We just got back from our virgin trip to Hedo II, and we wanted to post some random thoughts on the trip while they are still fresh. We had never done the nudist thing before, and this was also our first trip to a lifestyle friendly resort. We'd been to Couples Negril about two years before, so a lot of our impressions are in comparision to that resort (which we loved). We went duing the third week of lifestyles month, which is supposed to be pretty wild, so I guess we jumped into the deep end of the pool.
In no particular order:
We stayed on the nude side the whole trip, and loved the experience. Unfortunately, everyone else was on the nude side as well, so it got pretty crowded. The prude side was pretty empty, event though the whole resort was clothing optional. I guess everyone wanted to be where the party was. The beach is not very good however. Its kinda rocky, and the water is full of seagrass and sea urchins. We went on walks down the beach past the other resorts, and its amazing how once you get on the Sandals beach the sand is less rocky.
The pool and hot tub were very crowded (especially in late afternoon), and the center of the rowdiest activity. We preferred the relative quiet of the beach, but even that was a little more frenetic than we would prefer. Of course, that's a matter of choice, and many folks obviously prefer the naked keg party atmosphere.
Food was just ok, but every one says its better than its been before. Manusan and Pastafari definately had the best food of the trip, and we should have eaten at them more. We ate at each one once, and the food was very good. We never made it to the Scotch Bonnet. The main buffet is adequate, but just barely. The beach grill needs more variety than cheeseburgers and grilled cheese. Jerk chicken at the beach grill was good, but I can't understand why its only offered at 4:30 and 6:00.
The greatest thing about the place is the people. Beyond a doubt, Hedo people are very friendly and open to being approached. Its amazing the number of spontaneous conversations that you strike up each day just laying on the beach, floating in the water, or getting drinks from the bar. I guess everyone is just in a really great mood.
Everyone wants to know about the public sex. Well, I have to admit there was more than we expected. I guess we expected discrete couplings in corners, not out in the open, no attempt to hide, and in fact pretty theatrical sex. Seeing four or five blow jobs around the small pool at the same time was not that uncommon, and sex on the floats seemed to happen almost constantly when the weather was nice. We even enjoyed a little of that ourselves. ;-) In some cases the showy nature of the sex was a little off putting, though. One member of the entertaimment staff made a point of getting in the face of people screwing on the beach and doing a running play by play for all to hear.
The rooms were nice, but small, and we had a great location in H Block (2131). We always took our showers at about 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and we never had a hot shower all week. In fact, one day there was no water at all for about 4 hours. We definately enjoyed the mirrors on the ceilings. Its like watching your own porn! And when you wanted to sleep, the air conditioner created enough white noise to pretty much drown out any noise from outside (which is a good thing).
We hit the disco about every night, and really enjoyed it there. Our biggest complaint about Couples Negril was that the place was dead by 10:00 pm. That is not a problem at Hedo II! The music was also very good for this mid-40s couple to dance to. The theme night events (PJ party, Toga night) were actually a lot milder than we expected. I guess enough ladies were wearing lingerie and outfits to thrill all week to dinner, that PJ night seemed like just another night.
The staff is very attentive and friendly, and we just loved the lady who took care of our room, and my main man Augustus. He took care of us every day and made sure we got chairs in our favorite spot (under the tree on the beach in the cove). What a sweet, hard working, funny guy.
The gym is surprisingly good; very clean with new equipment and, at elast for our week, a personal trainer present to help you with the machines. We never used the spa, but some of our friends did and they were very happy with the massages they got.
All in all we had a great time, and will probably come back again. However, we think we may want to try Desire next, in that we hear that the place is just a notch less rowdy than Hedo II, and for us at least that sounds about right.