We just got back from our third trip yesterday and since I didn’t write a trip report for our last trip I was determined to do one for this trip and knew that if I didn’t do it right away it would slip away like last time. Probably out of a sense of guilt at not having done one last time, this one will be rather long so feel free to stop when you get bored. Let me get the negativity out of the way first and send two messages to management since I know they read these reports.
#1 - THE NUDE HOT TUB IS TOO HOT! We were there for eight nights and not once during that time did our butts ever hit the seat in the nude hot tub at night. It was lobster boiling HOT every night, however for whatever reason there were a couple of days when it was comfortable in the late afternoon. I met with Lorna Clarke about this and she told me that they regularly checked the temperature. I suggested that rather than check the temperature, check the people. When there are 30 people in the hot tub and ALL of them are sitting on the edge rather than in the water, it’s too damned hot! In the two days after I spoke to her, nothing changed. It is a major disappointment when such an integral part of the Hedo experience is taken away because of what seems to be a lack of caring on the part of management. I don’t see what’s so difficult about this. TURN DOWN THE THERMOSTAT!
#2 Management MUST do something about the fans in the dining room. It was unusually humid for April a couple of nights this trip because of the rain and the dining room was already hot, especially on Saturday night. It was the major drawback to our trip last August and it’s giving us serious concerns about our next August trip. The fans need to be bigger and they need to be on HIGH. There is nothing more frustrating than having your shirt stuck to your body and looking up to see a fan moving at a speed reminiscent of the ones in the movie Casablanca.
Ok, enough negativity. Flights were uneventful but LONG from the West Coast. Our trip there was 15 ½ hours from our door to the Hedo desk including a 4 ½ hour layover in Houston. Immigration was very long and slow. It took us about an hour and forty five minutes to clear. The line was backed up all the way up the ramp before the “Disneyland” rope lines. Customs was fairly easy. We got to the Superclubs desk and were told the bus was about to leave so we only had a five minute wait for the bus which was packed with even a couple of the center seats pulled down. The trip to Hedo was about an hour and forty minutes with traffic and a Red Stripe stop. Check in was painless despite the full bus and our room (Prude Jacuzzi – 1113) was ready. The bags were taken to the room with us which was a nice change from prior trips when we had to wait for them. Our room was great, and clean as always. It was our first stay on the prude side so it took us a while to get acclimated. We were surprised about how little we knew about the prude side. The walk to the nude side was not bad at all. The only problem we experienced with the room was that the water in the shower had only two temperatures – very hot and scalding. (It seems that hot water follows us around). They did fix it to some extent so that it was at least manageable. Before anyone thinks this hot water thing is about me, my wife takes VERY hot baths and even she had trouble with both the hot tub and the shower water temperatures.
Rather than do a day by day report, let me hit some of the highlights.
Weather – On the second day we had a downpour midday that lasted about 90 minutes. Not so bad. On the next day it rained for about 15 minutes. After that we had two days of great weather and after that it was somewhat overcast each day. A heavy rain fell from Friday evening until about 2:00 on Saturday. The only problem with the rain was that no matter how long it lasted, it kicked up the humidity significantly as soon as it stopped.
EC’s – The EC’s were great. There had been quite a turnover since our trip in August and while we missed Gigi, who is gone, and Sunshine, who now works at reception, Stephanie, Crystalee, Sticky Nicki, Dwight and Ferrario (the newest EC) were great. Winston, of course was fantastic as always. He is so incredibly talented and a genuinely good hearted person. He is uplifting to be around. Mega is also a tremendous talent and we love to hear him sing and MC. There were morning games (bocce ball, water balloons, ring toss, etc.) and then Happy Hour at 3:00 with pool side games (find your mate, Trivia, pool games, the “I Like Big Butts” dance contest, etc.) that were held on time every day and lasted for about an hour. They were fun and added a lot of energy. By contrast, in August, we did not see the EC’s after the morning games until the evening entertainment, so this was a very welcome change. The sound system worked on the pool speakers (unlike in August) and that added a lot to the atmosphere. I’d like to suggest that they give the EC’s some control over the music. Apparently all the music in on a USB and oddly, a song would play about halfway through and go into a different song.
Other Staff – Augustus is still patrolling the beach doing a great job and looking for women who are carrying anything so he can admonish their husband’s/boyfriends. He’s such an institution at Hedo. Both Delroy and Nigel (also institutions obviously) were in rare form this week and did an outstanding job, as always. It always brings a smile to our faces to watch Delroy dance and laugh as he mixes drinks. And we’re already missing Nigel’s jerk chicken and grilled cheese sandwiches. Speaking of jerk chicken, we’re convinced that they changed the sauce midway through our trip. It got much more spicy (hot) around Wednesday. A small, informal poll of the people we were hanging with confirmed this, but then again, we could have all been wrong (and drunk).
Food – The food was excellent – much better than we recalled on our other trips including the one just last August. The salad bar was outstanding and there was always something very good to eat at the buffet (especially the pasta bar). We ate three times at Munasan’s (primarily because we got lucky again and were with people who were early risers and could make reservations as we have never once been up early enough to make a reservation at Hedo). The food at Munasan’s was excellent and plentiful. It was better than any Benihana we have been to. We didn’t get to Pastafari’s (I still can’t bring myself to call it Martino’s despite the new awning), but others told us that the menu hadn’t changed yet and that it was still excellent. The nude grill, as mentioned earlier is fantastic as it has always been. The fries are still “to die for”. We actually had our first lunch in the dining room in three trips mainly because we were so close to it staying on the prude side for the first time. It was also excellent and a nice change of pace for us.
PDA’s and Sex Police – First, the “sex police” were non-existent , so that’s good news. A good amount of PDA’s both in the pool and the hot tub, however, the hot tub was less fun and “active” than it has been in the past because of the water temperature issue.
General appearance, grounds and beach – Still magnificent. We were impressed after the hour+ downpour when what seemed like the entire Water Sports crew was out raking the beach and returning it to its pristine condition in about half an hour after the rain stopped. The dining room has received a new coat of paint since August with tropical colors and it looks great. I can’t imagine how they did that with it being used 24/7/365, but they did. There were varying amounts of seaweed in the water each day and we didn’t hear of anyone encountering sea urchins but we did meet one guy who got stung by a ray but we understand he was in the water at night (not a particularly smart or safe thing to do). We used water shoes this trip because I had a sea urchin spine in my toe in August that was very painful for about three days. Caution superseded “dorkiness” after that experience. The posts for the closed walkway to the beach continue to rot, especially those by the disco where the water slide lets out. Everyone had a blast on the water slide, and it became a midnight ritual for our group.
Medical staff – G had a problem on Saturday night caused by too much sun, dehydration, heat, and too much alcohol. Her blood pressure was low and she was weak. The nurse and two other medical staff came down and removed her by wheelchair and then truck back to our room. They did a great job and were right on the spot. Special thanks also to the two guests who obviously had medical training who helped her a great deal both before and after the medical staff arrived. You guys were awesome. She was fine the next day and changed her drinking “formula” to filling the large cup we had brought with ice water and drinking alcohol from the small bar cups alternating between the two. This worked out very well for her.
The people – What can I say? It’s true that the people make Hedo what it is and this trip was no exception. I won’t even attempt to mention them because I know I will leave out someone who was important to us because they made our trip so much fun. Occupancy was very light until about Thursday, but the people who were there made the party a great one. Low occupancy also has its advantages like ease of getting drinks, little to no lines at the grill and in the dining room, and no trouble finding lounge chairs. Rafts, both the lounge cushions and rafts left behind by previous guests were plentiful. It started to fill up quite a bit by Thursday when the Buttcrack Tour started arriving. I believe TeaseUm’s were also there. There was a great mix of people of all ages, shapes and sizes as is always the case at Hedo. I do want to mention two people who were truly inspirational, one of whom we didn’t get to know and another whom we spent a lot of time with. Both were women who had had double mastectomies and reconstructions and both were very comfortable with their beautiful bodies. There was also a single gentleman who had a condition that affected his mobility and who was pretty much by himself most of the week. One day we saw a woman offer to put sunscreen on his back. It was such a “Hedo” thing to do and one of those “warm and fuzzy” things that happen so often at Hedo. We invited him to dinner with us one night as well. The acceptance of people and their acceptance of themselves with all of our flaws and imperfections, both physical and otherwise, is what makes Hedo a truly magical place. Thank you to all of the unnamed people who made our trip so wonderful. We’ve only been home a matter of hours and we’re already counting the days to our July/August trip. Maybe we’ll be able to sit under better fans and get into the hot tub this time.
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Originally Posted by ColonelPanic
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