This was our first trip to Cancun or
more precisely, Riviera Maya.
Since the journey begins by air that’s the first good news. We have
become used to layovers since we usually go to
Jamaica and there are no direct flights available
from Cleveland. The direct flight we had to Cancun was scheduled for 3Hrs 35Min. and arrived 10
minutes early. The return flight was even quicker and that’s not the
best part. Clearing customs in
Cleveland
was an absolute breeze.
Arriving in Mexico was not as quick and easy but we’ve
experienced both shorter and longer waits in Jamaica. Immigration took 40 minutes
and about another 25 to get our bags and clear customs. We had free
transfer vouchers with Lomas travel and were comfortably transported in
Lincoln Navigators both from and back to the airport.
Check in at Hidden
Beach
was a breeze as well. While sipping champagne they explain everything
and take you on a personal tour to show you around the place. It was in
the next hour or two as I got a good look at the place and began dealing
with staff members that I became absolutely outraged and appalled by
what people are willing to accept in terms of run down facilities, very
poor customer service, poor response time, lack of amenities, and
mediocre food. Of course, I’m referring to Hedo II. What a contrast!
Before the Jamaicans can say “Soon come mon” the Mexican hosts have
already taken care of you. When we got to our room more champagne was
waiting for us in an ice bucket next to the double Jacuzzi tub (Standard
in every room).The only problem we experienced was when we first got
into our room. We noticed that the air conditioner wasn’t blowing very
cold so I called the desk to report it. About 2 minutes later there’s a
knock on the door, so I’m wondering, “Who could that be?” Turns out 2
guys are there already to fix the AC. A few minutes later a 3rd
guy comes by to explain that the system is low on refrigerant and they
will recharge it from outside and will not need to interrupt us further.
Although HB is all Au Natural it’s all access arrangement and proximity
to El Dorado Suites gives it that familiar nude/prude dichotomy. The
restaurants were great on the El Dorado side though long
pants and a shirt with a collar are required but the restaurant at HB is
amazingly good as well. One night we had a 6 course meal in just bath
robes (of which there are 3 styles in the room to choose from). Eating
in the room would have been OK too but going out at least one night
wearing only robes seemed like the just the right amount of vacation
laziness, though of course, you don’t need to wear anything at all.
Having quiet dinners alone is what we expected since we weren’t
rendezvousing with any of our friends as we usually did in
Jamaica
but out of 7 days at HB and 3 days at Desire, we only had a couple
dinners by ourselves. We were pleasantly surprised by how fast not only
the staff members learned our names but the guests as well. Since HB has
only 42 rooms (all of which were sold out during our stay) you tend to
meet everyone. We met a guy who did an excellent job of body painting
Patty and our new friend Alison with an air brush and that is all that
the girls wore to dinner. It looked so much like they were wearing
clothes that we were tempted to take a stroll through El Dorado.
Fortunately, Hidden
Beach
has become such a popular destination that I couldn’t book more then 7
days straight at any time in March. Consequently, since we wanted a
longer stay, I was able to talk Patty into trying Desire for 3 days. To
my surprise she liked Desire as much as
Hidden
Beach. Her only complaint
was how much she was being eaten. The mosquitoes were terrible (what
were you thinking?) It seems the number one “Desire” of the ladies was
bug repellant, though it isn’t necessary in the daytime. Patty had 13
red welts on her legs by the time we got home. The consensus seemed to
be that they mostly went after the women. I, on the other hand, had only
one bite which barley itched and went away in a day.
As for people scratching each others itches, we’ve seen more outrageous
behavior at Hedo II then at Desire though I guess at either place it
depends on what groups are there at the time. The so called “Play Room”
somewhat hidden away passed the DJ booth in the Disco seemed tacky yet
the Palapa Beds in the Skytop-Jacuzzi area seemed inviting but other
then in those 2 areas you would see nothing that you wouldn’t see at a
family nudist resort.
Overall, the quality of the restaurants and various amenities at Desire
were about on par with Hidden Beach/Eldorado and I can’t wait to return
to both but that won’t be happening any time soon. Before scheduling the
Riviera Maya trip we had already promised to rendezvous once again with
all of our Jamaica group friends. It’s going to
be hard to go back to Hedo II where you feel lucky to find a rickety
lounge chair, even luckier if you find a towel, and luckier yet if you
find one of those moldy mats. At HB and Desire they even have rolled up
cloth hand towels in the public rest rooms, beach towels galore, and
more then enough towels in the room while outdoor beds and lounges are
plentiful and all have comfortable thick mattresses. Yet there still is
something special about Jamaica and especially Negril. As
Bob Marley put it, “There’s a natural mystic flowing through the air”.
It’s a shame that Hedo has to do so little to get repeat guests.
Greg & Patty