Steve & Kim - October, 2011

11/4-7/2011

 

We tried N Resort for 3 days, after a week at Hedonism 2. We took a bus ride from Hedo back to the airport, and after dropping off people at departures, the driver took us around to arrivals and unloaded us there. The Mrs. went to the airport entrance and asked for JTL (Jamaica Tours Limited), as they were handling our transportation (no fee - it was included in the resort price). A representative from JTL came out to the curb to let us know it would be about 10 minutes. A car came around, it was the nicest car we’ve had in Jamaica. The driver was pleasant and pointed out sights along the way. It’s about a 30 minute drive northeast, toward Falmouth. The parish is Trelawny, a center of sugar production in the past. A nice young man met us at the front desk (David), he offered us rum punch or a Red Stripe, we gladly took both between the two of us. Our room was just across from the reception area. We were given a complete orientation to the room, which was great. The rooms are cute and nicer than Hedonism 2, especially the bathroom, which is spacious and has a bath tub. The bed had a mosquito net over it, which we used every night, as we had lots of itchy insect bites from the last week in Negril. The room also had a plug-in unit with insect repellent. Rooms have a little balcony with a day bed on it. The in-room refrigerator comes stocked with a couple beers and water. You can order more drinks with a form. We asked for a bottle of white wine, and the next day it was there. It was fun to experience this higher level of service in Jamaica. The bed, linens and pillows were good quality. We were pleased with the room, and it was time to get our clothes off and explore the resort. It’s smaller than Hedonism 2, and the paths are narrow with lots of tall plants. The beach is small and beautiful, with soft sand. Two broken boats were hanging in the bay, a boat is brought from off-site for snorkeling. Met a skinny dog on the beach, eventually found out that the dogs are from the property next door - Tony’s Time N’ Place. There are lots of lounge chairs grouped around the beach, the cushions are nice, there are also cabanas near the beach, these really appealed to us. One thing we missed at N, compared to Hedo 2 - open sexuality and a sexy vibe. N is a nudist resort and the vibe is not sexual. The guests overall seem a bit older than at Hedo, that’s not a bad thing, depending on what you like. The resort is quieter than Hedo, and when we were there, it was a small group of guests, maybe 30 people. The staff  talked about upcoming weeks, when the resort would be fully booked, but it was pretty sleepy during our visit. The pool is in the center of the resort, and the bar is at the end closer to the beach. There is a lot of bar seating in the pool - it’s a long bench built into the pool bottom, and there are usually shaded areas at the pool bar, which is important to us. You can also have food served at the pool bar. On the back side of the bar is a small informal dining area, which has lots of windows that look out to the beach, very pleasant. Happy hour popcorn is served daily, easy to get used to. The pool bottom is a bit unpredictable, it slopes here and there, which makes for interesting navigation, especially after a few drinks. Umbrellas and loungers are grouped around the pool. The water slide is fun; once we asked for the water to be turned on, and the staff was quick to get it going. One afternoon there was a sliding content (the guests got it going) and it led to a lot of laughs for both guests and staff. André showed us the fastest technique for the slide; he says he worked at the resort previously when it was a family resort. Towels are freely available around the pool. There are two hot tubs, one on each side of the pool, they are similar construction to the pool, kind of like extensions of the pool. There are foot showers on each side of the pool, as well. There’s a small bar in the dining room area, and most guests were hanging out nightly before dinner. A couple plates of appetizers were set out. The Italian restaurant upstairs was open on our first night, but reservations are required to be made early in the day. Asked for champagne at the bar, but were told that it’s only for special occasions. We get used to champagne before dinner at Hedo, so this was a let-down. There was a TV going at the bar, this detracted from the experience for us. The dining room is kind of funky - a bit dated, but fine. There were small towels available for sitting on, in case you want to eat in the nude or with very little on. Providing towels for sitting is a nice touch. We enjoyed a nice dinner, ordered off a menu. The personal service is nice. The smoothies at breakfast are great - we had them every morning. The wait staff is attentive and happy to serve. We took the glass bottom boat ride and brought our snorkel gear along. When some of the guests wanted to cool off in the water with a swim, we jumped in with our snorkel gear. We were in 20 feet of water, it was nice to get in the water, but we didn’t see anything notable. A jug of Red Stripe was brought by the staff and enjoyed by all. Once ashore, the boat group headed to the informal dining area, and the staff was quick to put tables together to accommodate everyone. They brought out Red Stripes and wine immediately, as we decided on lunch. There was a salad bar each day, and lots of tasty menu items with some Jamaican specialties. Dinner this night was Jamaican cuisine and was presented on the sand at the edge of the dining room, everything was excellent, and the chef was socializing with guests, a super nice and sincere guy. The jerk chicken was spicy HOT, our lips were burning - it was excellent, probably the best we've had. The evening entertainment was headed up by a woman in an exaggerated costume (padded breasts and behind) and she got everyone to dance with her, first the men, and then the women. It’s a much more tame scene than Hedo, and a lot of people are in bed by 10. We were pleasantly surprised by turn-down service each evening. The next day we woke to rough seas, which isn’t uncommon on the north coast. We took a long walk on the beach, you can walk a couple miles toward Falmouth port on undeveloped beach. This was fantastic, although it was discouraging to see the amount of garbage washed ashore. We had lunch in the informal dining room and our table won the trivia contest, but we never saw the Blue Mountain Coffee that was promised as a prize. A group of guests headed over to the neighboring property, Time N’ Place, for happy hour. The proprietor, Tony, is a friendly Jamaican with lots of stories. He can talk to you for hours and is worth getting to know. For dinner, we had a large group of guests that sat at one big table. The entertainment this evening was a talented female singer that sang some Bob Marley requests and got everyone shaking their booties. This night a group of at least 10 headed to the piano bar after dinner, along with the keyboard player who was in the band. The piano bar room has a nice ambience with large paintings and a beautiful grand piano. The player was talented and the group sang-along with quite a few tunes. On our last day at the resort we stayed nude as long as possible, and put clothes on in the lobby at the last possible moment, before getting into the car taking us to the airport. At N resort, tipping is permitted, although staff is not allowed to ask for tips. We found the staff to be attentive and service-oriented. This was a plus for N - the staff seems to enjoy being there. The bars did not have a lot of liquor displayed, but they always had what we requested, so it wasn’t a problem, it just looked skimpy. The food was better at N, than Hedonism 2, although the Mr. did not agree so strongly with the Mrs. on this point. The resort is perfect for winding down and relaxing. If you want a party, you'll have to get it started yourself. We enjoy the all-inclusive scuba diving at Hedonism, so we missed that opportunity at N. The price was similar to staying in the cheaper rooms at Hedo, but we missed the scuba and sailing (although the rough seas ruled these activities out on 2 out of 3 days). We didn’t have an opportunity to explore the possibilities of tennis at N. We missed the high energy of Hedo, but appreciated N for it’s quiet, gentler experience. It was a wonderful place to recover from Hedonistic over-indulgence before heading home.

 

Kim & Steve