Hedonism II Trip Report - John: April, 2022

April 17 – May 1, 2022

I arrived at Hedo on Easter Sunday, April 17th to check in. This was my 47th trip.

Everything was in order and the check in process went very smoothly. I received my Hedo water bottle and rubber wrist band/key and proceeded to my room. It was a ground floor room near the spa/tennis courts. I really like that location as it is close to the dining room and beach. Everything in the room worked great which includes the A/C, hot water and wi-fi. I did not have to reconnect my phone or tablet once during my two-week stay. I did have an issue with my safe on day 2 but a technician arrived in a half-hour to replace the faulty circuit board and everything was fixed quickly.

Now I’ll report on what changes I saw from past trips.

Several trees were removed near the nude bar where people play bocce ball including myself. I heard that a tree branch fell on someone a while back (the one where the bocce balls are stored). They did add some new beach umbrellas to provide shade to those seeking that – me! The towel cabinet was also moved from near the beach to an area nearer to the rooms by the nude bar. It is a much better location. Towels were always available, too.

They did add Fox News, channel 50, to the television channel lineup.

They continue to play bocce ball on the nude beach around 11:30. I enjoy playing and there are typically about 20 people that play every day. The usual pool games then follow including Jamaican trivia.

They tore down the 2 bathrooms near “The Flame” restaurant to build new ones. That area is off limits during the construction. They look to be close to reopening “The Flame” since the fire a few months back. They poured a new concrete slab about 10 feet long to expand the seating area. A large tree was removed to make room for the expansion. They were painting while I was there. All new appliances were delivered but they were still in their boxes. It will be nice when it reopens. In the meantime “The Flame” was still present at 2 locations. On days where rain is not expected, tables are setup near the main pool. On days where rain is expected, tables are setup next to HarrySan. “The Flame” menu is about the same as before with a few changes. They serve dessert there, too, unlike Pastafari. The menu at Pastafari is about the same as before with minor changes.

I did not go into the Piano Bar or Disco as these are typically very crowded indoor spaces which I tried to avoid during Covid. Most activities, including the repeat guest parties, were held either in the courtyard or the main stage dance floor which is a great idea.

The food selections available at the lunch and dinner buffets are about the same as before with perhaps a few less things to pick from. For those liking the mini-steaks at lunch, they had them the first week on Friday but not the following week. The dessert selection is definitely less but the desserts they had were excellent. Monday is Jamaican night as it has been for some time. They did not serve food on the beach as in the past but they still have the bonfire there. On Wednesdays they serve mostly Chinese food and sushi. They appeared to improve the quality of the soft serve ice cream but they still did not bring back 3 three topping dispensers they had pre-Covid.

They started painting the wood trim in all the buildings near to my room. The new colors are a gray/tan to replace the black trim that is there now. I included a few pics so you can see the new color scheme. They have many more buildings to paint but it actually was going pretty fast.

The price of massages went up from $90 for a half-hour to $120 for 50 minutes if you have it done in the spa or $132 if you have it done on the nude beach. That was for a Swedish massage. Other massages cost even more.

For those needing to be tested the day before you travel home, there is a laptop near the lobby where you enter your information and testing day. It worked very well. The whole testing process was very well organized. After testing negative, I received the email within 3 hours and also a paper copy which I got later in the day after requesting it at the front desk.

Some people were testing positive on their testing day for those needing to be tested. I heard the first week there were 9 people that tested positive. The second week was worse with 14+ people testing positive. I say 14+ because they ran out of quarantine rooms and people were quarantining in their original rooms. If positive you need to quarantine for 5 days and can leave on the sixth day. I won’t get into all the details about the quarantine process as there as options available.

The catamaran is now $75. I have gone on these before and did not go this time.

The shows were very good and I especially enjoy watching the talent show on Thursdays.

They also have a casino night on Thursdays where craps, roulette and black jack can be played. This was a popular event which I also enjoyed.

All-in-all I had a great time!

John

Repainted Room Buildings