How does this couple describe their first trip to Hedo III in one word?
PARADISE
Although beginning inauspiciously (see below), this trip was truly the vacation of our lifetime to date and was the first of many subsequent trips (already booked 12/27-1/3) that we will make back to paradise. What follows are broad brush strokes of the great experiences we had and some caveats that hopefully will serve as guidelines for others in the future.
Travel: Today's situation with the airlines results in aircraft that are filled to capacity and no aircraft available to immediately replace aircraft with ”mechanical issues". Therefore, be prepared to find that your arrival time at Montego Bay may be delayed. Our departure form Minneapolis to Detroit was delayed by a half hour due to replacing an aircraft and our departure from Detroit to Montego Bay was delayed by one and one half hours for the same reason. This resulted in us arriving at MoBay at approximately 3:00 PM instead of 1:30PM.
Immigration: We have had friends tell us that they went through immigration in 15 minutes and we can report that we were the polar opposite, 1 hour and 45 minutes. So, be prepared to get on "Jamaica Time" (5 minutes regular time equals 15 minutes Jamaica Time) and accept that your arrival in "Paradise" just might be delayed somewhat due to bureaucratic red tape.
Baggage Claim/Bus Ride: Pretty much as everyone has stated but one point to remember is that a large part of the income of the handlers, bus luggage loader and driver is derived from tips. Even though you are traveling to an all-inclusive resort that discourages tips these individuals count on them. And as an aside, our transit from the airport to Hedo did not include a stop and took slightly over an hour.
Arrival at Hedo: Bags unloaded, third couple in line for check in, big smiles and joking from the front desk staff. Obligatory "No pictures on Nude side" disclosure statement signing and we were off to our room.
As this was an extra special vacation for us (more about that later) we had booked an oceanfront au natural suite. Our porter took us to our room and we discovered that we were on the second floor of the 600 building. Upon entering the room (which I forgot to mention was immediately available upon check in) I called the front desk and requested a ground floor room as that is what we thought we were getting.
The front desk person indicated that they needed to check with housekeeping and ask me to hold. So I did, and then realized again, "Jamaica Time (JT)". I stayed on the line for about 10 minutes and then redialed. In the meantime, we indicated to our porter that we might be moving so he headed back to the front desk for a new key. After further conversation with the front desk and the passage of some more "JT" we arrived in our ground floor suite in the 700 building just off the nude pool and started settling in unpacking bags etc.
Point to be made here was that everybody that we met in this initial encounter with resort staff was friendly, smiling and accommodating in every way possible, although operating on "JT". I guess it is all in how you approach things, we smiled and joked about being "newbies" and they responded in kind.
The Room And The Facilities: Unlike many other trip reports, we found our room and the resort overall to be what we expected but with many surprises that made it even more special. Here is our perception:
The resort is pretty much a high 3, low 4 star facility that to us, has been adequately maintained and is constantly being painted, repaired and enhanced. It is very clean for a Caribbean resort that is subject to the kind of wear and tear that it receives. We did not experience any of the room "maladies" that others have reported as we had plenty of hot water, cold air conditioning, and only a small amount of condensation dripping from our air conditioner when we made the room REALLY cold with one window open.
Something that we did experience, that we had not read about in any trip report, was the "Towel Art" that our "In Room Attendant" (they are not called maids) left us each day. I won't go into details here so that you will be as pleasantly surprised as we were but it is something unique to Hedo that we had never experienced anywhere else in the world.
The rooms are definitely softly lit to enhance the ambiance of the mirrored ceilings and headboards and your enjoyment of them. There is however, no place in the room lit brightly enough for the application of makeup or the insertion of contact lenses so, bring a lighted makeup mirror with you!
Food: Simply stated, if you cannot find something you like to eat for every meal then it is your fault, not the resort's. There is a great variety of food served nightly in the Tropical Terrace and the 2 specialty restaurants, Pastafari and Munasan provide a more intimate dining experience. (Reservations are definitely required - see Christine at the front desk).
Especially enjoyed were the theme nights of Glitter and Pirate when the resort moves "outside" onto the patio and beach respectfully to provide more fun to your Hedo experience.
Don't bother trying to count calories because it's not going to help. The chefs use real butter, real cream and the bakers know how to bake great breads, croissants and scones.
Theme Nights: As previously reported, the only night that gets real participation is Toga night. The other nights get maybe 10% of the guests in costume. We can only encourage you to dress every night in costume as we did and found tons of people complimenting us on our outfits. This only served to increase our enjoyment of the evening.
Take this opportunity to fulfill those fantasies you have always wanted to enjoy. You will not be sorry you did so.
Entertainment: Many reports have dealt with the quality and diversity of the entertainment. Here again, we believe that a lot of your enjoyment has to do with what your expectations are. If you expect New York or Las Vegas style reviews and music, you will be disappointed. If you expect native Jamaicans performing for your pleasure and entertainment you will find there shows fun. We especially enjoyed the Piano Bar singing with the pianist and on our last night found that some of the guests are incredibly talented at Karaoke.
Miscellaneous: The advertisements about having "Top Shelf" alcohol are definitely true. Not all are available at every bar but brands such as Crown Royal and Hennessey are there. A couple of facts regarding purchasing alcohol and transporting it back to the states. Do notbelieve the story that the sales lady in the gift shop at the resort tells you about their prices on rum. They are not cheaper than the airport and in fact charge double for a 200 ml of Appleton Estate V/X rum. The only benefit to purchasing it there is that you have the ability to pack it in your luggage at the resort. We truly recommend that you pack some bubble wrap because all they have for packing material is newspaper. We packed 4 bottles and all transited successfully.
As regards purchasing at the airport, you can carry your liquor on the plane at Montego Bay. You will, however, have to transfer your liquor into your checked baggage when you clear US Customs as you cannot carry it on the plane in a US airport.
People: We have saved this category for last because in our opinion, this is what makes Hedo what it is. Forget the bricks and mortar, the tile and glass, the boardwalks along the ocean, the hot tubs, the water slide thru the disco and all of the other physical elements of the resort. They are all inanimate objects that by themselves are rather unremarkable. What makes Hedo what it is, are the people that are there for only one purpose, to make your time spent there more enjoyable.
Everyone that we encountered was pleasant, friendly and genuinely interested if we were having a good time. Maintenance staff, servers in the restaurants, chefs, In Room Attendants, and the front desk staff without exception were great. But, there are a few individuals that in our opinion deserve special attention.
Carlene at the nude pool bar always had a smile on her face and after the first couple of days knew our drinks and filled them promptly when we set our mugs on the bar.
John, the chef at the nude pool, who made freshly cooked sandwiches and nachos every day for us. Always with a smile and an inquiry of "Is everything the way you wanted it Sir/Madam"
Donetta, at the Reggae Cafe, who always greeted us with hugs and kisses (she especially enjoyed hugging angel) and always served us quickly and made sure that coffee was hot, cold beverages cold and went out of her way to see to us.
Stacy, at the tour desk. What can we say about an effervescent and infectious personality that is totally committed to doing everything she can to make your stay enjoyable. Well , we are going to give it a try.
First there was the Jeep Safari that we wanted to take on a particular day only to find that it was not offered on that day. Stacy says "Let me see what I can do". Twenty minutes later the trip is arranged especially for us and our 2 friends and we are good to go.
Secondly there was the issue of the nude cruise that we had missed on our arrival day and that we would miss on our departure day (never make the mistake of arriving/departing on Thursday). Knowing that we probably had at least 16 friends that would like to go on this cruise we approached her with the idea of a cruise on Wednesday. Well, you probably already know the answer before I write it but, it was arranged and unfortunately due to really rough seas had to be canceled.
Beyond these two issues were numerous other times when Stacy was involved and made our stay even more incredible.
Christine, at Guest Relations. The "go to" person for reservations at Munasan and Pastafari, and more importantly, your link to management when something goes wrong. We did not have an occasion to need her services in this regard but she was always inquiring if everything was going well.
And last, but certainly not the least, Alroy in the Water Sports center. One of the main purposes of the trip was to get the Open Water dives required for angel to receive her PADI Open Water Diver certification. Upon our first check in with the Dive Shop he informed us that she would be finishing her certification with Kevin, the Divemaster/Instructor at Breezes, another Superclubs resort, a short ride up the coast. Immediately the matter of logistics, etc. flooded my mind and immediately Alroy, in true Jamaican style, replied "No problem mon, we shuttle you by boat to and from Breezes each morning." Let me tell you that some of these water "taxi rides" were an experience in themselves, a Jamaican equivalent of a New York Taxi ride.
We had elected to bring our own SCUBA gear for the trip and as soon as this fact was know, Alroy took charge of meeting us on the dock each day to clean our gear at the conclusion of each dive and storing it securely for us each night in the dive shop.
When I mentioned to him the fact that I needed to go into town to replace the dive bag that had ripped to shreds in its first day of diving, he immediately offered to go shopping for us that night and would have the bag first thing in the morning. Good to his word, when we arrived for our "taxi" ride the next day the bag was there.
We know, that his actions toward us were certainly above and beyond the call of duty and helped to make the week incredibly special for us.
Extra Special Vacation: Early on in this rather lengthy report I mentioned that this was an extra special vacation for us. As indicated above part of the extra special vacation was to get angel certified as an open water diver. She accomplished that feat and can now dive to 60 feet anywhere in the world.
The other part of the special nature of this vacation was the fact that we had never been to a naked resort together. Angel, prior to us getting together, had done nude camping and was comfortable being naked in public. I, on the other hand, had not been naked in public before. And being a 59 year old male with a few more pounds on board than necessary, I was a bit concerned about it.
Well, as many other trip reports have indicated, there is something magical about this place that seems to evaporate those kinds of concerns practically from the minute you arrive. Such was the case with me. As soon as we got our stuff unpacked I dropped my shorts, pulled off my top and said "Let's head for the pool". And with that, with a smiling and nude angel on my arm, we grabbed a room key, headed out the back door, and I never looked back on wearing clothes anywhere on the nude side again.
Friendships: But, with all of the special things that we have talked about previously, the single most important thing that made this trip truly a trip to paradise, were the people we met and the friendships that have been established with what were pretty much, total strangers before we shared vacations together. The list is long and for all of you that we now count as friends, you definitely know who you are and we will definitely keep in touch and hope that our paths will once again cross in paradise.
There is one special couple, who early on in our planning for the trip, established a rapport with us that was to become something very special as time passed and once we got together at Hedo. To you Cop and kitten our most deep and heartfelt thanks for taking the "newbies" that we were under your wing.
From Liars Dice at the pool, to diving the Caribbean, and our special nights theme dressing. To that Safari ride into the mountains and our very special "kids" we discovered there, to that special time we spent together on our last night, you two were directly responsible for making this trip one we will never forget and we cannot wait to once again stand beside you in the waters of the nude pool and say "Carlene, another Dirty Banana and Purple Rain please."
In conclusion, to any of you out there who are reading this report and have not yet made the decision to go to Hedo III, do not wait any longer. Book your tip now and start counting the days till you can experience Paradise also!
251 Days, 20 Hours, 29 minutes till we are cured from it. Bare Bottom Bunch here we come!
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"The only bumping you get when ya travel with AWOL, is the good parts bumpin together"
Akilah
end up going solo
Co-Hosts of kitten + angel's 15th Annual Spring Fling April 9th - 16th, 2022 (We will be onsite 4/7/22 - 4/18/22) 
Originally Posted by CopNkitten
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