Originally Posted by
rast67
This was our 4th trip to Hedo II, and we travelled with happy anticipation.
We arrived on a Thursday late morning, so we went through immigration and customs faster than ever before. There is no welcome lounge anymore but we had booked transportation with our travel agent (Tom’s trips), so we were guided to a desk where a lady gave us our bus voucher and checked us in for the bus ride. We were picked up shortly, and a little more than an hour after arriving at MBJ we were in the bus and moving!
No funny songs or beer stops on the way this time. Guess it depends on who you are riding with, plus it was pouring rain when we left the airport.
We had booked OVN – we always request a room in the same area because we love our maid (Sadie…give her a hug from us when you are in 2219 or close by). Our room was ready in a few minutes, so we went in and unpacked (we have to do that right away, or chaos takes over…)
We had not booked a premium room, so here are the changes we saw to the “old” room we were in:
1) A new flat screen TV. The first day we did not get any channels but found out that the provider was down all around Negril. Not the resort’s fault! Worked perfectly after that was solved.
2) We had a new bed, new blanket and sheets. New curtains as well.
3) Mini fridge in the room, not stocked but still helpful (you can have it stocked for extra cost)
4) An umbrella in the closet
5) Two beach towels in the closet. No more towel cards. You can basically go and get towels when you need them – and when they have them. Had a few towel shortages during our stay…as well as people who think taking 10 towels at once will help…
6) New shower head. One day we managed to break it off (sometimes you hit that thing when you turn), and all over sudden had water running…no, pouring! out of the wall into the closet. Fun!! But they had it fixed within an hour, no more issues for the rest of our stay. What a relief, we loved our room and did not want to move.
Other changes we saw throughout the resort: the food was better than last year. More choices, and fresher. Midnight pizza at the nude grill, in general Delroy’s being open way longer at night time. Also the burgers, Jerk chicken, and chicken pastrami sandwiches were a welcome change for lunch. We had two lobster nights, and both were delicious. The beer tasted always fresh, last year it was a bit stale at times. We also saw management walking around and speaking to guests and staff and making sure things went as expected. New Hobbie Cats for the sailors among us! We had heard that everything except the main dining room was clothing optional now, however I was not allowed to be top less at the prude grill. On this note, the clothes/naked STASI (police) were a bit inconsistent. There were times when hubby was barely at the beach, when he was told to strip (literally standing in front of the beach chair for less than 10 seconds). Other times we saw people standing at Delroy’s with shorts, shirts, bikinis and other clothing and nothing was said. One of the most ridiculous incidents was when the clothes/naked police told a woman to remove her belly chain (besides that she was in her birthday suit).
Two things that we really think need to be addressed: the piano bar and the disco. The piano bar atmosphere was fun, buzzing, people partying…all good. BUT when you walk in, there is a smell of old, stale alcohol that drove me (Mrs) out after a while. The disco: some nights were more fun than others, as always. Music is a question of personal taste, so we won’t discuss which songs we liked more than others. Like the piano bar, the disco has a smell problem. We are not sure what it was but also something old, stale, just like the place had never seen fresh air.
We really liked the entertainment – great choreographies and very well performed. And, of course, Winston!!! Always great to see him perform.
We definitely had a wonderful time, met old friends and found new ones. The atmosphere around the nude pool and Delroy’s that we love so much was there all the time and we enjoyed it. How do you describe that to vanilla people? The amazing feeling to stand at the bar with nothing but a drink (and maybe a hat), chatting and interacting with people around you. As every other time before, we were perfectly happy with everybody being so friendly and open.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip. New friends (M&T, C&A, D&L, C&J) and of course meeting up with our established friends. We love that place and we will be back!!
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