Maiden trip to Hedo III
We returned yesterday July 8th, from Hedo III. I scoured your website every day before leaving for new posts and trip reports and because the trip reports helped me so much before our first trip I thought I would give back and share our experience for other first timers or people who are considering going to Hedo III.
The reason we picked Hedo III - Normally my husband and I take a cruise each year but for the past two years our cruise has coincided with hurricanes, the last being Katrina. This year we decided to look into all inclusive resorts close to our home in Florida. After checking the activities included in most resorts in Jamaica it seemed that Hedo III would best suite us. We are not swingers or nudists but we were looking forward to the “non stop party atmosphere” Hedo was most known for. As far as a vacation goes we certainly had our fill of relaxing by basking in the sun and drinking in the three pools and beach. But as far as that “non stop party atmosphere” we found that unless you are a nudist or a swinger this resort was just not up to the expectations we had.
The trip out to Hedo III-We arrived in Jamaica on Saturday, July 1st. Air Jamaica flight was delayed for over an hour so we arrived late. Baggage claim and customs went so smooth I almost forgot we were in a different country. We arrived at the Superclubs lounge and were greeted by some wonderful people at about 6pm. We knew exactly who was going to Hedo II and III because you had to announce it when you arrived at the lounge.
Hopped on the bus with about 7 couples (3 couples stopping at Breezes) and off we went. The trip was bumpy and long, soon the day turned to night. We arrived at the resort at 8:45pm starving and ready to settle in. The resort was packed and we were told that we would be downgraded to a Quad room on the second floor but for only one night and then be switched to a pool front room the next day. I wasn’t too happy about this as the couple next to us was upgraded to an Au Natural Suite but what can you do?
First Night - We found our room and changed to go downstairs to eat. The Grand Buffet was lovely. Everyone was outside on the patio at candle lit tables and the service was excellent. People were dressed from pants and shirts to negligees and stiletto heels, I believe you call them FMP’s J We nibbled on a bit of salad and then dinner oh and lots of Rum Punch. Afterwards we walked the resort to try to get our bearings. Before we knew it it was time for the Disco to open. We went upstairs to change into something a little more fun, me a little black dress and my hubby Bermudas and a Hawaiian shirt. We danced and drank until the wee hours, finally stumbling back to our room around 4AM.
Sunday morning went to have breakfast and then sort out the room problem. We moved into our new room but it still needed to be cleaned. I brought all kinds of little gifts for the housekeepers (small purses, chocolates, books all from the dollar store as I read on the posts!) Gotta tell you the gifts and also a tip from my Husband still did not help in the least. Housekeeping was putrid. Friday morning the housekeeper came at 9:30AM but my husband was using the bathroom I begged her to come back in fifteen minutes, our room was cleaned at 5PM that day. If your room is not cleaned by 12pm you will not have any towels.
On a brighter note the room was great! We were as far as possible from the hot tub in a corner room 411 in the blue building. Pool front is the way to go I would recommend upgrading if available for a couple of extra bucks a day.
Breakfast time-dress in swim suits and cover ups head to the main buffet for great omelets and a wonderful cup of Jamaica’s finest coffee. Breakfast by far is the best meal of the day and the male omelet maker is the fastest, you will know by the length of the line who is behind the counter. Service at the tables was very good and fast on the refills.
After Breakfast we headed back to the Quad to swim and bask in the sun and drink until about 2PM. The bartenders at the Quad are very good. I had made three CD’s for them but we gave them to a kid the first day and he did not return to the pool bar until the next Friday, needless to say the music was redundant. You could almost tell the time of day by what kind of music was being played. Dress code was all, anything in between or nothing. My husband surprised me the first day with the latterJ I was topless with a G-string for the most part except for the day we went to the nude side.
Lunch time - Scotch Bonnet for cheeseburgers and Jerk chicken or pork, both excellent as well as the Beef patties (stay away from the Jerk Sausage and Hot Dogs which if you don’t know by now let me tell you it is not something you even want to try just by the looks of them). The food great, service was so poor, we would have to order more than once and still not get what we ordered and apparently the bar is upstairs so if you want a soda or anything else you are met by disdain from the servers. One day we were there early while they were still setting up for the day and one of the servers brought down two 20 oz. bottles of soda from upstairs. When I asked for a diet soda she said all she had was the two bottles brought down from upstairs neither of which was diet. We ordered the sprite and when it was time for a refill the glass was filled with water. We went to the Scotch Bonnet almost everyday and put aside the poor service as the view is spectacular, overlooking the water and all you hear are the waves crashing and all you see is the beautiful sea and the boats going out and back! Pick your punches.
Monday we decided to foray onto the Nude side just so we could say we did it! Not as shocking as I thought although I finally found the PDA’s everyone was talking about. We went over in the afternoon before lunch to see the sights and eat at the Nude Grill. We took off our cover ups before we were asked to and found some towels to use however their were no chairs (that day or any other day) I think you have to get up at the crack of dawn to get a chair or reserve one at night. The pool was packed and very small compared to the main and quad pools. The beech small but quant. The atmosphere was sexually charged. You will see why they call it the “pussy fountain” and some other uses for it like a platform for other types of shows. The bar was three deep with people we did finally get a seat when one of the regulars told my husband not to be so nice and just belly up which we did and got a seat. The Bartender or “Bartendress” was AWESOME! I don’t know her name but she ruled the bar with an iron fist and she was very funny and accommodating. We stayed for awhile floating and drinking and then had a cheeseburger as we did not see anyone order anything else and then headed back to the room for a nap.
The two restaurants- We woke to get ready for Dinner at Pastafari. A wonderful server named Sean waited on us (every night) and he was excellent the service was really good and the food even better then expected. The grilled antipasto and Caesar salad was yummy, garlic soup yum, pasta good and main entrée, I had the steak and my husband the fish all good. Not sure what restaurant everyone else who wrote about Pastafari went to but we ate here 4 nights out of seven. There were two menus and we had each two times. The desert also very good we tried all three but could only have desert once as we were too full.
We ate at Munasan one night and it was awful, the service poor the cook answered her phone in the middle of diner and the fryer broke down so there was no tempura, my favorite! Instead of telling us about the fryer the server just came and picked up the sauce. When I told her we hadn’t received the course she informed us the fryer was broken.
Main bar - this is the only bar open after 7pm and the bar closest to the two restaurants the disco and the main pool. The servers here were absolutely awful. They could care less about being there and doing their job. My husband was a bartender for 8 years and I for 8 months on South Beach so we have sympathy for bartenders in general and treat anyone in the service industry with respect, however the total lack of service and the absolute disdain these guys had for their customers was outrageous. They would look at you as if you had a third eye and that would be the only eye contact there was and that is if they even glanced your way at all. My Husband sympathetically had asked what kind of incentive do these guys have if they don’t receive a tip and I replied that they had a job, which for most of the people we saw off property had none. Avoid this bar if you can, even tipping will do you no good.
Disco - Skipped the Disco Monday night but went on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday. I had packed all kinds of costumes and was really looking forward to the nightlife. Tuesday night I dressed in a Black and hot pink lace nightie and my hubby in satin boxers we got to the Disco around 12:30AM and started drinking we stayed for about two hours, the music at the Disco is SOOO redundant and the DJ just cannot read the crowd the only reason we stayed that long was because we were buzzed. We went back to the Quad to check out the nightlife there afterwards. Let me tell you if you happen to need a pick me up steer clear of the Jamaican white stuff. Again we are from Miami originally and we know what to expect normally but one bump of this stuff and you will be up for a good 10 hours before we knew it the sun was up and music playing in the Quad. Although I have to say it made for an interesting night we ended up not doing anymore of that stuff. Be aware. Thursday was Toga night so we HAD to do that we took a Disco nap got up and prepared ourselves took some nice pictures and off to the club. The music was tedious, no one on the dance floor just all standing around. We had a couple of drinks and even that couldn’t get anyone going. The DJ switched to slow songs which cleared out the club. A couple of people, including us, stuck around to see if the music would get any better but it did not. We stayed for only about an hour and then returned back to the Quad to sleep. Friday night we decided, even though it was our last night, not to even bother going to the Disco we just couldn’t muster up the energy to be let down again by the music.
Departure day woke up at 5:45AM Saturday to put our bags out. We boarded the bus for the two and a half hour drive to the airport, a lot better with the light of day although the view in the city is disturbing. You can see the poverty everywhere. There seems to be a lot of dwellings incomplete and stuck in the middle of construction or just abandoned halfway through. I wanted to ask the driver but I didn’t want to take his attention off the road. The construction on the new roads is moving fast and they say it will be done within a year. The trip to the airport was fast, boarding effortless and the return to home so easy even through US customs.
The run down - Service much better then we expected with the exception of the main bar and Scotch Bonnet. Housekeeping absolutely awful, I don’t even have any suggestions to make it any better as I tried everything, and I mean everything, listed on all the boards. Front desk and Guest relations wonderful as well as the Pastafari restaurant. Food better than expected except for Munasan. Music at the Disco and Quad needs some serious help if they are going to keep anyone interested in staying at either for any length of time. Grounds are beautiful, tropical and lush a great backdrop for pictures. Everyday we noticed some maintenance to most of the buildings.
All in all we had a great trip. Not totally what we expected but a vacation at that and an experience we won’t soon forget. Will we go again? Most likely but I will check out some other resorts before then.