James & Leesa, 01/00

A HEDO III PERSPECTIVE

[from a non-Hedo II veteran]

We've only been to Hedo II once (last year), so we didn't have a lot of preconceived expectations for Hedo III. We'd read a number of trip reports and were a bit concerned, but had high hopes - especially after meeting a number of people on DennyP's web site who were just as determined to have a great time. In the end, just as at Hedo II, it was the people who made it all fun!

FIRST, THE BAD:

Whoever said "the architect/designer should be shot" was probably right. Among the strange designs at Hedo III...

• The quad pool: Surrounded on all 4 sides by 3 story buildings, so a lot of the pool is in the shade a lot of the time. We only saw a few people around the pool at any time, and never saw anyone actually in it. Our own assessment - go for oceanfront instead of poolside rooms.
• The single tier dining room: Only ~20 tables (80 people) can really see the entertainment floor.
• The nude pool: Makes up only ~20% of the resort's pool area, but serves over 60% of the guests. Lounge chairs had to be packed arm-to-arm, and they were still all gone well before noon.
• The nude pool bar: You literally have to climb into the cold pool to order a drink, or they have to stretch to reach you. The bartenders must hate this more than the guests.

The overwhelming majority of staff are great. But we guess that when you suddenly staff a new resort, you have some problems. Among our experiences in just the first 24 hours...

• The front desk staff was spotty at best, yet the management seemed to be trying. We received no activities schedule at check-in, and came back later to request one. Were told they were out, and we'd have to come back after they could make a copy - yet there were 3 people standing around at the front desk and no guests in line. Strangest part - heard EXACTLY the same complaint from another guest who checked in the next day. Then, when we did get it, a lot of info on the activities sheet was incorrect (listed the Japanese Restaurant as "closed").
• Had lunch in the Jamaican Restaurant (or tried to). We ordered and told our waitress that we'd be up on the sun deck where the bar is. 45 minutes later, still no lunch. So we went down and found they'd put a bunch of orders for new tables ahead of ours (it wasn't even on the grill yet). Our only guess is that our waitress didn't want to carry our order upstairs.
• A watersports staff member who took us out on the Hobie Cat (must be escorted here due to high wind), and really didn't want to because it was near 4pm (quitting time). He complained about his manager (who we thought was great), and said he was ready to quit. A real attitude!
• Found little enforcement of the "nude" rule on the nude pool/beach. In fact, staff even gave a tour of the nude pool to a half dozen visitors.
• No bananas for drinks at the nude bar, and apparently no plans to go up to the dining room and get some (this was resolved by the 2nd day).
• Piano bar was closed the first night- equipment problem.
• 2nd morning (~11am): couldn't find a beach towel in the whole resort. People were threatening to stage a nude sit-in in the lobby.

Of course, these type of things happen and you roll with them in Jamaica. But still...

SUGGESTIONS TO HEDO III

• Heat the nude pool a couple of degrees. This was a common complaint in trip reports, and an even bigger complaint from EVERYONE while there. It was virtually unusable except for brief periods on the hottest days. Someone even suggested using 55-gallon garbage cans to transfer water between the hot tub and the pool.
• Kill a few lights. Having the buildings and grounds so brightly lit doesn't make for a cozy resort (some Hedo II vets complained of not finding a single dark corner - lol). Disconnect a few lights... change to lower wattage bulbs... whatever. Save the electricity and put it into heating the nude pool!
• Change the nude side pathway signs, which seem to invite "this way to view the nude pool and beach." Several signs like Hedo II's: "Nude Beach Only" or "Nude Area Beyond This Point" are a subtle way of saying take your clothes off or don't come over to lounge.
• Put some courtesy phones in the lobby for phoning the U.S. with an AT&T credit card or prepaid calling card. Calling home was a lot bigger pain than at Hedo II: leave a credit card # at the front desk... turn on the phone... ask to turn the phone on again... then pay $2/minute plus $3/call service charge. We were told that AT&T lines simply weren't available from this part of the island... but on our first night, the operator let one of our prepaid AT&T calling card attempts slip through. Something stinks!
• Encourage and enforce the rules on PJ night (no entrance w/o PJ's) and Toga night (no sheet, no eat). Participants in toga night felt they were on display. These should be built-up through announcements and in the activities schedule. Of course, when you don't hand out any activities schedules...
• Have the activities coordinators at least wear swim suits when organizing events on the nude side. They didn't get much participation, and being clothed from neck-to-toe didn't help.
• Provide an activities schedule upon check-in and in the room (with correct information). Use chalk boards at the nude pool bar and main restaurant for the current day's activities - like Hedo II. Activities are an opportunity to meet people. And fun/energy can be contagious in numbers. Somehow, the resort management hasn't understood the importance of this connection.

In summary, Hedo II is Hedo II, and Hedo III is Hedo III. But that doesn't mean this resort shouldn't take a few things that work well at Hedo II and use them to fix their own problems. We're sure the management and staff are tired of hearing comparisons. But fix the problems! The complaints about the cold nude pool temperature, the excessive textiles on the nude side, and the lack of energy have been in almost every trip report since Day #1. They CAN BE resolved... as we found from the "energy" part...

NOW THE GOOD

The people we met on the Internet were determined to liven this place up... and we DID! Our tables (for up to 14) were the highlight of the dining room and Pastafari's. Then there was our nightly raid to take over the waterslide and glass-bottom hot tub (conquer from the high ground!). There was energy! We loved it... the staff loved it... and the other guests loved it (some formed our towel relay from top-to-bottom of the slide). Kudos to John and Karen, Gary and Georgette, Walt and Jennifer, Tim and Denise, Scott and Karen, Leon and Lana, Steve and Ilana, Robert, and anyone else we forgot to mention.

WILL A HEDO II VETERAN LIKE HEDO III?

That's a tough question. But here, in our "one-visit-to-each-resort" judgement, are some of the major tradeoffs...

If the following are important to you, then you MAY LIKE Hedo III:

• Bright, well-lighted facilities. The grounds and buildings of Hedo III are lit up like Disneyland at night.
• Nice, new rooms - complete with a Jacuzzi tub and satellite TV (and the Playboy Channel).
• Sailing - as it blows constantly to some degree. Unfortunately, the winds and waves are big enough that staff won't let you take out a Hobie Cat alone.
• More food variety - with the Jamaican, Italian (Pastafari's), and Japanese restaurants. However, we did not conclude the food was better or worse than Hedo II.
• Nude waterslide. It can be a blast after midnight!
• No rules. While there are limits on where you can run around nude during the day, there seemed to be no such limits at night. And "sex police" simply did not exist after midnight.

If the following Hedo II attributes are important to you, then you PROBABLY WILL NOT LIKE Hedo III:

• Mature vegetation and a romantic outside atmosphere. Again, everything is lit up like Disneyland at Hedo III. So if you like to search out the quiet hammocks, picnic tables, or beach chairs after dark at Hedo II... you will be disappointed.
• Lounging on beach floats or swim docks. The beach is small and some slight breeze is always blowing at Hedo III. Consequently, if you relish the swim docks and floating on loungers at Hedo II... you will be disappointed.
• Hot tub socializing. The hot tub at Hedo III starts getting crowded with 16 people, or less than 1/5th the comfortable capacity at Hedo II. Enough said.
• The quality of Robert's Grill and Delroy's Bar. There is a grill at the nude pool, but we found the food consistently inconsistent. Not all Hedo II drink specialties are known by the bartenders, and their taste (mixing) was widely variable.
• Skimpy PJ night and rowdy Toga night. Yes, Hedo III has both; but activities are not well-promoted and dress code is apparently not enforced. So, if these are often the highlight of your Hedo II experiences... you may be disappointed.
• Catamaran Cruises. Hedo III doesn't have them, and the ride would be extremely rough if it did.
• Easy AT&T phone connections. They simply don't exist from Hedo III - you're going to pay $2/minute + $3/call to phone the U.S... period.

James & Leesa