Paradise Lakes: John - May, 2011
Trip Report Paradise Lakes 13 -15 May
2011
After an absence of 14 months, we returned to Paradise Lakes in May to celebrate our anniversary and to see if things had improved at the resort since our last visit.
The anniversary celebration was great. As for the resort, the jury is still out.
For months, we’ve watched events from afar, gleaning things from the PL website, another travel forum, and from folks who live in Tampa. We finally decided that it was time to see the place for ourselves. Our Tampa correspondents relayed various dire reports and occasional good ones throughout the year, but two daughters’ weddings and Mrs. John-John’s surgery kept us in a “wait and see” mode until May rolled around.
As for the PL website, this Spring seemed to feature swinger events by the score, with new theme parties scheduled each weekend. Suddenly, no “events” were posted on the website, and then there appeared a posting that Club Reveal (previously L’Attitudes, previously Club Fred) would only be open from 8 – 11 PM on Friday and Saturday nights. When did the place turn into a VFW hall?? Finally, the ship seemed to right itself and normal (8PM – 3AM) hours were reestablished, albeit for only Thursday through Saturday.
The back story to all of this turmoil seemed to be the hiring and subsequent firing of a couple who tried to bring in a younger, hipper crowd, but ran afoul of The Owner. Those we talked to on-site bemoaned the couple’s departure, saying that things had livened up when they were there.
(Rather than insert a discussion of swingers vs. nudists vs. naturists vs. the rest of the known world here, suffice it to say we missed the big party)
Reservations made via phone were fine, aside from the onerous $10 a night surcharge for staying less than three nights. Oh, and nobody asked about our AANR status – guess PL’s departure from the organization was really the end of that good deal.
Driving past the busted automatic gate and the empty guard shack at the entrance should have been an omen, but we pressed on to the front desk.
This is probably a good time to remark about the property’s infrastructure: it’s showing its age and the result of not-so-benign neglect. There were loose tiles on the pool deck and the main pool needs to be painted. I had to remove some leaves from the pool before I jumped in and I noted that the water wasn’t as clear as in years past. Over in the old section, the fruits of the long-running dispute between The Owner and the long-time residents were obvious. The hot tub by the old pool was empty except for mold and leaves and showed evidence of having been that way for some time. The pool was dirty and no one was using the few deck chairs that remained serviceable. Again, little maintenance was evident in that entire area, although the tennis courts were in full use and seemed to be in good repair. An observer on another travel board who visited that same weekend reported that the soap dispensers at the outdoor showers by the tennis courts had been removed, but I didn’t venture over there to see for myself. Overall, the whole place could use a good scrub and a paint job and – most importantly – an owner that gives a damn.
We stayed in a studio in the Fountains rather than a condo to save a few bucks. I forgot I was claustrophobic. Thank goodness for the nice screened lanai or we would have no place to entertain a friend who came to visit on Saturday evening. No problems with the studio’s amenities nor with the attentive maid service (her timing was impeccable - she dropped off towels just before our afternoon “nap”); the studio was just small.
We attended the dances both Friday and Saturday nights. Friday night’s crowd was smaller, but there was more energy in the room. Either that or the generous pours by a very attentive wait staff made it so. At any rate, Club Reveal (formerly, etc., etc.) continues to shoot itself in the foot with strange, uncomfortable tables and wasted space for “private” booths no one uses. The tables allow no room to get up and out to the dance floor and Mrs. John-John and our guest both complained that the chairs tilted to one side. Maybe The Owner got the chairs at a yard sale…
In addition, the continuous show of music videos on the wall behind the tables was an annoyance and constantly blinded us as we went to and from the dance floor.
“Hey Club Reveal: the 80s called. They want their music videos back.”
The Unseen DJ did not help matters, as many of the standard, albeit risqué songs by Prince and others weren’t played at all. Evening attire, once scandalous, is now damn near club wear seen at your local TGI Fridays. We, of course, are old school, and dressed inappropriately. I think we even got some disapproving looks, especially on Saturday night when Mrs. John-John debuted her “nipplace;” a necklace with nipple rings attached. <sigh>
I should note that an observer from another travel board arrived at the club on Saturday night after we left and said that the environment at Club Reveal was much more “sexual” than the atmosphere at Caliente’s club. Really?
Saturday at the pool was nice, but the area was nowhere near capacity. Again, the wait staff did a good job with food and beverages. Did I mention that they were the same ladies from the restaurant and the dance the night before? They also were on duty at Saturday night’s dance. That’s working about 20 hours out of 30.
In summary, lest I sound too pessimistic, we had a good time, saw dear friends, danced, drank, and enjoyed the sun and each other. I suppose that’s should be plenty, but we’ve seen PL at her best and we miss it.
Reluctantly, it’s time to move on up the road. We’ll give Caliente another try this September.