June 22 to June 27, 2001?
Mike and Dawn's Trip Report
We flew on June 22 at 6:40 a.m. from Kansas City International to Charlotte, and from Charlotte to Montego Bay. We landed at 1:40 p.m. with relatively few problems. We met a woman on the plane named Suzie that we spent quite a bit of time with.
Upon arriving in Montego Bay, we also found customs to be quite painless. We grabbed our bags and literally took that "Bus Ride from Hell to Hedo." (First timers- Believe me, it is as bad as everyone says.)
Once to Hedo, we were greeted by the infamous Chad, then Mike and I went to our room to unpack. We spent our first 24 hours on the prude side.
This trip was so relaxing! The food was terrific and the atmosphere was great. I will not bore you with a detailed account of our trip, but I would like to highlight a few things:
FIRST NUDE EXPERIENCE: Our second night there, Suzie, Chad, and I got Mike drunk enough to go to the NUDE pool! It was about nine o-clock and there was no one there for over an hour. It was a delightful first experience, with the exception of the Texas "gentleman," aka Wally.
The funniest story from our entire trip came from our first night on the nude side. Suzie and I were walking to the bathroom and one of the workers was calling out to us, "Where are you going?" Suzie yelled, "To the bathroom!" and with that, he started following us. My hubbie asked him what he was doing, and he responded. "Can I have one of your women?" My husband, answering for both Suzie and I, told him "no." This man responded with, "But we Jamaicans share. . ." Mike, not always the most tactful of men, stated, "We Americans don't." This man proceeded to tell Mike how badly he needed one of "his women." Mike finally told the man that tonight was just not his night, and that he might get an American woman another night. I am not sure if Suzie, having a purely platonic relationship with us, appreciated being called one of my hubbies "women" or not, but we did get a laugh out of it.
After that, we spent most of our time on the nude side. We were at the beach by day and at the pool by night. We visited the pool the afternoon of day three, and it was a little wild for our taste, so we opted for the calmness of the beach thereafter while the sun was out.
PEOPLE: I found people on both the prude and the nude sides to be very nice. There were a few people who thought they were hot stuff (on both sides), but overall we found everyone delightful to be around. Most of the staff was great as well.
THINGS I WOULD CHANGE:
1) We were in room 1127 and the water variances were terrible. One minute the water was warm, the next scalding hot, and then it would turn ice cold. We could have done without that part of the trip.
2) Boats get too close to the nude beach for my taste. We had these two obnoxious couples in a boat screaming, "We wanna' see some action!" to those of us on the nude side. They were clothed, of course. We also saw quite a few gawkers from other resorts, mainly on Sandals boats, etc. I would waive to the Sandals people and they usually got a kick out of that and waived back with huge grins!
3) Some of the entertainment was a little risque for our taste. Nudity on the main floor right after lunch and dinner is not our style. However, I know that we were at HEDO and so I do not expect them to water down the entertainment. It's just something that I would change. . .
4) It was sometimes very hard to get thorough when calling the US. One night we tried over 15 times to get a successful connection. If you have children, don't promise them that you will call every night. Sometimes you won't be able to get through. Along those lines, the power went out three of the five nights we were there. If you need to get up for some reason, ask for a wake-up call. Do not rely on the alarm clocks, as they need to be reset once the power is restored.
RICK'S CAFE: We went to Rick's Cafe twice. Once through the resort and once on a Hi-Lites of Negril tour from another tour company. The one through the resort had a driver that was not very nice and smelled strongly of ganja on the way back. You are also there for three hours, which in my estimation, is way to long.
We found the Hi-Lites tour to be superior in customer service. Rohan and Vanda (I think that's her name.) were both wonderful. If you get a chance, book that tour and shop with them BEFORE buying anything at the gift shop. Rum. coffee, and t-shirts were MUCH cheaper in the duty-free mall that they take you to. You also get to go to another shopping area and a beautiful lighthouse for great picture taking.
SNORKLING: I would highly recommend snorkling to anyone who has never tried it. Take an underwater camera and something to feed the fish. They will swarm around you and you can get some great photos. (Don't worry, if you do not have food they will usually not come near you.)
PDA's: Yes, I did see some interesting happenings at Hedo both during the day and at night. Since what happens there, stays there, I'll leave it there.
ANOTHER OBSERVATION:
We met a couple of gals from New York and since we seemed to always be eating at the same time, etc., Mike and I would stop and talk to them. After knowing them for three days, one of the gals came out and said that she thought that we were swingers and that's why they never did anything with us. I find this interesting because it goes to show you the preconceptions that some people bring to Hedo. In her mind we were 1) A couple at Hedo and 2) NICE TO HER!. In her mind, that meant we MUST have wanted to swing with her and her friend.
We left Hedo on June 27 at 10:00 a.m. and arrived on time in Kansas City International at 10:22 p.m. Customs was a breeze.
Special thanks to Chad, Suzie, Judy and Carl, Ernie and Kim, Ken and Amy, Jerry, and all of the other wonderful people that we met along the way. We had a wonderful time and can hardly wait to go back!
Please feel free to e-mail me with questions at mikedawnmiles@yahoo.com.