Deliciously Erotic... Anyone who's been to Desire Resort in Cancun knows that those two words describe it perfectly. Since it opened in April of 2003, Desire has become a household name... Well, at least among swinger households. Known for it's upscale erotic environment, indulgent amenities and an unbeatable staff who will cater to your every wish, Desire Cancun is easily one of the most popular clothing optional and swinging lifestyle friendly vacation destinations in the world.

Miguel and Silvina with Kasidie's publishers.

On a recent vacation to Desire Cancun, Kasidie sat down with Desire Cancun's General Manager, Miguel Soto. Joining him was Silvina Modelo, Desire's Director of Public Relations.

Kasidie: Was this resort originally built to be a swingers hotel?

Miguel: This property was originally built as a family hotel.

Silvina: Yeah, the smaller pool... That was the children's pool. Where the little kids would go. The bigger pool was for the adults.

Miguel: It was a family resort for four years.

Kasidie: Wow, so what happened?

Silvina: The current owners bought the property and converted it into Desire.

Kasidie: Why? Were they swingers?

Silvina: No, no, no, the owners are not in the lifestyle, but they had traveled a lot and they had spoken a lot with people who were involved in the lifestyle, or that were with lifestyle related businesses. They became aware that there was a market for this – for the lifestyle. So they decided to look around at some different locations. Puerto Vallarta was one of the areas that they looked at, and then Cancun. When they found this property, everything seemed to fit perfectly. Like the beach, the distance from the airport, things like that.

Kasidie: Where are the owners based?

Silvina: Here in Cancun. They have other hotels here too, Blue Bay Getaway... Blue Bay Club which they are changing to Temptation, remodeling it.

Kasidie: Temptation? Is that going to become a swinger resort too?

Silvina: [Laughing] The name sounds like it, but no.

Kasidie: When they bought this hotel how long was the process of turning it from a wholesome family resort into a Mecca for swingers around the world?

Miguel: About Four months.

Kasidie: That's all? How long ago was that now?

Silvina: Well, Desire first opened on April 28, 2003. So 4 1/2 years ago.

Photo provided by Desire Resorts.

Kasidie: What was that first year like?

Silvina: [Nervous Laughing] Difficult, like any beginning.

Kasidie: Were you (Silvina) working here from the start?

Silvina: I came about 5 months after they opened.

Kasidie: And how did you happen to end up working here?

Silvina: I was duped! [Laughing]

Kasidie: So you are not a swinger?

Silvina: No, I'm not.

Kasidie: Were you ever in the lifestyle?

Silvina: [Sarcastically] Oh sure, then I came to Desire and was suddenly convinced not to be a swinger!

Kasidie: Good point. So how did you get recruited to come here? Did they say, "Hey, want to come work at a swingers resort?"

Silvina: No. I was actually working at a resort in Puerto Vallarta and the manager of entertainment here at Desire asked me to come over, saying it was just like the hotel I worked at. He forgot to mention that it was clothing optional and lifestyle friendly. I didn't realize what this place actually was until after I got here!

Kasidie: What about you Miguel? How did you end up here?

Miguel: They hired me because I am a famous triple-X actor.

Miguel: No No. The real story is a little funny. I was working in a very famous and important Mexican branch. When they offered the opportunity to work in Desire... They never told me about the concept.

Kasidie: Oh they didn't?...

Miguel: No. For four years now my family hasn't known the place where I am working. Right now, they still don't know. It's funny now, but in the process of working at Desire, I sometimes had problems. It was very hard for me when first I came here.

“I've noticed the people from this area (Cancun) are very service orientated. They take great pride in their service. It is part of their culture. That really helps and makes a huge difference. ”

Kasidie: Was it a problem with your wife?

Miguel: I'm divorced. [Laughing], But not because of this.

Miguel: The whole concept, the environment of the lifestyle. It was a very different environment from what I was used to. It was a difficult change for me.

Kasidie: How is it hiring staff here? Everyone universally loves the staff at Desire. The people you have here are just amazing. It must be difficult in mostly conservative country like Mexico. Many must have difficulties with the concept, like you did.

Miguel: It's easy to find people to work here. But it is not always the type of people we'd want to hire. The process is slow, it's not an easy process. We work with a strict quality control program when hiring staff. It's a very important program. The screening process takes about two years.

Kasidie: You include psychological testing, and profiling?

Silvina: Exactly.

Miguel: They have to fill out tests about personality, and knowledge. Every trip and errand is double-checked with the employer. If we think an employee wants to be here at Desire for any reason other than to do a professional job, we remove them.

Kasidie: The people who work here are genuinely service orientated. They really seem to care that the guests are happy.

Silvina: Hand selected. It's like he said, the process that we follow is not just, "Can you wait tables?" or "Can you clean rooms?"... No, that's not what we look for. First thing is personality. I'm not Mexican, but I've noticed the people from this area (Cancun) are very service orientated. They take great pride in their service. It is part of their culture. That really helps and makes a huge difference. You can travel to different places in Mexico and you are not going to get the same level of service. You won't ever hear a "No" or, "I can't" or, "We don't have that." People here want to help and they want to do everything possible to make sure that you have a good time, and that you are happy, and that you want to come back. Not that you just have a good time now. The goal is that you like it so much that you are coming back.

Miguel: Another important thing is how we work with our employees to keep open ongoing communication. Employee orientation is a continuous program.

Photo provided by Desire Resorts.

Kasidie: So you do continuous training?

Miguel: Sure, all the time. But I avoid acting like,"I'm the boss and I'm going to see how you are doing your job." Instead I try to be very close with them. The employees have to feel like they can talk to the General Manager at any time, any day, any moment. They have to feel free to say, "I need to talk with you." If they feel that way, then they can serve better. It's part of the philosophy of the owners. Treat the employees with care and respect, and they will do the same for the guests.

Silvina: The principles, our mission, our future goals; What we want to achieve, how we are going to achieve them, that fact that we are going to achieve them together... It's important that all our employees share in these goals. That's basically what we have at the resort.

Kasidie: We noticed that most of the entertainment staff at Desire are from other countries. Like when we are at Desire Cabo, the girls were from Canada. We've seen other entertainment staff here from the Caribbean and Europe.

Silvina: They have more direct contact with the guests. The mentality is a little different for the entertaiment staff. So it's a little easier, from what I've experienced, having a Canadian girl who is maybe a little more liberal. People who are from this area are usually not too accustomed to being outgoing in the ways that are required for those positions. Don't get me wrong, we have some entertainment staff that are Mexican as well.

Kasidie: When you hire people from this area, considering the culture here, how do the families deal with it?

Silvina: They usually don't know.

Silvina: Temptations or Blue Bay, that's where they say they work!

Kasidie: Most of these people have families, and I would think in this culture... I would think it would be like saying you are an IRS agent in the USA. It's not something you want your friends to know.

Silvina: It's just a job and I think that is how a lot of them see it. It's a job whether they work here or they work in a regular hotel. They come and they do their job. We have days where we actually bring in the kids of our employees. Obviously not out to the nude area. But we bring them here and we take pictures of their moms and dads at their jobs at the bar, or cleaning a room. We show them that so that the families feel involved. They see that mom and dad are cleaning a room... That's what she does, she cleans a room. Granted there are people walking by naked. But we don't show that. I think that is how some of them deal with it.

Kasidie: So they just don't talk about it?

Silvina: Don't talk about it, that's the main thing, because what happens here stay here. There are a lot of people that when you tell them that you work at Desire they are like, "AHHHHH...You work there!?" and they automatically assume all sorts of things that are not true.

Miguel: They respect the guests, they respect the hotel. There are strict rules for the employees.

Silvina: The guests sometimes don't understand that. Some assume things about the employees just because they work at Desire. So they flirt with the employees a little too much. Sometimes that can cause trouble.

Miguel: But our staff knows how to keep things under control.

Photo provided by Desire Resorts.

Kasidie: How about you, Miguel? You said you thought about quitting at first, why did you stay? You are an established professional in the hospitality industry, you could get work elsewhere, so why did you stay?

Miguel: This job was a challenge for me, because... The challenge was not only for me... The challenge was for my staff, the hotel and a hundred employees behind me. But we remained focused on business and we worked on the satisfaction of the guests --- What you have to do is serve and do your best with that... And that's it. It was not easy but I think that if you are a true professional and you lead by example, then people follow you. We lost a lot of people in the beginning. We lost many very good employees.

“After the hurricane the majority of the staff, 95 percent, stayed and were very true to the resort...
Even the managers and owners were sweeping, cleaning, painting and hammering.”

Kasidie: Because?

Miguel: The guests at Desire like to try and have fun with the staff. Most employees weren't used to situations like that. For example, a guest would say to a bartender "Have a drink with me! One tequila! Two tequilas! Another!..."

Kasidie: Ahh...

Miguel: I try to have a professional team. It's not easy being on staff here.

Silvina: When the hurricane came a couple years ago a lot of people decided to leave as well. But since the hurricane, the management has been a steady and strong team and have been together for the past two years. After the hurricane the majority of the staff, 95 percent, stayed and were very true to the resort. "We have to pick up the hotel!" "We have to clean!" "We have to do whatever it takes to re-open the resort!" Even the managers and owners were sweeping, cleaning, painting and hammering. The staff sees this as their home. They spend most of their week here.

Miguel: We have now the lowest percent of employee turnover in the Cancun area.

Kasidie: When Desire first opened how were you marketing it? Because you weren't initially on Travelocity and Orbitz and those kinds of sites. You are now, but not back then. So how did you start to get the word out?

Silvina: We advertised with people who were already in the lifestyle industry. We weren't really branching out too much because we didn't know where to branch out to. At first it was going with who had the market, and learning. As time went on and the years went on, more people started contacting us because the word got out. So we started branching out, and promoting it in all the different areas.

Kasidie: How has it changed now that you are on Travelocity and Orbitz? Are you getting a different crowd? Are you getting more nudists? Are you losing the lifestyle core?

Silvina: No, not at all. We have a mix; we have a good mix of lifestyle and nudists. We always did. When we first opened it was always promoted as clothing optional... And that's how we still promote it. We promote it as 'lifestyle friendly'. So on one week you can find 80 percent swingers and 20 percent nudists. But on another week you will find 80 percent nudists and 20 percent swingers.

Photo provided by Desire Resorts.

Kasidie: Do you ever have a problem with those booking agencies where people show up and go, "Whoa, I didn't understand what this place was!"

Silvina: Well one or two, but that was way back when the hotel was first opening. Everybody who sells us knows what we are, who we are.

Kasidie: Well Travelocity and Orbitz don't. People who are just searching for a hotel in Cancun, you just come up on the list like any other hotel.

Silvina: Right, but when they check our website then they see that our concept is a little different than the other hotels in Cancun.

Kasidie: When the hotel started, did you have any specific challenges with zoning and government? Because there are not a lot of nude beaches in Mexico, it's generally not allowed.

Miguel: Because the area is secluded, is private, it's not a problem.

Kasidie: So, what's the future hold? What improvements do you have planned?

Miguel: Higher quality in food and beverage. Our guests have been asking about a real Mexican fusion buffet. Improvements on rooms too.

Kasidie: Any new buildings?

Miguel: We can't build anything new because we have limits and not enough space. The government won't permit any more. We are at our limit on how much we can build on a certain property.

Kasidie: So this is as big as it's going to get then?

Miguel: Yes.

Kasidie: And it's how many rooms now?

Silvina: 114 in total, with 5 different categories.

Kasidie: Miguel, you've been here since the beginning. What are you most proud of?

Miguel: The satisfaction of our guests is part of what makes me proud. That and the progress of the employees.

Kasidie: The staff are not the owners, but they are the architects, the people who make Desire what it is.

Miguel: We love this resort. It is like our baby.

“We give them an atmosphere to relax and go at their own pace. Most people first come here for the concept, but we are trying to make it a complete package.”

Kasidie: Do you have any funny stories about the area? Like has a crocodile ever come walking up into the resort?

Silvina: No, we have it fenced off; we have it protected, because we can't have something like that happen. We can't have a crocodile come on the property. It's impossible for a crocodile to get up onto our property. Plus we have security guards. So a crocodile might get a security guard but ...

Kasidie: So you don't have a wild and funny story about the craziest thing that you've seen happen here?

Silvina: Ummm.. Yeah nothing I can publish. I want to keep my job!

Kasidie: Fair enough. For people who are new to the lifestyle or who may have never heard of Desire, what would you want them to know? What would you want to tell them?

Silvina: First and foremost, there is no pressure. You come and you do as much or as little as you want with whoever you want or nobody at all. It's really a place for couples to come, get reacquainted and experience new things. The hotel provides an atmosphere which is romantic, sensual, fun and exciting. They have the disco, the entertainment staff and many other things to help those who are a little shy, or timid. We give them an atmosphere to relax and go at their own pace. Most people first come here for the concept, but we are trying to make it a complete package. We offer them the best we can at the bars, service, liquor, top shelf brands. In the restaurants we change our menu often, adding new things, going to other places and seeing what they are doing. Even the buffet is up a notch with things that you wouldn't see in a regular buffet. That's the main thing here: Class. We want to maintain that class. Our guests get that feeling as well. So if we promote classiness in all areas, then that's the kind of clientele that we are going to get. That's the kind of clientele that we would like to keep, those who are classy and fun.

Kasidie: Ok. I have one last question. Did you change the guacamole recipe?

Silvina: Is it different?

Kasidie: I remember it being chunkier.

Silvina: Ahhhh... Hopefully it's just a fluke. I'm glad you told me. I'll tell the kitchen staff. A lot of guests wouldn't have mentioned something like that because they don't want to complain. But they are not complaints to us, they are suggestions. It helps us make things better for next time. If something goes wrong when you are here, no matter how small, we'd like to know, so we can fix it. All the little things help us make the bigger things better.

Kasidie: Well it's not a complaint. I still love Desire... And I still love the guacamole!

Silvina: We'll make sure it is even better the next time you try it.

Kasidie: I don't doubt it. Thank you both for taking the time to talk with me.

Silvina: Our pleasure.

Miguel: Enjoy the rest of your time here.

Kasidie: Oh, you have no idea!

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