Hedo II. The
changes that were made since our last visit in March of '01 were quite
surprising, and disappointing at the same time. The addition of Munahana (the
Japanese restaurant) was one I had heard about, and was salivating over (being a
lover of sushi), until I got there. I had experienced Munahana for the first
time at GL Braco in October, and was blown away by the extensive menu,
presentation, quality and quantity available at the sushi bar. A hibachi table
seating was also available, but why bother? At Hedo, we were limited to
sitting at the hibachi table, with no choice but what was on the menu. The
hibachi offerings were fair, the miso soup was served with cabbage(???), and the
"sushi" wasn't worth the saliva to ingest it. I love Japanese food, but
this had been obviously prepped somewhere else and refrigerated to the point of
being dried out, served with a miniscule dollop of wasabi. The experience of
H2's Munahana left me heading for the buffet line after we were finished. To say
we were disappointed would be an understatement. Scotch Bonnet's offerings while
excellent in flavor, were extremely small in portion, going instead for a french
restaurant style presentation. The concept of trimming fat and bone from meat
seems to escape all the prep cooks at Hedo. The one thing that stood out amongst
otherwise really mediocre food, was the grilled pork chops served up for lunch.
Those were FABULOUS Enough about food.
I noticed that the improvements to the grounds were on the prude side. The
little hidey hole pools big enough for maybe 6(?) were great, but why not add a
few on the nude side? The water slide was good for some laughs. Alot of the
shortcuts we used to use to get from say.. the dining hall to the nude side were
gone due to the additions. A casino? Why? The workout room however,
deserves it's own separate round of applause. Whoever set it up, had the right
idea.
Security is getting better. We always stay on the nude side, and this trip
security was a little quicker to head off both the males and females that were
coming over for a look, by telling them it's called the nude side for a
reason. The sex police seem to have left, with a uniformed officer making
rounds, instead of standing and gawking, waiting for a couple to engage in a pda/pdp
so he could pounce and save our morality. There is one thing that troubled
me with regards to security though... The float lines used to demarkate
the swim/snorkle areas, have been relocated, so now the dope dealers in the
"Blue Taxi's" can come right up to the shore. Why can't Joseph Smith
contact the Negril Police to have the dealers removed once and for all? Am I the
only person that's tired of hearing "Pssst.. I've got what you need mon. Best
ganja on the island" I don't partake, and don't care if someone else does,
but it's a pain in the ass to keep telling the SAME dealer that I don't want his
f---ing weed, and to get lost, time after time. C'mon Joseph, get with the
program.
Delroy, Scumba, Fergie, and Grace are still the most kick-ass bartenders Jamaica
has to offer, serving up liquid magic with style and a smile.
To sum up the trip... we met some great people, got a great tan, had a blast
with the bar staff, security is getting better, the food still sucks, but it's
Hedo II. What more can I say? Respect.