We had dinner last week with a group of people wearing an x-rated Minnie Mouse costume, and a Donald the Duck costume that came complete with a feathered appendage. Nobody batted an eye, or did anything more than tweak Minnie’s slightly lopsided ears. The Minnie and Donald in questions were two of over 400 “Fluffernutters” that descended on Hedonism II in Negril
Jamaica
this March. The theme that night was “naughty Disney”, and if we had ever wondered what Snow White would look if she “drifted” that question was forever answered by another woman wondering by.
How do we explain the happy, but uniqueness that is Hedonism II – the legendary Superclub resort? Forget what you’ve heard, Hedonism II is appropriate for your adults-only, or girls getaway vacation with a relaxed, inclusive crowd comfortable in their own skins. Try it, it is the sensuous vacation that lets you adventure at your own speed.
On arguably one of the best beaches in the
Caribbean
, Hedo II is the safest place to be sexually silly on the planet. By safest we mean that you can have a vacation from tame to completely crazy, without anyone exposing you, pressuring you, to do anything outside your comfort level. An atmosphere of tolerance permeates the grounds. Along the spectacular beach at Hedo II is a complete ecosystem of sexual culture. And who doesn’t want to be in the know? At least to watch the antics, and to say you had the opportunity to dip your toe in the water? You can spend a week on the “prude side, adjacent, and in view of Sandals Negril reading a book, drinking the famous and frothy “Hummingbird drinks”, in a bathing suit and wrap. If you stay to yourselves on that end of the beach, you might never see and experience anything more daring than the occasional nudist slipping by before a guard hands them a towel. You can have a vacation free of kids, with great weather and affordable prices and never do anything more risqué than hold hands. As you move down the beach you can go topless (or not), and be slightly more likely to see exposed body parts in various shapes and sizes if you know where to look. But you need not do anything other than watch the turquoise ocean and see the pelicans flying over head if your idea of sexuality is tied up in sitting quietly with your partner. Finally, as you cross onto the nude side (and the sign warns of no photography- or clothes are permitted), you can see or participate in playful conversation with naked people. The mantra of any native Jamaican you meet is to bang fists with you in greetings, is “Respect”. And respect, without a doubt, is the underlying tone of Hedonism II.
Hedonism has had a bad wrap of being nothing but sex, and has been a victim of stories that have become larger than life. It isn’t about single men – the people who have the best time are happily married couples, and single women. We think it is the best place around for couples to reconnect or for women to go to discover her groove. We also think every women should celebrate her divorce, bachelor party, or experience the liberating safety of Hedonism once in her lifetime. Nothing happens that you haven’t invited to happen, and new people (and especially new women) are protected and charmed by a Hedo alumni that have been gathering for 30 plus years.
Such it is with groups like The Fluffernutters. The ‘nutters, like many of the naked travel groups that frequent Hedo II, can be defined as “a travel group that meets bi-annually to drink, sunbath , vacation, and laugh-out loud together. The “fluff’s” makes up x rated songs to popular lyrics in the piano bar every night, plays “capture the flag “ on opposing catamarans – dressed as pirates, and dresses up to giggle at each other. Other groups frequent throughout the year, but we enjoyed hanging around the “fluffs”, who all had hats, t-shirts, and beaded necklaces portraying their names. We’ve described Hedonism in a previous article, as “Tropical summer camp for grown-ups”, and that description still holds true. There are other groups with names like Go Classy, and the Bubbly Bares, so if you are looking for a community who get it with that twisted sense of humor that appeals to positive people who smile at you with an occasional well meaning leer, than you might love the connections you can make at a place like Hedonism II.
Hedonism is the “grand dame” of nude and sensuously tolerant resorts, and had become tired in recent years. This visit however, we saw a number of changes happening that are worth reporting. The first is that Kevin Levee, the General Manager that looked after Hedo II during it’s heyday in the 90’s has returned. He brings along a new Executive Chef, Randie Anderson who trained in
Manhattan
, and was most recently at the Miami Sheraton. We noticed a change in the food from his first day on the job. Without an executive chef for awhile, Hedonism’s food had slipped, but we felt our tummies rumble at the upcoming food choices Randie had proposed in his new menus. Kevin took the top three guest frustrations, lack of towels, lousy disco music, and too few chairs on the nude side, and fixed them immediately. We see his influence in empowering his staff to help guests where ever they can, and the atmosphere at Hedonism II is humming. There is the feeling that hedonism II has been neglected and time, attention and resources are going to be thrown her way.