip is now becoming financially unrealistic for many loyal returning members. At some point, many long time guests may need to seriously reconsider continuing to pay these increasingly inflated prices. Resorts naturally respond to demand, and perhaps the only way affordability and overall value will ever return is if enough loyal guests begin stepping back and voicing these concerns openly. We say this not out of anger, but out of disappointment, because this was once a place we truly loved returning to year after year. We understand businesses evolve and prices rise. However, this level of pricing combined with shrinking inclusions, confusing upsells, changing resort culture, and aging accommodations makes it increasingly difficult for long standing guests like us to continue returning. What once felt like a special welcoming community now feels increasingly out of reach. In our opinion, this resort is unfortunately moving backwards rather than forwards. We sincerely hope management takes a serious look at where things are heading because we suspect many long time guests may quietly be feeling the exact same way.