Review of Hedo III 2/10-18 2005
Wow, what a week. This was our 2nd trip to H3, and our first with a group. We did a detailed review of our first trip (listed on Denny P as “Steve and ?” under June 2004). This will be a shorter review of the trip highlights. The first review can be found here: http://www.dennyp.com/h3tripreports/2004/steve__0504.htm
Traveling with a group (Jamaican Runaways)
We met a group of people online before our trip. We chatted for several months beforehand, and really got to know some people before we left. We exchanged pictures, and it was easy to find our group once we arrived. It was AMAZING to have people yell out “Ruth, Steve” as we arrived, and hug us as if we were old friends. No matter where we went (main bar, waterslide, disco, etc.), we found people we knew. We had t-shirts and tattoos made, which also helped identify our group members. Many thanks to the many people we met and made us feel welcome.
Excursion - Canopy Tour
This cost us $75US per person, and was worth every penny. The bus picked us up at 8:50 am for a 15-minute ride to the Chuka Cove adventure company. Many of the tours left from there, including horse back riding and biking. From there, we were put on a new bus to take us to the top a mountain, where we began our adventure flying thru the air. The ride took another 15-20 minutes, and was the scariest part of the tour, since it was one lane and very narrow. We were fitted with harnesses and helmets.
We took a 15 minute walk to the first platform. Here we received instruction on how to hold the line properly and how to take off and land on the next platform. The talented employees did all the hard work hooking us up to the zip lines. The next thing you know, I was flying thru the air 150 ft above ground.
It was a very professional organization, and I always felt safe. There were 9 rides in total. At the bottom, the provided rum punch and bottled water. After a short walk, a bus picked us up to return us to Chuka Cove. We waited a few minutes for others from our resort to return from their horseback ride, and we were back at H3 by 12:15. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone!
Drinks
Of course, the bartenders took really good care of us. I was really
impressed that Aneka at the nude bar, remembered us from our last trip.
I did learn that name brand liquor makes a difference. Vodka & cranberry
is NOT the same as Absolut & cranberry. Ask for the good stuff.
Food
Buffet was average. We definitely recommend the specialty restaurants (Munasan was our favorite). Nude grill was convenient. Scotch Bonnet was good for lunch or a midday snack (try the meat pattie).
Immigration:
What a nightmare this was. Our flight was delayed 3 hours (we had to make an emergency landing for someone that had a heart attack on the plane). By the time we landed in Montego Bay (2:30 PM), the line for immigration extended to the gate. There were mobs of people everywhere. We think that quite a few planes landed late, causing a real backup. We waited 2 hours just to get thru the immigration line. We found our luggage (already off the conveyor belt), and breezed thru customs. I can’t understand why there was a 2-hour wait at immigration and none at customs.
Note for future travelers: completely fill out the immigration form, including the departure info at the bottom. Some of the delay was caused by people not completing the entire form.
Here are some things we found changed from the last visit:
Hot Water:
The shower hot water situation was much improved. Only one evening did we start to run out of hot water. The pressure is still lacking in the shower, and at 6'3, Steve has to do some odd contortions to wash his hair, but overall this was better. Note that the shower is still a dangerous place, since it is very awkward to get in and out of it. Be careful, and use the handrail.
Disco Music:
Last year, we complained about the constant hard techno music in the disco. This year, there was a much better mix of songs. They still played a lot of club music, which is expected in a disco, but they sprinkled in a lot of older, more mainstream songs. This was appreciated, even with a nightly rendition of YMCA.
Chairs at the Nude Pool:
Chair saving is still the national sport of Hedo (well, that and body shots).
Often, Steve would hit the nude pool between 7 and 7:30 am, and often found
most of the chairs already saved. We suspect many of these people put
out towels the night before.
Quad Hot Tub:
The Quad hot tub was broken all week! This really put a damper on
things, for two reasons: Our group was almost completely located in the
Quad, making it a good hang out spot, and early on in the trip, the weather
was cloudy and cold, making the pool pretty much unswimmable. Even after
things warmed up later in the week, the pool was still a bit cold. The
grotto at the nude pool was virtually unoccupied all week.
Drinks:
A minor issue, but the same as last trip, bartenders didn't know how to make a
lot of different drinks. They also constantly ran out of bananas.
Still we found enough to keep us going.
Overall
Otherwise, everything at our trip was just about the same as last time. Get up, eat breakfast, go sit by the pool, have a few drinks, get some jerk chicken and meat patties for lunch, get ready for dinner, go to the bar and talk with our group, eat, hit the disco, stop by the nude hot tub, and get ready for another day. All in all, a great trip!