Hedonism II Trip Report

Maria and Eric

January 1st to the 11th, 2010

What a way to start out the new decade and new year! This was our fifth trip to Hedonism 2. We arrived at Hedo around 2:30 p.m. on New Years Day after flying all night and part of the morning. There is a bit of road construction just outside Montego Bay which causes a slight delay, whichever way you are heading. It's a dirt road for a little ways. Quick Red Stripe stop on the way home.

Room & Amenities

This time we stayed on the prude side for the affordable rates. We decided to stay longer than our original 7 days during our visit and eventually moved to a Garden View Nude room, due to sell-out on the prude side. The bell staff was helpful and moved all our luggage in their vehicle in one trip. We got a lot more exercise while our room was on the prude side. We were told that the resort was at 85% occupancy for the 1st week of January, and then at 100% for the rest of the month. Large Russian and Italian groups, like usual during this time.

The CD player in the room was finicky and we often couldn't get it to play CDs.

We signed up for 5 days of Wi-Fi and it worked well. Our user-name and password expired after exactly 5 - 24 hour periods.

While having a cocktail one evening, we looked at the structure of the deteriorating walk-way connecting to the prude beach. The wooden log support structure is severely decayed and collapsing. It will take a total tear-out and re-build. Doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon, a difficult project. Too bad it was built poorly to begin with, without logs treated for the humid and wet conditions.

The tennis courts could use a re-surfacing. We brought our own balls, as the ones at the court always seem to be flat. Disappointing that they don't supply decent tennis balls. Would love to see a ball machine some day. Garfield was in fine form.

 Diving

We were able to dive on our first full day at the resort (Saturday), on the early 9:30 a.m. dive. The swells were as high as we've  been out in while diving at Hedo 2. A cold front was approaching from Florida and closed down diving for the next 4 days, due to rough water. Large rollers could be seen in the distance from the beach. Finally got to go diving again on the 11:30 a.m. dive on Thursday. Dove again at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. No 9:30 a.m. dives either of these days... without an explanation. The dive staff allowed us 2 great dives on Saturday, very nice with small groups. No problem with visibility. We were told that Sheldon, formerly of the dive staff, is now living in Indiana USA with his girlfriend. The dive boat has been freshened up.

Catamaran Cruise

The choppy water did not shut down the catamaran cruise on Tuesday. The boat handled the swells nicely. Only a couple people were seasick on the upwind return, and one of them had boarded with a hangover. We both got out in the big swells and snorkeled in the nude. What a ride! When we arrived at "the rocks" a group of around 10 got into the water, some went down the slide. The boat captain needed to get off the mooring ball, as there was a problem with it. There was a moment of hilarity as the catamaran backed away to anchor and one lone floatation belt was weakly thrown off the back of the catamaran, as the first mate yelled "we're not leaving you!" Good thing all the drunk naked people were strong enough swimmers! The shore was not too far away (we were just outside the swimming rope) but everybody eventually swam back to the cat safely. It made for a good laugh. The cruise turned out to be a fun party. After the boat was re-anchored at "the rocks," more people went down the slide and got into the water.

Sailing

Because the weather was windy, we were hoping for some sailing adventures. But most days George (watersports) said it's too windy, check back tomorrow. When we got out on the larger Hobie cat (with jib) the wind died down and we ended up sitting for awhile before it started to blow again. We went out sailing 3 times total. The boats are in various states of disrepair, two of the Hobie cats are broken. George says management is not spending money on parts to maintain the boats. 

Beach & Pool

Pool area loungers were all full by mid-morning, but most of them were just "saved" with towels and bags, no people on them. We tried to find shade around pool most days, as the sand fleas were biting her.

Plenty of public sex at the hot tub and on the beach. No policing, that we saw. One guy was really going at it doggy-style with a woman on a lounger at the nude beach. The nude hot tub temperature was cool one day, then heated up over the week, until it was hot, about 103/104.

One afternoon, just before sunset, a clothed couple was married on the nude beach, down by the water. Nude people all around the beach applauded.

The winds that accompanied the cold front loosened coconuts on the trees around the edge of the nude beach area, and on Monday staff knocked many down; we guessed it was so they wouldn't fall on anyone. The coconuts were cut open to access the coconut water, and they were handed out, both to guests and staff. This was a nice treat. The locals say coconut water goes to your heart and is healthy.

Agustus came back to work on Tuesday after his mother's funeral. By the end of the week he was joking like usual.

Food

Our opinion on the food is that it's a bit improved. Good smoked salmon or other fish in the morning, but no capers. One day there were capers, but no smoked fish. Then one morning both smoked salmon and capers, ya mon! No anchovies for the caesar salad, except for a couple days at lunch. The grapefruit at breakfast was juicy and delicious. No banana shortage. A big bunch of bananas was harvested right off the grounds on the prude side. We ate at Munasan once, and Pastafari two times.  The second time at Pastafari we made sure to order pasta and enjoyed it more than the dishes served with rice. He had a chicken fettuccine that was one of the best dishes we've ever had at the resort. On the second Friday night, lobster tails were grilled and sushi was enjoyed.

Theme Nights & Piano Bar

Toga participation was low, with only about 20% wearing a costume that night. Maybe a different theme would do better?

We won a bottle of rum at the PJ party for best bondage outfit, we got lucky - there were only 2 contestants in this category. The party was not as well attended as past years. We remember hardly being able to move in the disco, but this year there was plenty of room.

We went to the piano bar one night when Dion was playing. We enjoyed the songs done by the entertainment staff. They did not dominate this night. But when "Sweet Caroline" came up, we decided to leave as it was getting a bit crude. We are offended by very little, but the yelling got to be too much for us. We probably needed more to drink!

The vibe was heating up on our last night. Some naughty school boy outfits to go along with all the sexy school girl outfits. Wish we could have stayed longer.

Our last day was the coolest and breeziest. We saw something new - Jamaicans wearing jackets. Many guests were wearing long-sleeved shirts on a couple of the cool days.

Overall had a fantastic time, planning to visit again soon.

 

Maria and Eric