This was our first trip to Hedo II. We booked right after returning from Hedo
III last February because a couple of the Hedo II vets told us we just HAD to
go to Hedo II for Anniversary. Due to having a young child, we opted to stay
home with him on Halloween and do the Trick-Or-Treat thing and then go to Hedo
the next day. I will put in a comparison and our opinions about the
differences between Hedo II and Hedo III at the end of this trip report.
The trip to
Hedo II was great. We flew US Air out of Charlotte, and since we booked so
early (last March), we got row 5. We debarked, breezed through immigration and
customs, and 25 minutes after we landed we were onboard a 4 seater Tim Air
flight to Negril. The flight was spectacular and well worth the extra money
(and having done the bus thing to Runaway Bay, didnt feel like we needed a
repeat of the crazy roads!).
We
arrived at Hedo II and there was the expected chaos at the front desk. A bell
man told us We will have you checked in right away, but 3 or 4 weeks
later, we saw people arriving after us getting checked in, so I went to the
front desk guy and asked. Apparently, our information had gotten lost in the
shuffle, but he checked us in at once. Room 2269 (a good omen!) and was in the
perfect location, right on the nude beach and near the hot tub. We didnt
bother to unpack, and about an hour after landing in Montego Bay, we were
meeting Delroy and Scumba. We hung out in the pool area too long, then got
dressed (in shorts and T-shirts) and somehow stumbled upon the Anniversary
cocktail party. We then managed to make it to the dining room and the meal was
marvelous. Great big crab legs, lobster, about anything you could imagine.
However, we couldnt find a table, and when Donna spotted 2 empty places,
she asked the couple sitting there if we could sit with them. Thanks Vicki and
Porter, we enjoyed meeting you that night and then seeing you more the next
few days. We have no clue how the entertainment was, because after dinner, we
ended up on the nude beach and did, uhmm, things for a while and then crashed
(I still blame our early night on Delroy!).
The
next morning, we were up to see the sunrise with Kenny and Ginger from hedo-online.com.
We laid around, drank, floated in the ocean, enjoyed the fat cats concert on
the beach, got in the pool, laid around, you get the picture. We were on the
beach until after sunset. Toga night was that night, so we did the toga thing,
but again, we missed the entertainment (at least in the dining room!). We were
the first in the hot tub when it reopened and stayed for a good while. We met
Bill from Oklahoma, Scotty, and some others before we had to retire for the
night (Scumbas fault this time!).
Friday
we got up, went on the beach, then went to breakfast. Rasta Bill had arranged
a trip to a Jamaican school to take school supplies, and we had brought a
whole suitcase of backpacks, crayons, pens, pencils, rulers, scissors, and
various things. Hedo II got us a bus (there were about 7 of us) and we stopped
in Negril to pick up a reporter from Color Negril and Sonya from Hedo II. We
went to the basic school first (3 6 year olds), dropped off a bunch of
supplies (including all the whistles that Nude Mike had brought), then went to
the primary school and took the rest of the things. Thanks to Denny, Kenny,
and Rasta Bill for getting the ball rolling on this, and we are going to do
what we can to get the word out so repeat offenders will take school supplies
down when they go. As in any country, children are the future, and the
Jamaican schools are in great need of anything they can get. We will be
shipping a parcel down around Christmas for the schools in addition to what we
will take back in March, so anyone that wants to contribute, feel free to
contact us and we can ship it down for you. Friday afternoon was basically
lying around on the beach, a little snorkeling, and some more lying around on
the beach. At 4 we played nude volleyball and had a great time, although we
both limped a bit the next day (thanks Walt, Dan, Jack, and Sherry). We
enjoyed the sunset, then I think we ended up on the nude beach again after
dinner at Pastafari (see below).
Saturday
and Sunday were more of the same. We had a great time and relaxed a lot. We
talked about walking on the beach some and maybe doing some watersports, but
theres always next time J
We never even made it to the prude side at Hedo! The highlight of Saturday was
Nude Mike shooting his giant slingshot at the Couples, Beaches, and Grand Lido
boats (he is the epitomy of how a single guy should be at Hedo, and his
playfulness enriched our trip greatly. I still cant believe the NYPD lets
him carry a real gun for a living though!) We won some bottles of liquor at
nude ring toss and gave them away (since I still cant figure out why you
need bottles of liquor at Hedo.
Monday
was our last day and we got up fairly early, stayed on the nude beach until
the last minute, then took Tim Air back to MoBay airport at 12:30. The only
negatives of leaving were saying goodbye to our new friends and then putting
clothes back on (they felt terrible!). The flight home was fine. Special
thanks for making our trip so fun go to Kenny and Ginger, Walt and Dan, Vicki
and Porter, Brent and Lisa, Tim and Lisa, Bill from Oklahoma, Rasta Bill,
Mike, and anyone else I am leaving out inadvertently(you know who you are!).
While all of our fantasies didnt get fulfilled, a lot did (and we already
rebooked for March 6!) Thanks also to Denny for his website, Chris for her
book, and all of the posters at Dennyp.com for helping make this a trip we
will never forget.
Ok,
now for the comparison part:
The
Property:
Both resorts are beautiful, but Hedo II is showing its age. Hedo III has
brand new buildings, larger rooms, and better laid out public areas. The rooms
at Hedo III are far nicer, but since we spent so little time in the room, its
not that important of a factor. Also, I feel that Hedo III is laid out much
better, but it is much smaller overall. If Hedo III were in Negril (or another
nice beach), then I would not hesitate to go back to Hedo III again and again.
The
Service:
Service at Hedo II was much spottier than at Hedo III. For example, in the
main dining room at Hedo II, I often had to go to the bar to get us water or a
soft drink for our meals, and several times had to chase down waiters for
silverware. At Hedo III, towels were never a problem, but at Hedo II, we
learned early on to stock up for that evening or the next day. I have no
complaints about the bar service, since I am not sure that we ever got a drink
from anywhere but Delroys bar, but at Hedo III, we found the service to be
great wherever we went. The service at Pastafari was so-so at Hedo II and
exemplary at Hedo III. I was most impressed with the housekeeping staff at
Hedo II, they worked very long hours and did a magnificent job. The front desk
at Hedo II seemed to be in a constant state of chaos, whereas at Hedo III
everything ran like it would in a large US hotel.
The
Staff: The
staff at Hedo III seemed more exuberant and willing to coordinate the various
activities than did the staff at Hedo II. Simone, the guest relations manager
at Hedo III, remains in our memory as one of the highlights of our trip there.
Donna had to wake up a pool boy at Hedo II to repair the overflowing toilet at
the hot tub, which would have been unthinkable at Hedo III. The security at
Hedo III seemed more alert and more present, and there were much less attempts
to sell ganja (or whatever) at Hedo III by the employees than at Hedo II. The
dining room and Pastafari staff at Hedo III were also much more on the ball. I
think this all filters up to the general manager, and it seems that the
management at Hedo III is much more on top of things than the management at
Hedo II. It may be because Hedo III is so much newer and under more scrutiny
than Hedo II, but it is very noticeable. Im not sure if the 2 young
Jamaican men that prowled the hot tub one night were staff, gigolos, or just
local Vinnies on the prowl, but they were creepy and not something you would
see at Hedo III.
The
Food:
Absolutely no comparison whatsoever. Hedo IIIs food was much better. There
was more variety, better entrees, and it was much better prepared. While
Pastafari at Hedo III compared favorably with some 4 star restaurants,
Pastafari at Hedo II was only okay. The anniversary night dinner at Hedo II
was awesome, but food like that is served at Hedo III on a daily basis.
However, Roberts famous fries and jerk chicken keep this category from
being a total washout. And the way we figured it, the food at Hedo II was
sufficient to absorb the alcohol, so what the hell J
The
Nude Areas:
Just as Hedo III sweeps the food category, Hedo II wins this category hands
down. The nude beach and pool area seems to be the focus in Hedo IIs
layout, while the nude areas at Hedo III seem to be placed as an afterthought.
At Hedo III, you have to contend with jagged rocks, slippery tiles, a poorly
designed pool bar/hot tub area, and just way too small an area. Hedo III has
excellent facilities, however they are on the prude side.
The
Beaches:
Hands down the most compelling reason to return to Hedo II. The beaches at
Hedo III are terrible. They are too small, rocky, and the water is very cold
and rough. There is nothing quite like floating in the gentle, warm ocean in
Negril for hours at a time. Trying to take a raft into the waters at Hedo III
is an exercise in futility, since the water is strong and pushes you either
back to shore or into the rocks lining the beaches. The nude beach itself at
Hedo II is huge, with plenty of chairs, shade if you want it, and those cool
floating platforms in the ocean. The nude beach at Hedo III is tiny, there is
no shade (other than the 2 or 3 umbrellas they have sitting around), and there
are very sharp rocks everywhere (which necessitates you wear sandals or
something, which is something we did not have to do at Hedo IIin fact, at
Hedo III, there is a staff member that spends his whole work day in the knee
deep nude ocean area picking up rocks and sea urchins that have washed in
overnight). In addition to the ocean being very rough, cold, and rocky, there
was a constant strong wind at Hedo III, while the soft breeze, soft sand, and
warm water in Negril were very nice. Ironically, the prude beach at Hedo III
looked very nice, even if the water was rougher. It was 3 times larger than
the Hedo III nude side. Its a shame that the prude beach at Hedo III wasnt
the nude beach.
The
Guests: I
may be biased because we had the benefit of 8 months of Dennys board, Kennys
board at hedo-online and his visitor list, and a couple of email lists, but we
thought the people at Hedo II were much more friendly and easier to get to
know. Within a couple of hours of arriving at Hedo II, we met lots of really
great people that we hope to stay in contact with. Unfortunately, at Hedo III,
it seemed that while the people on the nude side were friendly, there were
nowhere near enough of them. Hedo III when we were there at least, seemed to
emphasize the prude areas and the mix was probably 70% prude, 30% nude. If
there were any prudes at Hedo II last week, we didnt see them J The
only negative about Hedo II is that there were many more Vinnies and Wallys
than we encountered at Hedo III, and sometimes late at night with 6 or 7
Wallys in the hot tub, it gets creepy and you just get out and go somewhere
else. However, I would imagine after all the Playboy channel advertising Hedo
III has been doing, its probably crawling with Wallys and Vinnies by now.
The
Bottom Line:
We got home Monday night, and on Tuesday we had already called GoClassy to
rebook for next March! We picked Hedo II again! I wish Hedo IIs food was
better, the rooms were nicer, the water pressure better, and the service
sometimes better, but its a great place and we cant wait to go back. If
Hedo III were totally nude (or they switched the nude and prude sides), we
would not hesitate to go back. Until that changes, though, we will keep going
to Hedo II.
Advice
for First Timers: Regardless of whether you go to Hedo II or Hedo III, you will have a
great vacation. Take the time to meet people, participate in the activities,
and relax. Stop and talk to both the guests and the staff. Overall, the
Jamaican people are very friendly, and love to talk about their country, their
families, their likes and dislikes, whatever. Show respect when dealing with
everyone and 9 times out of 10 you get respect in return.
