Trip Date – February 2 – February 6, 2000
We returned last night from one of the best trips we’ve ever had. We’ve
been to Hedo II twice and now Hedo III once. I’m not sure I could go back
to Hedo II ever again. Two main reasons: the staff and the food.
Arrival
We left the airport via a Superclubs minivan about forty-five minutes after
landing. The ride was one hour and twenty minutes. It was just a tad
longer than expected as we dropped a couple off at Grand Lido Braco first.
The minivan held nine people but we had six. Two people were moved to
another van to make it more comfortable for everyone. No drinks were served
like they were on the Hedo II bus. The ride was bumpy, but not too bad.
The ride returning was only an hour and five minutes, but we were all
nauseous from how bumpy it was.
Check-In
Check-In was flawless. We were met by one of the entertainment staff who
asked us what we wanted to drink. We both had champagne. Not a bad way to
start off. The paperwork was done in less than five minutes and they called
a bellman to take us to our room with the luggage.
The Room
Beautiful. No comparison to Hedo II. The rooms were big, with plenty of
drawer and closet space. The rooms came with a hair dryer, an iron and
ironing board, clock radio with cassette and CD player, cable TV (with the
Playboy channel to add spice) and air conditioning that really worked. The
air conditioner used a remote control that you kind of needed a Ph.D. to
understand but after a few minutes, it was no problem. The bathroom has a
nice Jacuzzi bathtub that also had a shower. There was a soap dispenser and
a shampoo dispenser so you do not need to bring any shampoo with you. The
bathroom could have had more counter space, but it was adequate. As with
the bedroom, there was a mirror over the bathtub.
The choice of buildings is important. Everyone kept telling us to get
building 6. Buildings six through nine are on the nude side and facing the
beach. The couple we went with got building 6 and were upset because it was
right by the nude pool and hot tub. They had problems with the excessive
noise late afternoon, and of course, all night long. We were warned away
from building 8 which is right outside of the basketball court and the
disco, and of course, that’s the building we got. No problem mon. The
noise did not bother us at all. In fact, I would request that same building
again. We were on the first floor which had two doors (to the beach and to
the front). I’d personally try the second or third floors to get a better
view, and to be able to keep the windows open without any security concerns.
The Food
Fantastic. We’ve been to many islands and taken many cruises, and this was
one of the best we’ve ever had. The main dining room had a wonderful buffet
(much better than Hedo II). There were three restaurants (Japanese, Italian
and Jamaican). The first night we ate at the main buffet and had grilled
lobster for dinner. The next night we ate at the Japanese restaurant (like
a Nichi Bai Kai) and had a great time. We ate at the Italian restaurant
twice after that. Be careful with reservations though. The activities
sheet says reservations are taken at 9 am the same morning. They’re
actually taken starting at 7 am. When we made reservations for the Japanese
restaurant, we could only get 9:30 pm as everything earlier was already
taken.
The breakfasts were great in the main dining room. We ate one lunch there
and the rest at the nude pool area. There was also food from 12 am to 3 am
which included everything from omelet’s to chicken to pasta and desserts.
The fruit was great.
The Entertainment
There is no question that Hedo III is not yet up to par with the wildness of
Hedo II. However, the entertainment staff is wonderful. They are
personable, they get you involved, they make the trip. If you email me, I’
ll send you a daily activities list. We did find that half the people did
not get involved. Only half dressed up for toga night for example (Hedo III
gives out colored sheets – a real switch from Hedo II’s white sheets). We
went all prepared with wild costumes for the costume party and virtually no
one (three people) dressed up. It may be that Hedo III is too new and
travel agents aren’t telling their clients what activities there are. But,
we found so much going on and the evening entertainment so great, there was
no slow time as we’ve found at Hedo II.
The disco was a disappointment. It opened up at 11:00. This was too late.
It should’ve started at 10:00. And they mainly played music to the staff’s
liking, not to the guests. We went in every night but didn’t stay too long.
We went in to the piano bar three times. Two times it was so cold we walked
right out, and the last time it was too hot. The place was packed, but it
was not for us.
The glass bottom hot tub by the disco is nice, but no big thrill. The water
slide is a lot of fun. It operates during the day (you must wear a bathing
suit) and at night (you can be nude). A scientific study was done that you
travel much faster (two seconds faster) being nude. The water slide was
fast. I mean, real fast. Recommendation, when it opens up towards the
bottom, either hold your nose or sit up. Otherwise you’ll be drinking the
water. You can see a section of the water slide in the disco, but the
speeds are so fast it’s just a quick blur, not a major event.
Water Stuff , Circus and Other
Hedo III offers sailing on your own, water skiing, scuba, snorkeling (my
wife said snorkeling was only fair), catamaran (this came with a captain),
kayaking and of course trapeze and juggling for free. They had wind surfing
sails set up, but I never saw any boards or anyone even trying it. Massages
are great (ask for Nicole), and they cost $70 for an hour of $35 for a
half-hour. Make your reservation for a massage in the lobby, at the room
next to the trip desk. Check out the trip desk if you want to go horseback
riding, play golf, go to Dunns River Falls, etc. There is a sauna and a
steam room on both the nude and prude side. Right by the basketball are
three pool tables, two ping pong tables, tons of board games, sumo wrestling
outfits and a big screen TV. The exercise facility was small but nice. My
wife is a personal fitness trainer so she can tell you more if you email us
including about their kickboxing, and aerobics classes, etc.
Nude Pool and Stuff
We spent most of our time on the nude side. Unfortunately the pool water
was very cold as was the ocean water. Not really sure why considering it
was in the 80’s every day. The nude pool was smaller than I would have
liked, but with few people in it, it was okay. The nude hot tub was
connected to the nude pool and much smaller than Hedo II, but still a nice
size. It probably held thirty people. The nude beach is very small, but
also nice. You must wear water shoes in the ocean or forget having feet.
Obviously, Hedo III was built on a part of the island without natural
beaches. There were not a ton, but there were enough rafts for those who
wanted it. The ocean at the nude beach is surrounded by boulders that
create no wave water.
Everyone has written in that the bar at the nude pool was designed wrong.
Yup. The only true access is by being in the pool. But if the pool is too
cold… You can also get to the nude bar by leaning over railings on either
side and it worked out fine. Talk to Lincoln. He is a great bartender who
makes everyone feel at home. Also, make sure you try his “Lincoln
Continental.”
The Prude Side
The quad buildings (buildings 1 – 4) are for the prude people. The
buildings are in a square that surround their own huge pool and hot tub.
Very nice but no one was ever in them. They do not face the ocean. The
main prude pool was also never crowded. It was also very big. I’m not sure
why the prude side has two huge pools and a bigger beach, but that’s the way
it is (for now). The prude beach was where all the water sports were and
also where the circus trapeze was set up.
Sex and Stuff
If you are offended, stay on the prude side, or go to Sandals. There is
open sex at the hot tub in the late afternoon and at night. We greatly
enjoyed body shots which were very different than what we had research on
the web. A girl (once we saw a guy) would lay down on top of the nude bar.
One or more guys (sometimes girls) would line up along her body and as the
bartender poured liquor all over her, the guys would lick it off.
Obviously, the focus was on the forbidden areas. The hot tub had a
temperature problem. One night way too hot. Another just perfect, and then
next it would be a tad too cool. This needs to be fixed. We did smell a
lot of pot being smoked, but it was concealed fairly well from view.
The Staff
This was the highlight of the trip. Every staff person was beyond
exceptional. Everyone talked to you and everyone cared whether you had a
good time. This made the whole trip. I’d summarize it like this – there is
a worker who is cleaning rocks and seaweed from the nude ocean beach. When
taking a break and going up to the bar for a soda, he would always walk by
and ask if I wanted something to drink, or he would pick up empty glasses
and return them to the bar. For a gentleman in his field of work to go out
of his way for guests, this shows a great philosophy of the resort, and
wonderful employee training.
Recommendations and Suggestions
-Bring water shoes for the nude beach.
-Bring insect repellant if you plan on spending time on the sand at night.
-Ladies, bring a sweater for the piano bar or the restaurants.
-No need to drag a hair dryer, iron or shampoo (unless picky about those
things).
-Bring one bathing suit for daytime water sliding or water sports.
-Bring a costume, but don’t be surprised if you end up not wearing it.
-You can use your safe deposit box keychain to hold your room key, or you
bring a wrist chain to hold your room key.
-Be patient with towels. They seem to have a problem supplying enough. We
ended up going to the water slide to get them or taking some at night for
the next morning.
-Call collect to the US. Even though you have a sheet in your room that
says you can dial out, you cannot. You either go to the front desk, put
down a $100 deposit (yes, I said $100) and use the resort’s system to call
out (they use their own AT&T or Sprint system and also charge you $2 per
minute as a surcharge. We know of someone who made three fifteen minute
calls home. It was a $300 bill! We called collect and the resort charged
us a one-time $3 surcharge.
David & Stacey