Comparison of Hedo II, Hedo III, and Desire Resorts

In the last 3 years, my wife and I have been to Hedo 2 (Dec 06), Hedo 3 (May 04 and Feb 05) and Desire (May 06).  This is a little comparison of how we saw the features of each.  As always, the other visitors at the time have a big effect on the overall stay, and your mileage may very.   My wife and I are in our mid-30's and usually enjoy being active and joining in games and activities.  We generally book run of house rather than upgrade to the better room locations. 

In the airport:

Hedo 2/3: The Superclubs lounge makes it very easy once you clear customs.  The air-conditioned lounge is relaxing, and they bring you right to the bus. 

Desire:  A little harder, since you have to run the gamut of time share hawkers that are overly willing to help carry your bags. 

Winner:  Hedos 

Getting There

Hedo 2:   The road to Negril is paved all the way, but still took at least an hour and a quarter each way.  The drivers usually make at least one stop for bathroom break and refreshments. 

Hedo 3:  The road to Runaway Bay/Ocho Rios is still being worked, and at times we were driving on asphalt, broken stones, dirt, or water.  The ride is about 90 minutes.  The drivers usually make at least one stop for bathroom break and refreshments. 

Desire:  This is a much shorter ride.  Desire is about 25 minutes away from the airport, and on a major highway.  The last 5 minutes of the drive are down a secluded road with many speed bumps, but overall it's a smooth ride to the resort. 

Winner:  Desire.   

Checking In

Hedo 2:  We arrived around 5 PM – check-in took a few minutes, but no amenities were offered (cool towels, champagne, etc.).  The first room they gave us was occupied, and we had to wait while they found a room that was actually available. 

Hedo 3:  We received mimosas and cool towels upon arrival.  We arrived at 4 PM, and a room was ready for us.

Desire:   Check-in was a breeze.  We arrived around noon.  Rooms were not available, but we were allowed to enjoy the resort in the meantime.  We had champagne and cool towels upon arrival.  Rooms were available at the check-in time of 3 PM. 

 Winner:  Desire was the best for us, but we had no real problems at any of them 

The Resort layout

Hedo 2:  Largest of the resorts, and it has by far the most foliage and vegetation.  The place is well maintained, and the gardens are very nice.  Adding to the resort's charm are the countless painted rocks and carved trees from former guests, making it well known that this is the most established of the three resorts.  There are nice paths through the greenery leading to hidden picnic tables and hot tubs.  Because it is the largest, it can take some time to get from place to place.  There is also some elevation, so you find yourself walking up and down hills all day.  If you are staying at the back of the prude side, it can be a hike to the nude side.  This is the one resort at which we’d likely book nude side rather than run of house.   

Hedo 3:  Smaller than H2, and far less vegetation.  There is more cement here than at H2, but everything is still well maintained.  It is definitely an easier walk across the resort.

Desire:  The smallest of the 3 resorts.  We stayed a few months after Hurricane Wilma, so much of the vegetation was down.  However, the grounds were well cared for, everything was easy to get to, and it all made sense.  This was by far the most elegant of the layouts. 

Winner:  No winner.  If you like long walks and lots of green you pick H2.  If you like short walks you choose Desire. 

The Rooms

Hedo 2:  Worst of the rooms.  It was the dirtiest, and they have the most problems (A/C not working is a common complaint).  One other thing that everyone complains about at 2 is the water, but we had two different rooms and both always had great water pressure and lots of hot water.  We heard outside noises from time to time, and the gaps in the doors let in tons of light as soon as the sun comes up. 

Hedo 3:  A little newer and a little nicer than H2.  We stayed in the Quads on both visits.  The A/C worked at our stays there, and the rooms were pretty big.  The bathroom fan is LOUD, but closing the door and leaving the fan on drowned out any outside noise.   The rooms were fairly dark with the shades shut.  The showers had problems with hot water from time to time, but it wasn't too bad.  There are Jacuzzi tubs in the bathroom, but they aren't big enough for 2 people.  Also, stepping into the shower/Jacuzzi required a HUGE step up on slippery tile.  Add in the prevalent alcohol, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Desire:  The nicest of the rooms.  The A/C was fine.  The shower was not enclosed on all sides, but gave us no problems.  There could be a bit more shelf room in the bathrooms, but you can put things in the cabinet under the sink.  The best part of the room was the curtains.  The heavy blackout curtains literally blocked out the sun.   Close them and you hear no noise and see no light.  You could sleep through the day and not notice it. 

Winner:  Desire 

The Beach

Hedo 2:  Long beach, but not as nice as some others in the Negril area.   The beach is on a sharp slope in most places, and it is a bit rocky.   The water had a lot of seaweed sludge in it, but that could have been just the time we were there.  The swimming area was very calm, however, and it was peaceful to lie in a raft.  There are also tons of chairs, and lots of trees for shade. 

Hedo 3:  There's no beach.    Okay, okay, there's a beach.  It's maybe a hundred feet long, man made, rocky, and generally lousy.   You're better off believing that there's no beach.

Desire:  Winner by a landslide.  The long beach is powdery white sand.  There isn't much natural shade, but there are nice beds and palapas on the beach.  There is also drink service on the beach, meaning you never have to leave your bed.   The ocean isn't as calm for lying in a raft, but is still pleasant and not too deep.

Winner:  Desire easily.   H2 is second.  H3 never even made it to the race.

The Nude Pool

Hedo 2:  Good sized pool, which also includes a cold jet tub on a raised pedestal in the middle of the pool, and a shallow sitting area.  There is a grotto for slightly hidden antics.  There are multiple tables throughout the pool.  It has a swim-up bar, and is close to the hot tub, but separate from it.  They do not play water volleyball in this pool.  The lounge chairs offer a little shade from trees and walls, but not too much.  The ECs will sometimes announce games up here, but sometimes you have to walk down the steps to the beach in order to find out about the activities.  The nude side guests are split between pool people and beach people, and will often have long range water balloon fights between the two.  The bathroom is very small and not very clean. 

Hedo 3:  A smaller pool that often has water volleyball, even though the pool is a little too small for it.  There is a swim up bar, and a few tables as well.  The hot tub is attached to the pool, which makes it a target for errant volleyballs.  There is a shaded area under some trees, but it is a few rows away from the pool.  All nude activities happen here.  Since the beach is so poor, almost all nude residents stay here.  The bathroom is a little larger than H2, but still pretty dirty.  It gets worse as the day goes on.

Desire:  About the same size as H3, the split level pool has a very shallow area for relaxing in the water, and a deeper area.  The pool is deep and wide enough for swimming laps from time to time.  There is no swim up bar (but it isn't missed - see service).   There are some umbrellas for shade, but not enough.    All the activities happen here, making it the hang out spot for anyone wanting to get involved.   Two or three times per day, some athletic activity will occur here, usually water volleyball or water polo.  The bathroom is small, but clean and well maintained.

Winner:  All are good.  H2 and Desire tie for first.

The Nude Hot Tub

Hedo 2:  The original and second best.  It is huge, and ranged from warm to very warm during our stay.   There is more than enough room for people to spread out and do whatever it is they do in the nude hot tub (yes, I'm talking about good conversation).  It is next to the pool, but still separate from it.  The bar isn't too far, although this bar does close from 6:00 - 10:00 pm, even though the tub is still in use during these hours.  The hot tub was chemically shocked everyday, and seemed clean enough.

Hedo 3:  A very small hot tub attached to the nude pool.   During the day, it wasn't usually that hot.  It is right next to the bar, which is good.  It is also right next to the pool, meaning volleyballs are flying in there all day.

Desire:  Another winner.  The rooftop Jacuzzi is 'L' shaped, and starts off shallow.  It is probably a little smaller than H2, but it makes up for it with the location, the view, the swim up bar, and the nearby beds.  The Jacuzzi was always warm, and is cleaned every morning.

Winner:  Desire for the nicest of hot tubs.  H2 next for pure size, and size does count.  H3 brings up the rear.

The Prude Side (beaches, pools, and hot tubs)

Hedo 2:  The prude pool was broken up into smaller pools on multiple levels.  The largest had a water volleyball net, but wasn't big enough for a real game.  The prude beach was just as nice as the nude beach.  The prude hot tubs are small, but nice for a small gathering.  There are also private hot tubs scattered around the resort.

Hedo 3:  H3 has a prude pool outside the main lobby, but it goes virtually unused.  The prude beach is much nicer than the nearly nonexistent nude beach.  Often beach people on the nude side complain that the unused prude beach should be made into the nude beach.  What sets H3 apart is the Quad pool area.  This pool is huge, has bridges and platforms, and swim-up bar, and lots of places to lie out.  The area is clothing optional, and it has a great water volleyball area.  The two downsides to the Quads stem from location.  It is usually quiet, since activities aren't normally held there.    The ECs venture there only on Quad 'takeovers.'  Also, the pool is surrounded by room blocks on all sides.  This makes sunlight or shade hard to capture, as the shadows shift depending upon how the sun hits the buildings.  The Quad area has its own good sized hot tub.  There is also a glass bottomed hot tub outside the disco.

Desire:  Desire is C/O all over, so there really isn't a 'prude' side.   There is only one pool and one beach.

Winner:  H3, since the Quads gives it a separate C/O area with a huge pool and bar.  H2 prude areas don't measure up. 

Breakfast

Note that all 3 had omelet stations, and all were good.

Hedo 2:  We thought the other food choices were the worst of the 3 resorts.

Hedo 3:  The best selection of other breakfast foods.

Desire:   Not as much of a selection as H3, but the food that was there was better than H2.  There wasn't as much evidence of serving yesterday's leftovers as a 'new and different' breakfast selection.  Both Hedos did this.

 Winner:  H3, followed by D.

Lunch

Hedo 2:  The nude grill was not for us.  The grilled cheese made the wife ill.  The burgers looked . . . unhealthy.  In the main dining room, lunch time food ranged from average to lousy.   The 4:00 pm jerk chicken was good, but it didn't help when we were hungry earlier in the day.

 Hedo 3:  HUGE winner!  The grill and the main dining room were the same as H2.  HOWEVER, H3 has Scotch Bonnet, the Jamaican café open all day.  Not only were the jerk chicken and meat patties excellent, but they had a nice selection of other food as well.  Even better, they were happy to wrap up the food and provide plastic ware in order to bring the food back to the nude pool, which was a decent walk away.  Finally, the view from the restaurant set over the ocean was gorgeous.  The only down point was putting on clothes to visit.

Desire:  The only resort to offer only one choice for lunch.  D has a grill by the main pool, with some buffet choices as well as cooked to order chicken, burgers fish and steaks.  The lunch was okay, but got monotonous after a few days.  On the plus side, you did not have to put on much clothing to get some lunch.

Winner:  H3 by far.  Desire was second.   H2 was a distant 3rd.

Dinner Buffet

Hedo 2:  Usually somewhere between poor and acceptable, except for the excellent gala buffet Friday night. 

Hedo 3:  A little better than H2, but still a lot of variation in food quality.  The Friday night offering wasn't as good as H2.

Desire:  About the same as H3.  The buffet is smaller with fewer options, and of course is targeted towards Mexican food rather than Jamaican food.

Winner:  H3 and D, with H2 not too far behind.

Specialty Restaurants

Hedo 2:  Munasan and Pastafari are both good.  Munasan is the typical hibachi style Japanese grill, and is in the back of the open air dining area.  Pastafari is air conditioned, and has good Jamaican versions of Italian meals.  Both restaurants are much better than the buffet.

Hedo 3:  Same as H2, except both are air conditioned.   At both resorts, you have to make reservations during the day, and you need to have room numbers for every person on the reservation.

Desire:  The best of all the resorts.  The Italian restaurant is open air and pretty good.  The Japanese and International places are air conditioned and excellent.  The International restaurant is seriously fine dining, and we can't wait to eat here again.  They did away with any reservation system, which may cause a wait for a table, but was so much more pleasant than having to make a schedule.  The only possible drawback is the need for pants in the indoor restaurants, but this wasn't an ordeal for us.

Winner:  Desire wins for us, but all the specialty restaurants at all the resorts are excellent and worthwhile. 

Late Night Snacks:

Hedo 2/3:   At midnight, both resorts put our some of the standard grill fare, as we as leftovers from that evening. 

Desire:  Desire starts making fresh pizza late at night, and they continue to make it throughout the night.  As a bonus, the pizza is actually pretty good.

Winner:  Desire.  Less variety, but much better food.

Bars: 

Hedo 2:  The main bar is on the outskirts of the main restaurant, near the food stations.  This means you can get in the way of diners carrying food while you're waiting for drinks.  There also isn't much space to meet or talk with others.  This is the only bar we’ve ever seen without bar stools!

Hedo 3:  The main bar is in a great location, right between the specialty restaurants and the main dining area.  It makes for a great hangout spot before or after dinner.

Desire:  The main bar is open 24 hours per day.  'Nuff said.  It is also next to the outdoor lounge which is full of chairs and couches, which makes it easy to get drinks and hang out.

Winner:  Desire for the 24 hours, H3 for location. 

Entertainment: 

Hedo 2 / 3:  Both have decent shows put on by the ECs.  There are also circus shows, weather dependent.  Usually more fun are the audience involved shows, such as Battle of the Sexes or the Mr./Ms. Hedo contests. 

Desire:  Very little in the way of performance or audience participation shows.   Every night there was a band/musician in the outdoor lobby area, but no EC run shows or skits.

Winner:  If you like shows and audience participation, the Hedos win.   If you want classy dinner music in a lounge atmosphere, Desire wins.  Hedo definitely offers more options.

Activities: 

Note that all three have a long list of scheduled activities, and all three run on Caribbean time.  This means that an activity may run as scheduled.  It may run late.  It may not run at all.  Sometimes the activity lists are just suggestions.  Do not expect any of the resorts to be exact in this regard.

Hedo 2:  The ECs (entertainment coordinators) were on duty early in the morning to late at night.  The normal method of garnering participants would be to stand at the nude bar and scream.  Because the nude pool is up a small set of stairs, pool dwellers may not hear about the activity unless they are looking out for it.   Prizes are Hedo bucks which can be redeemed for prizes (t-shirts, bandanas, etc.) and booze.  Other than booze, prizes are limited, and often out-of-stock.

Hedo 3:  All nude side activities occur at the smaller nude pool, meaning that you won't miss out on much.  They also use a microphone here.  We found the ECs at H3 to be a little pushier as far as getting people to volunteer.  We found a better booze prize selection here, but they had no t shirts or other merchandise during our stays.

Desire:  The small size of the resort means that all the activities happen right at the pool or beach, so you can't really miss it.  They have a mic, and use it for the trivia games.  The ECs are just as hard working as Hedo's, but they have fewer of them.  Prizes are lame - sometimes a Desire shirt, but half the time they gave out a CD or a shirt from a nearby (and highly promoted) nightclub.

Winner:  H3

Towels:

The availability of towels causes problems for some people.

Hedo 2:  Towels become a hot commodity when the resort is crowded.  People hoard them like gold.  That being said, we never had a problem getting a towel, and often saw the staff refilling the bins.

Hedo 3:  A little easier than H2 to get, but still can be scarce at times.

Desire:  Towels are given out at the pool, and also at the room.   We never were unable to get a towel.

Winner:  Desire, with H2 close behind.

Disco

Hedo 2:  We can't judge the music here, since the disco was almost always dead during our week there.  As far as the layout goes, there are 2 stripper poles on a platform in front of the main window of the disco.  H2's disco has the best bar of the 3, since it is in a separate room and you can order your drink without screaming.   There is also a window showing the bottom of the prude pool here.  

Hedo 3:  The music here is often techno.  The DJ will persist in playing the same music, even if all guests wind up outside.  There is one pole, and it is dangerously located up on the bar.  However, it still got a lot of use during our stays.  There is also a cage here, and the water slide shoots right through the disco, although people are moving too fast to really see them.  There were nights that the disco was filled with locals.

Desire:  The nicest of layouts.  In addition to the dance floor, there are 3 disco poles.  Next to the dance floor there is a series of sofas and loveseats for anyone needing a rest.  The bathrooms are large and nice.  They also had the best selection of music, offering better dance selections.  Finally, they have the infamous playroom for those that need it.

Winner:  Desire wins for the couches, NICE bathrooms and overall layout.

Water Slide:

Hedo 2:  A fun slide that lands just outside the disco.

Hedo 3:  The first and the best.  It's a little faster, and it goes through the disco.

Desire:  No water slide.  I suppose the clientele is too sophisticated for such tomfoolery.

Winner:  H3 & H2

Piano Bar:

Both Hedo rooms have moved to nonsmoking.  Note that, like the disco, this scene changes depending upon the crowd.

Hedo 2:  The room is nicer than H3's, with more room to sit.  However, Danny, the entertainer during our stay, wasn't as good at getting the crowd involved.

Hedo 3:  The room is smaller, and usually hot.   There aren't nearly as many places to sit.  However, Glen at H3 is a much better entertainer than Danny, and often had a good crowd.

Desire:  No piano bar, but we think it would fit in quite well with the Desire theme.

Winner:  H3

Service:

Hedo 2:  We had the worst service here.  Some employees were great, but much of the main dining room service was poor.   Bar service was usually good, but not overly friendly.

Hedo 3:  Better than H2.  Again, some were happy to help, but others projected an air of disgruntlement.

Desire:  This is where Desire positively shines.  From top to bottom, the service level was fantastic.  Water was constantly refilled with a smile.  Drinks were delivered at the pool promptly and perfectly.  Everything was cleaned constantly.  Although we never took advantage of it, room service was available 24 hours per day.  Overall, Desire was on another level as far as service was concerned, and this, more than anything else, made the resort stand out above the Hedos.

Winner:  Do I even need to say it?  Desire!

The bottom line:
These resorts are all fun, and they cater to a slightly different audience.  Desire can be wild and crazy, but for the most part it's a little more subdued and elegant.  Either Hedo can be sophisticated, but for the most part it is a looser 'frat party' atmosphere.  For us, Desire blew us away with the food, service, and facilities.   We thought H2 was okay, and still like and would attend H3, but Desire will be our main choice of destinations. 

-          Steve and Ruth   (Jan 2007)