Dave (Philly Dave) - September, 2015

Trip Report

16th Annual Meeting of the Jamaican WaterSlide Team September 12 - 19, 2015

 

The excitement of returning "home" this year was somewhat tempered by all the negativity regarding the ongoing renovations and how inconveniencing they were, to people that weren't there to experience them for themselves, that abounded on social media.  I read, in amazement, so many questions being asked by newbies that didn't seem to really want the answers the Hedo veterans gave them.  My guess is they weren't negative enough.

 

When we pulled up to the front of the resort, besides noticing that nothing was left of the Grand Lido across the street except the sign at the gate, we were met by a wall of plywood that surrounded the reception, main dining/bar, pool and slide areas.  Any fears quickly subsided when the bell staff appeared from an area behind the piano bar, took our bags and walked us along the beautiful plywood wall into the gorgeous, recently renovated courtyard to the temporary "front desk" located in the same building as the piano and wine bars but more toward the tennis courts.

 

We were quickly brought back to reality by the familiar Hedo Hospitality and friendliness that assured we had arrived "home" safely.  The renovations, as it turned out, were nothing more than a very slight inconvenience at best, in the opinion of many.  Some of our events, notably our Team Dinner, weren't the same due to the reduced seating capacity necessitated by the renovations. We also cancelled our Wednesday Nude Catamaran Cruise as many intelligently opted to take advantage of the free catamaran cruise offered by Hedo as partial compensation for the renovations.  Other compensation included a room upgrade, a complimentary bus ride for shopping with a trip to Rick's Cafe and up to 3 free nights depending on the number of nights you paid for this year.

 

It didn't take long, at all, to get into the Hedo swing of things.  Down to the nude pool and the party continues.  The only time the renovations were noticed was when you were in the courtyard, at the newly renamed Ocean Grill or at Pastafari.  The obvious disruption from the norm, to members of the Jamaican WaterSlide Team, was the fact that the waterslide was closed! 

 

Dinners were under a large tent on the beach adjacent to the Ocean Grill.  Breakfast was at Pastafari until Saturday, when the major portion of our group arrived as well as a contingent of models and photographers who began arriving for the Paradise Challenge, and then breakfast on the beach, at the Ocean Grill, was an option.

 

The Hedo staff, as usual, did everything in their power to accommodate their guests.  All in all, things went very smoothly with only the occasional glitch.  The entire Entertainment Crew were outstanding.  Winston has put together a group of veterans and new EC's that really get the job done.  Enthusiasm was high and performances were outstanding.  There was participation in all the theme nights.

 

Over our arrival weekend members participated in our customary "Name Game" which encourages new members to mingle and meet others.  When they find the other 3 members who share the same number found on the back of their name tags they are entered into a drawing for 3 FREE nights for two that's awarded at our Monday afternoon Welcome Party in the Piano Bar.  We get to enjoy one another's company with food, drinks and memories from last year as we play the DVD, compiled after each trip, on the large screen TV while waiting for the festivities to begin.  In addition, reading the shirts of those participating in our "Naughty" T-shirt contest can raise an eyebrow or two as well as get the top male and female winners a free massage.  Yes a real massage, not to be confused with the real GOOD massages given free of charge daily at the nude pool.

 

The complimentary Catamaran Cruise took place on Tuesday and was very well attended by many of our members as well as other guests.  Tuesday evening is our traditional "Team Dinner" and photo.  As mentioned, we were unable to have a section of seating to ourselves due to the temporary dining accommodations on the beach.  Even with that everyone seemed to have a great time.  Our Team Picture was taken on the stage right before the entertainment began.

 

Wednesday was an open day due to the afore mentioned cancellation of our traditional Nude Catamaran Cruise with snorkeling and a lobster lunch on a semi-private beach.  Always well attended it will return next year.

 

On Thursday the resort offered a complementary bus trip, as part of their compensation package, for shopping and then on to Rick's Cafe.   In addition, Carter's Pub Crawl took place with great attendance.  Lenbert, our bus driver, takes us for an afternoon "crawling" from pub to pub, adding some different stops from the year before.  It's a great way to enjoy Negril, meet locals and see some of the spots that are not the typical tourist traps.  The only "cost" is for your drinks and  tip for the driver.

 

Friday turned out to be another "open" day as everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves at the pool or on the beach.  That is until we got word that the resort had opened the waterslide  just for the JWST!  So off we went, led by our underutilized WaterSlide Captain, to make the only waterslide runs of the week!  While we came nowhere near breaking our record of 6969 combined runs for the week, due to the limited availability of the slide, we were able to get in approximately 69 runs.

 

The Hedo staff, as usual, did everything in their power to accommodate their guests.  All in all, things went very smoothly with the occasional glitch.  The entire Entertainment Crew were outstanding.  Winston has put together a group of veterans & new EC's that really get the job done.  Enthusiasm was high and performances were outstanding.

 

Considering that we had a record number of members sign up for next year's trip taking advantage of the Special Promotion offered to us by Go Classy Tours, as they have in the past, I would say, despite all the negativity on the social media sites, Hedonism and their staff get the job done, time after time, regardless of any obstacles, real or imagined.

 

 

Philly Dave
Jamaican WaterSlide Team

www.jwst.com

Hedo II  9/10 - 9/17/2016