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Hedonism II Trip Report January 18-25 #25169
01/30/2014 08:34 PM
01/30/2014 08:34 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,532
Welland, Ontario, Canada
John Offline OP
Traveler
John  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,532
Welland, Ontario, Canada
This was our fourth trip to Hedo in as many years, but unfortunately this year I did not make any notes while there so this is the best my memory can do. I will categorize so you can skip to whatever parts may interest you.

Getting There

We booked with WestJet again this year and our accomodations through Tom’s Trips this time. Our flight left Toronto about a half hour late due to de-icing the plane and arrived at Montego Bay only about 15 minutes late, which we thought was good considering the weather in Toronto. Once inside the airport the lineup for Immigration was so long we were actually lined up outside the Arrivals Hall! However, the lines kept moving and we were through in about 20 minutes, our bags were waiting at the carousel (once we found out which one it was supposed to be) and then a few minutes wait to get through Customs and on to desk Number 5 where our transfer paper work was done in short order and then on to the bus...whoops, forgot to get a beer so a quick trip back to Margarittaville for that and back on to the bus. Once we were on the other side of Montego Bay the skies opened up with a torrential downpour, along the way roads were flooded over, especially around Lucea. Despite the bad road conditions we arrived at Hedo in just under 90 minutes.

Arrival at Hedo

Luckily just before our arrival the torrential rain had stopped and we unloaded quickly and went to Tom’s Trips desk where we received our room assignment and other information and the porter took us to our room.

Room

We were assigned room 1122 (Ocean View Regular) right next to the room we had last year. The room had a few upgrades but mostly cosmetic. Anything that was colour before was painted white, even the bedspread was white and the curtains were a pale green and the old large TV was still there. The bed mattress was new and quite comfortable. The bathroom was of course white and that ”large door” was still there...you really have to be careful opening it as you could knock someone off the shitter real easy! However, everything was functional and we had hot and cold water which was a little inconsistent at times but totally tolerable. On our second day we returned to our room and found they had installed a large flat screen TV in the room. The TV had never been an issue for us but we quite enjoyed the large screen. There was also the addition of a small bar fridge which we did not use.

The next morning we met up with our friends Foxxyandhound who showed us their updated Ocean View Nude room (minus the hot tub). It was very nicely done, however we found that the shower did not need to be so big, which obviously took away from the size of the bedroom. Thankfully the shitter was behind a wall...there are some things you don’t wish to share ;-) The location of their room was great, right next to the action! Some folks we spoke with said they would rather spend the money on a Regular side room and stay for a few more days.

Our First Night

We went up to the Dining Room and met our friends C & S who we had dinner with. Patrick (now our favourite waiter) kept our wine glasses fully replenished all evening...much to our detriment later on. Went to the Piano Bar with C & S but the music was so loud it was distorted so we just hung out outside for a while until we decided to go back to our room while we still could...it had been a long day starting at 5 am.

School Supplies

Herladyship has a group of girlfriends who get together about once a month for lunch (all afternoon more like). At their last lunch in December...and after numerous glasses of wine...they all spoke about how lucky they were to have the lives that they do. They decided that each time they get together they would all donate to someone less fortunate than they or a charity and since we were going to Jamaica in January they would all donate school supplies. Those lovely ladies donated about a half suitcase full of school supplies, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, rulers, calculators, etc. (guess who had to carry all this in their suitcase?).

Upon arrival we found that Tom’s Trips did not collect for the schools and there was no one at the Dream Pleasure table (we donated through them last year) so we enquired at the front desk. We were told there was a lady in the Business Office (down the hallway behind the front desk) who collected school supplies on behalf of Hedo. We found her (can’t recall her name) and gave her the supplies and she was totally delighted and thanked us profusely. She told us that she collects for a primary school of children ages 4 - 8. When I asked her what was needed most she said there is a shortage of books (note books, scribblers, etc). I know many of the groups going support a school but if you are at a loose end you can take school supplies to her in the office.

Food

We found the food in the dining room improved this year and there seemed to be more variety. Usually I go off the food after day two but not this year. There was also theme night food like Sushi and another night there were Crepes. It was hard to sample everything but I did try! There also seemed to be more variety at breakfast, especially in the fresh fruit area. Lots of crispy bacon and I love their breakfast sausages.

The desserts at dinner were wonderful with more variety compared to other years. We are not dessert people but we did have to try most of them...for experiment sake of course ;-)

Most of our lunches were at the nude grill and there seemed to be more variety there as well. The BLTs were new to us and also the quesedillas. We did go to the prude grill (behind the Watersport shack, it’s prude because you have to have your naughty bits covered) one day and the food is comparable to the nude grill. It is nice to get away and have a quiet lunch sometimes.

The second night we had the pizza from the nude grill (only served from midnight to 5 am) and was quite good. They are small but very tasty if you are feeling a bit peckish after a night of drinking!

We really enjoyed the Meet and Greet sponsored by Tom’s Trips out by the pool deck, excellent hors d’houvres and not to mention that Herladyship discovered Chocolate Martinis...Thanks Tom’s ; - 0

Staff

We found the staff to be even more friendly this year, from the ECs to the Maintenance Staff, we were always greeted with a “how are you?” and “are you enjoying yourself?”. We also noticed much more maintenance work going on than in previous years.

Entertainment

The entertainment is always very enjoyable at Hedo, especially Winston and Ashley (Tina Turner) and the house band Roots Explosion is excellent...those guys can play anything and play it well. One night we were treated to a performance by Reggae artist Peter Lloyd. He did a musical evolution of Reggae starting with Harry Belafonte, Jamaican Dance Hall, etc. to the present. We were lucky enough to speak to him after the show and purchase one of his CDs. We are now fans!

As mentioned previously we went to the Piano Bar the first night but the music was so loud it was distorted. The second time we went it was not quite as loud, either they had blown out one of the speakers or my eardrums! Very good piano player though. However, the music does get to be repetitive but I suppose that is to be expected night after night.

The most enjoyable experience we had there was when Mark (Maze) of Tom’s Trips ran Karaoke, we are not really fans of karaoke but Mark played some great music and is a very decent karaoke singer. By the end of the night Herladyship was up singing along with some other people and we closed the place down. Before leaving we had a chance to sit down and talk to Winston for 10 - 15 minutes, very interesting man.

Theme Nights

We do some of the theme nights like Pirate Night and Schoolgirl Night and dress in our costumes before dinner. This year Herladyship got her hair cut and could not do the pigtails required for Schoolgirl Night...a major transgression to someone on the ATF board. When they did have costume competitions they were poorly attended. In my opinion is because whoever has the most friends there wins, not necessarily the best costume.

Resort Improvements

There are new lounge chairs but there still were not enough in the nude area. The first day I had to go to the far end of the regular side to get two unoccupied chairs and drag them down to the nude side, I wasn’t the only one. There are also about a dozen umbrellas now but we managed to camp out under the big tree on the beach. The stairs into the hot tub are a big improvement safety wise, although I question the wisdom of them being metal. There are also cubby holes for storage and they were used fairly often. There are also two gazebos, one along the beach (used by the massage girls) and one on the point. I was going to try to photograph them but did not get a chance as they were always occupied. The grounds were in very good shape and being constantly maintained.

The activities announced usually took place on time and if there were enough participants. The ECs seemed to be right on with that his year.

Side Trips

I always wanted to go out to Booby Cay so we used a double kayak from the Watersports. Booby Cay was deserted at the time, probably because we went out in the morning, but it was not too bad of a paddle out there (wouldn’t want to swim it).

We also went out on the glass bottom boat for the snorkelling trip. There were 14 of us on board and the 1 hour trip was just perfect time-wise. We were told there was a wreck of a sailing ship on the reef, however I think it has long since disintegrated. I did see a cannon and a very large anchor and of course plenty of fish and coral formations...well-worth the 1 hour excursion.

I got to go on the waterslide!! Finally on our fourth trip the waterslide was open. I had gone the previous day at the appointed time, however there was no one there. The next day in the pool later in the afternoon EC Diana announced a parade to the waterslide. Some parade...I was the only one, however I was not to be denied and when we reached the waterslide there were two more people. I did 3 runs and received some Hedo bucks. Booby Cay, Reef Snorkel and Waterslide...3 things off the Bucket List in 2 days!

Off Resort Trip

Each year we try to do at least one trip off the resort. Hedo is a blast, however one day can lead to the next and the most memorable thing is often times the things that you do that are different. This year we decided we wanted to see the real Negril and the bars that the locals go to and not the tourist things. We went with our friends C & S and C negotiated a price with a taxi driver named Lester to take us. We thought it would be the usual taxi but Lester pulled up in a 20 seat bus! We stopped at Times Square for the obligatoryT-Shirt shopping for grand children and then Lester picked us up and took us to a local bar near the centre of Negril called Blue Denim. We found the local people to be very warm and friendly. We stopped at two more bars after that and at the second one I had my biggest bar tab ever...4 drinks came to $850...but I quickly realised it was Jamaican dollars! Each place we stopped we thoroughly enjoyed, especially our conversations with the bar owners and their families, we got to experience the real Jamaica. On the way back to Hedo we stopped at a restaurant called Cosmos for dinner and ate on the beach at a picnic table. Back to Hedo by 8 so we could attack the dessert table!

Friends

As is the norm, Hedo provides the venue but it is the people that really put the icing on the cake. Again this year we were lucky enough to meet friends from the previous years like C & S (our friends from across the Niagara River), Foxxyandhound and a lot of other people. Oh yeah, met 2Naughty from the ATF board who managed to track us down via Foxxyandhound. I know there were others from the ATF board who were there at the same time but did not run into them. As someone else mentioned, we need a way of identifying people from the ATF board while we are there (hat, necklace, etc.)

Now we have to adjust to winter here in the Great White North (and plan our next trip).

Maximum Respect, <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

CapnMorgan and Herladyship on ATF
John on TTOL
(a.k.a. John and Toddy)


[color:"red"]May you always have sand in your shoes...and a dollar in your pocket! [/color]
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Re: Hedonism II Trip Report January 18-25 [Re: John] #25170
02/03/2014 05:26 AM
02/03/2014 05:26 AM
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 342
ohio
M
markis Offline
Traveler
markis  Offline
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M
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 342
ohio
Nice report, it seems the new ownership is improving things. Thank you for taking the time.

Re: Hedonism II Trip Report January 18-25 [Re: markis] #25171
02/03/2014 07:17 PM
02/03/2014 07:17 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,532
Welland, Ontario, Canada
John Offline OP
Traveler
John  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,532
Welland, Ontario, Canada
Thanks Markis. The improvements are on going, the fear is the prices will rise in proportion.

John <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />


[color:"red"]May you always have sand in your shoes...and a dollar in your pocket! [/color]
Re: Hedonism II Trip Report January 18-25 [Re: John] #25172
05/05/2014 09:18 PM
05/05/2014 09:18 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 21
M
mas15 Offline
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mas15  Offline
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M
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 21
Hello, so what is the average age at hedonism II? Is it always swinging or at times reserved? My brother went one time and had quite a few stories to tell between him and our cousin 2 single guys! I would travel with the wife and we are not prudes,but would like to know what to expect. Thanks for your help,would you PM me?

Re: Hedonism II Trip Report January 18-25 [Re: mas15] #25173
05/06/2014 11:58 AM
05/06/2014 11:58 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,532
Welland, Ontario, Canada
John Offline OP
Traveler
John  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,532
Welland, Ontario, Canada
mas15, sent you a pm.

John <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />


[color:"red"]May you always have sand in your shoes...and a dollar in your pocket! [/color]

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