Kevin & Julee - February, 2008

Most ocean-view rooms include 2 bath robes, slippers, lots of pillows, and all rooms have 2 adirondack chairs and a table on the patios/balconies. Every room has a fridge that is stocked daily with bottled waters and soft drinks. If you wanted a bottle of wine, mixed drinks, whatever ... all you had to do was call room service. The room service was awesome ... another big plus over HII.

Housekeeping was fine, but seemed to have a little bit of a problem keeping up once the resort went to 100% on Thursday. Unlike Hedo, we never saw who took care of our room, and the housekeeping staff were rarely seen.

The Campus
The campus is beautiful, and laid out so that you feel like you're staying in your own little town. You cannot see the nude side from the prude side, unlike HII. Someone could stay on the prude side, and never even know the nude side existed, unless they walked down the path that leads to the nude side. All throughout the day, and at dinner time, and throughout the night ... no one place is crowded. The place is so spread out, unlike HII.

The pool and beach on the nude side are 10 times better than HII. The pool is absolutely beautiful ... the beach is huge ... and just as with the rest of the campus, people had room to spread out and not be all on top of each other. There were umbrellas on the pool deck, as well as lots of trees if you wanted to get out of the sun. There were cushions on every chaise lounge, and brand new yellow pool floats everywhere. There were no drunken scenes, no dramas, and no PDA's, and we personally did not miss any of that. There was fun and romance in the air, but none of the in-your-face stuff.

The hot tub on the nude side is pretty large, was always sparkling clean (as was the pool), and a good temperature. If you walk back into the woods to the left of the hot tub, there is a smaller hot tub in the wooded area.

The nude side is all that and more! You could go and stay there all day and night ... and never leave! There were 2 bars, and a clubhouse with ping pong, a pool table, television, board games and books. There are 2 phones, so you could order room service whenever you wanted. There was hardly never a time when fresh towels weren't being delivered ... unlike HII. The poolside bathrooms were kept spotless, unlike HII. They also had a tennis court right behind the nude pool, and people actually use it!

After discussing security with some other women, we all agreed that we did not always feel safe walking around HII at night if we were alone ... much less having to go to the filthy bathrooms, which is always a little scary at HII. At GLB I felt as safe as if I were at my own home. There was security all over, even one located right near the restrooms. There are no boat people or any locals anywhere! It really was nice staying somewhere that felt safe.

The only two things that HII has that GLB doesn't ... the calm ocean water that you can float in ... and the cat cruises (which I really missed!)

Food and Booze
All of the restaurants are in different locations, and we found the food and service good everywhere. The Japanese restaurant can get very noisy, as it is enclosed ... the grand buffet was different than HII (no lobster, but lamb chops) ... soup, salads and desserts are buffet style, but you order your main meal from a menu, which we all liked. The French restaurant was a 5-star dinner. So delicious ... with superior service. La Pasta was also excellent, with a great soup served every night, along with a salad bar ... and a lot of great menu selections.

Miller Lite was available at the nude bar around lunchtime each day, but usually ran out by 2:00 or so. And unlike HII, where your choice is either white or red wine ... GLB actually had choices, which included Robert Mondavi and other very good wines.

We ate lunch every day on the nude side, which was super! Just wrap a towel around your waist and you're off to lunch! No need to get dressed or go over to the prude side to eat! There were burgers, chicken and lamb chops available everyday ... along with baked fish, salads and a good selection of desserts.

The Friday night street party was the best!! They convert the whole town square into an endless dining room and buffet. After dinner they had live music ... it was a blast!! They really go all out for the Friday night street party!

The service everywhere was wonderful! All of the servers and bartenders were awesome! There was never more than 3 or 4 people in line at either bar on the nude end ... as they actually come around and take your drink order whether you were in the hot tub, in a chaise lounge or floating in the pool! Awesome!! And ... there is a phone by the hot tub .... if you're in the mood for an order of nachos, lamb chops, cheese and fruit platter, no problem mon! Just pick up the phone and place your order, and they deliver it to you right there!

I cannot say enough about the room service. That was such a treat!! Although they have a menu in the room, and it is somewhat limited ... if you ordered something not on the menu, I am sure they would have done their best to honor your request.

A place that we fell in love with was the beach cafe on the prude side. It sits right on the ocean, and felt like we were hanging at a neighborhood pub (where everybody knows your name!) It was great sitting right on the ocean enjoying good food, drinks and tons of fun people. We actually all went to our rooms one night, and changed into our robes, and all met back up at the cafe. It was toga night, but since we didn't feel like doing the 'toga' thing, we decided to do the 'roba' thing instead. LOL

Entertainment
I can't say that the entertainment at GLB was better than HII, because most nights, we actually found the entertainment to be a tad boring ... and certainly not as spicy as HII. Daytime entertainment was a little quieter than HII, except when it came to water volleyball. They played volleyball every day at 11:00 and at 4:00 ... and were never short on people to play. Some days there were as many as 12 people per side. They also had some games and body painting, although (as usual) I didn't participate in any of those activities. Kevin did play volleyball every time they played, and he played bocce ball one day. We earned 500 points through the week, and we used those points to order a couple of t-shirts, which are supposed to be mailed to us. The only other choice was a bottle of rum, which we weren't interested in.

Valentines Day
I had been assured by the concierge that they had it in their notes that we were celebrating our 4th anniversary ... and that they'd have something in our room ... and maybe a cake or something at dinner that night at Piacere. However, there was nothing. Nada! I will say though, they called our room the next night and apologized profusely! Again, impressive.

They had a vow renewal ceremony that day at 4:30 in the town square for anyone that wanted to renew their vows. They had come around a few days before and asked you if you wanted to sign up to renew your vows, and it was free!! They brought in a Jamaican Preacher who did a beautiful, brief ceremony, and then they had champagne and cake for everyone. It was a lovely service, and another amenity that made GLB stand out to us.

The Staff
The service all week was wonderful! On the second day we were there, a member of the staff was going around and talking to every single person at the pool and beach. She had a notebook and asked what we liked about the resort, what we'd change, and what we disliked. Now, whether they do anything with that information, who knows. But, it sure was nice to have someone ask you your thoughts and opinions ... and act like they cared.

The Gym, Spa and Salon
All of the facilities were beautiful! Our friend taught aquasize every day around 11:30 and then step-aerobics every afternoon. There was another instructor that did yoga and pilates ... and there was a golf pro on hand for anyone using the 9-hole course they have. They did couples messages under the trees down on the nude beach ... and a lot of people took advantage of those. The guys played golf one morning, playing two balls at a time, so they got in 18-holes ... and said it was a lot of fun ... mainly par 3's.

Everybody gets a 'free' manicure and pedicure during their stay!! Four of us scheduled our mani/pedi's for 2:00 on Valentines Day ... and after the guys were done with theirs, they left and showed back up with a couple dozen flutes and a couple of bottles of champagne. Everyone in the spa enjoyed champagne while getting their nails done. Another amenity that HII doesn't offer. It was so nice being treated to a mani/pedi, while drinking champagne ... and cracking up with everyone that was there. Awesome!

The People
We found the people at GLB to be the same kind of folks we've met on previous trips to HII. Being Valentines week, it was primarily couples .. a lot of fun couples! Most of them have been going there anywhere from 4 to 6 years (some longer), and as I said earlier, most were transplants from the two Hedo's or GLN.

Conclusion
We had a super time at GLB, and are already making plans to return there next year. Overall, we found the place to be spectacular, and hands down a much better resort than HII. When it comes to service, the amenities, the cleanliness, etc., it's almost hard to believe the two resorts are owned by the same company. GLB seemed to us to be like Hedo, but with all of the things that are missing at HII.

Will we ever go back to Hedo II? Maybe.

Will we go back to Grand Lido Braco ... most definitely!!

Much love and respect!! Jules and Cochise