so.............i have decided to write a trip report.  this was our 5th trip to jamaica, 4 to hedoii , first time to hedoiii.  where to begin..................

 

departure-- june 8-philadelphia to mobay was basically uneventful except that they confiscated my bic disposable razors. oh well- hairy legs for the duration! 

 

bus ride-- got put on the breezes bus with the announcment to one and all that there was one couple going to hedoiii, please raise your hands. i thought f this , i'm not raising nothing, but they refused to leave the airport until we had identified ourselves.  anyway, after a grueling 1.5 hour talking sandwich from the bus driver we arrived at breezes where all the prim and proper folks descended and the driver made us sit on his bus while he told us how poor he was, how many children he had and how unusual his bus ride was from all the others. by the end of the trip we had given him about $20.00us just to get where we were going.

 

arrival at hedoiii-- just walked through the reception area to get a look at the grounds when we ran into rhonda and allen from nashville, who recognized us from the photos steven had posted. they were very friendly and carried colossal drinking buckets they had purchased at "wally's" (walmart). they gave us the lay of the land and were very friendly and helpful. we wandered around a bit and then had lunch, were escorted to our room and headed to the pool area.  the weather was overcast and raining, but very warm and humid. we were just happy to be in jamaica once again.

 

pool area & hot tub -- the cool pool was very relaxing and refreshing. it was usually always packed to capacity, mostly with cavedwellers. all sorts of activity from volleyball to various and sundrie pda's at all hours.  the hot tub was generally too warm to be comfortable with temperatures reaching 107 degrees at one point. this continued throughout our entire stay.

 

beach-- basically non-existent. attempting to access it was more than i wanted to deal with, so i basically stayed on the beach chair for about 1 hour each morning just for sun-bathing.  after all, i spent >$3000. i WAS getting a tan.

 

weather -- day of arrival, rain and partly cloudy--next 2 days, 1 hour of sun each morning then partly cloudy. day 4-poured heavily the entire day-no sun at all. day 5, same as day 2 and 3, except that our building lost electricity from noon-6pm, very humid.  day 6-7, very warm and sunny. then we left.

 

rooms--looked very nice but the bed was like sleeping on a bag of doorknobs. the pillows were stolen from first base.  the sheets for 2 nights had the odor of not being properly dried. luckily, steven found the supply closet and stole new ones for us so that we didnt have to smell them. but there was always a lovely swan of a towel on the bed each day, sometimes with eyes and flowers. the jacuzzi was too small to be comfortable in and too clumsy to get in and out of, considering the floors were slippery tiles. the fact that they put us on the 3rd floor and we had to climb 32 stairs everytime we wanted to return to the room for something was very wearing, but then i decided, since i was taking a week off from the gym, that could be my workout.

 

disco--in true hedo fashion, the music was horrific. techno--gangsta rap--thumping noise, with a bit of cher and madonna thrown in to keep it sleazy. totally boring, but since i expected it, i was not surprised.  i asked the dj to play some dancehall reggae, but he said he couldn't because the americans complained. duh! jamaica=reggae, ya'mon! oh well- luckily, i came prepared and brought my own music.  and then there were the stairs.......................................................

 

piano bar-- hello? this was not dave from hedoii, who was able to engage the audience and who had great audience participation with the crowds singing along.  this was the jamaican cookie monster who stole dave's act, but could not either play the piano or sing, but did it all anyway, over and over and over again. could this dude even speak english? and did i mention the stairs.................................

 

grounds--very beautiful, but not as lush as hedoii. the hammock garden was very relaxing and the view from the beach was very beautiful. many beautiful flowering bushes, trees and shrubs, but very landscaped and manicured.  i prefer the controlled wilderness of hedoii. much more beautiful and natural.

 

sunsets-- perhaps the cloudy weather kept the sunsets from fully developing. they cannot compare to the negril sunsets which are completely and unequivically astounding.

 

food -- i ate primarily fish, fruit and vegetables, which aside from the vegetables always being seasoned the same, were very good. we ate at pastafari once and i had salmon and shrimp, which was excellent.  we were going to try the japanese restaurant, which was equivalent to benihana's, but the oil smell kept me from being tempted. the bread products are not very good, and the pasta was not too inviting, but then one person said, that because we were from philly, we were pasta snobs! ha ha!

 

security-- literally behind every bush, but out in the open too. i haven't figured out if they are there to protect us from other guests, each other or the jamaican's.

 

staff-- most staff are very professional, courteous and helpful.

 

entertainment-- hardly ever stay for it and do not participate in it.

 

activities-- do the pj thing and the toga night, but like to do my own thing for the most part. don't want to be yelled at, instructed or directed when i'm on vacation.

 

hedoii vs hedoiii -- i think the original is always the best (except for the waterslide, i don't understand waterslides). the dining room at ii is about 3x the size of iii, and dinner there feels like a romantic event .  at iii, its just there, there is no mystique. i finally put my finger on the difference. hedoii grew into what makes it so unique, hedoiii was a copy of ii without soul. i would not return to iii.

 

thanks for listening,

molly