Hedonism or Desire - tell us your favorite for 2016

I was involved the other night at one of our local LS parties in a conversation regarding Desire and Hedonism.

We have honestly never been to either or any lifestyle party for that matter. However, since the weather in the Northern Hemisphere is about to get miserably cold I am sure a number of us are going to heading south to get a bit of an escape. So for a couple of days R & R while staying in the lifestyle, which resort are you choosing and why?

Are there other resorts you would pick? Anything more domestic?

There is no comparison between the two. Desire is for couples, it is relatively comparatively small, elegant, good food, yes lots of sex going on and but still a very classy and clean place. Hedo much larger, many, many single guys there, more of a spring break atmosphere, not as clean, food is not as good, but a great place to go if you want lots of raw sex with your wife and any number of other guys. Not to say that you can’t restrict your activities to some select focus, such as other couples only, but you’ll be saying “no” a whole lot. We may do Hedo one more time in our life time but Desires is the fun, romantic getaway....

We have been to Desire Riviera Maya a couple of times, and visited Desire Pearl for a couple hours once. We have not been to Hedo, but talked to a longtime Hedo-goer who we met at Desire last fall (they had decided to switch things up and visit Desire for a change).

Facility-wise, food-wise, and service-wise, we have heard some better reports about Hedo since they've done some reworking in the last year or so. Our impression from talking to people and comparing to our own Desire experience is that Hedo still does not match up to Desire in terms of the quality of the rooms and the facility, nor in the attentiveness of the service. I get the impression that the food at Hedo is nearly equally as good as Desire's.

The other question for swingers is, how active is the play scene at Hedo vs. Desire? The first thing to note is that, at either resort (or anywhere else, for that matter), the liveliness of the play is entirely dependent on the guests who are there at the time. In our two visits to Desire Riviera Maya, we found the play vibe much more active back in October 2014, and much more "sleepy" on our February 2015 visit. In February, we also saw a fairly surprising amount of shyness around the pool and hot tub, with lots of suit bottoms on, and even some suit tops on (Desire is clothing optional throughout nearly the whole resort).

In our case, we figure that we can find a nice, romantic, non-swinging vacation at any number of places, and spend a whole lot less than we spent for Desire. We paid a premium price to go there based on the fact that it's a lifestyle-friendly resort, and we wanted to play there! So we came away from our February trip somewhat soured on Desire as a lifestyle vacation destination. The next time we look for a lifestyle vacation, we will probably not go to Desire- unless there is a "lifestyle takeover" or swinging group going that gives us some reason to believe that there will be more people there who are interested in playing.

Along those lines, we have booked ourselves on a lifestyle cruise next month! It's called the Bliss Cruise, and if you're an SLS member, you've probably been bombarded with ads about it. This promises to be a lively event!

We would also like to try Hedo sometime, though the single guy thing does give us pause.

Nice Post!!

We go to Desire Riviera Maya every year with Life on the Swingset. It's a wonderful resort and a great time with a group.

I've heard Hedo has improved, but I like that Desire is couples focused. It's very romantic and erotic.

We just booked our trip to HEDO II for 11/29-12/5 2015 (not 2016)

This is our 14th trip since 2001

I guess you can figure out that we really like it there.

We did Desire once. It was fine and fun, but HEDO II is our place.

Anyone else going?

Hedonism vs. Desire

Obviously, people will say I am biased based on the fact we run the Young Swingers® Week event at Hedonism.

However, I will give you a list of points which anyone who has been to both resorts in the last 12 months can verify.

If you have not been to both resorts recently do not shoot the messenger.

At all three resorts if you are with a great group all of them can be fun.

If you go on a slow week or with the wrong group you could be really bored and underwhelmed.

Desire Riviera Maya

1. One Pool - Clothing Optional

2. One Small Hot Tub - Very crowded at night.

3. Beach is very narrow and very few people go in the ocean.

4. Drink service is very fast, but they do not include popular shot drinks such as Patron, Fireball, Jagermeister and are missing a lot of top shelf brand liquors.

5. The standard rooms are average.

6. The Dance Club is nicer than Hedonism.

7. It is larger than Pearl at 114 rooms, but less than half the size of Hedonism.

8. The party atmosphere was better than Pearl.

9. Service is good and the staff is attentive.

10. The entertainment staff is small and the entertainment is minimal.

Desire Pearl

1. One Large Pool - One half heated and one half not heated separated by a wall in the middle of the pool.

2. Large Hot Tub - Really nice hot tub which is huge.

3. Beach is very narrow and very few people go in the ocean.

4. Drink service is very fast, but they do not include popular shot drinks such as Patron, Fireball, Jagermeister and are missing a lot of top shelf brand liquors.

5. The rooms are the nicest of all three resorts.

6. The restaurants are nice and service is fast.

7. This is the fanciest resort of the three resorts, but it is the smallest at 88 rooms.

8. Pearl is higher end then Riviera Maya.

9. Service is good and the staff is attentive.

10. The seven Penthouse Suites are amazing if you want high end.

Hedonism II

1. Three Pools - Nude Pool with Required Nudity which keeps away gawkers in swimsuits. Two Clothing optional pools.

2. Hot Tub - Right by the nude pool and it gets wild late night.

3. Beach is large and many people go in the ocean, and they have plenty of floats.

4. Drink service not as fast, but they include popular shot drinks such as Patron, Fireball, Jagermeister and have a lot of top shelf brand liquors.

5. The standard rooms are average. However, the premium rooms are about the same price as Desires average rooms.

6. Hedonism has a big stage in the dining room with many amazing performances and shows each night.

7. This is the largest resort by far at 260 rooms.

8. Hedonism is a wilder spring break style party.

9. Hedonism has put a ton of money into remodeling and renovating the resort in the last two years and has really went to a new level.

10. The entertainment staff is large and they do a great job.

We have only been to Desire Riviera Maya and we have been 4 times. Our last trip was in November. I do have many friends who have been to Hedo. It sounds fun, but not really our style. We've met many people at Desire who have visited dozens of times.

It is an easy flight to Cancun and a short drive, about 30 minutes to Desire Riviera Maya.

The resort is upscale, not 5 stars, but very nice. It is extremely clean and well tended. The gardens are beautiful. The staff remember you after only visiting once and say, "Welcome home".

The rooms are not the Waldorf Astoria, but they are comfortable and clean. they redecorated 2 years ago. The bathrooms are a little small, but there is always hot water in the shower. Many of the gardenview rooms are actually bigger than the more expensive oceanview. They also have suites available which are very nice. The resort is small, only about 100 rooms, I think. We really like that. It's easy to find people and get to know each other.

Desire does have very good quality tequila, they have Milagro reposado which is better than Patron. I don't know about Fireball, because I don't drink that. They definitely have Jager, if that is something you are into. The drink service is amazing and I believe they have everything you could want. There is a swim-up bar at the pool (pool was redone last year) and hot tub, plus waitstaff at the beach and pool. Drinking is not the main focus, though. You very rarely see sloppy drunks or anything I would consider spring break behavior. The focus is more on eroticism, romance, sexiness and making friends.

During the day there is entertainment at the pool: contests, water aerobics, fashion shows, etc. There is organized beach volleyball everyday. When it rains (not often, thankfully) the entertainment staff organizes games under the covered bar. We go with a swingers group and they have special events every day.

Desire is couples only. For us that is important. We play with singles, but we like to get to know them on our terms. Many singles are very nice, polite, respectful, etc. but we have had BAD experiences at clubs with single guys. We don't care for clubs with open policies toward single guys and we don't want that hassle on our vacation. Desire is very romantic and very friendly. I get up early in the morning, my husband sleeps til lunchtime. I am comfortable being naked at the pool by myself. No one leers or makes unwanted advances. I have friends to have breakfast or hang out with. I have also gone to the hot tub by myself late in the evening and felt very safe. My female friends who have been to Hedo tell me they have not felt safe without their husbands nearby.

The food is very good. There are 2 specialty restaurants and a buffet for dinner. Lunch is a large outdoor buffet and made to order grill entrees. Breakfast is a large buffet with made to order omlets, eggs and a special each day. Late night they have amazing made to order pizzas and BLT's. You have to wear at least a cover-up (women) and shorts (men) to eat during the day. The specialty restaurants at night, men have to wear pants (jeans ok).

One of my favorite spots is the roof top hot tub. In the late afternoon it can be quite crowded, but it's a great place to mix and mingle. There is a view of the ocean that is very nice. There are beds around the hot tub. At night or in the afternoon it is magical to play there with the Caribbean breeze and the stars or sun above you.

The resort, including the beach, is clothing optional, during the day you can be naked or wear a suit or cover-up. We are not beach people, so we spend the day at the pool. The beach is ok, there is a lot of seaweed that washes in and they rake it every morning. There is a breakwall so the ocean is not wavy, like Florida or Myrtle Beach. There are beach beds that a lot of people love and a bar with a waitstaff on the beach. The sand is nice for walking. You are not supposed to have sex on the beach or at the pool. The days are less sexually charged than the evenings. People spend time relaxing with their spouses and friends and getting to know people.

Nearly everyone dresses for dinner and they have theme nights every night. Typically they have a live band and dancing in the courtyard, then a show of some sort and then disco time. We have really enjoyed the live bands and the shows, which are usually dance or acrobatic groups.

The disco is fun and sexy. There is a playroom off the dance floor which is very nice and very clean. They have a sex swing, also.

Many people go back to the hot tub late at night and play on the beds surrounding.

We really love Desire because it is couples focused. My husband and I have had some of our most romantic and sexiest moments there. We have made some amazing friends who we go back with again and again and even have visited here in the US. When I read that you will make great, true friends at Desire, I didn't believe it, but it really is true.

Last trip we talked to a guy who is a divorce attorney, he said sometimes he consults with people who seem to just have lost the spark and he doesn't feel they have a reason to divorce. He tells them to book a trip to Desire, if they still want a divorce when they get back he'll pay for their trip. He said no one has ever come back.

There are a lot of reviews and info on Desire, and also comparisons, at this website: Desire Resort Forums ? Index page There are quite a few on tripadvisor also.

We're going back with Life on the Swingset Nov 6, 2016. It is a complete takeover and almost sold out. This is a fabulous group! We'd love to have more swingersboard couples joining us!

One thing people do keep mentioning in the comparisons is that they have not been to both, and it is only based on what they have heard.

Both resorts have good points.

If you haven't tried Hedonism you should to compare for yourself, because you might not know what your missing.

Hedonism does not allow single males in the playrooms.

Also, there are not that many single males and they are easy to avoid because it is such a large resort.

Our group for instance does not book single males.

If a single male is bothering you and you tell security, they will straighten the situation out with them immediately, or remove them from the resort.