This is our first trip report, although we have visited Hedo 2 twice and Hedo III thrice since 2001. What follows is account of June 7 to June 14 at Hedo 3:
For us, in eastern Pennsylvania, flying from Philadelphia on Air Jamaica has been a no-brainer. We depart at 7:25 a.m. and arrive Montego Bay, their time, at 9:50 a.m.! The usual short wait at SuperClubs, followed by what seems a slightly longer bus trip as there is new road work underway between Montego and Runaway bays. The bus driver, as in the past, stopped for Red Stripe beer break and was adamant we should not cross the two-lane road ... not because he worried, we suspect, about our safety, but because there was competing wood carvers on the opposite side of the road!
We arrived at Hedo III and were speedily assigned our room. There had been some confusion prior to departure, but travel group -- Castaways – and resort's Paulette made sure we had a room where we wanted.
And our sought-after room was in the quad pool area. It is where we stayed our first two visits and we loved being able to open wide the windows, lean out and watch the action in the huge Crusoe pool (as they formally call it in Hedo brochures) and surrounding decks and lounge chairs.
From the quad pool you are just a few steps from the nude beach/pool. For us it is an ideal location and a penny-saver.
We have seen folks with the more expensive ocean-view rooms (had one ourselves at Hedo II as an upgrade), and all-too often we found they didn't have a view of the ocean, but rather fronds of a palm tree or leafy shrubs! So, our advice has always been, save the extra several hundred dollars, make a point of walking down to Scotch Bonnet at sunset for a magnificent view of the sun dropping into the water like a hot dime!
We love the quad area, so much more expansive and wide open, a good get-away from when the nude pool can be too crowded or overwhelming.
Advice: as for booking a room in the quad, try to avoid the yellow and salmon/pink-colored swim-up rooms next to the quad hot tub .... you may find people at all hours of the night carousing there (which can be good or bad!). The first two nights we were there, there was a radio station tour group and some of the people deliberately went out of their way to be rude and loud, deliberately shouting and screaming. Fortunately, security came by at 5:45 a..m. and quieted them down.
One advantage of Hedo III (and yet also a curse, the large open prude space seems to go to waste, forcing a lot of people into the smaller nude area) is that it is a compact resort so you are never more than a minute or two walk from meals, action, etc. Sort of like a small college campus, but with a far different course of study!
One of the phenomena of the Hedo resorts is the growth of affiliated clubs or groups … these are people who return every year at the same time and socialize together (many of the groups continue casual gatherings over the course of the year; many people individually stay in touch Hedo visit to Hedo visit) and give themselves cute names.
We belong to one such group, the Cave Dwellers, which started casually in 2001 and has returned as a group early in June every year since. With members from all across North America, the group seems to favor a high proportion of fun Texans! As with many groups, Cave dwellers have their own schedule of activities, T-shirts, name tags, etc.
The good thing about such groups (no membership fee them, maybe a few dollars to pay for T-shirts and such) is that they bring their own synergy and exuberance with them on what at times might be slower weeks when there are fewer people. Numbers alone don’t do it, but certainly a good-sized crowd for the week fuels everyone’s passions.
The bad thing about some groups (NOT the Cave Dwellers) is that in their unbridled enthusiasm, they can believe the resort "is their resort," and forget to be social and polite to others not in the group (we saw this at Hedo 2 once)..
As for us, we adore people we have met in the Cave Dwellers … many of whom we stay in touch with to this day, visiting when we can. Meg and I are not by nature joiners on vacation, so we pick and choose which of the Cave Dweller activities we wish to join in … and the group is so friendly and easy-going, there is no problem.
Anyway, for those contemplating a first visit, such clubs can be a real asset as far as meeting people, becoming comfortable on the nude beach for the first time, etc. The clubs, like Denny’s site, can be one more way to maximize time at Hedo.
As for us, we hustled to our room, settled in … the usual amenities that one reads about (we, too, never got around to use the room’s Jacuzzi, seems too much work to fill it up, drain and mop up afterwards, but were glad it was there, yummy, on past visits). We dashed off to the nude side where we encountered friends from past years, some of whom had arrived the day before! It was 1:30 p.m. Jamaica time … we left Philly at 7:25 a.m. … what a change in a few hours!
For the record, we are in the Lifestyle, and some of the Cave Dwellers are also … but being a Cave Dweller does NOT mean one is in the Lifestyle or that there are any expectations of shared sensual/sexual fun … although that can certainly occur! One should be prepared to encounter various degrees of Public Displays of Affection (PDA) … sometimes discrete, sometimes not so. If you are approached, a simple "no," is usually enough to suffice. If the Lifestyle and PDAs are not on your agenda, at least feel flattered you drew the amorous attentions of others. Did we have some PDAs, …. Perhaps, LOL! But as they say, what happens at Hedo stays at Hedo!
We’ll spare the day-by-day because the days looking back 2 months hence, well, all the fun seems to run together. Three nights we found ourselves up and about, being frisky until at least 5, one night we went to bed at 6:45 a.m. Most mornings we did get over in time to have breakfast, a must meal for us as far as coffee and fuel for the day’s fun. We’re especially fond of the omelet station and the piles of bacon! It can be a bit slow getting your juice glass refilled (we like how at Hedo 2 the orange juice dispensers are placed so you can walk up and refill your own glass without a wait).
We’d go back to the room, get Meg all lathered up in sunscreen (fun unto itself) and head off to a little niche of a hideaway on the nude side, where we could watch the waves crash, read and catch some rays … close enough to join in the Hedo games if we wanted.
Be prepared to play Where’s a Lounge Chair, as many people get up early, stake out chaises with towels but then never show up the rest of the day, just leave a chair staked out with a pair of sandals or a T-shirt! This may be result of how the resort has crammed the nude pool into such a small space, where it seems to draw the majority of guests. There is gossip of the resort maybe expanding the nude area back into where some of the volleyball space is?
The beach, is indeed, nothing more than a craggy man-made "cage" that is fine if you want to leisurely ride a float, but really doesn’t look like the expanse of white beach seen in some brochures! When the pool area was overflowing with people, we would escape down to the chaises on the nude beach for some nap time. Equally private are the two small docks at the nude beach. It is tough to escape piped-in music … be aware that this is primarily a party vacation, not a time for soulful contemplation, and you’ll not be disappointed..
While pool volleyball can be fun, the net is kept up all the time at the nude pool and so effectively cuts in half the already small area for mingling and hanging out.
These are some of the reasons that we will wander back to the quad pool to relax without the press of so much flesh (which can be a good thing) and so much activity.
Some of the highlights for us include: Meg body painting me, twice, once as a living grape arbor, once as the ocean with huge swoops of blue paint across naked torso (she is the artist). Numerous nude runs down the water slide with Cave Dwellers in the afternoon, late at night, or right after breakfast (a better wake-up jolt than a shot of caffeine). Staying up late one night partying, Meg went to the room crash, I took last-minute stroll and down by Scotch Bonnet caught a magnificent full moon, ran back to the room and dragged her back out with me to just bathe in its radiant glow as it shimmered on the water! One of the magic moments of Jamaica and Hedo!
Foodwise, Hedo 3 is far superior in quality and diversity than Hedo 2. We loved the Italian restaurant, Pastafari, and had dinner there twice. The antipasto alone could be a meal. It’s a nice change of pace to have a sit-down dinner under leisurely conditions, though be sure to book early as reservations can be gobbled up on a busy week. We love breakfast, and lunch we split between the main dining buffet, jerk chicken at the Scotch Bonnet 9a great view), and the swim-up bar.
Dinnertime we loved the outdoor meal we had our first Saturday with the prawns (ever so messy to eat though) and pork loin, among other delights. We also enjoyed the beach party dinner. We loved over the course of the week such items as the curried goat, the shrimp, tuna quiche, marlin, and missed the pasta bar where they make your sauce for you as you watch. Desserts are tempting and plentiful, as are mountains of fresh fruit and various salads.
The buffet-style dining may not be for everyone, but dining is casual at Hedo 3, there is no strict dress code which we adore. And there is always something to munch on, even at 3 a.m.
As far as attire, last year I "discovered" the joy of just wearing a sarong whenever I was not on the nude side … that’s basically all I needed 75% of the time. We packed much lighter this year, and even at that had too much stuff. The warning to be careful on the tiles still stands (pun intended) … they can be very slippery and we did see a few folks by week’s end with knee braces on from taking a spill! Tread carefully!
Costume nights: we love to dress up (or is that down) for the various theme nights, over which there seems to be some confusion on what theme is what night. For the major toga party on Thursday (this is the one not to miss when you plan your trip), Meg went in see-through blue toga as Miss Liberty and we made my toga out of blue and red see-through saran wrap (you’ll never see that use on their TV ads!). For lingerie night, Meg won a bottle of rum for Most Revealing costume and I won a prize for Most Creative on "fetish" night.
Costume nights are great, and allow you to live out fantasies you can’t usually at home. Sexy, fun costumes are a great way to meet new people and make a statement about yourselves! We strongly urge first-timers to prepare in advance for the theme nights as they are great way to have fun and meet new folks.
After dinner, we always adjourn to the disco … poorly designed/executed, you must climb flight of steps then up and down a few more steps: no one ever thought to design the steps fluidly. Easy to trip and take a tumble late at night, especially if one is tipsy, so proceed with caution. The disco is small and gets crowded and hot and at times the music can be repetitive, but we like it as a place to get slutty on the dance floor! Or, in some cases, as the one night, late, to have over a dozen of us dancing atop the bar, practically naked! Not unusual to see Meg atop the bar or inside the disco cage, inviting other gals to join with her in being naughty.
We’ve never been piano bar people, just not our taste, although we do stop by once or twice during the week to see what is going on, catch friends singing.. A good-sized crowd would gather and then after piano bar closed, drift over to the disco.
This trip we got very lazy … we did not partake of the water activities, although in past we snorkeled, did the glass-bottom boat trip, sailed, etc.
The Entertainment Crew works their butts off trying to keep everyone parting and in a festive mood. Occasionally, they try too hard … almost begging people to participate in their sometimes silly, sometimes naughty games! We’ve seen them still working at 3 a.m., cleaning up after one theme party, hanging drapes and decorating for the next day’s festive fun. It really pays to get to know their names and hang with them.
That can be said for the staff in general. A smile and a friendly "Hello" goes a long way. We are amazed at how many of the staff remember us from previous years! I think they recall Meg’s stunningly long and beautiful hair, which cascades down past her ass! Overall, the staff works very, very hard and makes every effort to meet guests’ needs in a tropical climate that challenges machinery and patience. Many of them travel up to two hours just to get to work, that is how good a job at Hedo is seen to be by the locals.
We adore Antoinette at the nude swim-up bar, where she shares daytime duties with Suzette. Clayton works just as hard after they call it quits. Our room maid Desare was a sweetheart, sharing tales of her life in St. Ann and raising her children (one of whom is in high school). There was sweet Latoya and Michelle at the buffet dining area. Paulette from the front desk … and the list goes on.
The same can be said for the great people we met or reconnected with. First and foremost, amongst the Cave Dwellers are such generous organizers as Philip and Jane, Hugh and Judy, Jim and Steffi, Eddie and Annette, Mick and Jeffrey, Ralph and Paula, Jordan and Christina.
We were so happy to see Allie and Evelyn, 3rd time, who saved me the last 36 hours with antibiotics). Our friends John and Christa were back, he from New Jersey, she from California. We had great fun with Jim and Patti from Missouri who never saw a theme night they didn’t come prepared for in costume.. We were happy to see Rob and Shoshona, from Canada, whom we first met at Hedo. Dr. Robbie and Winona were repeat friends, and Robbie was especially generous with his time, acting as unofficial house physician for the Cave Dwellers. We were happy to see Derek and Larry, from Boston, back. Derek kicking up a storm on the drums on talent night, crazy Larry just kicking up a storm wherever he went!
Among new friends, we were so happy to meet the talented Ted and Laura from California, as well as the fun and wild "love ya beby" Tobin and Christina from Tampa, Fla. We stayed up all one night before their 7 a.m. departure, kicking some Jamaican champagne and watching the sun rise and moon set at same time. Tantric yoga experts Brad and Kim were intriguing teachers of their art and gifted artists. We loved meeting Edwin (of the huge yellow duck costume) and his friend George (she of the masculine 1st name who taught aerobics) from Colorado.
We loved dancing and having fun with Chris (he with a third nipple!) and Stephanie from Georgia, along with their friends. We found Johnnie (female) and Paul from London an unusual couple who left all too soon. Vicky from Virginia brought a southern smile and sassy energy to all the party nights. We met Lindsay too late to really get to know her and her friends, alas! And I know we have missed innumerable people with whom we flirted, danced, drank, shared dinner, and just had great fun. Our apologies!!!
We mentioned Allie and Evelyn saving me? Be forewarned of the dreaded "Hedo crud," which has plagued us before. It is a nasty upper respiratory infection that can knock you flat, suck away your energy, leave you congested and exhausted, with no voice, etc. No one seems to know the exact cause but focus is on too much fun, too much booze, too little sleep and possible mold in the room AC units? I awoke on Friday morning and felt as though my head was stuffed with cottonballs. We went to the nurse’s station and she told me I had the chest infection and they could call the town doctor in to prescribe antibiotics … to the tune of $150 America, plus the medicine! Our South Padre Island friends had some antibiotics and they, with the steam room, helped me get through the final 36 hours. Some folks even bring Lysol to spray in their rooms. In any case, be forewarned!
We had many highlights all crammed into one week of fun in the sun. My personal favorite was watching my lovely Meg come out onto the stage for talent night in her full belly dancing attire and work her way down the steps to the main dance floor and then perform one of her veil dances, climaxing with her twirling her long and braided hair about in whirling dervish fashion! Her beauty and her talent shared with so many new friends was certainly THE highlight of my time at Hedo 3.
While other adult sites tempt us with their own pleasures, we have a special love for Hedo 3, and hope this third trip is just one of many more to come.