Bill & Nancy - September, 2010 Jamaica Waterslide Team
JAMAICAN WATERSLIDE TEAM
2010
Annual Trip Report
11 to
18 September 2010
The
11th Annual Meeting of the Jamaican Waterslide Team (JWST)
has now been entered into the history books. This has been quite a
different year for us since the closing of Hedonism III had forced us to
change our venue to Hedonism II for the very first time.
As one of the larger non-commercial groups that had chosen
Hedonism III for our annual gathering, it took some major re-thinking to
be able to get everyone turned around and headed for Hedonism II.
The
biggest asset that we had in making the change was our old friend
General Manager Kevin Levee.
Kevin had been with us since our founding at Hedonism III shortly after
the resort opened, and had been our host there for many years until his
move to Hedonism II just two years ago.
Kevin knew us well and was able to energize his entire Team to
provide us one of the best trips we’ve ever had.
The
major question we had to answer was, how is Hedonism II in comparison to
Hedonism III, which we knew so well after 10 trips.
The answer is that the two resorts are much different and yet so
much alike that we had no problems making the adjustment.
For sure the layout is different and there is no “clothing
optional” section with its own pool, but that became a non-issue.
The resort is much older but extremely well maintained
throughout. The beach is
extraordinary and extends the full length of the resort along the
peaceful waters of a very large cove looking South into the Caribbean
Sea. The prude and nude
pools are very nice, and like Hedonism III the nude pool area offers a
swim up bar and a grill serving great food all day long. Of course,
there is a waterslide at Hedonism II as well.
The
rooms are on two floors, all are exactly alike except for a few suites
on the beach with Jacuzzi tubs on a small terrace outside.
The buildings face either the beach or beautifully landscaped
gardens. Each room is
particularly well equipped and the housekeeping staff do an outstanding
job of maintaining the rooms daily.
Food
was excellent and available all of the time including a midnight buffet.
The two themed restaurants (Japanese and Italian) competed
favorably with the main dining room and provided a nice change if you
wanted that. Bars were
readily available and the service was as good as we’ve ever seen at any
resort.
The
only complaints we heard from anyone had to do with limited hot water in
the showers from time to time and very erratic WiFi Service which is
advertised to be in every room.
From personal discussions with both the GM and the Hotel Manager,
it was apparent that they were on top of things and doing whatever could
be done to resolve any issues.
We actually did not hear many of the complaints that we had been hearing at
Hedonism III during our last few visits about problems with rooms,
liquor choices on the bars and other issues.
SuperClubs had also offered some strong incentives in the way of free
nights to people who had booked Hedonism III prior to the announcement
of the closing. Of course
they were automatically moved to Hedonism II, but the vouchers for the
free nights seemed to be slow in coming.
Kevin Levee jumped into that and gave everyone his personal
assurances that the issue would be resolved.
Entertainment staff did a terrific job with the aid of four E/C’s who
came over from Hedonism III to help out.
As many of them knew our group, it was a nice touch for many of
us. Our old buddy Naughty
Nick (Nichel Lindsay), formerly Entertainment Manager at Hedo III has
now moved to Hedo II and his influence was being seen already.
Our
group this year numbered just over 80 and came from all over the map,
from all walks of life and all ages from the 20’s to the 60’s.
At Hedo all of that doesn’t make much difference, as the only
thing that matters is that you be a person of “good cheer”.
Our group seemed to come together as if they had known each other
for many years (actually many have), and much of that was the result of
our private message board for current year members and our twice weekly
chats in the JWST Chat Room.
Unlike previous years we only had a couple of singles and both were
long-time JWST members. It
was also a nice mix of Hedo first-timers and Hedo veterans as well.
Our group also is not stand-offish toward others at the resort
who are not JWST members.
Everyone is welcome to join in our fun.
To help in making sure everyone got a chance to meet everyone
else in the group, we even conducted our “Name-Game” for two days which
caused everyone to introduce themselves to lots of people they had never
met before.
We
had lots of volunteers this year, not the least of which was our Welcome
Committee who attempted to meet most of our members in the lobby as they
arrived from the airport with their favorite drink, a smile and a “Hedo
Hug”. Welcome packets were
prepared with JWST lanyards, personalized name badges, personalized
laminated door cards and several other items to welcome each member to
their vacation home.
The
week progressed on schedule with our Welcome party in the Piano Bar and
our fun theme of “Naughty T-Shirts”.
Staff managers helped with the judging and prizes were awarded.
We also held our famous “Wear Mesh and Glow” party one evening,
including our grand march through the resort to the Disco, with enough
glow material on our bodies that we could be seen from the space
station, Wednesday we
chartered a catamaran for a “JWST Only” nude cruise at mid day and that
was a lot of fun. One
evening we had a group dinner and almost everyone attended.
The Dining Room manager had reserved a section of tables just for
our group and the dress theme for the evening was “Black and White”
night which brought out some really creative and sexy outfits.
Our final JWST event was an erotic gift exchange held one
afternoon in the piano bar that could only be described as hilarious.
Our Waterslide Captain led us on many runs down the waterslide
daily, and those who were a bit shaky about making the run served as
cheerleaders and judges for the best splash.
Incidentally, our record for the most runs down the waterslide by
any organized group remains unbroken.
All-in-all, we felt the week was a great success.
The hospitality extended to us by the resort went far beyond what
you would expect at any other resort. No
request seemed to be beyond solution and the standard answer from
everyone in the staff was “No problem Mon”.
Everywhere you walked throughout the resort, everyone had a kind
word inquiring as to how you were enjoying your vacation and with a
smile letting us know that they were happy that we were there.
That extended from the General Manager all the way down to cooks,
bartenders, wait staff, gardeners, housekeepers and bellmen without
exception. To show our dedication to Hedonism II and our future trips,
most of the members chipped in and had our own Totem Pole carved by
local artist Christopher.
The Totem, listing all of our names and our distinct logo, was erected
in the Nude Pool area overlooking the Hot Tub.
For
those who still wonder which is the better resort, we can only offer
that neither are. The best
resort is one where you can go with lots of really great people who will
become lifelong friends and where you can have an uninhibited and yet
very fulfilling vacation.
Hedonism is not really a place……………..it’s a state of mind.
So
our 11th Annual Meeting has gone into the history books, and
planning has begun for our 12th Annual Meeting, now scheduled
for 10 to 17 September 2011.
Write to us if you would like to part of it.
Respectfully submitted,
The
Jamaican Waterslide Team
Sunset Bill and Miss Nancy