Hedonism II Trip Report - Ray: May, 2022

Hedo April 18 to May 02 2022. First time back since April 2019
Covid was running wild during our visit.  Cootie Corner (Covid quarantine area) was full and any guests that proved positive beyond the capacity of CC were asked to quarantine in their rooms. We had a number of quarantined friends in their booked rooms. Apparently only 10 rooms are set aside for covid victims.
Of our group with covid, only two had covid related systems, the rest were asymptomatic and only tested positive on the return home, antigen test.  Some managed to escape CC by either taking the test a second time or asking for a PCR test.  Rumor has it that a number of the tests were bad due to faulty storage conditions. Most of those guests escaped on a negative subsequent test. The tests are administered by an outside company.
The resort provided food and drink for the CC guests but service of those items was poor, and they wouldn’t bring a bottle of alcohol, only individual drinks.  You had to phone the bar, and order a drink, and it was delivered, eventually.  Food was delivered as late as 10:00pm in one case.
Some members of our group also experienced “stomach distress” and spent a day in their rooms close to a toilet.
Check-in was quick, and I really liked the refillable water bottles they gave us.  They now have water dispensers around the resort and at the various guest quarters for refilling them.
The rooms were spotless and clean and smelled of disinfectant when we checked in, however we did find two roaches, belly up, later in the week.
Veronica  in housekeeping did an excellent job of keeping our room in shape.
Camera “police” were keeping an eye out for picture takers, and offering stickers to those with cellphones, to be placed over the lens.  Security was also seen, scrolling through a guests photo collection.
As well, they were also checking for non nude guests and asking them to disrobe or leave. 
The week of April 24-30 was busy.  The week of April 17 to 23 was less busy. The pool was standing room only the second week, as it normally is during a sellout week.  The “car wash” was happening both weeks with lots of participants.  First time I ever heard the DJ or EC give the guys specific instructions on what the GUYS can’t do with their hands while in the wash, LOL, (hands up, don’t touch the washers basically).
Great DJ at the nude pool in the afternoon loved his music, even if maybe a little too loud.  He gave instructions to the newbies in the pool “ask before touching”, not heard that phrase before either. Several pool games were in fact hands on, I guess you give tacit permission when you voluntarily join the game?
Plenty of towels for the asking, from the towel hut by the OV rooms and what used to be the fountain drink dispenser by the Hot Tub.
More than enough beach loungers, good choices even at 11:00 in the morning.  Lots of “floats” from previous guests to choose from.  I tried to ride a unicorn float, and much to the amusement of the beach crowd, ended up ass over tea kettle multiple times.  Even with the help of a younger couple, I couldn’t get on the damn thing. Just not my station in life to ride unicorns I guess. LOL
Food at the nude grill was excellent, they even have salads now if you are so inclined.  Onion rings were a little soggy for my liking but they did taste good.  Jerk chicken pizza was good too, but when they get pressed for time (multiple orders) sometimes they under cook the pizza.
There is now a pop up tortilla bar (food varies) at the nude beach for lunch, under the big tree, but only on some days.
Drinks, well what can I say here, bar was never crowded, unusual considering past experience.  Lots of bananas for dirty banana drinks.
The satellite burning up on reentry at midnight, viewed from the hot tub, was spectacular.  It came in from the point past Negril as if heading for the hot tub.
Didn’t like all the clear cutting of the trees though, but considering a major palm tree branch landed 10 feet in front of me as I walked to the towel hut by the hot tub, might be a necessity.  Also had another branch come down in front of our room.  Those suckers would hurt if you were hit by one.  Maybe they need to do more preemptive maintenance.
We stayed out of the nude pool and only went into the hot tub one evening when it was lightly occupied, trying to avoid covid.  Didn’t work though as we tested positive on arrival back in Canada, from some social activity at Hedo no doubt.
We had worn N95 masks from our parked car, through terminals, on planes, and in a private taxi to the resort, and did the same on the return journey.  We wore the masks in the dining areas religiously, and in close social gatherings, but not religiously.
Staff however wore masks improperly (a number of them under their nose, or on their chins, etc).
But we talked with a lot of people on the beach, some of whom tested positive on their return tests, so maybe we got it there.  Some folks were also self declared anitvaxers and anti maskers as well. It showed in the dining room when they refused to wear masks and challenged the staff to do something about it.
Casino night was fun.  Roulette, Poker, Blackjack, and the resort provided a float.  No prizes if you ended the night with more than your float though.  Our Blackjack dealer was very inexperienced, on both weeks we were there, even though we were telling her what she had to do, she didn’t remember.
We skipped the foam parties, but we did notice people using it as we walked by.  We avoided the disco, not our thing.
Glow night has been better with more lights and costumes, the Black lights could be more intense.  Outdoor the light has nowhere to bounce off and dissipates into the night air.
Stage entertainment was great, Winston is doing a great job, but don’t plan on having a conversation while its happening, the volume level is crazy high, we brought ear plugs.  The audience didn’t seem as great as in past years, and there was no mad scramble for a good viewing table.  We had no trouble getting a good table this year.
The Japanese restaurant is best attended when it first opens as conversation is near impossible once the stage show starts.  As usual, the food and performance was great.
The piano bar had it’s moments.  Dion I found, was spending too much time either talking or adjusting his instruments, and not enough time with the music.  That said, loved the YMCA on the piano and the couple with the guy in drag and his lady partner sensuously singing to him, while he “hammed” it up as if embarrassed while sitting on the stage.  I think he used the stage name Veronica.
Again the music was very loud, and I now carry ear plugs.
Bar tenders were awesome, remembering our drinks and giving prompt service.  Eldon unfortunately was absent for the 2 weeks we were there.
The steaks in Pastafari and the Flame were excellent, and I have to say, the best I have ever had in the Caribbean at any AI we have been too. 
The main dinning area has an expanded menu and more stations.  They have added a deli bar and a tortilla (for breakfast too) bar and a smoothie bar.
Gala night is still happening on Fridays.
The salad bar is terrific, and you could make a meal just from that.
Jacqueline was operating the egg grill and had a good memory for our daily order.  She did under cook my eggs one morning, but she was under pressure trying hard to keep up with demand for egg breakfasts, the eggs weren’t a problem for me.
There was an uncontrolled fire one evening at one of the grills between the bar and Pastafari.  Took them a while to get it out, either a grease fire or a gas fed fire.  The grill disappeared that evening as it was badly damaged.  Life carried on as if nothing happened and the smoke cleared quickly.
Signs posted everywhere about social distancing, and masks, but generally people ignored them.
The Flame restaurant on the beach is almost ready for service.  Chairs are now being stacked at the back side. The prude bathrooms are being rebuilt from the roof on down.  The area between the Flame and the bathrooms is fenced off, and currently full of debris from the bathroom reconstruction.
Travel to Jamaica was easy as they dropped the antigen test before we left from Canada. Immigration and customs was a breeze, even though we filled out the on line “C5” form, we still needed to use the kiosks. The line up at the bottom of the ramp for the immigration interview was about 10 feet long, we breezed through, got our bags and were in Rock’ys taxi in no time.
Getting home to Vancouver was a little more torturous.  First Air Canada Rouge screwed up our flight details, plus the flight attendants had attitude problems so we had problems on board. Then Toronto airport was backed up to the point where our three hour connection time had to be extended by Air Canada (they delayed our next flight). A  lack of immigration and customs staff meant we could not clear customs fast enough.  Then it turns out, we were selected for random PCR testing in Toronto, but no one told us. So we boarded our flight to Vancouver, only to be told 3 days later by the government, we had better get tested or we could be fined $5000.00,  AND by the way, we need to test in Toronto (first port of entry) like WTF.  Some phone calls later, they are now mailing us a proctored self test.
All in all this was a great vacation.  We had been grounded for the last two years and it was 3 years ago we last attended Hedo and really needed this escape.
We met many new friends and enjoyed the company of many old friends. 
Now to start the planning for April 2023

Use the DennyP Travel message board to contact the poster:We2are469 - or email Ray

New sign

 

Prude bathroom rennovations

 

Flame reconstruction

 

Nude Beach Sign

 

Falling Debris