June 7-15
US
We are a professional couple who have been together for a bit more than 2 years. This was our first extended vacation together and her first real vacation ever. He has been to Hedo 5 times previously, her never (obviously). We both work too hard in moderately stressful jobs. We had been talking about taking this trip for about a half a year. One of the things that helped us make the decision to go was the great company we experienced meeting the people of a local Hedo Group, the Boston Area Hedo Group.
In general, he is more easy going and open minded than she is. We had several discussions about where our relationship was and what we expected. While there, we had almost daily discussions about the things we did and saw. We almost always ended these discussions with a comment like, It gets better every day!
He is the kind of person that gets up at 7:30-8 for coffee and fruit on the beach and can go till 3am. She is just as happy to sleep till 10am, then stumble to the beach by 11am. She can be just as content going to bed at 11pm, as at 2am. No problems there.
Travel
Round trip, non-stop on Air Jamaica between Logan and MoBay was sweet. We had an hour and a half delay leaving Mobay on the return, but by then we were in no hurry to go anywhere and we had a good crew of familiar Hedo faces to keep us company in the airport. Overall, the AJ service was timely, friendly and courteous, food was above average by airline standards, and we would highly recommend them. We took the bus to ease into the vacation, to see the countryside, and for the camaraderie. She also has a mild fear of flying, so the small plane was not really an option. We experienced no luggage inspections on either leg, although almost everyone else was stopped and inspected upon returning. The road is in better shape, but there are still 2 or 3 places where the vehicle must come to a complete stop because of rough surfaces. We made two stops incoming and one outgoing. On the return trip to the airport we stopped at Lollipop. They tried to sell us one Red Stripe and one water in a Red Stripe bottle. An immediate return trip to the bar with a scowl and bark resulted in another cold Red Stripe.
The Resort
I had visited in Nov/Dec when the renovations were near complete. Seeing the end result was still a big surprise. The new pool complex is simply breathtaking. The plunge pools are beautiful and the new prude pool and swim up bar are an amazing thing to behold at night as the colors change. We saw people (nude and prude) taking advantage of the plunge pools and lower pool almost everyday, so it was good to see them being taken advantage of. The plunge pools also offer great photo ops. The renovations are also helping break the boundaries of nude/prude. The skyway from the water slide to the old prude bar is beautiful. While it is a drastic change to the landscape it was done in a way that compliments the grounds and now I cant picture how it was without it.
What can I say about the water slide? OH THAT WATER SLIDE! What a rush! You dont need drugs or alcohol. The water slide will make you high for days. It is a perfect length, with perfect turns. After your first run you want to catch your breath and run to the top and do it again, and again, and again. Two things: you must do it nekked (it is faster), and you must scream all the way down! Both of us will go back just for the water slide. If I had to count, I would say we each went down a minimum of 5-6 times/day. We usually made mid afternoon trips and then a few trips around midnight.
The disco is a bit larger with the addition of a new glass wall at the base of the water slide. It is very cool dancing and watching people come down the water slide. The new gym looked nice, but neither of us tried it. There are new pool tables and ping pong tables by the plunge pools that are fun. The pool tables are covered with astroturf which adds an interesting twist to the action and the ping pong tables need nets. If anyone is feeling generous please take down a few nets and brackets.
We didnt see one person use the climbing wall.
Occupancy level was low - maybe 1/2 to 3/4 full. Many nights one entire side of the dining area was not even set up.
The Staff
When I visited near the end of last year the staff was still platooning, per se. They were alternately being called in for a week or two and then being given time off again. The Entertainment Coordinators were nearly nonexistent. Several times people had to go find ECs to remind them of scheduled activities. When they were present, which was usually in the disco at night, they were wrapped up in entertaining themselves rather than the paying clients. Now it looks like the resort is back to full staff. The grounds are immaculate and the attitudes are greatly improved. There are several new ECs and they are attractive, attentive, and customer oriented. They did a great job of getting things started without being pushy. This is possibly the best group of ECs that I have seen since my first visit.
One area that still needs improvement the bartenders in the main bar and disco bar. It amazes me that 6-8 people can be standing at the bar with empty cups held out waiting several minutes for service while the bartenders talk to each other, or stare at the TV. I tried to be objective and ask if this was just a case of high expectations, but I am convinced that it is not, as the service at the two pools and Veronicas was what I would expect. A tip: have a lady get your drink for you. They seem to get slightly better service.
Unfortunately, some of the negative comments that have been posted about Dave, the piano player, seem to be true. He simply failed to show up one night with no explanation and because of that, the next night there was only about a dozen people in Veronicas. Too bad, because he does such a good show and I really enjoy watching the master at work.
The Food
During my year end trip I actually lost weight at Hedo because the food was so repetitive and mediocre. Not so any more. The food was attractive, ample, varied, and quite good. I tried the roast beef whenever it was offered and it was great tastefully spiced and properly cooked. We ate at Manuhama twice. Manuhama is located in the rear of the open dining area, near Veronicas. It is a nice dining option that we highly recommend. Your choices are beef, chicken, or shrimp. The first time we had shrimp, the second time we had a combo of the three. The combo was our favorite. The mix of vegetables was slightly different than we had seen served stateside, but still tasty. It is pretty funny seeing Jamaicans dressed in kimonos. Dave was the better of the two cooks. We also ate at Pastafari one night. This was also a nice change, especially since it is air conditioned. The service was attentive, but not overbearing just the way you want things to be when you are on vacation. The Shrimp Diablo was spicy and delicious. Strangely, I enjoyed the red wine in the dining area better than that in Pastafari.
We did try some of the local treats such as calalloo and steamed greens, but stayed away from the curried goat.
An afternoon snack of a cheese burger or grilled cheese from Roberts was a must.
The People
This was my third trip during the beginning of June and this is a time of year with a very high repeater rate. That coupled with the fact that we emailed and set up a website (Yahoo Groups: SandSlugs) for people to post messages and pictures before departing gave us a great head start on making friends. Conservatively, we knew more than 50% of the people there. Not only was it like coming homeit was like coming home to a house full of old friends. People are so diverse, friendly, beautiful, and non-judgmental I cant picture Shangri-La being any better. If you want to see a grown man cry ask me about some of the people we spent time with. I wont mention individuals by name, but know that we both miss all of you so much that we are constantly saying, I miss X and Y, or They were such cool people. Why didnt we spend more time with them?
Vinnies??? None sited.
Wallys??? One sited. Quite harmless and probably just a bit overbearing in trying to make friends. Otherwise singles were welcomed at every turn.
Lurkers??? Two sited. They sat in chairs at midnight around the hot tub not saying a word.
Diving
I did 4 dives on 6 non-travel days. You can not dive on a day that you fly. There are two dives daily. At 9:30 there is a deep dive to 90 feet and at 11:30 there is a shallow dive to about 60 feet. The dive staff is top notch. They are very professional and friendly. I have done more than 20 dives at Hedo and have become very fond of the dive staff. I always arrive early to help load the boat and stay afterwards to help unload the equipment. The staff really appreciates this.
Hedo offers a resort certification that includes classroom learning, pool demonstrations, and then open water dives. If you ever thought you might be interested in diving this is the place to try it, as it is included in your all-inclusive price. Diving at Hedo makes the overall cost a no-brainer for me.
The equipment (regulators and PFDs) are old, but functional. They should probably be replaced soon (see Mark and Roses report). Many people bring their own regulators, PFDs, mask, fins, etc, but you can get all of these at the dive shack. Personally, I bring my own mask, fins, and snorkel. I have brought a wetsuit on previous trips, but it is not necessary. Water temps were 80-82F all week. Due to previous rains, visibility was the worst this trip than on all others. Still visibility was 40-50 feet.
For those not so inclined to try scuba there is great snorkeling off of the nude beach, or just get a mask from the dive shack and peek over the edge of your float. You are likely to see brilliant yellow fish, black, striped, and spotted angel fish, spiny puffer fish, sea cucumbers, starfish, and sea urchins. This will make you think twice about where you step when swimming. It is not uncommon to see a ray or skate swim by the beach. I have heard that the organized snorkeling trips are good, but did not try them.
Other Activities
One of the nice things about Hedo is that you can pretty much do what you want, when you want. You can participate in the organized activities or organize your own. Find Your Mate and Naked Twister were interesting, and the Scavenger Hunt was conducted back by the aviary. Imagine a dozen or so nude people (in bare feet too) running around back by the aviary looking for bottles of Tia Maria. I had so looked forward to playing volleyball, but broke a finger the second day. Too bad.
Still, some of the best moments are spontaneous, like motor boat races, pushing the lobster, shark, or whale around the pool and hot tub, spinning the Wheel of Passion, or poolside massages and body shots cant be beat. Our favorite was a midnight rendezvous on the float with champagne and candles.
PJ and Toga night were fun, but other trip reports will do better justice to those activities than this one. The after dinner entertainment was fun. We enjoyed Roots Explosion and after dinner dancing.
The DJs in the disco played a great mix that got us going every night.
The Weather
We had two days of rain, but this did not stop the afternoon gatherings in the hot tub. Why is it that people gather in the hot tub to get out of the rain? Otherwise, afternoon temps were in the mid 80s. Fortunately, there was a moderate breeze every afternoon. It does get humid in the evenings, which can make it down right balmy in the dining area. Night time temperatures were in the mid to upper 70s, which is very conducive to evening skinny-dipping since the ocean is slightly warmer than the air.
Special Moments
Vicki and Meg singing karaoke. Go Girls! But first let me reel my tongue in!
NBHs
Vicki singing in the talent show! Sing to me baby!
Talking about tattoos and the Red Sox while siping a cold one in the pool.
Swimming (scuba) through the coral tunnels at The Arches and Treasure Reef.
It was pretty cool watching the Lennox Lewis Mike Tyson fight while being surrounded by Jamaicans. They really are a very proud people.
On the float with candles and champagne at midnight.
In the cave any time.
The hot tub at 2am.
The Roman Gladiator and his slave at the Toga Party.
Watching Duane or Melanie dance in the disco. What moves!
Dancing in the disco at midnight she says, I feel like skinny-dipping. She grabs him by the hand, drags him to the prude beach, they strip and swim out to the float.
In the Caf around lunchtime at the end of the week she says, Im hot. I need to cool off. Seconds later she is nekked and floating in one of the plunge pools.
We received an awesome send-off from friends on Moon Hill.
Revelations
A little alcohol helps relieve preflight jitters.
She was very nervous about the nude thing and swore beforehand that she would keep her bottoms on all week. Less than two minutes after she was on the beach she says, Is this the part where I get over myself and take my top off? And off it came! At 4pm we went over to play volleyball. He played. She kept score. Before the end of the game she disappeared! So he walked down the beach to find her. He finds her floating nekked in the surf. She calls to him. I want to call my best friend and tell her that Im floating nekked in the ocean. Its so freeing and so comfortable. From that point on it was hard to get her to put anything on other than a towel and other than at dinner time.
She still says, I hate underwear. I dont think Im going to wear a bra ever again.
Before the trip she said, Youre anti-prude. During the trip she said, It really sucks that all of the improvements are on the prude side. Im going to lobby for a new pool on the nude side. Their pool is so much nicer. Who do I write a letter to?
Despite the fact that you can drink as much as you want (or can hold as the case may be) we didnt drink a lot. Two to three drinks per day was typical. We didnt want to crash and miss out on any of the fun. The most we consumed was on the last day when we had 3 drinks in quick succession. It made the bus ride tolerable.
Time warps in Jamaica. When you are there time seems to move along at a good pace. When you get home you realize that if you stayed up 20 hours in a day there still is not enough time to do everything you want.
Bottom line: A week at Hedo brought us closer together than a year at home.