We flew into MB from Miami about 4:30PM on Sat 6/12. We didn't want to take the 2-hr bus ride to Negril so we went to the SuperClub desk and asked them what to do. They called the Jamaica Airlink desk and had a bus take us to the separate terminal. We flew with 4 other people on a small plane. The ride was 15 minutes and very calm with a beautiful evening view of the coast the whole way.
When we got to Hedo, we filled out the paperwork and waited at the bar with our first banana daquiris for about a half hour. When we returned to the front, our key was ready.
We stayed on the Garden View-Nude side overlooking the basketball court. It was far enough from the disco that the music was barely audible. The basketball court was never busy so it was pretty quiet there. We could even hear the couple next door every time they got wild and crazy (a lot of moaning and groaning). Not to worry, we did a lot of moaning and groaning of our own in return.
Our first night, we ate some wonderful roast lamb, fresh vegetables, fruits, and strawberry mousse dessert. There was no way to sample the multiple selections without stuffing ourselves and we didn't want to do that since we love to dance. The show started at 9:30. They had 3 guys in their early 20s who had flown in on our flight in first class (they were in business suits then). They did R&B, oldies, rap, reggae, and hip-hop music during their 1 1/2 hour show. We danced to almost every song.
When the show ended, we headed to the piano bar, where Dave had already been playing. They had song books with the lyrics to about 200 songs for everyone to sing along with. They had a microphone with a verrryyy long cord that they would pass to anyone who wanted to lead a song. Just call out the number and everyone would turn to the page and sing along.
Dave sang some very funny (bawdy) songs that weren't in the book which everyone thought were hilarious. The drinks were flowing freely and kept everyone loose and in a fun mood.
We left the piano bar at around 1AM to go to the nude hot tub. We stripped down in the room cause it was on the way and we also didn't want to fuss with our clothes at the pool area. We just wore our towels and it became our usual mode of dress whenever we were not headed to the main hall or the disco. There were about 30 people in the hot tub, with room for about 15 more.
We had already met some people at the piano bar who had gotten to the hot tub about an hour before us. They greeted us and introduced us to others so our circle of friends grew quickly. Being friendly and silly in the piano bar (and dancing every song in the main hall) seemed to help people notice us and become open to conversation. Our new friends were buzzing about the discreet pairings that were and had been occurring in certain parts of the hot tub. The action was not outrightly visible this night, but you could tell some couples were enjoying each other. We stayed until about 2AM and finally went to bed.
The next morning (Sunday), we ate breakfast about 9AM. The made-to-order omelettes are highly recommended. We also loved the crispy bacon, fried potatoes, and soft croissants. The fruits are fresh and plentiful. The coffee is strong and delicious and I love the pineapple juice for breakfast.
We hit the nude beach about 10AM and easily shed our inhibitions and clothes. There were still chairs and floats available. We used SPF30 sunscreen for sensitive spots and SPF15 elsewhere and were able to stay out until about 3PM. We should have brought bug spray because there were little ants under the trees and I guess sand fleas that bit us all week long and made us itchy. Mostly we floated on the water, or on the platform anchored about 20 yards offshore. The bottom is rocky and overgrown with prickly seaweed so walking around is not recommended. It is better to float above it but it is only about 3 feet deep. We met many of the friends from the night before and made so much noise that several others joined our group. We talked about other vacations, resorts, careers, family, food... you name it, we covered it. The bars started serving about 10AM so we were always drinking something. We also tried a hamburger and fries from the grill but it wasn't as good as we expected. We later found that the grilled cheese and turkey was better. And of course, the jerk chicken served at 6PM is among the best on the island.
Rains came every day about 3PM and if it didn't rain hard, most of us just moved to the nude pool and swam around in the rain. On two days, it poured hard enough that everyone ran for their rooms. It would usually only last an hour or two, then everyone would reemerge to continue the camaraderie.
Sunday was reggae night at the main hall. We had made reservations at Pastafari's for 8:30PM and the food there was excellent. They have a antipasto bar with some exquisite appetizers to go with their fine selection of pasta, fish, veal, and meat dishes. Pastafari's is the only place you can get champagne. We carried some orange juice from the main hall to make mimosas since we don't care for straight champagne (too dry).
We danced reggae after dinner until 10:30PM and then hit the piano bar again to sing along with Dave until about 1AM. The hot tub was next. The guards behaved themselves this night (lol) and we again saw discreet sexual shenanigans going on. Nothing blatant, but still stimulating. We got worked up enough to search out a hammock near the rocky point at the edge of the property and had a nice session under the stars until about 2:30AM. The power went out about once each night about 2AM for a second or two, enough to mess up the digital clocks in the rooms. We were in the hammock when the entire 7 miles worth of lights we could see along the beach went black and slowly came back on. Pretty sight.
The next day was much the same as the others with the exception that there were two couples during the day at the nude pool who put on a show for everyone. One was a lesbian couple who were enjoying each other openly. They must have inspired another girl to pleasure her guy orally for a short while. The guards were agitated but the action cooled on its own. I think the two couples just liked being noticed.
Dave, the piano player was off on Monday and Tuesday night. They had a karoake machine set up instead and we sang to that. There was a lively (and 20ish) crowd from the prude side there and were making sure everyone had a good time. The hot tub scene was lively before midnight but was mostly good conversation from then until 3AM on Monday night.
Tuesday night was PJ night at the disco. There were all kinds of outfits from see-thru to SM leather. Two girls were definitely into each other on the stage and their hands were roaming freely. They said no video was allowed but cameras were okay. We did see some video cameras early but the staff made them shut them off within the first half hour. The guards at the hot tub were particularly conspicuous this night so the hot tub was relatively crowded but calm (at least while we were there until 3AM).
We went into town on Wed about 10AM. We didn't use the hotel excursion (too pricey). We just walked out the main drive and a cab pulled up to ask if we wanted a ride before we even got to the highway. I offered him 10 bucks to carry us into Negril but I think he would have done it for 5. He didn't have change for a 20 so he offered to wait for us. I told him okay and we shopped for about an hour at the shopping center between the circle and Rick's Cafe. The prices for souveniers was better than at Hedo but there were no Hedo shirts anywhere but at Hedo. The cabbie also stopped at the craft market by the river on the way back so that we could pick up a carved wooden giraffe (my wife collects them). Back at Hedo, I gave the guy the whole 20 and he was very appreciative.
On Thursday, we took out the large catamaran for a spin. I have never sailed in my life and my wife had to talk me into it. We got 5 minutes of instruction on sailing. It was enough. We were out in the bay for about 1 1/2 hours and had a ball. We shed the lifevests and our clothes after about 15 munutes and just had fun going back and forth with me playing captain and she playing cabin girl (even though HobieCats don't have a cabin).
We went out pretty far (about a mile?) and swung from the end of the beach near Negril to the small island where the drinking games are held. If you have never tried a catamaran, I highly recommend it. We got a laugh when we were headed back to the beach by tacking into the wind. On one tack, I was headed directly at the glass bottom boat that was a little ways offshore but was empty except for one guy (the skipper?). I didn't mean to get so close to him but he thought we were coming close to buy whatever it was he was selling. He offered ganja, hash, pills, and whatever and couldn't understand that we didn't want to buy anything - we were just trying to get back to shore.
We did the nude body painting later. You paint each other and they provide the paint and brushes. They didn't have enough red paint to go around and it was hard to be creative. We didn't win any prize for our efforts. The prizes for all contests are typically given as play money. You should enter every contest you can and collect the play money until the end of your trip. You can buy some items each morning at 8:30AM at the main hall stage but you need A LOT of play money. We got a bottle of Tia Maria for 40,000 dollars. The Hedo teeshirts were about 150,000 dollars. Each contest will earn you about 10,000-20,000.
If you go when Shaka is there, please tell her hello. She is one of the most friendly members of the excellent staff and loves to make a scene. She kept us in stitches when she caught a guy swimming near the platform on the nude side with swim trunks on. She loudly called him up onto the platform to make him strip in front of all the 100 or so people on the nude beach. He said he would let her take his suit off and she obliged, pulling it down slowly and sensuously. Unfortunately for her, this guy was hung like a horse and she let out a big "OH, MY GOD!" and pretended to pass right out splayed across the platform. The guy was good natured about it and went along with the laughter from the beach. Everyone loved it and Shaka's reaction was hilarious.
Thursday night was toga night. The togas appeared on our bed about 2PM. We watched the toga tying demo and got some great ideas. You can't tear or cut the togas so safety pins and maybe some scotch tape are great. You aren't supposed to wear underwear under the toga and the rule is 'no-sheet, no-eat' in the main hall but we saw some underwear and some non-toga diners. They must not know how to have fun by joining in the spirit of the evening.
Thursday night is also the staff/guest talent show. I was invited to sing in the talent show by some staff members who heard me in the piano bar. There was a rehearsal with the live band and I was able to pull off a pretty good rendition of Unchained Melody thanks to the great skill of the band. I dedicated it to my lovely wife of 25 years and got a standing ovation even before I had finished the song. What an ego trip that was!
We stayed in the hot tub until 2:30AM on this, our last night. No funny business anywhere this night cause the guards were on pins and needles but that gave us a chance to say our goodbyes to the people we had met.
We got up at 4:30 to catch our 5:45 flight out of Negril to MB. We took a taxi from the Hedo to the small airport (only about 1/4 mile). The funny part was that we passed this guy up walking along the highway pulling a suitcase. It turned out to be our pilot. He caught up with us at the airport, greeted us, and unlocked the gate to the runway. There is no terminal there, only some portable buildings but they were deserted at this time of morning.
The pilot loaded our bags into the smallest plane (4 seater) and started it up to warm it up. After a few minutes he came and escorted us to the plane, seated us, got in and proceeded to give us the standard spiel about operating the seat belt, floation devices, life vests, exits, and so on. He was so professional and only about 30ish. We loved it. We took off on time and had a smooth flight to MB. We watched over his shoulder on the approach and it was a great thrill since we had never flown on a small plane before.
At the Jamaica Airlink terminal, he unloaded our bags and led us to the terminal door. The AA terminal is at the other end of the airport and he said a bus would take us over there. Then he goes out, unlocks a bus and drives it over to us, loads the bags, and drives us over there. It was a hoot and I tipped him 10 bucks because we had never before had a pilot so anxious to please.
We were boarding our 7AM flight by 630. Man, what a vacation. We will be back again.