25 April – 02 May 1998
Pre Trip: Being only vaguely familiar with Hedonism, but interested in going nonetheless, Leslie read everything on all the boards to prepare. We corresponded with about 9 other couples from Denny’s board to various extents prior to going. That turned out to be our best preparation, we got lots of good advice and already had friends there to give us moral courage for Leslie’s first nude experience. We choose Castaways Travel, Jennifer and Jim there were very helpful and made us aware of the $300 discount with the entertainment book. We put a limit on ourselves of two checked bags and strained to keep our packed goods to that, it was close. Next time we should easily make it under the limit (90% less underwear and shoes).
Getting There: We flew Air Jamaica non-stop from Baltimore to MoBay. The flight was 2 and half-hours late due to a late arrival the night before. While waiting we tried to pick the other people on our plane that were also going to Hedo. We were wrong on all picks, we turned out to be the only ones on our plane. On arrival after wading through customs and immigration there were nice SuperClubs people to show us the way to the shuttle. While waiting multiple other local people around offered to sell us ganja and beer for what seemed to be wildly inflated prices, $2.50-5.00 for a beer, depending on who was offering.
The Bus Trip: The bus trip turned out okay, only once was there a close call on the road and it wasn’t our driver’s fault. After the bus ride with the 7 other people we made it to the front desk. I suppose our check-in was no different than usual for a Saturday, a couple of other people in our bus were involuntarily transferred to the Grand Lido. We were merely given rooms on the Prude side, with a promise that first thing Sunday we would be moved to the Nude Beach side. It was a promise they kept; we were given a fine ground floor room with a great view.
The Resort: Once settled in the room we walked the length of the beach towards the nude beach sign. That was the moment of truth for Leslie, she had never gone all the way before. When we reached the nude beach sign she held her breath, took off her swimsuit, and walked on, she said she was only embarrassed for a minute. By the time we made it to the pool we were both relaxed. Several short minutes later the first of our email friends came up and said hello. On the whole the resort employees were very helpful and friendly. Although Delroy was very friendly he didn’t stand out from Michelle, Anthony, Carl and the others in the area. The room turned out great, water pressure and temperature excluded.
Food: On the whole we found the buffet meals to be tasty and varied enough for our tastes. The company during meals made them even nicer. Our first dinner turned out to be very exciting, when one of our companions who we just met that day pronounced that panties were not allowed at the table. Leslie was worried for a second, but when she was offered $20 for them she joined in the spirit and sold them right there. We tried Pastafari twice, the individual service was nice and the food was a cut above the Dining Room. On the whole I would rather have the 6PM jerked chicken at the nude bar, it was great if spicy food is to your liking.
Entertainment: We observed a couple of the dinner shows they were pleasant, but forgettable. PJ night was fun, but the disco was too hot and smoke filled to stay more than 30 minutes. The worker at the door asked us to stay, because our costume was unique and we could win Hedo dollars (good for key rings, caps, cups…), I asked how much longer and she said 45 minutes. That was too much torture, so we left. The Toga party was great and turned out to be a good opportunity for a group photo. We took one of the day cruises to the Pickled Parrot, which turned out to be a great time with our new friends. The flavored whipped cream was a tasty treat and provided some fun moments. One of the employees video recorded most of the trip and it was for sale in the dining room the next day. On Friday we took the two-hour trip to beautiful downtown Negril. We did a little shopping and then had to kill the next hour waiting to go back. Basically nothing that was in town that could be found at the airport shops. I tried swimming for three days in the mornings, but gave it up due to the late nights and excessive boat/jet ski traffic in the area.
Night-Time Activities: We spent most evenings after dinner at Veronica's piano bar, waiting for the hot tub to open. It was very nice most nights with a good crowd. Later we spent a good portion of time at the hot tub, again a nice place. The only thing about the hot tub was there were quite a few clothed people that just loitered and stared at the tub occupants. The sex police were around, but were not overly intrusive. What the sex police could do to better occupy their time is take the glass glassware away from all the people who drift in from the main bar area. Twice during our stay somebody knocked over and broke glass near the hot tub, a major disappointment.
Summary: Overall, we had a great time and look forward to coming back next year. This report was kind of biased towards the nude side, but that was the side we fit in the best. The Prude side was definitely a younger crowd, but the people there we spoke to all seemed to be having as much fun as we were on our side. Hedo has more than enough fun to go around. If you are bored there is always something going on somewhere at Hedonism to keep you entertained. Remember no matter how tan you are wear spf15+ suntan lotion for at least the first couple of days, we saw a lot of people after their first day sporting sunburns. Even wearing waterproof spf15 or more all week we constantly had to watch the amount of sun we took in.
Next time we will be sure to pack only half as much. We’ll keep up with our
friends we met this trip and those we will meet on Denny’s visitors board next year.
See you all next year. Respect all and enjoy yourselves. John
and Leslie
John & Leslie, thanks for the report. - Denny