Hedonism II Trip Report - Kevin & Lori
Feb 2-10 2025
Booking through DennyP is always a breeze. We were limited to specific dates and are picky about our room choice, so we paid full price, but it is what it is. This is not the bargain resort of 2010-2013. It is far better and worth the money. We have been coming to Hedo since 2007 and if our math is right, this was our 17th trip.
We flew direct from FLL to MBJ on JetBlue, arriving early in the afternoon. We always opt for Club MoBay and are never sorry. On a Sunday with few people in the queue to get through immigration, with the new kiosk setup, pre-filled forms, and the Club MoBay escort, we were through to the taxi stand less than 15 minutes after we stepped off the plane. We do not check bags for Hedo so not waiting for luggage.
Our transport of choice has been Rocky’s Taxi and this year we got a new favorite driver. Patrick picked us up quickly and we were on resort by about 1:30. We have flown TimAir in the past, which is a nice treat, but the drive was pleasant and Patrick is interesting to talk with. His son was with him and we enjoyed talking with him about school. Tariq had to hop out at the security gate (no kids at Hedo). We were over-the-moon that the infamous ‘security chain’ has been replaced with a legitimate gate! I couldn’t believe it!
For the last half dozen or so trips we have booked balcony rooms (officially OVNP). We love the balcony space for stretching out, getting away from the chaos of the nude pool when this introvert needs a break, the sunset views, and a great place for viewing and starring in extra curricular activities. The room, 2227, was a bit further from the pool so it was quiet and lovely, clean and ready for us early. We are expert packers which makes us efficient un-packers and within 20-30 minutes of arrival our stuff was put away and we were headed to the nude pool.
It was fairly quiet the first part of the week, with a couple of large groups coming in the last few days of our stay. We met a delightful assortment of fun people during the week, had tons of laughs, lots of sex, and in general, all the Hedo fun we needed. Bar service was great – the taps are I guess permanently gone so Red Stripe was in a 10oz can. It was icy cold and plentiful. No shortage of drinks flowing as usual. The food everywhere was excellent. We ate at Pastafari twice, Flame twice, HarrySan once, and the rest of the time in the main dining. Lunches each day were either pure liquid or chicken and fries from the nude grill – the simplest meal I dream about when I’m home. The resort continues to improve each time we come. This time we had new dining furniture to admire and the stunning new lit Hedo logo on the end of the newly-renovated garden spa building. The building is beautiful with upgraded railings, doors, tile walkways, and exterior. We did not look at a room as we had seen someone’s video posted on FB. I’m not sure how I feel about the smaller windows, but if you don’t care about seeing what’s outside it probably doesn’t matter to you. If that is the direction of the next round of refreshes to the resort buildings, we will be delighted. The rest of the resort seems to have recovered well from last year’s hurricane damage. Some trees are missing, but the gardening crew was pruning and the maintenance guys were fixing and painting all around the resort.
We spent a fair amount of time at watersports, because I like to snorkel nearly every day. Marshall is the world’s best Jamaican snorkel guide. He knows the waters so well and delights in taking guests on a guided snorkel, pointing out lots of different sea life as you go. He and Orlando are just excellent humans. I always have a good time with them and feel safe even if I’m the only one on the snorkel boat. We also took out a Hobie Cat one day, with a driver, kayaks two days, and had watersports call the parasail crew for a special treat mid-week. That was great fun. It was painless and remarkably dry with efficient taxi service to and from the parasail vessel. Probably a one & done for us, but I’m not sorry we did it. It was interesting to see the shape and scope of the middle reef I spend so much time paddling around each time I’m there.
One of our favorite activities is feeding the fish after dinner at night. One night we saw the biggest shark we’ve ever seen, coming from the direction of the prude swim area/Sandals, directly under the two ramps on the Hedo dock, and headed into the nude swim area. He was all of 5’-6’ long and uninterested in the hunk of roll I instinctively threw toward him. We also saw quite a few rays flying about on some other nights.
The last few visits I’ve been treating myself to a spa afternoon on the last day to revive my skin from a week of sun, salt, and chlorine. I so enjoy it. It’s called the Ocean Wrap and I couldn’t recommend it more if you like a bit of luxe pampering. They exfoliate your skin from head to toe, then after a quick shower, slather you with a thick creamy lotion and wrap you in about 5 layers of wrapping. I feel much like a baked potato but in the best way. I came back to my room to pack, completely relaxed, drank a bottle of champagne (mimosas are not just for breakfast!) and chilled in my lovely robe and slippers. My skin positively glowed for the next five days. And it winds me down from all the crazy fun of the trip.
Our 8 day stay was over in a blink. Patrick from Rocky’s took us back on a Monday morning with little traffic and pleasant conversation. As we left security, a ClubMobay attendant was behind us and said ‘follow me’ and he took us on a shortcut through the airport to the newer lounge just past the food court. He ushered us to the ‘best chairs’ facing out to the tarmac with USB ports, where we sipped mimosas and nibbled some snacks while waiting for our flight. He pointed out that they are renovating the other Club MoBay departure lounge over in the newer part of the airport and that it should be ready soon. We’ll have to make our way there next time.
Lots of people spend less going to Hedo than we do, between the higher priced room, the spa, the ClubMobay, and private taxi, and we have in the past too. But we enjoy the extras and are happy to pay for them. It makes Hedo even more special to us. If you want it to be a crazy, naughty, drunken week, you can do that. If you want a little of that and a little pampering, that’s available too. As always, we look forward to booking our next stay and making more friends and more memories.
