This was our first trip to Hedo III, and our first trip to an all-inclusive resort. We normally do cruises for our vacations. This report covers our 4 night trip, from March 29th until April 2nd (too short). My wife and I celebrated 10 years together during our trip.
Pictures from our trip can be found at: http://community.webshots.com/album/549281739nckGlI
Pre Trip Planning: This was one of the most important parts of our trip. We did several internet searches on HEDO III and came up with several sites that would help us in planning our trip, and most importantly, what to EXPECT on our trip. The website, dennyp.com, provided us with the most information, and allowed us to meet people over the internet before the trip. One of the guests(Thanks, Sean) started a yahoo group for the people who would be traveling during our week. We were able to post messages, chat and post pictures before our trip. When we arrived at Hedo, we already had some contacts and we wouldn’t feel alone. I cannot stress to the first timer, how important it is to know what to expect. Check things out thoroughly BEFORE you book.
Arrival in Jamaica/Hedo: We spent about 15 minutes clearing the customs/immigration process at the airport. We decided it was best to pack light and we only had one carry on piece of luggage for each of us. The lines were short, and the officials were friendly and efficient. Once in the Superclubs lounge, our two bags were taken from us and we presented our paperwork to the desk attendant. She welcomed us, took the necessary paperwork, and asked us to wait a few minutes while the bus was brought up. Three more couples arrived in the next few minutes, and we were put on a small van for the ride to Hedo. Our luggage was handled for us. All we had to do was verify our luggage as it was loaded on the van. Of course, the baggage handlers let us know that they were paid on tips and everyone gave them a few bucks for the job. The drive to Hedo III took about two hours. We had one stop halfway for beer, bathroom breaks, etc. Traffic was horrible. We had to wait in traffic several times, waiting on construction crews. During the trip, the driver tried to narrate the drive and scenery we were passing, but no one paid much attention. His English was not the best in the world, either. Upon arrival at Hedo, the driver mentioned that tips were appreciated just before exiting the van. A few more bucks were given out. We verified our luggage for the baggage attendant at Hedo, then went to the front desk. Check in took about 5 minutes, and we were given our room keys and a key for the in room safe. We were escorted to our room with our luggage. Occupancy rate at the time of our arrival was about 60%, we were told.
Our Room: Our booking was for run-of-the-house. This was the cheapest way to book, and on line research had told us that all rooms were good rooms at III. We were given room number 812, in the light blue building. This is a ground floor room that has the front door facing the prude side, and our back door facing the entrance to the nude area, right where the large chess board is. The air conditioner was on when we arrived, and we detected no mold or a musty smell. The king bed was neatly made with a towel animal on the foot of the bed. The wife loved the mirror over the bed. The room was spotless. Everything worked. There was always plenty of hot water. Sometimes the bath towels were delivered a couple of hours after the room was cleaned. The only fault we could find was that the room key would not open the back door when we tried to come back to the room. It only worked on the front door. No big deal, a few extra steps would not kill us.
Food/drinks: We ate at every place that food was served. The jerk chicken and pork at the Scotch Bonnet was good. This was our first meal after we arrived. The jerk pattys that were served there were delicious. The nude grill had burgers, nachos, etc. Nothing fancy, and it was about like you’d get at any small grill back home. We ate lunch there most every day. The Japanese steakhouse was the best place to eat. Reservations are required, and you could make them up to a day in advance. The Italian restaurant was good, but I have eaten better Italian food back home. Again, reservations required. The breakfast buffet was served from 7 to 11 am each morning. The food was good, just like you would expect from a breakfast buffet back home in the states. The food was hot and plentiful. Omelets were available on a cook to order basis, and we never waited more than a few minutes for one. The buffet in the evening reminded us of a chain restaurant buffet back home; plenty of food, but nothing outstanding. The only exception was the Creole lobster on Friday night. Good stuff! The grand buffet on Saturday night had a nice variety of food, but nothing spectacular. Overall, we didn’t have any food that wasn’t edible. If we were looking for 4 or 5 star type food, we would have been disappointed, but let’s face it; no one in their right mind goes to Hedo for the food. We ordered a wide variety of drinks at all of the bars. We received what we ordered, and were served in our extra large mugs when they were presented for filling. We received top shelf liquor when we asked for it, but the norm was to use the cheaper stuff. It didn’t make a lot of difference when you had had one too many anyway. The dirty bananas and hummingbirds were good at all of the bars. Great drinks during the morning and around lunch for getting in your potassium needs. The wine in the two restaurants was good, but nothing extraordinary. The champagne was cheap, but drinkable. We never were served a bad drink, and we ordered a LOT of different stuff. Overall, the food and drinks at the resort were good. We never went hungry, never went thirsty, and never threw anything away.
Service: I was always served with a smile, and I was always given great service, even when I handled them my 34oz. mug I had bought at Wal Mart(cost $1.96) prior to the trip. My polite request for a drink was always met with polite service. I can say that I did see sub par service, but it was usually brought on by the guest. One lady at the main bar would yell her request repeatedly if she thought service was too slow. That seemed to prompt a slower service rate for her. Personally, I thought the service at the food and bar areas and bar was excellent. I never had a problem.
Entertainment: We did not attend every show, but we enjoyed the ones that we did. These aren’t Broadway productions, but were entertaining and interesting. The EC’s were very friendly, always flirting with the guests. They also did a good job getting people to participate in the games. I always said there wasn’t enough alcohol in the Caribbean to get me in front of a crowd of people, but they even talked me into participating. My wife thought I had been drugged or something, but your whole attitude changes around these folks. They make Hedo III a fun place. Participate in the games if you are asked. It’s fun! As for water sports, the red flag was up every day we were there, so we were never able to go snorkeling, kayaking, etc. Some of the guests said that the red flag was always up because they were too lazy to take a boat out, but the surf was rough each day.
Prude Side: This has got to be the biggest waste of real estate in the Caribbean. Huge pool, nice waterslide, nice hot tub, and plenty of chairs, but NO people! When we first arrived, we walked over to take a picture beside the prude pool, and we thought maybe there was a fire drill going on or something. The place was empty, and this was 3 in the afternoon. We never saw one person in the pool or the hot tub during our stay. The water slide only became busy when the nude takeover occurred at 4:30 each afternoon. The area was clean and so were the pools.
Nude Side: This side was crowded most of the day. Most of the activities were on this side. Besides, how could you hold any activity over on the prude side when no one was home? Every chair in the sun around the pool area was always taken, and there were plenty of people in the pool and hot tub. If you didn’t ‘reserve’ a chair sometime before 8am, you wouldn’t get one in the sun. There were plenty of chairs on the two piers, and on the nude beach, however. The area and pools were clean. We didn’t observe any floating slime in the hot tub that we had read about.
Quad Area: This clothing optional area had a fair number of empty chairs the one afternoon we visited. About half of the guests there had their clothes off. The crowd in the quad area tended to be younger than the crowd on the nude side. The pool and hot tub was sparsely populated. The area and pools were clean. The bar there closes at 5 pm. Bummer!
PDA’s: This was our biggest concern on our trip. From reading some reports, the place was a non-stop orgy, where the swingers would kidnap you, and everybody had sex with everybody, any place, any time. This was far from what we experienced. We did not observe many PDA’s during the day. But, if you looked, you could probably find a few couples enjoying themselves in the hammocks or in the shade once in a while. After dark, in both the nude and quad hot tub, you could usually find a show if you wanted one. After midnight, it was common. Were these displays non-stop orgys? Not in my opinion. Just couples(mostly) letting their hair down and having a good time. You will never be forced to do anything you don’t want to do.
Vinnys, Wallys, Single Guys, Swingers, etc: We observed no Vinnys or Wallys, although one couple did have trouble with a Vinny that stalked the lady for a couple of days. After a frank discussion between the husband and the Vinny, he disappeared. We met several single guys, all of whom were very polite and funny. They hung around with the couples, and enjoyed their stay. The swingers didn’t kidnap us or force us into an orgy. Quite the opposite, they were fun and flirty, and never pressured anyone into anything. Overall, we were there with a super group of people. No problems, Mon!
The Guests: We met a dentist, a truck driver, a nurse, a salesman, a rock band singer, a seamstress and the list goes on and on. There were people from most every profession there. There were people of every shape, size, color and age. And the best thing about these people? They could care less about what you did, and what you looked like. You were accepted and treated like a family member during you stay. Sure, there is that stuck up jackass in every crowd, but 99% of the people we met were just good people, period. We’ve made lifetime friends of people we only met for only a few days. I believe Hedo’s guests, drawn to its unique atmosphere, are its secret for successfully bringing people back again and again.
Security: There was always a security presence anywhere and anytime while you were on the resort. My wife commented on the heavy security the first night we were there. They never bothered anyone, and after the first day they blended in with the scenery. The fact that this much attention has been placed on security made us feel that management had our(and their) best interests at heart.
Departure from Hedo/Jamaica: The day before we departed, a letter with our departure information was left in our room. It gave the time we needed to have our luggage out by the door, and the time the bus left. We had a flight at 2:10 pm, so we had to have our luggage out by our door by 9am, and the bus left at 10am. The letter also listed a departure tax of $27 that was payable at the airport. Our tickets included this fee, as do most of them, so we did not pay any departure tax at the airport. The next day, we had our luggage out by the appointed time, and it was taken to the lobby area, where the bus was to pick us up. The bus, a very nice large tour bus, and picked us up promptly at 10am, along with 4 other couples. We were asked to make sure that all of our luggage was loaded, and we were off to the airport. We stopped at two other resorts to pick up more passengers, and we were at the airport in less than an hour and a half. We didn’t make any beer/bathroom stops on the way back. We departed on a Sunday, so there was little traffic, and hardly any road construction going on. Upon arrival at the airport, we claimed our luggage as it was unloaded from the bus and proceeded to the ticket counter, and then to Jamaican immigration. The line was extremely long, but moved fast. We were at our gate in about one hour after arriving at the airport. Our trip to Charlotte, NC took about 3 hours, and US customs/immigration there was orderly and efficient. After making a short connection back home, we began to plan our return trip to Hedonism III.
Final Thoughts: We had one of the best vacations of our lives. We will definitely make a trip back, hopefully before the end of the year. For those who aren’t sure about booking this resort, please keep three things in mind.
1. You WILL see nudity and couples(or more) having sex, period. If you can’t handle that, then Hedo is not for you.
2. NO ONE, will force you to do anything you don’t want to do. Security is heavy.
3. 99% of the people that you will meet there, will be the most non-judgmental and friendliest people on earth.
ENJOY YOUR TRIP!!
WE DID!!
John & Phyllis