February 9 - 16, 2006 Steve & Angie
Our 4th trip to Hedonism 3 is finally over. All in all, it was good. A few bumps in the road along the way but enjoyable as always.
The MoBay airport, drastic improvements in Immigration. Took 20 minutes to get that part out of the way versus the two and a half hours last year. Customs is still a bit challenged but once you are past that the fun starts. One word of advice...if you need to go outside the airport building while waiting for a bus or friends, take your passport and immigration card with you when you go outside. Security will NOT let you back in without them. We were lucky enough to find one very sweet Jamaican lady who went the extra mile to send someone in after them for us. The departure area is out of this world! Amazing upgrades and additions, congratulations Jamaica!
Hedo 3 was a mixed bag. The upgrades and changes made to the resort are noticable but the service level has declined. Out of our 7 days and nights there were often times when there would be one less bartender than needed. Picture one bartender on duty at the nude pool during the day and only two at the main bar in the evenings with a full hotel. Dining room service was probably a little short but hardly noticable. Melissa who took care of us each and every morning still gets my vote for one of the best Jamaican smiles you could ever wake up to. Magically each morning my wifes 3 or 4 glasses of iced tea would just appear.
Hot water...did I say hot water? Day one and two were simply LUKEwarm water. Day three introduced us to what anyone would call hot water. Yeah, we made it thru and no there were no cold shower days but making hot water is no big trick, it has been done for years. Most of our group reported the same thing. Showers were taken at various points of the day. Just turn that hot water faucet full on and wait to see what happens, mix in the cold as required.
The food quality has been in a noticable decline for quite some time. It appears that the selections are getting to be fewer and fewer and creativity is not all that great. Not that I am a big dessert person but it becomes extremely noticable when the dessert table is now where part of the salad bar used to be not at the main entry area to the restaurant. Maybe this was done for traffic flow reasons or whatever but something else was displaced for the new location.
The mold issue was still alive and well while we were there. Our first room was 525, first of all not the pool view room that was reserved, and secondly...the mustiness noticable as soon as we walked in. The door to the room had dark splotches all over it as did the mirror over the bed and in the bathroom. Found the mold source second day in the closet area. After a short conversation with Donna Grant we were moved to 235 which was pristine. Unfortunately the mold took its toll on both my wife and I. We were cursed with sinus and throat issues for a couple of more days. I would highly reccommend that if you have any question about your room that you immediately go and ask to speak with Donna, make your concerns known. Travel changes can affect you but the mold will get you!
The hot tubs were much better managed this trip. For the first time in three years they had the quad hot tub up and operating ALL week long. I will be making a trip to the local pool store and purchasing two new thermometers for the hot tubs to send on down. The one in the quad does appear to be stuck between 98 and 102 degrees F. Does not give an actual temp at all. I do have to give props to the attention that was given. Anytime it was to cold or to hot someone was there to start getting it right.
The new tile in the quad is slippery as it can be. Looks great but I would highly advise going slow and easy while walking thru. Dirt gathers on the new tile very easily and makes it even worse. Use caution in the turns and whatever you do if are barefoot....take your time doing it. The work around the hot tub area on the nude side is not even noticable. If the pool, pool deck or hot tub was actually penetrated they saved all the concrete and tile and then put them back exactly as they were. Water temp in the pool was pleasing, hot tub was well kept.
One very disappointing thing, the rock gardens are being removed. The gardens with all the rocks that people have painted, sometimes had plaques made for are being removed and replaced with plants. A few of the rocks remain and at least one couple planted a 2006 rock for themselves while we were there but a piece of Hedo lore appears to be headed for the history books. A lot of work that guests took pride in is gone.
For those who read this a bit of advice. While we were there we witnessed two events that caused considerable concern. One fellow decided to jump out of a third floor quad window onto the pool deck. It was a graceful fall that resulted in a broken hip. Another took a spill on the deck by the waterslide, not once but three times. Both of these events would appear to have been assisted chemically. If you are so inclined do yourself a favor and skip the chemicals. Although the Hedo staff did their best to help these two it took quite a while for the ambulance to arrive for proper medical help. One of the girls in our group is an EMT, she spent a considerable amount of time assisting one of the injured. Not an event that Hedo has any control over at all but absolutely controlable by the guests by not indulging.
One final note, we travel each February with a great bunch of people known as the Jamaican Runaways. This trip was no exception to any other. The company of such wonderful people for a weeks time more than makes up for whatever shortcomings that Hedo 3 may have. To each and every one of you who made this years trip as great as those in the past thank you! As there were 56 couples in this years group it would be extremely difficult to name all of you without the possiblity of leaving someone out.