July
29-Aug 2 (Our maiden voyage)
A
thought to ponder:
In
many of the trip reports I read prior to this trip, folks would sometimes
apologize because the days seemed to run together and it was difficult to
remember which events happened on what day. I would never understand just how
true this was until I experienced it for myself. I now wonder if its
due to alcohol consumption or, perhaps, because once you return home, the
whole experience feels like a dream. Even on the flight home I was thinking
back on the past 4 nights, trying to grasp the reality of it all. I wasnt
even home yet and the trip was already beginning to seem surreal. (Yes Jerzy,
this is my long-winded way of saying you were right about wondering if it ever
really happened.)
How
this trip came about:
If
someone was to ask me, Why Hedo? Im not sure what I would say. I can
think of some common reasons that bring many other people to Hedo and those
would all apply. But I think one of the main factors that drew me to the place
was the freedom to be myself and not worry about fitting in with others.
Sure, other resorts boast more amenities, nicer accommodations and more
upscale facilities but I am not interested in stuffy, black-tie dinners and
anti-social rich-bitch types. From all the research I did, I learned that
size, weight, color, financial status and personal background DO NOT matter at
Hedo. People are friendly and, as I learned during our stay, are more
interested in what drink you want them to get you from the bar than what
make/model car you drive or who your stock broker is. This was exactly what I
was looking for. In fact, I only knew the occupation of a very few people
there. And those were people I had learned about in email. I didnt ask
others what they did for a living and they didnt ask me. It didnt matter
what financial means it took to get everyone to Hedo. The important thing was
that we were all there.
Our
arrival:
We
lucked out when we booked our trip. I told the travel agent which days we
wanted to go but I told her that we were flexible a day or two if necessary.
Because of this, she was able to book us for a charter flight with Sun Country
direct from St. Louis to Montego Bay. Our flight to Jamaica was uneventful and
I consider that to be a good thing. From Montego Bay, we took a TimAir flight
to Negril. Being our first trip, many people said we should take the bus ride
at least once or we would miss out on some of the culture. Well, I thought the
views of the ocean and the countryside from the plane were beautiful and I dont
feel like Ive missed out on anything especially since we took a short trip
into Negril the day before we left.
Hedo
at last!
We knew not to expect a room right away and I was prepared to go have a drink or eat lunch while we waited but as soon as we walked into the lobby, we were ushered to the step-down seating area to fill out the necessary form. After that, we were given our keys and a man was waiting to take our luggage to our room. Imagine that! We later noticed that the resort was nowhere near full so that would explain why we got a room so quickly. As we were about to head for the room, I looked up and saw our first familiar face. (By the way Jerzy, you dont know how awesome it was to see you!) We emailed many people prior to our trip and I would highly recommend this to anyone. To all the wonderful folks who responded to us and kept in touch before our arrival, I say thank you and God Bless you all!
We
had a drink at the main bar with Jerzy and then headed off to our room to get
settled but not before agreeing to meet Jerzy and Ala and the rest of the gang
over at the nude pool. Yikes! We knew this time would come. Oh well, to the
room we go to get situated and to let the Landshark I just inhaled go to work
on me.
The
room:
We
were in room 1148 prude garden. (Mental note to self: next time, go ahead and
book a nude side room) The room was nice in our opinion. We had seen pictures
before so the room wasnt a surprise. It was clean and had a very pretty
view of the garden area outside the window. I had read some trip reports where
the authors had complained about the beds but we had no complaints whatsoever.
The bed was so much more comfortable than ours at home-by far! I liked the
cushioned bench under the window too. I sat there one day, taking in the view
of the garden and thought, I could get used to this. We did notice the
temperature fluctuations in the shower but with us having a well with a pump
that has gone on the blink more than once, this did not bother us in the
least. Only one negative thing happened with the room while we were there. We
came back from the hot tub about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning and found there was
no hot water. No problem, we went to sleep but at 9 the same morning, we woke
to find we had hot water but no cold water. No problem, I called the front
desk and reported it and was told that a water main had broken and it was
being fixed and thats why the water was shut off. Okay, no problem, off to
breakfast and then the pool. Later, we go back to the room to find that now we
have cold water but no hot water once again. Great. Still, no flushing and no
showers. We were told by another couple that they too had the same problem and
they asked to be moved to another room and got moved to a nude side room. They
suggested we do the same. A trip to the front desk and voila, we are in room
2253. I thought it would be a hassle since we were leaving the next morning
but after it was all said and done, it helped to already be packed the next
morning and that left us with more time to enjoy breakfast and take more
pictures. No big deal. I told Paul that if this was the worst part of our
entire trip, then we didnt have much to complain about. He agreed.
The
food:
Once
again, no complaints at all. Over all, everything was very good. We had
cheeseburgers, fries, grilled cheese, and jerk chicken from the nude grill and
the rest of the meals were spent in the dining room except for Pastafari one
night. (Thank you Jerzy and Ala) We liked being able to try new things and the
variety was impressive. There was no excuse for being hungry. I liked most of
the foods I tried. Paul wasnt crazy about most of the fish dishes but I
liked all the ones I tried. I had a major thing for the cheese and I ate
cheese with every meal. (Behold, the power of cheese!) Lobster tails were
served one night and we both tried that for the first time. It was good too. I
see so many posts and trip reports complaining about the food there but I just
dont see the validity of these complaints. Yes, we were first-timers and
this was all new to us but I look at it this way, we didnt have to cook it
or clean up after it, and it was a welcome change from Hamburger Helper and
McDonalds. What is there to complain about?
Things
we regret:
We
regret worrying about getting naked. The first day when we went to the nude
pool, we came in through the back side on the hot tub end. We walked up to the
steps, I set down our bag, kicked off my shoes, and took off my clothes, never
looking up the whole time. I turned to see Paul behind me, naked also and I
thought, Gee, that wasnt so bad after all. We started looking around
and we found Jerzy and Ala and from there we started meeting many other
people. It was a good first day! After that, being naked was easy. Ive come
to the conclusion that no matter how hard you try to convince someone that
being naked in that kind of environment is not a big deal, they will never
understand it or believe you until they do it themselves. At least, this was
true in our case. The same doesnt matter attitude that was true in
the financial category carried over to the nude side. I noticed that when I
talked to other people, whether it was men or women, that people look you in
the eyes when they talk to you. The men that I spoke to talked to me and not
my breasts. I made it a point to notice this. Some people are afraid of taking
their clothes off because they are self-conscious and afraid others will stare
at them because they are naked. Well, when everyone else around you is naked,
what is there to stare at? Sure, you glance at others, I did. Only because it
was interesting to see other bodies and how we are made the same for the most
part but we each have our differences that make us beautiful and unique. And I
dont mean the obvious differences such as between men and women. But in no
way did I ever stare or gawk at others and I dont feel that I was stared or
gawked at. I always felt comfortable being naked.
We
regret not making the catamaran cruise. It wasnt that we couldnt have
gone but that was the day that it stormed off and on all day so we passed on
the cruise. We also sorta regret not doing any other water activities but we
were having so much fun lazing about the pool and hot tub that the idea just
didnt really occur to us. Maybe next time we will get more involved with
the water sports and other activities. Paul wants to try parasailing. I think
the flying trapeze would be fun.
We
regret packing so much stuff. We were warned many times not to pack too much
but now that I look back, I think most virgins will overpack no matter what
they are told. You learn by doing and that is so true in this case. We took
rafts and Im glad we did but we only used them once so next time we
probably wont take any. We took insulated mugs but didnt use them all
the time. Im glad we had them though and we will probably bring them back
with us next time.
We
regret not being more flashy with our pj outfits. My idea was naughty
schoolgirl and her teacher. I think we looked pretty good and I got
compliments on my outfit but I think we were too covered up to be considered
for judging. Hell, we just did it for the fun of it and not with the intention
of winning anything so that was okay. It just seems that if we had shown a
little more skin, we would have had more of a chance. I felt a little
disappointed because we didnt get picked in any categories because I
thought we had done something unique but like I said, it was all in fun. Only
bad part was when a staff member who was sitting outside the disco said, Ahh,
Britney Spears! Oh please, gag me! Britney Spears????? Then there was the
gentleman in the disco who looked up my skirt to see if I had anything on
underneath and saw my black g-string and told Paul that, real Scotsmen dont
wear anything under their kilts! Gee, Im not Scottish, Im not a man,
and it WASNT A KILT! LOL Oh well, we had a blast. OH, I have to tell a
possible vinny story here since Im on the subject of the pj party. A guy
that sorta looked like the lead singer of Creed approached me along with
another of his buddies and proceeded to take my hand and spin me around. Not
so funny. In the process, he hit his buddy in the eye with my fingernails.
Very funny!
A
special thanks:
There were two couples that stand out in our minds because they did so much to make our trip even more special.
Jon
and Janet, we wish our trips had overlapped for more than just one day. You
guys really helped break the ice for us. Paul has a thing for colored icing
and sprinkles now thanks to Janet! Jon, even though you had worked yourself to
death already on the day we arrived, you were able to make good on your
promise of a massage for me. It was a most excellent experience! Also, the
dice game in the hot tub that day was all new to us and you guys made us feel
comfortable about participating. Some of the things we said we wouldnt do
while we were there, we did the first day! That evening was the wildest we
experienced, as far as our personal involvement, even though it would be
considered tame to most people there. We still felt we had crossed some
boundaries even if they were not as extreme as most peoples. And it was a
great feeling. By the way, we managed to come away with a bottle of Appleton
rum and a bottle of Tia Maria. Thanks guys!
Jerzy
and Ala, where do I begin??? You two mean so very much and we cant thank
you enough for all you did for us. The trip into Negril and Ricks Cafe was
so nice. We probably would have never gone off the resort by ourselves and it
was very much appreciated. We really enjoyed the craft market. It was a
culture shock to say the least but Im glad we went. You are very special
people and I hope we have made a friendship that will last a lifetime. I see
now what so many have said before, its the people that make Hedo what it is
and the friendships made there are like no other.
Highlights:
Gee, there were so many, where do I start?? The pj party, of course, was a highlight. Paul and I got to the disco right at 11:00 so we were among the first to arrive. It was fun to sit there and watch everyone coming in. The ideas some people had were so creative and funny. We saw our share of boxers but we couldnt complain because Paul was wearing them too. (Part of the teacher outfit, you see.)
Zena and Lance were highlights in their own respect! These two were quite a couple! Lances impression of a live fountain in the misting pool was a riot! And their outfits for pj night were great! And who can forget the fake orgasm contest during battle of the sexes???????
Another
highlight was Veronicas. This was the chance for me to actually dress up. I
never get to do this at home and it was nice to put on a dress and heels and
do my make-up and feel pretty. It may not mean much to some, but it was a nice
change for me.
In
conclusion:
We
knew better than to go to Hedo with high expectations so we didnt. We
pretty much knew the condition of the resort from posts and trip reports. We
didnt feel let down at all. Yes, the place is old and could probably use a
facelift in some areas. But over all, we felt like it was the tropical
paradise that we were looking for. We didnt get to meet all of the people
that we emailed and those that we did meet, we didnt get to talk to very
much with the exception of a few. We were busy just taking it all in and we
were probably still a little more reserved than we should have been. But now
that we have been there once, the next time we should be able to come out of
our shells more. Regardless, we had a blast and we are definitely looking
forward to our next trip home.
Denny,
thanks for bringing us this website! I can only imagine how much time and
effort goes into creating and maintaining a website such as this one, but
please know that you are so very much appreciated. It must feel pretty good to
know that you bring so many people together and give folks a place to meet and
exchange ideas and stories and form friendships that carry over to their trips
and continue on afterward.
Chris
Santilli, thank you so much for your books. I read your first book because I
wanted to know the real story about this resort I had been so curious about
for several years, and it was after reading your book that I decided for sure
that I wanted to go. You brought us humor and information all in one book. And
like Dennys site, you helped us to prepare for our trip, thus, making it
more enjoyable.
Im beginning to understand the magic of Hedo. And Paul and I are both so very ready to go back home again.