So this is my first trip report and only my second trip. *There has been a lot of information posted previously about upgrades to the resort, so I will try to confirm and clarify some of that and give some new updates as well.
The flight down on USAir was uneventful, and essentially on time. *We arrived at around*1:00pm*and the lines at immigration were short. *It looked like pretty much every station was manned, and it took about 5 minutes to make it through. *We waited for our bags for longer than that! *
We made our way to the arrival hall and found the desk for Sun Holiday Tours. *We had to wait about 30 minutes for our ride, so we had a drink at the Margaritaville bar. *We ended up in a small van with no legroom which is unfortunate for anyone over 5 ft. 6. *A very prim and proper older lady joined us for the ride and didn't speak a peep the whole way. *She had a mortified look on her face when we pulled up to the resort. *LOL. *
Check-in at the resort was quick and easy with lots of smiles. *It was pouring rain so one of the porters lent us his umbrella so we could go to our room to unpack a little. *He followed with the bags soon after. *
We stayed on the clothing optional side in an ocean view room (1125). *From previous posts that I had read, I was expecting a handful of upgrades like a flat screen TV, new mattress, and a fresh coat of paint. *Our room had not been upgraded in any way. *That said, we don't watch much TV at home much less at Hedo, so the TV is no big loss. *The bed we had was a pillow top in decent shape, so it was comfortable for us...again, no complaints.
Since I am on the topic of room upgrades, we thought the two model rooms looked really nice. They were both open for people to walk through and take a look. *They are definitely on the modern side, but there are a lot of details that don't show up well in pictures that help to tie them in with the rest of the resort. *For example, the new furniture and built-in cabinets have clean lines but a slightly rustic finish. *The new bathroom design has been discussed a lot as well. *I think it is a very bold design that is a huge improvement over the current bathrooms simply because there is more space. *The decision to use glass between the room and the bath causes some issues under some circumstances, though. *The toilet is not private enough, and turning on the bathroom light at night may disturb others in the room. *In talking with Harry, the new owner, he mentioned that some of the details, like frosting glass or adding curtains could be fixed easily later, and I agree. *The key is to get the walls in the right place first. *
Around mid-week, demolition started on a large number of rooms on the nude side. *All of the rooms, on both floors, between the massage shack and the pool, except for the last block of 8-10 rooms right beside the pool, are closed down. *A temporary plywood fence is in place on the beach side, and the jackhammers and sledgehammers have started to fly. *We saw walls being knocked down, windows removed, bathroom louvers removed, tile being removed, and layout work for decks being started. *The room upgrades are happening. *
At the repeaters party, Harry discussed the upgrade plans and confirmed that not all of the rooms will be getting the full treatment, but that all rooms would get some upgrades. *It sounded like all the rooms would get some new furniture at a minimum. *It sounds like a new class of room is being created, and that may make good business sense.
So that's it on the facilities. *Once we had unpacked we tried to get wifi working because we needed to be able to video conference...unfortunate, but necessary. *We were unable to bill the service to our room, so we had to enter a credit card instead. *No big deal. *
We made our way to the nude pool and found D&M who were hosting the "Some Like It Hot" group this year. *We had a nice sized group, and the trip ranged from nice and relaxing to wild, *depending on the day, and the time of day. *I want to thank D&M, P&K, T, M&S, T&S and M&W for helping to make the trip memorable. * * * **
The Bareass Buccaneers were there as well. *While we weren't traveling with them they were an awesome crew to party with. *I especially want to thank Captain Snake for helping to add a lot of fun to the party. *
The resort was approximately 20% full based on my very informal guess. *There was always a decent crowd at the nude pool. *The chairs by the pool were usually spoken for by*10:30*or so, but there were plenty available on the beach every day. *The new side tables and umbrellas are very welcome. *They are not available for every chair, but there are a lot of them, so you can find shade and a place for your drink if you you need it. *Pool floats were available as needed as well. *
The weather was a little spotty for the first half of the week. *Clouds rolled in around noon time and there were a few storms.* The nude pool cleared out a little when the storms came through, but it was usually busy again for cocktail hour.
Daily activities were a little hit or miss. *My wife was a little disappointed that some of the activities like bocce, body painting, and rock painting didn't happen as scheduled during the week. *That said, the late morning and afternoon games at the nude pool were fun and engaging. *Music at the nude pool was decent. *A few songs were a little over-played, but at least the volume was set so people could talk, but still hear the music. *There was a decent mix of reggae, rock, and dance music. *The only time the music was a problem was the 2 hours where one of the water sports guys plugged in his phone and kept changing songs every 30 seconds instead of letting the song finish. *Lawrence Welk would have been less annoying.
Participation in most of the theme nights was pretty good, if it was a little difficult getting people on stage for the costume contests. *The pirate costumes were especially good, but the couple that dressed as twin school girls was probably my favorite for the week.
I was really impressed with the nightly entertainment. *We missed*Saturday night, but the rest of the week was really well done. *The current group of ECs is talented and they seem to be working well with each other. *The acrobatic and dance performances*on Thursday night*were nothing short of erotic and HOT!
I was a little disappointed with the piano bar this trip. Kemmar does a great job with the crowd, he has a great voice, and seems to be able to play the keyboard pretty well. I say “seems” because it was hard to tell over the backing tracks. For every song I heard, he sang and played over a track that he played from a laptop. In a piano bar, I don’t expect a full reproduction of the original song, just piano and singing. I’m fine with the playing being an interpretation of the original song. I also don’t mind if he plays a keyboard instead of the original piano, but the sound on everything was turned up a little too loud for the number of people who were there. Hopefully that will improve.
The food was generally good this week. * I try to eat more of the Jamaican dishes in general, and those were very good. *There are some foods, like baked goods, that just don't hold up well in the heat and humidity so I try to avoid those. We only made it to the lunch buffet once, but all of the rest of the meals were good. *Most importantly, everything seemed to be freshly made. *Fresh fruits and vegetables were kept cold and were of good quality. *All of the prepared foods looked appetizing. I thought the pasta bar was very good the one night I ate there. Martino’s and Harry-San were both very good, though the cook we had one night at Harry-San could use a little practice.
So in total, I would have to say that the week was great. The resort is making a definite turn for the better in terms of service, food, and appearance. While we go mostly because we can hang out naked and reconnect with each other, it is nice to be able to enjoy the resort as well. We are looking forward to more trips in the future!
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