September
6-13, 2002 ~ Hedonism II
Nick & Robin
We finally arrived after an uneventful 17-minute Tim Air flight from MoBay to
the Negril "international" airport. Uneventful, in that there was no livestock
on the runway upon landing. (The bus ride this week is reportedly between 55 and
90 minutes depending on who you talk to.)
Upon our Hedo arrival at around 2:30pm, there were only 4 or 5 people standing
in the lobby, which was our first indication that the occupancy was going to be
light. Check-in was smooth and we were given an upgraded au-natural ocean
view room because of the light occupancy. The registration staff are
wonderful, as always!
As we strolled through the dining room, there were only 10-15 people dining
which confirmed our belief that the occupancy was low. Walking to our
room, we took a gander at the new waterslide, the lush landscaping, and two
intimate pools; all were a very nice addition. Walking past the newly
appointed gym, we chuckled at the astro turf covered pool tables, which were
obviously more decorative than functional.
After unpacking, we hit the nude beach and pool, said hi to Delroy and Robert,
and proceeded to enjoy the day. The pool and beach areas saw only 15-25
people that afternoon so we remained hopeful every time we saw another Tim Air
flight land.
The first evening we ate in the dining room. The food seemed to be the
exact same menu that they had the time before and the time before that. Thank
God we dont go to Hedo for the food because the food is still borderline
repulsive.
We had a BLAST almost every night in Daves Piano Bar. We know its called
Veronicas. We call it Daves because Dave is the only reason the place
exists. On any given night there were 30-40 people enjoying Daves select brand
of humor. Even with 30-40 people, there was typically only one bartender
with 15-20 standing in line for drinks!
One evening, we ate at the new Japanese restaurant. God bless them. They
really try, but the wonderful Jamaican people apparently arent gifted in their
preparation of Japanese food. It wasnt good, but it wasnt bad either.
We made it to the Disco during the Toga party. The floor is no longer wood
~ it is tile. Glass breaks on tile, so be very careful if you decide to
dance with bare feet.
The infamous "ice" skating rink is located right next to the disco. It is
not in use, no longer maintained, and will probably be gone next year.
We did not see anyone use the rock-climbing wall. Apparently the person
who thought of the idea of mixing rock climbing with nudism was hitting the
ganja a little hard that day.
The late evening hot tub activities were very light most nights. There was
an influx of single males all week so the hot tub contained a lot of optimistic
and hopeful single males on almost every night. At one point we counted 8
single males in the hot tub with no couples and no females ~ WooHoo!
It is evident that Hedo II has not recovered from 9-11. The resort is
still understaffed and the staff are overworked. You can see the physical
exhaustion on the faces of the staff, and the energy level just isnt there. The
service in the dining room from the "Fork Grabbers" was blatantly rude. At
10:30pm you had better be holding on to your fork, plate, and glass, or else the
"Fork Grabbers" will literally take your food away from you while you are
chewing! ~ it is a sad situation.
We made a lot of new friends, and met up with a lot old friends all week.
We had some great parties in the cool Jacuzzi, laughed a lot all week, had a
BLAST on the sunset cruise to Ricks caf and gave a real "Hedo show" to the
prude patrons of Ricks as we departed. Our daily afternoon nude invasions
of the waterslide were an absolute riot! One afternoon, the waterslide
water was turned off while 50 of us waited patiently in line. After about
10 minutes, Colin finally marched totally nude through the dining room to the
front desk in order to obtain a little assistance. The water was
immediately turned on! Way to go Colin!
Some of our most cherished times were when we both relished in our private
moments in the warm crystal clear bay at Hedo during the star lit evenings.
Will we be back again? Youbetcha! We are planning a February 2003, and a
September 2003 return!
Rum Cream & Sunshine, Baby!
Nick & Robin