Ron & Judy - March, 2012
March 9-19, 2012
We travelled with the Tom's
Trips "Ms No Swimsuit" group, as we always do. Bunch of fun folks
that can turn any day into fantastic fun that leave us in pain from
laughing. The Happy Hour at the nude pool should come with a
warning label, You could die laughing! Thanks Mark and Suzy!
(Note to readers from DennyP: DennyP Travel works with Tom's Trips to
book any of their trips. If you request a quote during the dates of one
of their trips please indicated that you are interested in booking their
group.)
Our stay at Hedo 2 was, for
the most part, awesome. We did not have any hot water issues, no
AC issues in our room and we didn't hear of anyone else complaining of
those while we were there. Only physical issue with our room is
the phone did not work even to call the front desk. However, the
front desk did let me use their phone to call home for a quick minute at
no charge. Grounds were gorgeous and clean at all times. Our
housekeeper did a phenomenal job and is just a beautiful person.
We chatted and shared some Hershey Kisses as she cleaned our room.
Nude grill jerk chicken was
delicious and plentiful. Only ran out late in the afternoon (5:30
pm) one time that I know of. Meat patties were all but impossible
to find though. Too lazy to make the trek to the prude grill to
see if they had any. The nude grill is now serving grilled fish.
It is delicious, although spicy due to its marinade.
Bar service in all areas
was wonderful, I was even waited on while laying on the beach near the
massage shack! Not always or regularly, but several times over ten
days.
The food was much improved
this trip over the past several. Much more variety and much
improved flavor. The guy doing the eggs now does an ok job,
however only once did he truly scramble my scrambled eggs and ham rather
than give me a ham omelet. After three days, I gave up and just
went to the guy doing eggs on the back side of the buffet. Much
better job and MUCH more personable! The other guy was not rude or
unpleasant, just all business. I am used to friendly banter or at
least a smile and a Good Morning.
The water sports staff was
truly over the top wonderful. Dive masters who are professional
and so patient and it is very reassuring to see how safety conscious
they are. There was a lovely young lady on the dive boat who spoke
Italian, French, Spanish and only broken English. But NO ONE was
going into the water until we ALL were completely briefed on the dive
and completely and thoroughly understanding of all signals and
procedures. I could tell by her excitement telling her companion
as he met her coming off the boat that she had a super time.
Grantley was very helpful to us after our last dive. We brought
our own BCD's and reg's that we had just bought and we had a good idea
how to clean them for travel after the last dive, but he really took
some time with us helping us make sure our equipment was completely
cleaned and more importantly, to make sure we now know how to do it
ourselves!
Last, but certainly not
least, The dining room service. Staff has been cut to the bare
bones in that area and it shows. Good luck getting a water glass
filled or refilled...if you are lucky enough to have one even set at
your table. Numerous times there were not enough table
settings to be found. If something ran out on the salad or bread
stations, you're pretty much SOL unless you are like me and after asking
four times in twenty minutes for a butter packet, you just go into the
kitchen on a quest for them yourself. If you need silverware, just
go ransack a cabinet. Several people had to do this during
the Friday lunch period, even though management KNEW our group would be
having almost everyone in our group in the dining area between 1-3 pm
for voting and it is not that far of a stretch to think we would
naturally sit down and have lunch since we took the time to put
something over our parts. Yet only about a third of the tables
were even set, very few servers staffing the room and they were so
overwhelmed they gave up. One young man just walked around with an
empty tray, walking past tables with a pile of dirty dishes on them (one
was ours) and never picking up any. Just looking busy walking
around with his tray. That was the day a bunch of us had to go
ransack a cabinet to find something to eat our lunches with.
I did note this on my
comment card in the area where they ask what three things could they do
to improve our vacation...1. Add more dining staff. 2. Add
more dining staff. 3. Add more dining staff.
All in all a great
vacation. It seems though, that as some things improve, others
nosedive. Why can't there be a balance????