Eric & Renata - May, 2008
This was our second trip to Hedo II (May 23 – June 1 2008). Our first one was two weeks long in April 2006.
Flights & Travel
There were three of us travelling on the non-stop flight from LAX to Montego Bay: myself, my husband and my sister. The flight itself and service during the flight were fine, but they managed to lose a bag. We all checked our luggage together with Air Jamaica in LAX and upon landing in Mo Bay we discovered that one bag was missing. It happened to be the only bag that my sister brought with her. After filling out some papers and talking to the Air Jamaica Service Rep they assured us that the bag went on to Kingston and “Not to worry, mon. We’ll get it to you today”. So we headed to the Super clubs lounge to continue on to the resort. Since it was around 7am the roads to Negril were empty and we got there in 80 min. There were only three of us on the bus and we were really tired, since we had a red eye flight and did not get to sleep on the plain. Later that night around 9pm they had delivered the bag. My lucky sister! I let her use some of my clothes (we are about the same size) and toiletries through the day. So she still was able to enjoy the resort.
Resort & Rooms
Resort at the time was only half full partially due to remodeling of the few garden view buildings and partially due to no huge groups visiting. Because of it we never had any problem getting good beach chairs any time of the day, dining tables, restaurant reservations or spa treatments. They actually resurfaced Delroy’s Bar for couple days and made a temporary bar table by the grill. Well, they have to do the remodels sometimes, so it makes sense to do it during the slow time.
Originally we paid for the least expensive garden view. And my sister paid for the singe-share garden view room. We booked our rooms through Denny P. Couple months prior to the trip we joined the “Hedo-on-line/Wildcats” group. The part of the group deal was that the resort would try to accommodate everybody with the express check-in, which did not happen to us and we got our room only three hours later. But they upgraded us to the nude side, since they were asked by the group organizers to block rooms close to each other on the nude side.
My sister got a nude ocean view non-smoking room on the first floor with no issues.
Our room was on the first floor 2138 garden view nude. When we got the room it was so smoky that it almost made me nauseous. Somebody before us must have been not only smoking in the room day and night with windows shut, but also stacking some stash in the crack of the wall right next to the bed. We called the front desk to ask for a different room but they couldn’t find us any other room (considering the resort was almost a ghost town). So I put my can of Lysol to work: I sprayed AC filter area, walls, window, bed, furniture – you name it, I sprayed it. I continued to do so through the week. And you know, by the time we had to go home, our room smelled almost good. Luckily we did not spend too much time in it. And the next people who got the room after us probably benefited from my dedication to keep it fresh.
The mattress on the bed was hard, really hard. And the pillows must have been the worst I have ever slept on (and I grew up in the Soviet Union and by no means was spoiled with luxuries!). They were cheap, well overused, lumpy, dense, matted sum of viscose designed for the neck inquisition. The stupid things were so uncomfortable I kept waking up with neck cramps in the middle of the night and in the mornings and towards the end of the trip I really was looking forward to a normal sleep at home bed.
There were some other miner plumbing issues in the bathroom. The sink drain was clogged and the side showers were messed up. We called the front desk and wrote a note to our housekeeper and couple days later it got fixed.
Food
The food was not fancy but good on some days and ok on others. I would say three stars out of five. We tried buffet, restaurants and grills. There was always something local to try. We were hoping to have a lobster on the Manager’s buffet, but it did not happen. And we know it was not a closed lobster season, because you could have it outside the resort.
Spa
Spa services were great. The staff was very accommodating. First time we booked a 90min massage on the beach for two, but it started to look like it is going to rain and they reschedule it for the next day with “No problem”. Second time we booked a 60min massage on the beach for three and they accommodated us around the weather as well. I would definitely recommend a massage on the beach. They put the tables under the shade of the great tree right next to the water so you can hear and see the waves right under you. It was so relaxing that all of us at all times were drifting away in dreams during the service. That’s why we had to do it twice!
Entertainment & Theme Nights
All the EC except three people we met two years ago are new. And most of them were really new: five days, three days, first day on the job. Looks like they have an on-going turnover of the staff. And it showed. Most times the scheduled activities written on the board never occurred. Then why do they bother to write it on the board?
Other nights were rather boring comparing to the trip two years ago. They hardly played any couple or sexy games after the dinner like they used to.
Also the major disappointment was theme nights.
Saturday: The only memorable thing was Winston doing his number in drag, which I remember from the two years ago.
Sunday Theme: Retro 60, 70, 80 Pimp & Ho. Nobody from EC was even dressed in a theme and there were no costume prizes or any acknowledgments from the staff regards to a theme. Weak!
Monday Theme: Western Night. Oh, what a disappointment! Again, no EC dressed up or participation. The only western thing about that night was one old singer guy dressed as a cowboy singing American country songs with the guitar. It actually decreased the energy level. B-o-r-i-n-g. There was nothing sexy or entertaining about it. It was made of suck.
Tuesday: PJ Party. This was the only night that EC put on a little dancing show. But again, since I remember what it was like two years ago, it was definitely not the same.
Wednesday: Mardi Gras & Reggae night. Again, EC was not into it. There was not even contest for the costumes or beads. And there was not much reggae also.
Thursday: Toga night. That was the only night besides PJ that resort encouraged people to participate. But we even did not get the sheets in our room for the togas. In our case it was not a problem because I made our togas two years ago and we brought them for this trip. And still, not the same level of energy. Only 50% of people had togas on.
Friday: Bikini Pool Party, Pirates & Booty Bottoms got replaced by the Casino Night. It was another disappointment. What they had for the entertainment was playing Bingo for couple of hours. Few people were invited to play black jack for Hedo bucks during that time. Seriously, that made me think of the retirement home or something old people in wheelchairs would do on the cruise ships. (Sorry old folks, but it is what it is).
But I can tell you, big difference made that we signed up with the Wildcats and Hedo-on-line group. They organized the theme nights themselves and better than resort at the time.
On Monday night at the Disco they threw the “School reunion & Naughty School Girl” party. That was fun. Most people from the group showed up dressed and we had tons of photos. Wildcats Rick & Suzie just made so much difference in their effort to keep the energy and fun for every day and night. They brought tons toys and fun little things.
Honestly, if they would not have been there it would be just another three star resort with the nude beach. If the management is not careful, they may lose the identity of the resort and also repeat customers. It is already happening. We had noticed the overall decline in the resort from just two years ago. We also talked to several people that shared some of the same views. I hope the management reads this report and does something to restore the liveliness of this place.
There is one more Night event I just have to mention. On our last Saturday of the vacation another group called “Good girls bone bad” came to the resort. They brought male strippers from the US who put on “a very big and long” show that night. That was really something! You could definitely call it an entertainment: it was sexy and done by professional dancers and it suited the atmosphere of the resort. It was so much better than a Western or a Casino Nights. You got my point. And again it was something a group contributed to the resort.
Special Thanks to Wildcats Rick & Suzie, Hedo-on-line Rob & Mollie and Male dancers from “Good girls gone bad”!
Will we return to HedoII?
Maybe, but we’ll be following the news from the DennyP board and reports and if no improvements are made to this resort we’ll be considering other places for the vacation.