Travel Dates April 25 until May 1, 2003
This was our first trip to Hedo III but we have been to Swept Away, and Grand Lido Negril (2 times). Therefore we will skip the parts about the plane ride, van ride to the resort from Michigan.
We arrived and were a little surprised at the chaos at the check in desk. It was like arriving at the Ramada. I guess we would just attribute this to a hectic time of day.
Our room was nice enough (we had booked a run of the house room). We just pushed the two twin beds together to make a king size bed. The mirror above the tub was missing due to leaking problems from the room above. Being on the second floor though, we had a great view of the ocean. We were in the 800 block and liked the proximity to everything. We were a short stroll to all the resturaunts, beaches, and night club. The only fault to staying in the 800 building was the moron shooting baskets at 7:30 in the morning (the basketball hoop is noisy and right against the building). The night club bass-thump sometimes lulled us to sleep.
The food was terrific every place we went at Hedo III. We were very pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. The tuna, marlin, and snapper were very good. The Scotch Bonnet is great, the Japanese restaurant was terrific (they messed up on our reservation but happily fixed it for us), and the Pastafari was good as well. All food related services were top notch. People must understand when they get to Jamaica that food preparation is different in the humidity. Breads, cakes, and custards are not the same. The fish sandwich at the nude pool is great and so are the French fries. The circus/festival night was fun. We were able to watch a few new friends show off their trapeze skills.
Last year the drinks at Grand Lido Negril seemed to be very weak. (We could drink all day and feel no results). The drinks at Hedo III are far from weak. Drink up but be careful. We witnessed several sick (puking sick/drunk) people last week.
Where there any hedonistic activities? Yes. Where they all sensual? No. Is it every where you look? Not really. Most people were somewhat discreet with their PDA’s. A few were not. There were very, very in shape people there, and some that were not. Just like every day life. Don’t expect to see “Hedonism Playboy Style” on your trip. It may happen, it may not. Basically we witnessed a good cross section of society. We even met pair of very, very, fun couples. You can email us for questions relating to the previous sentence.
The hot tub (we had heard several stories that made the nude hot tub sound like a cess pool) was fine. It was always clean. The only part of the nude area (we were there all week) that needed attention was the men’s restroom’s urinal was always over flowing. Our suggestion guys, is that you bring a pair of flip flops. Nothing could be worse than standing in urine while taking a leak. And nobody wants urine soaked feat jumping back into the swimming pool or hot tub.
The staff really wanted people to participate in the theme nights, so if you have room, pack for them. You can find a list on this site probably. The funny thing was that several people complained about not “knowing” what the theme nights were before they left for Hedonism III. They couldn’t figure out how people knew what to bring. The PJ party was fun. (Guys, think about foot wear for this night. It is tough to dance in big sandals and tennis shoes and a thong might make you feel a little funny. This is where the “single guy” thing at the PJ party could be a problem for some people. We had fun with them and included a guy or two into our dancing.
We really thought the food and drinks were great. Well above par for the price we paid to spend six nights. I would say, gamble on a “run of the house” room because there really aren’t many “bad” room locations. Even the quad pool area has many merits. The “run of the house” can save you a ton of money and you will probably have the same amount of fun (my opinion).
The beaches are adequate. In fact, the nude beach may be small, but the jetty keeps it smooth and peaceful. There was never a problem getting a lounge chair either. Granted the week we were there, the resort wasn’t full, but it also seems that people were pretty laid back about the whole thing. It made it nice. I didn’t enjoy having to get up early to “stake out” our chairs at Lido Negril. I was very happy to NOT have to do that at Hedo III. I am sure that there are people here that will argue with me on this one, but we honestly didn’t have to deal with it. Just relax and everything usually works out fine at Hedo III. I do want to make it clear that our time at Hedo had it's hiccups, the place isn't perfect, however we would recommend it to friends and that is a pretty good compliment to the staff and services at Hedo III.
By the way, the van trip back to airport was hectic because the driver felt compelled to stop at the same beer stand we stopped at on the way to Hedo III. This made it tough for some to make their flights on time. If this may be a concern to you, before you leave, you may want to ask your van mates tell the driver NOT to stop. Nothing happens fast at the Motego Bay airport so giving your self two hours at the airport isn't a bad idea if you are a "high strung" person.