Mike - September, 2014
Hedonism II trip report – Sept 12th – 21st, 2014
Unlike my last trip in Feb 2014 where my plane was late and there was no one in line at immigration, my arrival this time was normal and long lines. However, it really only took about 30 min to get thru and by that time my bag was ready to pick up. Thru customs and out into the lobby fairly quickly.
Used Glamour Tours for my transfers (came as part of my vacation package), I seem to get a different tour company each time, all are essentially the same though, never any issues. Waited about 30 min or so to for others that were travelling to get on the bus and we were on our way. Only 2 stops prior to Negril, both in Montego Bay, so got into Hedo around 5:30 pm or so. Everything went smoothly at the front desk with Charlene and I was off to my room.
Room:
I always book the Garden View Prude side (cheaper), the building that is the closest to the dining room. So when I got my room number I just started my way over there not thinking that my room number was not even in the range for that block. Standing perplexed for a minute, I finally realized that I had been upgraded to the Nude Side and Ocean View. Well I wasn’t going to question why although I did give Charlene a nice hug when I saw her later. I thought the room was great, nice and clean looking, with a new air conditioner from what I could tell, as it was very quiet. Most of all, no water problems this time around, lots of hot water and the shower did not leak (as some have complained about). The phone did not work however but that was fine with me.
Food:
I thought the food in Feb was kind of hit or miss, some meals were good, some not so good. This time around I thought the food was excellent, no complaints what so ever, during any of the meals. I do believe I put on a few extra pounds I ate so much. One night they had stuffed salmon, I don’t think I have ever had salmon at Hedo (that I recall anyways) so that was a real treat and very delicious.
The midnight buffet at the dinning room, I only tried once (ate too much during the day), basic burgers and chicken wings, no pizza on the night I was there so not sure if they still are making it. The food was still good though.
Beach:
Never needed to worry about getting to the nude side early to save a chair, the resort was about 50% occupied so even if you got down in the afternoon you would always find a spot and even get a place under an umbrella . Never saw any chair for that matter have a towel on it and no one show up to use it, wish that would always be the case.
Did not spend any time on the prude beach this time around, there were a lot of models at the resort part of the week I was there and they were all on the prude side filming or photo shooting for various magazines including Playboy. No point getting my body in those pictures.
Entertainment:
Can’t say enough about the EC staff, they really do work long, hard hours and yet always seemed to be smiling and happy to talk to you and they do put on some great shows.
Deon/Stephanie at the piano bar were excellent, a lot of participation from guests, but I have to say, after 3 nights or so, it’s really the same old songs all the time. I did enjoy it while I was there but I couldn’t go there every night.
Repeaters Party:
Since this was the first time at Hedo in Sept, did not know anyone there, but that was ok, talked to many at the beach during the previous few days so felt like I had known them from past years. Harry did speak for a minute or so, mentioned that he expected the courtyard construction to be completed by month end (Sept) and an espresso bar / liquor bar of some sort to go up where the old jewelry store used to be.
Wifi:
There is now free Wifi around the dining room area close to the courtyard, limited area but that is fine, good strong signal. Unless you need to be connected 24/7 this is a great alternative.
Hedo-Bucks:
The old photocopied versions of Hedo-Bucks are now in the past. If you held on to them for whatever reason they are now worthless. Hedo-Bucks have been replaced by Hedo-Dollars, nice glossy coupon type dollar that is equivalent to one $US that can then be used to purchase or partially purchase any item from the gift shop. I did used mine to help pay for a bag of coffee beans that I always like to bring home.
Catamaran Cruise:
I have never been a big fan of paying for certain events; I figure I pay enough to get to Hedo, so I have never gone on the $55 Catamaran Cruise to Rick’s Café. Well on the Friday before I left, unannounced other than thru word of mouth, Harry chartered a catamaran to take all of the guests to Rick’s Café, free of charge. He mentioned that this was only the second time he had done this, regardless it was a wonderful gesture and I did enjoy the trip, even stopped to do a bit of snorkeling along the way. Not everyone decided to get off the catamaran to go to Ricks though, but some that did also jumped off the cliff. Very enjoyable evening.
One thing I have always liked about Hedo is that it has always been clean, the yards, beach and rooms, it is nice to see that has not changed.
I think the management are doing their best to keep customers happy, most of the younger crowd at the resort this time were the models/photographers and they essentially kept to themselves. Only a few made it down to the nude side for the day. I normally go to Hedo in Feb, leaving just as the Fluffers are getting settled in. As one can imagine, it is a very busy period. On occasion I can make it a second time during the year, this was the first time I have been in Sept., and I really enjoyed it, a quieter time, but still enough people that make Hedo a great place to keep coming back to. As Harry mentioned, it’s the repeat guests that are driving the changes to the resort, slowly but surely, it is happening.