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Thread: Sea Mountain Inn "Mini" Trip Report

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    Sea Mountain Inn "Mini" Trip Report

    I call this a “mini trip report” because we only spent one day at Sea Mountain Inn and we didn’t actually stay there for the two nights we were in Desert Hot Springs (got there late Friday night and left Sunday morning with all day Saturday spent at SMI). This was because, a) SMI requires a two night stay over the weekend and we only had one day that we could spend at SMI and, b) it’s rather expensive to stay there so paying for a room there for two nights in order to be there for just one day would have been prohibitively expensive. Instead we stayed at the Miracle Springs Resort & Spa. First a little about Miracle Springs. Let’s just say that the name is a lot fancier than the actual place. LOL On the plus side, the rooms and bathrooms are spacious and the seven hot spring fed pools/Jacuzzis are very nice as are the grounds around them. It is also literally 0.2 of a mile from SMI. On the down side, the bathrooms need some serious renovation, the bed was hard (for us at least) and the pillows were HORRIBLE. If you’re driving and staying there, bring your own pillows! Oh, and did I mention that there are KIDS EVERYWHERE! And that they are running and screaming from pool to pool? It is indeed a family place so I guess that’s to be expected especially when school is out as it is now. Our last six major vacations have been to Hedo so we have gotten used to vacations without kids around. Now we understand why that’s so easy to get used to! If all you’re going to do is sleep there, it works well and at $89/night with the SMI discount, the price is right.

    OK, about SMI. As you may have read in other postings or trip reports, it’s not much to look at from the outside and oddly, it is in a residential neighborhood. However, on the inside, it is a very nice place. It’s almost as if you walk into a different world when you ring the bell, give them your name (you must have a reservation in advance, even for day and night passes) and walk onto the property. You’re greeted by Dewey or his wife (the owners) and brought into the office to check in and sign the membership form ($40 membership good for six months). You are immediately given margaritas which are very good by the way, and they are just the first of many you will be offered during your stay. After the paperwork is completed, Dewey gives you a tour of the property and introduces you to everyone around the pool; not individually, but in the form of an announcement. We were introduced as C and G (actually used our names, of course) from Negril, Jamaica because when they asked us if we were comfortable being nude, we told them that our sixth Hedo trip was coming up in August. The layout is fairly simple. Right outside the building with the office and the food (more on that in a minute) is the smallish, but adequately sized pool. Remember the place itself is small so the pool size worked. The pool temp was warm, I would say at least 85 degrees. From there you’re walked through the again smallish disco which is nicely appointed and has a stripper pole and very good disco lighting. Through another large door on the other side of the disco is the Jacuzzi which was fairly large for the size of the place. All around the pool area and on to the back, more private areas are lots of the most comfortable lounge chairs you will ever find anywhere. The music is fantastic and best described as “eclectic”. You will hear unusual and often bizarre versions of old classics, but all very interesting and enjoyable. The music played in the disco at night is perfect, great dance music. The DJ’’s at Hedo could take a serious lesson from the SMI DJ.

    We got a day/night pass which was good from 10:30am until 2:00am and included lunch and snacks and soft drinks throughout the day as well as margaritas and Dewey's famous “pour in your mouth” shots of variously colored concoctions of undescribed ingredients (but all of which were very tasty). Cost was, I believe, $139 per couple, but I understand it’s $179 on holiday weekends. However, beware the long distance shot from the pressurized squirter (think bug or weed repellent sprayer). I got one of those and I guess I forgot to use my tongue to block my throat and Dewey made a direct hit to my lungs and I almost drowned! I’ll pass on that one next time. Many people bring their own booze/beer/mixers that they prefer to drink and coolers are welcome. Lunch consisted of delicious fried chicken and various salads. Most people ordered from the take out menu for dinner (you pay for your order when it arrives, but the all female staff – except for Dewey – take the orders and call them in for you). We got a pizza which was surprisingly good considering we were in the middle of the desert as far away from New York, the undisputed capital of pizza (with all due respect to you Chicago deep dishers), as you can get.

    Now for the good stuff. PDA’s are everywhere and encouraged. There is a very definite Lifestyle slant to SMI, much more so than Hedo, but you can still enjoy yourself if you are not Lifestylers as long as you don’t mind being surrounded by people who are. Of course, “no means no” as it does in all lifestyle environments. The vibe is very Hedo-like (especially in the pool) in that you feel the complete freedom you feel at Hedo, everyone is naked and everyone is having a good time. We found the people to be open and friendly, but perhaps not as much so as at Hedo. There also seemed to be more “cliquieness” than at Hedo, but in fairness this is based on one day’s experience and I’m sure, like Hedo, the vibe varies based on who’s there on any given day. We also didn’t see the full array of body types you see at Hedo. The SMI people that were there on Saturday, at least, were on average, in better shape than the average Hedo guest. Ages ranged from 20’s to 60’s with the majority being in their 30’s, which is younger than us, but we didn’t feel at all out of place. All in all it was a great time and a good DIF breaker. With Hedo being 5 out of 5 stars, we'd give it 4 stars. We’ll go back, but next time we might not do the day/night pass because we didn’t make it to anywhere near 2:00am. That’s a long, long day and without a room of your own to go back to, perhaps take a little nap or just have some alone time we found it to be too long for us. I don’t know if they have a pass that starts later in the day and goes into the evening. The day pass goes from 10:30am to 5:30pm and many there seemed to have that pass as the crowd thinned out considerably after 5:30. Ideal would be a pass that goes from 2:00 or 3:00pm to 2:00am, but I don’t know if there is such a thing. I suppose you could do the day/night pass and just get there later, but most of the pool fun seemed to take place between about noon and 4:00pm.

    Since we didn’t stay there, I can’t say much about the rooms but we did see a couple of them from the outside when doors were open and they looked very nice.

    This would be a terrific place for Southern CA (and even Arizona) Hedo folks to meet for a “sorta Hedo weekend/meet N greet” and I think I’ll try to put something like that together on the board for perhaps September to see if there’s enough interest. Of course, in this case, the 10:30am to 2:00am pass would probably be great since we will all have things in common and some of us will even know each other from Hedo. This report turned out to be longer than I had planned for it to be. We’d be happy to answer any questions; just PM us.
    8/9/11 to 8/21/11 SOON COME, BUT NOT SOON ENOUGH!!! Kitten & Angel's Spring Fling 4/5/12 to 4/14/12

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    Good report. We consider ourselves SMI "regulars" now, and I'd like to point out a couple of things:

    The people might seem a little "cliquie" because a good percentage of the weekend people are regulars. Even though Diane and I only do the place once or twice a month in the Summer, we know a whole lot of the people by name. People are very friendly there; they may simply be wrapped up in their own conversations.

    There is an evening pass which runs from 2 - close. However, like Hedo, much of the build up happens late morning, earrly afternoon, so the evening people miss out on the socializing/bonding that takes place then. We always do the whole day, but have never "closed the place" either.

    Yes, it's not Hedo, but it gets close enough to the "good parts" of Hedo to get us through the Summer. Glad to see you will be back - we can finally meet!
    Mikey and Diane

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    Quote Originally Posted by Desert Dwellers View Post
    Good report. We consider ourselves SMI "regulars" now, and I'd like to point out a couple of things:

    The people might seem a little "cliquie" because a good percentage of the weekend people are regulars. Even though Diane and I only do the place once or twice a month in the Summer, we know a whole lot of the people by name. People are very friendly there; they may simply be wrapped up in their own conversations.

    There is an evening pass which runs from 2 - close. However, like Hedo, much of the build up happens late morning, earrly afternoon, so the evening people miss out on the socializing/bonding that takes place then. We always do the whole day, but have never "closed the place" either.

    Yes, it's not Hedo, but it gets close enough to the "good parts" of Hedo to get us through the Summer. Glad to see you will be back - we can finally meet!
    When I said we found it a bit "cliquie" (have we coined a word here?), we were comparing it to Hedo where we find virtually none of that, but we didn't have any trouble at all meeting people, talking to them and having fun with them, so it wasn't meant to be a big rap on SMI at all. Just an observation. Once you become regulars like you are I'm sure that small issue goes away. I think you're right about the morning build up and the best idea is probably what you suggested. Go at 10:30, "shop till you drop" and leave whenever that is. There probably isn't a huge difference in cost between the 10:30 to close pass and the 2:00 to close pass anyway. We really did enjoy that pool time from about 11:30am on. I'm glad to hear that you've never made it to 2:00am either. I was beginning to think we were lightweights there for a while, but then I reminded myself that we've seen the sunrise at Hedo on more than one occasion (and not because we woke up early either). Yes, we'll definitely meet at SMI.
    8/9/11 to 8/21/11 SOON COME, BUT NOT SOON ENOUGH!!! Kitten & Angel's Spring Fling 4/5/12 to 4/14/12

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    Thanks for taking the time to write your fabulous report. We were there three times in 2010 and certainly got to know some of the "regulars" by name and also Dewey. That being said, we saw a different type of crowd and 95% different people each time we went. Each time had a slightly different feel to it and a different vibe. But, generally, the people were very friendly and welcoming. We have never been to hedo so we don't have anything to compare SMI to other than Desire, where we have been 3 times also. We would put SMI as being a little friendlier and sexier than Desire. So if Hedo is friendlier and sexier than SMI, we can't wait for our trip in July.

    For each of our trips to SMI, we stayed at least 3 nights at the resort itself. The rooms are very nice and boast "spring" water in the showers. No doubt our staying there for several days added to the expereince and made it easier to get to know the crowd and find people to hang with. We found the easiest way to get to know people was just to wade into the pool.

    No plans to go back again for now. Judy wants to try Hedo for comparison.

    The advantage to us Western Canadians is that SMI can be a short weekend getaway. So fun.

    J and J

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    Sharon and Jerry


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    Thanks so much for the report!
    Liz & Chris

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    Quote Originally Posted by Westcan View Post
    Thanks for taking the time to write your fabulous report. We were there three times in 2010 and certainly got to know some of the "regulars" by name and also Dewey. That being said, we saw a different type of crowd and 95% different people each time we went. Each time had a slightly different feel to it and a different vibe. But, generally, the people were very friendly and welcoming. We have never been to hedo so we don't have anything to compare SMI to other than Desire, where we have been 3 times also. We would put SMI as being a little friendlier and sexier than Desire. So if Hedo is friendlier and sexier than SMI, we can't wait for our trip in July.

    For each of our trips to SMI, we stayed at least 3 nights at the resort itself. The rooms are very nice and boast "spring" water in the showers. No doubt our staying there for several days added to the expereince and made it easier to get to know the crowd and find people to hang with. We found the easiest way to get to know people was just to wade into the pool.

    No plans to go back again for now. Judy wants to try Hedo for comparison.

    The advantage to us Western Canadians is that SMI can be a short weekend getaway. So fun.

    J and J
    That's why I was careful to explain that our observations and impressions were based on a single day there. We know how much Hedo can vary from trip to trip and even day to day if you're there during a changeover (usually over a weekend) or if a group leaves and another one comes in while you're there. The people were certainly more friendly and outgoing at SMI than any average resort, but you may find that Hedo is a step up from SMI in that regard. It's also true that SMI is MUCH smaller than Hedo so the crowd makes a bigger difference at SMI. At Hedo, you won't get to meet everyone there, but if you find 8 to 10 or so couples that you get along well with and have fun with, it will be a great trip and the chances of that happening at Hedo are great. The bottom line is both are fun and we'll go back.
    8/9/11 to 8/21/11 SOON COME, BUT NOT SOON ENOUGH!!! Kitten & Angel's Spring Fling 4/5/12 to 4/14/12

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    Quote Originally Posted by CandG View Post
    When I said we found it a bit "cliquie" (have we coined a word here?), we were comparing it to Hedo where we find virtually none of that, but we didn't have any trouble at all meeting people, talking to them and having fun with them, so it wasn't meant to be a big rap on SMI at all. Just an observation...
    And a good observation at that... I didn't take the comment as derogatory towards SMI at all. I have heard the same thing about Desire, so I just take it with a grain of salt. Perhaps at Hedo, most people really only have a few days per year to party, so they are particularly friendly?

    Concerning "closing the place"... I think the latest we've ever made it is 1am, and that almost killed us! Depends on the crowd of course. We've seen it pretty mellow in the hot tub, and also seen it literally packed to standing room only, with the water spilling over the top!
    Mikey and Diane

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    Quote Originally Posted by Desert Dwellers View Post
    And a good observation at that... I didn't take the comment as derogatory towards SMI at all. I have heard the same thing about Desire, so I just take it with a grain of salt. Perhaps at Hedo, most people really only have a few days per year to party, so they are particularly friendly?

    Concerning "closing the place"... I think the latest we've ever made it is 1am, and that almost killed us! Depends on the crowd of course. We've seen it pretty mellow in the hot tub, and also seen it literally packed to standing room only, with the water spilling over the top!
    I think it may be because at SMI the group is much smaller and there is always going to a high percentage of "repeaters" who know people from previous trips and who naturally tend to gravitate to those people (hence a clique), whereas at Hedo, because the crowd is so much bigger, there will always be a bunch of newbies and many people who don't really know anyone in any particular week. For example, even though we're not newbies, because of scheduling issues we're going a week later than we usually do in August so I doubt there will be a lot of people there that we know from previous trips. But, as I said, we didn't have any problems meeting people and hanging with them. We never do because we're outgoing and have no trouble talking to people we don't know and saying hi.
    8/9/11 to 8/21/11 SOON COME, BUT NOT SOON ENOUGH!!! Kitten & Angel's Spring Fling 4/5/12 to 4/14/12

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    C&G, thanks for the great report. I think it would be a great idea to organize a Hedo takeover of the place this is great for us to do a quick getaway without having to spend one entire day traveling. This is only a few hours drive for us. Let us know when you are thinking of getting a group together and you can count us in.

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    Registered User Rob&Jo's Avatar
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    Great report. You hit it regarding the music. Dewey had a great mix that changed through the day. Early morning was relaxing. High energy afternoon, came down in the evening, then the DJ kicks it at night. We will be back when we can find the time. Love the idea of meeting Hedo people out there.
    Rob & Jo

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    This was a great trip report. After getting back from our first ever Hedonism II trip on Sunday, this state-side resort appeals to me. I was just in Palm Springs the first week in June. At the time, I knew this place existed, but didn't know where it was. Palm Springs is only about $300/person round trip. We could turn that into a 3 day weekend for not too much money. This place is definitely on my list after seeing their photo gallery and reading your description. Now I'm ready for another vacation!
    Hedonism II - 28JUN2011 to 03JUL2011, 27NOV2013 to 01DEC2013, 17JUL2023 to 22JUL2023

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    Quote Originally Posted by STL-MO-CPL View Post
    This was a great trip report. After getting back from our first ever Hedonism II trip on Sunday, this state-side resort appeals to me. I was just in Palm Springs the first week in June. At the time, I knew this place existed, but didn't know where it was. Palm Springs is only about $300/person round trip. We could turn that into a 3 day weekend for not too much money. This place is definitely on my list after seeing their photo gallery and reading your description. Now I'm ready for another vacation!
    It's not Hedo, but it is fun and has some of the same qualities of Hedo (but much, much smaller). SMI is not in Palm Springs. It's in Desert Hot Springs which is about 12 miles north of Palm Springs. Glad you found the report helpful.
    8/9/11 to 8/21/11 SOON COME, BUT NOT SOON ENOUGH!!! Kitten & Angel's Spring Fling 4/5/12 to 4/14/12

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    Thank for giving a great mini report. I have wanted to go to SMI, but have always been concerned about the body types there. My wife is 5'4 180 lbs, if I brought her to a place where everyone is fit, she would feel very uncomfortable. The wide array of body types is what make Hedo so great.

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