We booked this trip about three weeks before the trip. For people that can live with quick changes this can be a money saver as the left over package deals usually get discount rates. Not knowing too much about Hedonism II, I did a little research. What I was interested in was NO KIDS, NO OTHER PEOPLES SPOILED BRATS. With that in mind I searched out Adult Only places. When my search found Hedonism, I started reading the clothing optional thing and was curious and interested. As things developed Hedonism has better entertainment. I talked with a couple at Couples Swept Away and they were disappointed in the lack of entertainment, so I believe Hedonism II has better entertainment all day and night. We didnt visit any of the specialty restaurants, just not interested in tying myself down to a special appointment.
At 0302am 6/9/05 US Airways called me to tell me the flight has been cancelled with instructions to push any button to continue. I pushed the end call button, OOPS! A quick call back with a slight complaint and I was booked on an earlier flight in Providence instead of the original flight in Hartford. We live half way between the two airports. Now we have to scramble to get our shit together and high tail it over to Providence because the flight is hour earlier than we planned. We made it no problem, but had to hustle all day. A quick layover in Phili and we were off to Jamaica, Montego Bay. Arrival at Montego bay was quick, Super Clubs grabs you from the lobby and gathers your bags in their office. Whole waiting, you can grab a beer or few at Margaritaville. I brought beer bottle insulators to keep two beers in my carryon to drink on the way. All the people on the bus to Negril were with Hedo II. This was nice as we got to know some people before getting their. Crazy Mike was a good person to talk with and joke with. He is an extravert, out going person that tries to get in the middle of most everything. The life of the party type of person. Im glad I met him. There were others with more introverted personalities and they were good to see and talk with as well. We talked the driver into getting a case of beer to drink, now Im starting to get a buzz! No problem, Im not driving!!!
We arrive at Hedo II and are greeted with champagne. While waiting, I visit the mens room and change into shorts. In minutes we had our keys and safe lock. They made us put a deposit down of $50. When we left, they gave it back and said it was for the telephone, we didnt use. We are brought to our rooms and in minutes had our luggage. Now I am really scrambling to get situated so I can make it to the nude pool for a drink. Those Walmart 34 ounce insulated mugs really got a work out and were lifesavers. The nude pool was full of people. We missed Roberts jerked chicken, which is served at the pool grill at 4:30pm every day. At around 5pm the public displays of sex started. Being this was my first time there I found it intriguing. Dear, see that technique??? It seemed to be a routine for some couples. The sex police walked by and didnt say a thing.
Being that it was toga night, we dressed up and headed to the main dining hall. This is a buffet style meal. Consisted in a grill area, a meat area, salad area, fruit/veggie area, desert area and sandwich area. Always plenty of fresh food. A large bar for your drinking. Dont forget it is all inclusive, all the food and drink you can stand, or crawl. Also there is an entertainment stage with live music and acts. Very nice. We made it to the dancing part and my wife was not coordinated. I wonder why? We left before 11 pm, which made a very long day.
The next day I tried my satellite radio, it worked perfectly. Also tried the Verizon cell phone. It also worked perfectly. You have to turn on the international calling option with your Verizon carrier. You cant receive calls and cant get messages as you are roaming. I called my friend and left a message on his phone.
The next day we kind a moseyed around and didnt do anything special. Had breakfast, lunch and dinner at the buffet. Of course there was live music and entertainment. I went down the water slide nude three times. It was great, the prudes wouldnt join us!!! Of course we always made Roberts Grill for the jerked chicken at 4:30pm.
One day, we took a cab and toured Negril. We went to Negril 25 years ago for our honeymoon and wanted to see what has changed. It is really built up. The driver showed us some caves. We actually found the place we stayed at 25 years ago. It is a 4 bedroom flat with common baths and living room/kitchen. Someone added onto one side and there were out buildings now. It is about 300 yards from where Papion was filmed. We watched a cliff diver/cliff climber. Nice kid. We saw the area where Jimmy Buffet landed his floatplane, and the police thought he was a smuggler and they shot up his plane. The driver also showed us the old smuggling airstrip. It has been incorporated into a usable road now. We had fun.
Another day we took a Black River Safari. There was only 4 of us. It consisted of a 3 hour bus trip while the driver told us about all the interesting facts about the towns, counties, and Jamaica. We stopped at Bob Marleys gravesite. When we got to the Black River we took a boat trip for about 1-2 hours. Looked at the vegetation and wildlife. Saw several crocodiles and some birds. After the boat ride we went to W. S. Falls. This consisted in a ride on a trailer made from an old horse trailer with bench seats. A farm tractor pulled it. At the falls we climbed to the top, took about 5 pics and it started pouring and lightening and thunder. We got soaked. Im glad I had a ziplock bag for my camera and stuff. There is a rope tied to a tree you can swing from and land in the water. Some people were having fun doing that. After that it was a two to three hour ride back.
Another day we took a cab to the craft market. This is where you need to bargain. We were not really looking for anything in particular but found some interesting things anyway. We also went to the duty free store in Negril. I think we could have done better at the duty free store at the airport by a few dollars on each item. Anyway, the Rum Cream is not available in the US, I understand only one-person imports it and only imports very little. In the beginning, I said I would get three bottles of OverProof Rum. In the end, I went for the upper class of Appletons Select, Reserve and a 12 year aged rum. Yo Ho Ho, and a bottle of Rum. Or is it Time Flies when you are having Rum Yes, I like Rum!
Because of the change in flight location coming to Jamaica, I had to make sure we flew to the correct airport on the way home. The flight home reminded me of flying with Agony Airlines. Anybody remember them??? We received our eviction notice which told us when to have our bags ready and when we were leaving. We put our bags outside the room door and headed to the lobby. We checked out and waited around for the bus. The trip to the airport was quick. Saw the cops (Red Stripes) pull someone over for speeding. They were using a handheld radar gun. At the airport we didnt have our checked in bags searched, and we didnt go through an explosive detector. Immigration said, Next time bring a marriage license. Probably next time we will have a Passport!!! January 1st is the cutoff for Passport use in the Caribbean. We went to the duty free store to check a few items. We did pay more at the duty free store in Negril. We went to Gate 6 and waited. Gate 6 is probably the hottest place in the whole airport. When we were allowed on the jet, airport security decided to check our carry-ons. Mine had a wad of $1s. When the security person saw this, she immediately pulled her hands out of the bag and spread her fingers. Im guessing so the camera, or myself could see she didnt have anything in her hands.
We arrived at Phili on time, made it through immigration and customs. The customs officer screens us with questions such as; what do you do for a living, how long were you gone, stuff like that. At this point I thought my bags were checked for the final time. NOT!!! We placed our bags on a conveyor that brought them to the next level down. At that location, without our presents, TSA searched my bag. My wifes bag didnt get searched. This made my bag miss the connection to Providence. When I received my bag the next day, it looked like someone dumped the contents out, and tore apart many items and then stuffed them all back into my suitcase. Some items were missing, and some were broken. Thanks, TSA for ruining a perfect vacation. They must have really tried hard to break an insulated 54 ounce mug!!!
Now for the HEDO II rating.
The room was nice, cleaned daily.
Shower was as warm/hot as you wanted it.
The area we were in was not noisey RM 2106.
The dive shack had beach towels most times.
The pool, hot tub, and such were clean, and cleaned daily from 7-9pm.
The grounds were kept in good repair and clean.
The entertainment was more than you need.
Food was well prepared.
The staff was friendly and glad you are there.
Hedo tries hard to provide a Jamaican atmosphere.
The beach was cleaned daily.
Lawn furniture was arranged daily.
Our CD player didnt work, and I didnt pursue getting a new one.
I noticed the new hot tubs being installed on the first floor beach side. They look nice, like 4 person hot tubs. I figure at the rate they are going, they should be done in 30 days.
They do sell day/night passes. I hear its $65 and you get everything except for a room. This bothered us a little. We had a night pass Wally trolling the hot tub one night. Finally we left and came back later.
The cabbie we used was very knowledgeable. His name is LeRoy. Hes been doing it for 20 years and knows where everything is!!! You can find him by walking out the lobby and looking around. He is usually there with his van.