Piano Bar

[D and C]

The Piano Bar was our Favourite place to go after dinner . Can anyone update us as to how it is now with Dion gone?

[lauraff7]

We were there in April. The new piano player is a Jamaican named Dave. He is a very good musician, both piano and trumpet, and is quickly learning the Hedo ropes. Some of the nights we were there the piano bar was truly rocking with nearly 100% crowd participation, other nights not as much (just as has always been the case). Stephanie was there some of the nights- to be honest, we far preferred the nights she was NOT there- Dave does better without her, she is too much into performing and plugging her latest recording. Denise (former EC, now works the front office) also came by a couple of nights and was a lot of fun.

[D and C]

We were there in April. The new piano player is a Jamaican named Dave. He is a very good musician, both piano and trumpet, and is quickly learning the Hedo ropes. Some of the nights we were there the piano bar was truly rocking with nearly 100% crowd participation, other nights not as much (just as has always been the case). Stephanie was there some of the nights- to be honest, we far preferred the nights she was NOT there- Dave does better without her, she is too much into performing and plugging her latest recording. Denise (former EC, now works the front office) also came by a couple of nights and was a lot of fun.

Thanks, we will be there Early June, we hope it is as fun as it used to be, but unfortunately, things change.

[2Nats]

We were just there. Agree that Dave is a strong musician, for sure. He's pretty shy tho, so Stephanie does all the patter and runs the show. Dave's also still learning the repertoire. Winston was guest vocalist one night, and we had a good chat with him at the end.

The two nights we went, it was on the tame side and not super well attended, mainly because the resort attendance dropped off on Sat after the big groups left. But we went and had a good time.

[splisskin]

So Dave shy and more of a musician than singer but does he still get people up on the piano and do the usual like YMCA, sweet caroline , leave your hat on....

Other than Eldon drinks, Dion's antics were the only other thing that brought me to the piano bar. I remember after Dion's stroke the guy that was there for a while was ok but he couldnt really replace Dion. If this is as shy not really a singeer as people have said seems like the place will be kinda dull.

[splisskin]

So Dave shy and more of a musician than singer but does he still get people up on the piano and do the usual like YMCA, sweet caroline , leave your hat on....

Has anyone been there lately and have an update?

Other than Eldon drinks, Dion's antics were the only other thing that brought me to the piano bar. I remember after Dion's stroke the guy that was there for a while was ok but he couldnt really replace Dion. If this is as shy not really a singeer as people have said seems like the place will be kinda dull.

[The Travel Slut]

I was there in late June and the piano bar was hit or miss with energy and talent.

I did go 8 or 9 nights at least to have a drink or to go to the "back room" and socialize with friends with the music in the background.

Always worth a check-in and determine what "vibe" is happening that particular night

[Canada fun]

Just returned and was very disappointed in the piano bar. This was our nightly place to go in the past but we found ourselves leaving after a short period of time. Stephanie was good as usual but the new guy Dave was horrible. We went in with open minds to give him a chance but got quickly let down. After more then 20 trips we find ourselves in the position of strongly considering a change in resorts.

[HedoJoe]

After more then 20 trips we find ourselves in the position of strongly considering a change in resorts.

Just because you don't like the piano bar?

[HedoJoe]

After more then 20 trips we find ourselves in the position of strongly considering a change in resorts.

Just because you don't like the piano bar?

[D and C]

Just because you don't like the piano bar?

The Piano Bar is an important part of the "old" nightly entertainment vibe for many people. If that changes dramatically, there are a few other resorts that are similar resorts which I can see the guests wanting to try out. We were there in June and October last year and it was definitely not as much fun. That being said, There have to be more socially engaging piano players on the island who would do a great Dion like job as Dave seems pretty average and not really into the Hedo Vibe. Hit and miss is not really acceptable.

[Ontario]

We were here and just came home Sept 10th.... this was the first time I have ever seen that you had to audition to sing before hand.. the piano bar is or "was" a huge social area for nightly entertainment. While we were there there were a number of times we met up with "day/night" guests.. Their whole reason for leaving their resort and coming over to Hedo was because the nightlife at their resort was pretty much null as of 8 pm. This is pretty much what is taking place over at Hedo except for the time difference of 10pm, instead of 8pm. Although there were a handful more people in the piano bar when Stephanie was there, but then the new piano Guy "Dave" either played to slow, or out of key... even Stephanie was not impressed by it..

Harry needs to rethink the piano bar before things go down hill from there... I realize that the piano bar is just a small spot when it comes to "Hedo" as a whole... but if the night life is that bad everywhere else and the other guests are jumping ship to come to Hedo. Than we need to step up the game..

[Ontario]

We were here and just came home Sept 10th.... this was the first time I have ever seen that you had to audition to sing before hand.. the piano bar is or "was" a huge social area for nightly entertainment. While we were there there were a number of times we met up with "day/night" guests.. Their whole reason for leaving their resort and coming over to Hedo was because the nightlife at their resort was pretty much null as of 8 pm. This is pretty much what is taking place over at Hedo except for the time difference of 10pm, instead of 8pm. Although there were a handful more people in the piano bar when Stephanie was there, but then the new piano Guy "Dave" either played to slow, or out of key... even Stephanie was not impressed by it..

Harry needs to rethink the piano bar before things go down hill from there... I realize that the piano bar is just a small spot when it comes to "Hedo" as a whole... but if the night life is that bad everywhere else and the other guests are jumping ship to come to Hedo. Than we need to step up the game..

[Sappycpl2003]

We just got back yesterday (Sep. 13) and I’d say the Piano Bar was hit and miss for sure. This was our first trip but we thought that was just a smaller part of a bigger question. Where was the crazy nightlife? We tried the piano bar 4 times. One time was pretty fun. One time was okay. The other two were fairly dead. The nightclub? We really wanted that to fun. But every time we looked in there it was completely dead. We went in with two other couples one night and a few others showed up but it never totaled more than 15 guests before, after 45 minutes, we gave up and went to the nude pool.
I realize we were there during the slow time of the year but we hoped for a bit more nightlife.
We went to the Jamaican night on the beach and chatted a bit with others til about 9. We decided to go swim at the nude beach but we’re told that the water is off limits at night. Ok, we will try the nude pool. Nope, closed for cleaning. Circle through the resort looking for a good vibe......and nothing. So went back to our room for a while. Went back out later and both the piano bar and nightclub were dead. So, as became our pattern, we went to the nude pool. And we had some good chats there and ended up in the playroom with another couple one night. But the night vibe at the pool never came close to the afternoon vibe at the nude pool. That truly was the highlight for us. That, along with the staff (who were mostly wonderful) and the location would be the things that might bring us back. I probably wouldn’t have wrote this but several other people we talked said similar things.
1. There is a dead time between dinner and the night activities
2. The gathering places at night didn’t have much going on.
I realize we there during a slower time and we talked about coming during a busier time.
A couple last thoughts. The owner made the catamaran trip on Tuesday free and that was also a highlight. He didn’t have to do that and it was a lot of fun. Totally worth paying for. And the people we met there were great. We went from nervous to having a great time in a matter of minutes during our first day trip to the nude pool. And we might be back.

[Papa Smurf]

Agree completely with Ontario and Sappycpl2003. To which I will add that in our opinion the piano bar was, with Dion the strong evening bridge between dinner and the night time nude pool. Now we find that two nights is the most you want to spend, and not two long visits. I believe the issue is format. If my memory is correct Dion was more than capable of playing most nights singing a "playlist" of songs that were repeated nightly because everyone sings along (you know the songs, and stuff he might only do once weekly in rotation. With Dion the show flowed. Stephanie is pretty talented, no question. The piano player, not sure of his name, is pretty good too. Watched him on a number of occasions learn a new songs by ear by listening to a guest's phone in 5 to 10 minutes. Impressive yes, but guess what everyone did for that 5 to 10 minutes? Watch him listen to a phone. For one song, that one guest wanted to sing, the rest of the guests just sat and the flow of the show stopped. Sure karioki might be fun, but not every night. Make it one night a week. The rest of the time play a program. Sure allow requests, Dion did. If one person can't fill a 6 day playlist rotation bring in other people on other nights. I too saw some tension between Stephanie and the piano player. Maybe time together will help that.