Trip Report – Scott and Connie – 4/14-4/21
The Only Way to Travel
After the beautiful ride hour ride to the airport in the limo and becoming very anxious to get rid of the fear of being HedoVirgins we lifted off the ground onboard the flight from Philadelphia to MoBay on US Airways. Everything was going fantastic and even arrived at MoBay 15 minutes early, yeah. Going to the SuperClubs counter was good for getting our ground legs back and getting directed back to the TimAir guy who had this little sign that we walked right past. We were quickly whisked away by the TimAir guy. With money paid and paperwork in hand Connie and I were in this 4 seater Cessna and flying around the island to Negril. Total time from landing in MoBay to take-off 30 minutes tops. The flight took 17 minutes and it was a beautiful ride although up until take-off I thought we would have to hold the doors shut while the pilot flew the plane. Yes, the plane was old!!
We arrived via taxi from Negril landing strip to Hedo II and were checked in within about 20 minutes. Don’t be in a hurry at this point… have a sit on the couch, get a drink, but watch for your turn. Have your voucher ready when checking in. You fill out a short registration card and get your keys and then you are on the way to your room. So check-in was fast most likely because I already had an urgent message from work to call back left for me at the front desk. They were super in passing this information to me. Gladly this was the only urgent call received during our stay. However, I was frustrated to find out that toll free phone numbers do not work out of Jamaica.
Porters were in short supply due to a recent arrival of a bus so I grabbed the two carry-ons and the scuba gear was carried by the gentleman showing us to our room, 2205. I said to Connie, oh no a second floor room…stairs!! I didn’t fall up or down them the whole week. Job well done. The off bug spray came in handy a couple times, ants and sand fleas, but were easy to get rid of.
The room was just like in the brochure and like all the others. Its view was of the main beach, close to the dining area and dive shack. Although on the opposite side of the swim-up bar and hot tub I’d rather be close to the food especially breakfast. For the most part the buffet meals were very good. I too was especially surprised with the sausage turning out to be liver. Oh well I got some iron in me that breakfast. The steaks were selectively good and salmon was great. Jerk chicken at the nude pool was tasty too.
We ate at PastaFari’s one night and it only took us 1 hours to eat. The appetizer bar was a nice touch. We went with L and O to this meal. Walking in she warned us it sometimes gets cold. Not this night, there was zero air conditioning. They also didn’t open the next night so they wouldn’t put people through the heat. My meal was fine however all at the table weren’t equally pleased. It is also a no smoking restaurant.
Warning for all, bring the sun block even if you think you don’t burn. We spent most days under the trees in the shade and still got toasty red, especially Connie. The raft we brought with us stayed nicely folded and never brought it to the beach. The seat cushions double as floats if you can’t find a raft nearby. Most days we used a nice double raft with a pillow. We didn’t use it long as the sun did get hot and we would retreat to our cold drinks, shade, relaxation, and having the time of our lives.
At the swim-up bar/pool our first look at it was in the early afternoon and had to laugh for on one side sitting in the shade was a whole row of people peacefully reading. Needless to say we were doing the same thing during the week and more than once.
The hot tub was great and very peaceful for all you folks who can pry yourself away from the entertainment after the evening meal. The nude pool area is closed from 8-10 for cleaning so we were there at 10pm…or if the burn wouldn’t permit the hot water from touching the skin we filled our drink cups up and retreated to our rooms after a lengthy romantic walk on the beach. No bells and whistles were received as the beach was deserted with everyone up eating or socializing. This was our anniversary and enjoyed the peaceful night and early morning walks. The place was overbooked yet we were the only two on the beach except for security.
Went snorkeling in the morning off of the nude beach. Do this before 9 or so before the boats start running. Off shore near the old boat anchored are some nice kodak moments. The water is surprisingly shallow all the way out, as my bandaged knee can attest to. Be careful of the rocks, as they can be a problem. However our water shoes were left in the room the whole trip and not necessary unless you plan on walking out into the water instead of hopping on a float. I found a nice ten-inch starfish and several conch shells. They can be cleaned and dried to take home if you so desire. But our treasures were all put back for your future enjoyment and another kodak moment. Diveskins are recommended too.
The first aid station did a super job fixing my knee with a smile. However, the Jamaican Band-Aids are definitely not ouchless and it stayed on for a few days before it came off with a few choice words.
TOGA Night was great fun. Remarkably we only needed a couple attempts at putting ours on and without attending the toga tying lessons. There sure are some talented toga makers. Maybe practice does make purrfect. Most everyone participated in the event..I suspect those who didn’t got frustrated at tying their own or didn’t know those two sheets nicely placed on your bed were for making togas.
PJ night for us was marred by a serious sunburn from another day in the shade, joke. It would have been much better if the PJ party was like the TOGA and held throughout the evening meal. That way we wouldn’t have had to retreat to our rooms to change. Putting clothes on once a night was enough. We would much rather walk the opposite direction to the grotto/hottub instead of to the loud hot disco.
With all that said…. Our days went like this: coffee in the room to wake up, a walk on the beach then breakfast. Then back to the beach until lunch and a break from the sun. Then back to the beach or pool until 4pm or 5pm and a rest or to check out the ceiling mirror. Then to the evening meal, walk on the beach, stop at the hot tub, and then sleep. We didn’t do much in the way of strenuous sports, but did play checkers, learned how to hedo handshake while carrying two drink holders, and even took the nature walk.
Hedonism II was a welcomed break even with the citizen unrest experienced the last few days. With the roads being blocked we never did get our horseback ride on the beach but did get a free plane ride back to MoBay. For you HedoVirgins, not to worry, when you get past the sign (Nude Beach Only! No Photography) you have it made and will never look back after that.