Kevin & Katie - December, 2012
The week before Christmas, December 2012
After much thought, my husband and I decided to vacation at Hedo the week before Christmas so we could experience the resort when occupancy was low. We had a fantastic time and are already planning our next trip. We both agreed it was the most relaxing vacation either of us ever had, hands down.
Regarding the occupancy issue, if you love crowds, enjoy a full disco and piano bar every night, and prefer a lot of guest participation and activity, then the week before Christmas might not be for you. If I had to guess, I would say the resort was about 35-40 percent occupied while we were there. We liked the fact that fewer people meant more open chairs at the beach and pool all day, plenty of chair cushions for everyone, beach tables for our drinks, plenty of open tables in the dining room, and no lines for anything. We loved the relaxed, social environment, and we met some great people during our visit.
We arrived at Montego Bay and made it to the Superclubs lounge. It was empty and quiet. I’ve read some other trip reports that said you fill out a check in form, but we weren’t asked to do that. We just gave them our name, and they said the bus would be there in 10 minutes. We booked our trip before the change, so the transfer was included. About 45-ish minutes and a couple of beers later, the bus arrived. We waited another 20 or so minutes for other passengers, and the driver finally left with just my husband and me on board. By then, it was rush hour and there were tons of pedestrians out and about in the towns we passed. It was a slow ride! I’m not sure if that was due to the driver or to the bus. A couple of times I wasn’t sure if the bus was going to make it up some of those hills. I lost count of how many cars passed us. At one point, the driver stopped along the way. It really didn’t look like a beer stop, so we didn’t get out of the bus. I was beginning to get impatient. This bus ride was taking forever and I was kicking myself for not booking TimAir. I was ready to get this traveling behind us and get to the resort. The driver got out, used the restroom, talked to some guy sitting outside the bathroom, waved to someone else, and finally got back on the bus only to jump out again and run inside to buy himself a snack for the road. My dear husband could tell at that point I was beginning to get irritated, and when I looked at him he just smiled, shrugged, and said, “F*&% it, we’re in Jamaica!” I love that man.
We arrived at the resort about three and a half hours after landing in Montego Bay. Check in was easy. The staff presented us with a couple of mimosas while we filled out our forms. We got our keys and room cards, and the porter showed us to our room. We shed our clothes, applied sunscreen and headed to the nude beach. It was too late to exchange our cards for towels, but the nude beach security gave us a couple of towels as long as we promised to bring our cards in the next day. No problem. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying drinks on the beach and by the pool. The rest of our trip was spent eating, drinking, and relaxing. We were completely disconnected from home – no WiFi or phones for our entire trip. Made the trip even more relaxing. I won’t do a day by day since they were mostly the same, but I will give our thoughts on a few areas:
Food and drinks – We were never hungry or thirsty. Breakfast was the best meal of the day with plenty of selections, including the made-to-order egg and omelet station. We ate lunch in the main dining room only one day. The lunch selection was okay, but we decided it really didn’t warrant interrupting our nudity for a couple of hours. So, we ate at the nude beach grill for lunch the rest of the time. The dinner selection in the main dining room was okay, not great. However, we always managed to find something filling to eat. We also tried Munasan and Martino’s, and I highly recommend Munasan. The service and food were both outstanding. Not sure if we hit Martino’s on a bad night or what, but the food wasn’t really that great. My tenderloin was tough. Service was great, though. The bars always had plenty of alcohol available. Insulated mugs are a must. My only complaint about the drinks is the resort ran out of champagne often. There were usually two bottles next to the juice machines for breakfast, but it ran out early and was not replenished. The nude bar had champagne for part of one day. But again, once it ran out, it wasn’t replenished. A note on drinking – be careful with the sun and alcohol. I had a little too much of both my first day, and it almost ruined my first evening there. Pace yourself and be mindful of your limits.
EC Activities – Due to the low occupancy, the ECs sometimes found it difficult to get willing participants for their activities. We only saw them coordinating activities on the nude beach one day while we were there. The rest of the time, they would stop by and change the music or just hang out. We really didn’t see much of them during the day. On the day we ate lunch at the main dining room, we participated in the EC’s lunchtime activities. I most likely won’t do that again for a couple of reasons. First, as soon as we got our food and sat down to eat, we were called up on stage. Guess we should have gone earlier so we could have eaten before the activities began. The main reason we won’t participate in any onstage activities is camera use by the guests. The ECs announced several times throughout every activity, “No cameras, pictures, or video are allowed while resort guests are on stage.” However, for some reason there were always people that think this doesn’t apply to them and they just keep taking pictures and filming anyway. It was disappointing and irritating. The policy is clear, but it isn’t enforced. I’m not sure what the appropriate answer is. Ban cameras all together from the dining room? That seems a little extreme, and I hate to see everyone punished for a few obnoxious violators. Unfortunately, the camera issue pisses me off and makes me not want to return. I don’t care if your friend is on stage. If I am in any of your pictures or videos, I want those pictures and videos deleted. Period. I don’t dress or behave the same way at home as I do at Hedo since that would end my career. I know most of these pics and videos people take are only shared among their friends, and they most likely won’t make it into the hands of anyone I know. However, I don’t want to take that chance, so I won’t participate in any of the onstage events. I expect the resort to enforce the no camera policy, and they should stop relying on the guests to confront (and possibly get into a fight with) the inconsiderate nitwits taking pictures and videos. It’s my vacation, and I simply should not have to worry about that. Okay, off that soapbox for now.
Club MoBay – We gave it a try this time, but we will skip it next time. It wasn’t worth the money for us since we spent less than an hour there before our flight. Also, there weren’t many travelers at the airport so the Club MoBay expedited lines through immigration and security were not much quicker than the regular lines. Additionally, if Jamaica does away with their exit immigration as is expected, Club MoBay will only be able to offer the expedited line through security. Once we were in Club Mobay, we had one drink each, a few finger sandwiches, and we used the WiFi. We didn’t use any of the other facilities (showers, etc). We were in the quiet room away from kids, so that was nice and peaceful. If you have more time, Club MoBay may be worth the cost for you. We were only there about 45 minutes. Next time we will skip Club MoBay, stop by Margaritaville, grab some food and drinks, then maybe do a little last minute shopping in the airport before our flight.
Beach and pool facilities – There were plenty of chairs available on the beach and at the pool all day. About 30 percent of the chairs had cushions, and they were in average shape (worn, but usable). There were tons of air mattresses available that were left over from previous guests. We were also able to find one of those small plastic tables to use between our chairs each day. One day we ventured over to the clothing optional beach, and there were plenty of fully-nude sunbathers along with some fully-clothed sunbathers. No one seemed to mind either. The plunge pools on the clothing-optional side are nice, but we didn’t use them and we didn’t see anyone else using them. We didn’t see anyone using the waterslide. In fact, we never saw any water flowing down the slide, so maybe it wasn’t working while we were there. During the day, we mostly stayed on the nude side. One thing that disturbed me was security allowed several people to wear full swimsuits at the nude beach and pool all day. I’m not sure why. Of course there were the usual clothed gawkers passing through the nude areas each day, but there were also still plenty of people that hung around the nude side sunning and drinking all day with their suits on. At night, most of the clothed gawkers just passed through. However, I did see more than a few gawkers stop behind the bench near the hot tub. Security allowed them to just stand there and stare for a while like they were watching TV or something. This really bugged me. I mean, either get nude or move along. I would like to see security step up and enforce the nudity rules when they see clothed people just hanging around on the nude side.
Recreational activities – Two snorkeling boats went out each day, and we went once. Next time, we will definitely go snorkeling more and also probably check out the catamaran cruise to Rick’s Café. Neither of us are divers, but we saw the diving boat go out several times. One morning, we took a walk down the beach past Sandals. The sand seemed softer at Sandals, but no one was nude. So, no thanks – we will stick with Hedo! We saw a bar on the beach past Sandals that offered free WiFi (with a drink purchase, I’m sure). We didn’t stop in, but thought it was worth mentioning for future visitors. If you’re into fitness, the gym is top notch. We didn’t participate in the fitness classes, but there were morning yoga and spinning classes (next time!). One of the fitness trainers offered a water aerobics class each morning in the nude pool.
Rooms – Our room was basic and comfortable. It was always cool and clean, and we had plenty of fresh towels, washcloths, and a floor mat each day. We left small gifts (mostly chocolate candies) for housekeeping each day because one of my favorite and most appreciated parts of vacation is no housework! The water pressure in the shower was a little on the light side, but we always had plenty of hot water. Of course, it would be nice if the bathrooms were a little larger, but we brought hanging toiletry bags to help with the lack of counter space. I also read somewhere that someone brings one of those over-the-door shoe organizers (folds flat in their luggage), and they hang it on the bathroom door for all of their toiletries. Good idea if you have a lot of bathroom stuff. We didn’t spend much time in our room. We were only there to sleep at night and nap before dinner.
Nightly entertainment – We enjoyed the band before and during dinner. The ECs work very hard to put on a good dinner show each night. The band volume is pleasant for dinner, but it gets a little loud when the EC show begins. Again, due to low occupancy, the ECs had a hard time getting audience response or participation during the shows. We went to the piano bar once after dinner, and there were enough people to fill the chairs around the piano. The piano player played a few sing along songs and took requests, and that was fun while it lasted. But then one of the ECs came in and took over the mic. He sang a couple of songs and then said, “Okay, everybody to the disco!” The piano bar shut down and we went to the disco. There were only about four people in there, so we didn’t stay long. That was our only night in the piano bar, and the disco was empty all week every time we walked by, even on PJ party night. We went to the hot tub a couple of times in the evening, and there were only a couple of people there. We didn’t stay up late most nights, so not sure if the disco, piano bar, and hot tub emptiness was due to the early hour or low occupancy.
Leaving Hedo, our trip back to the airport was uneventful. Hedo was the last pickup for the bus, so they squeezed our luggage into the full bus and we found a couple of empty seats. It was a beautiful day, just before Christmas in Jamaica so everyone was out and about. I slouched down in my seat and snoozed, soaking up a few final rays of Jamaican sunshine, and listening to Bob Marley on the radio. Heaven.
So overall, we had a great time and cannot wait to go back. There were a few negative things during our trip, but the only thing that was really bad for us was the unauthorized picture and video taking. Other than that, everything else was a workable issue. Also, if you are hesitant about being nude, please try it at least once. Worst case scenario, you can put your clothes back on and go to the clothing optional beach (but you won’t, I promise). For me, it was the most liberating and relaxing experience of my life. Sure, I was nervous and a little self-conscious at first. But I got over it quick. Relax and do what you want on your vacation. You’re in a judgment-free zone. Enjoy!