Hedodon - 02/18/00 – 3/6/00
Don (2/18/2000 to 2/24/2000 at Hedo III and 2/24/200 to 3/6/2000 at Hedo II)
Just got back a few days ago. This was my 13th week at Hedonism II and my first week at Hedonism III in Runaway Bay. I had a great time, Yeah Mon, No problem! I will try to give my best impression of both Hedonisms Resorts from the standpoint of a Hedo veteran.
I schedule my trips to Hedonism each year so that I maximize my time at Hedonism and minimize my transportation time. I was booked to leave Cleveland , Ohio at 5:30 a.m. and be in Jamaica at 10:30 a.m. and leave on the 6th of March at 5:10 p.m.. Unfortunetely do to the weather and poor decision by Delta/Air Jamaica my flight got canceled and I did not arrive at Hedo III until 8:00 p.m. that night. A Storm was predicted the night before but it did not arrive until later the next morning but in haste the airlines sent the plane out of Cleveland the night before. To say I was mad is a gross understatement. I arrived at MoBay at 6:00 quickly got through customs and Superclubs put me on a cab to Hedo III. Upon arrival my document was ready at the Hedo III desk and my room Card was ready. I got an Oceanfront room in Building 700, which is just above the Nude Volleyball Court.
Let me explain to you The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Hedo III
The Good –
The rooms are very nice, Clean Spacious very well decorated, They have a large bathroom with a Jacuzzi which is small can fit one comfortably 2 with difficulty, A television with Satellite TV it has HBO, Cinemax and Playboy Channel, it also has video of the main Dinning room and the disco without sound. The TV’s was a nice addition to the room and no it did not keep people in their rooms to avoid getting involved with other. The whole layout of the resort was very well designed it needed to be it is much smaller then Hedo II.
The food was excellent a great assortment of foods to choose from. The difference between the 2 Hedonism’s is in the Pasta bar at Hedo III the Pasta Bar is operating at all time where at Hedo II it is at various times through out the week. Also at the pasta Bar at Hedo III there is much more variety of foods you can incorporate in your pasta, Shrimp, Lobster, Crab meat is always available. At Hedo III they have a Japanese restaurant called Munahana it is a Hibachi styled restaurant were they cook right in front of you. It was excellent I ate their twice. It is similar to a Beni Hana’s Restaurant back in the states but it is no where as good as Beni Hana’s but still worth going too. Both Hedonism’s Pastafari restaurant are the same and Hedonism III has the Son Bonnet restaurant which is their Jamaican Restaurant at Hedonism II we call this Indiana’s Jerk Chicken at 6:00 p.m. of Indiana’s Fish still it was nice.
The service was excellent! The waiters continually kept your drinks filled I had no wait at all to get to my room and my room was cleaned everyday with no problem. The entertainment staff was excellent it was nice to see some familiar faces of Staff members who had transfer from Hedo II to Hedo III.
Runaway Bay, once you step outside of Hedo III there is absolutely nothing to see there is another resort right next to Hedo and that is it a few local shops on the road but no other resorts or restaurant Bars or nightclubs like you find in Negril. There is some nice excursion you can take like to Dunn’s River Falls, or to go Horse back riding in the ocean or a trip to Ocho Rios which is 45 minute away for a shopping tour.
The Beaches at Hedo III are lousy. They are very small man made beaches. The water is very choppy on that side of the Island and it is cold. If you dive better bring a wet suit you will need it
The atmosphere and the total Hedo experience is completely lacking in comparison to Hedo II. The people for the most part stayed to themselves and did not participate with the activities anywhere close to the degree you see at Hedo II. For example the Wet T-shirt contest at Hedo III consisted of 4 ladies who was not very into the event their tops stayed on they did not dance much, Lucky the coordinator was sexier than all of them. At Hedonism II 2 dozen girls participated all the girls lost there tops a few had to be told to keep their bottoms on. Everyone had a great time. This example was mirror at each activity. Battle of the Sexes was fun at Hedo III but nothing close to Hedo II. At Hedonism you come expecting an all out party people having a great time at a pace that is out of this world. It is this Hedo experience that has made Hedo II the most return too resort through out the Caribbean and Hedo III just does not have it happening yet. I spoke to several of the staff the had transferred from Hedo II and they said at various weeks since the new resort open up the crowd has been wild but even then nothing close to Hedo II. In fact they hay since it’s open been sending 12 or more vacationer to Hedo II because they was so dissatisfied with the resort. The week I was there 15 couples transferred to Hedo II.
THE TRUTH
Hedonism III is a gorgeous resort it offers everything one can desire great rooms, great service, great food, a great water slide (it is fast), plenty of Sun. But it is lacking the magical experience called Hedonism. Within time it may develop. Would I return? Yes in about 4 to 5 years, which will allow the resort to develop a personality in which, a hedo veteran would expect. I believe if you go there without ever experiencing Hedo II you will enjoy yourself remember you make the trip but you also don’t have any idea what you have missed. Yes Hedo III is wilder than what most have seen elsewhere but no where near what Hedo II is.
Hedonism II is a Summer Camp for Adults. You arrive and the party is happening and it does not stop.
I’m in my late thirties single, and male. I joined a few friends who I have made through my many trips to what we all call our second Home Hedonism II. I took Tim-Air from Mo Bay to Negril and would highly recommend the $55 to avoid the bus ride from hell. I arrived at hedo at around 12:00 on Thursday Tanya The Teaser was there to greet me she tried to get me to be in the body in motion contest but I told her that I would be much better in the audience then a participant for this activity besides I wanted to get to the beach quickly to begin my party. It took just 15 minutes to get the room key to my Gardenview-Au Natural room unfortunately I could not get the 2nd floor H-block room I wanted. I got a room close to the Basketball court this was not good to many midnight basketballer's at 3 a.m. in the morning but it was not bad by then I was so tired and intoxicated I could sleep through a Who Concert.
I went off the Hedo property to visit an old friend who takes care of me every time I visit to get something good for the brain. I then proceeded back into Hedo spent a few hours at Delroys meeting up with friends and enjoying everything. I went to the trampoline clinic at 3:00 p.m. everyday it is such a rush to do back flips like I am a teenager again. After the trampoline session I went for a walk down the beach to meet one of the Pink Ladies. The Pink Ladies are 3 Jamaican ladies who give Aloe massages on the beach just past Beaches Resort. They are better than the Masseuse’s at Hedo and cost less plus they use actual Aloe from the plant not from a jar. Aloe from a jar is not effective in getting rid of sun burns. Went to the Hot tub at 5:00 p.m. most days it is the place to congregate in the late afternoon just before the 6:00 serving of Jerk Chicken. There was not any real problem with Vinnies when I was there but give the place a week or 2 and College spring break will be there and the vinnies will attack. Single guys please just be respectful of other be friendly and you will have no problem. Say hello to everyone most the people are in the hot tub to socialize so just join in but there are a few couples who may be seen enjoying themselves try not to be obvious in your staring, yes everyone watches men, women, single and couples but don’t take it as an invitation to go over and invade someone’s personal space. This week there was not much extracurricular activity in the early evening anyway but late at night the hot tub was on fire. Watch out for floaters! At 6:00 p.m. went over to the grill to get Indiana’s famous Jerk chicken what a great appetizer to the night’s dinner. Went back to my room and got ready for the Toga Party and headed up to the Main Dining Room. Had a great meal, good show it was guest/staff talent show I am getting sick of Paul singing give him a break. Then went to Veronica’s bar Dave leading the crowd Sweet Caroline. Chris gave the guest’s sitting at the piano bar a great Song and dance on the bar you had to be there. When Veronica and Dave eventually closed up shop went to the disco. Of course the Piano Bar was conduct in hedonistic fashion something I missed at Hedo III. At Hedo III they simply sang along or lead in different songs, unfortunately the pianist there does not know the new lyrics to the songs that we are all used too. They don’t even know “You’ve lost that Fuckin Feeling” I did “Lucille” at Hedo III Hedo style it cracked everyone up including the pianist. Oh well as I said earlier give them time.
The next day some more of my friends arrived as well as more of the Bubbly Bares travel club. The Bubbly Bares once again brought down a great musical group The Fat Cats from Chicago. They were great they performed playing for the Nude beach, as part of the Bubbly Bares Champagne party.
The beach party was fun as usual. We had some extra excitement from the circus team seems when one person flying on the trapeze was to catch the other the catcher fell sending both people into the net. No one was hurt except for his or her egos. But they got back up and performed excellently. We had a streaker go through the crowd to add a little zest to the party.
On Monday night it was Bimbo’s night where the men came dressed up as Bimbo’s. There were some great costumes and it was a lot of fun seeing the creativity in the guests. After the show Went to Veronica’s to participate in Karaoke I sang a few songs as well as a couple of dozen other guest joined in.
Went on the nude cruise on the Cruise Party catamaran. It was great both Patty and Phil went on the trip. Phil and Patty is the owner of the Catamaran ship and they rarely go on the trips anymore. Rasta Ralphie was fun as always and Steve was administering his famous foot massages to the lovely ladies on board. The Pickled Parrot was nice the rope swing was a blast I did not go down the water slide there was rumor that there was loose fiberglass at the exit that could cut someone not wearing a bathing suit. I came in second place in our limbo contest this is poor because I can’t bend much. I got some laughs from people when I called over to a drug boat and tried to offer the ganja dealer some excellent Ganja. The Ganja dealer thought I was another crazy American but he dismissed my wild antics as just another crazy prank by someone staying at the Zoo which is what the Jamaican refer to Hedonism as.
Pajama Party was a blast you can not believe the costume from the most sexiest nightgown that are completely see through to the leather bondage outfits, We had people in underwear and no wear. At 5:00 a.m. there is still 50 or more people dancing in the Disco.
On Wednesday they have their Island Picnic. This event is by far one of the craziest and most fun experiences of your week at Hedonism II. I was very disappointed that Hedonism III does not have something similar to it. It serves as a great Icebreaker for the guest to get to know each other and get their week moving to a higher pace. Please eat before you attend.
Toga party was great this was my 2nd Toga Party. The Bubbly Bares all wore Their Red Togas. A bloody Roman Empire huh. We even had a guy come to dinner wearing his sheet around his head like a turban and nothing else. Hey this is Hedonism Man. The Fat Cats played at ShowTime from 9:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. which at that time began the guest/staff talent show plenty of great acts from both the guests and the staff but once again I am still tired of Paul’s singing but that’s OK Paul is an excellent person very nice to talk too.
Everyday was excellent had only 5 minutes of rain in the
whole 2 weeks I was there. At any given time during the day you can go to the
nude beach and find 200 to 300 people Some lying down, some at Delroys Bar,
some in The Pool, Some in The Jacuzzi, Some in the Hot tub, some on rafts in
the ocean, some dancing to the great music Delroy has playing on the sound
system. At all times people are partying and just having a great time. At Hedo
III people pretty much kept to themselves and they just do not party until the
evening. And then they are quite Tame.
I had to leave Monday the 6th I was a bit disappointed in that Ziggy Marley was playing there that night to kick off the Spring break season. Once again Negril is the headquarters for MTV’s and VH1’s Spring Break activities. Jamaica is expecting 40,000 College kids coming down for Spring break of that 40,000 99% of them are booked in Negril. It is going to be crazy down there. I have escaped the madness. The college kids can be very obnoxious and disrespectful to others luckily most can’t afford Hedonism but anyway I am back in the states planning my return and avoiding the mayhem. It would have been nice to stay one more day and jam with Ziggy oh well next year.
If you are planning to go to Jamaica well there is only 1 choice to make If you want to party , stay up late, have a drink before noon and have the greatest time in your life than go to Hedonism II in Negril Where they have the nicest Beaches in Jamaica. Hedonism III in Runaway Bay will always have some down side to it just because the lack of good beaches there on that side of the island and the fact that the water is much more rough and colder on that side of the island. In time they will develop a wild side to Hedonism III personality and the people will learn to party like the big boys but give it time to develop.