Nick and Kitty's AWOL 2012 Trip report... the good, weird, bad, and the future.

[NickandKitty]

Thanks PG- and that it did. I was telling someone that I thought we had taken everything out of Hedo that we came for. We now have an extended family of people we love on multiple continents, some absolutely amazing best friends, and some memories that we can't tell anyone about but make us smile on occasion when they pop into our heads. Those kinds of things are not peculiar to hedo- they just seem to happen more frequently there.
Nick (and the verklempt Kitty)tm

[CopNkitten]

Still gota get kitten and Kitty together some day, lol.
Cop..

[GLENN]

Hi NickandKitty a very detailed report makes for very depressing reading, it must have been very difficult to write, Val and i intended to make our second trip possibly next April my birthday is on the 29th so we were going for that, we havn't booked yet perhaps a rethink is in order, i was really looking forward to it. I may send SuperClubs an e-mail and ask them are they aware of peoples concerns about how run down Hedo 2 is becoming, it can't hurt. Are they aware of this Forum

Glenn (i havn't told Val yet as its 0350am)

[Face Down]

Thanks for the report...a couple of thoughts on your comments.

The good: The people do make the trips, that is why we always return. Couldn't agree with you more on that. We always say that the Amigos could have a great time in a morgue...but the Jamaican sun, nakedness and a bottomless cup seem to add to the ambiance!

The weird: Been to the Hedo's 13 times and fights are very rare, but I have seen them. Seeing two fights/altercations in one week is bizarre, full moon last week? Also seeing a person with a camera blatantly taking pictures in the nude pool is even rarer...but I have seen that once too. I have always said in these situations the best thing is to let security handle it...that is why they are there and what they are being paid for. That being said...if I saw someone lay hands on Serena I might of had to get, as Paul puts it, all Jack Sparrow on their ass.

The bad: It is discouraging to hear your comments of the state of the resort...and I have heard similar reports from others who were there the week before you. I was just there 6 months ago and I thought the resort looked great and we were very happy with the trip. Maybe this has something to do with the upcoming sale of the resort, which if it has not happened already, will shortly. Hopefully the new owners/lease holders will spruce the resort up to a standard the old girl deserves, without jacking up the price so high that they lose clientele. I hear you on the tour desk thing for transportation. I dealt with a similar situation last March only on a much bigger scale...in the end we made it work but it got pretty ugly for a while.

The announcement: From reading between the lines (and hearing about it a week ago) it seems that this was a predetermined decision before you went...or close to it, and it sounds like Hedo did nothing during the week to sway you back the other direction which is a shame. But as you said change can be a good thing. I miss the Hell out of Hedo III, but without it closing I never would have found Negril...which I truly now believe is the Jewel of Hedo. I know one day in the future Hedo will become a thing of the past for me (not there yet) but I think I will always return to Negril as I absolutely love it there. I have been to Temptations and have had a great time...but it has some quirks to it also. Would be happy to share some thoughts on the place if you are interested, just send me a PM or I can post them here.

Good luck to you and your group as you go forward.

[NickandKitty]

FD- I would love to hear your opinion on Temptation- forearmed with knowledge is always best. Please PM me with whatever you have to share.
Thank you for your perspective. It is nice to read the replies that have been posted to our little report. You are correct. The decision had been made and I think it was Phillygirl who said it better than I when she talked about providing a little clarity to our decision.

Glenn- I would keep reading trip reports and the boards. As FD said she was there 6 months ago and the resort looked great. Never know if they will decide to start spending money on things and getting the resort back to where it should be for the amount of money people spend to go there. I understand that as you get closer you are putting more money down in payments so I guess at some point you will have to decide if you are going to leap or not.
Cheers-
Nick (and the needing a new passport Kitty)tm

[jandjenny]

That's a bummer to say the least, makes me glad we skipped this year. We loved H3 when we were there in 2010 and were a little dissappointed with H2 our first time in 2011. I know that's not what Hedo is about but the resort really needed allot of work. Really sorry you had some issues with your trip but I gotta say, we're both really glad AWOL is making a move to Cancun. Good decision.

[GLENN]

Hi NickandKitty i think we will go in April, we were there in June and it looked fine, as long as they don't start putting up prices, nice to hear from you

GLENN & VAL

[Peeps29]

Nick and Kitty, it was so great finally meeting ya'll and everyone I met from AWOL! Maybe a trip to Temptations is what I need next year

Xoxo

[Scoops]

(from "Mr. Scoops") I know that my wife already commented, but I wanted to add my own reply as well.

We had a great time. A part of that was the great group of people that came in with AWOL. We met some very great people and had a wonderful time. Not sure what our plan is for next year. We have been talking about Desire in Cancun. That was where we planned to go initially before going with H2.

I did notice the run down appearance of many things, but I tend not to care so much about those things. Our water did go out, but they gave us a key to a "hospitality room." Funny thing, we got so wrapped up in watching a movie in that room that they actually called to see if we were done so they could give it to a new couple. lol

The camera thing doesn't bother me personally. If someone can find my pic posted by some rando jackass on the internet, the so be it. But I do understand why it is a big deal. I am frankly surprised by the crass behavior you described.

One last comment for phillygirl since she posted the last thing before me. I don't think Hedo needs Lean Six Sigma. I truly believe the alcohol shortages are due to rationing to save money. They can stock it, but they don't so that they can save money.

Oh wait, I have one more last comment. The piano bar guy was a douche. I don't think he played anything while we were there. Then I hear him get all excited and wiping his brow like some southern minister trying to get women on the piano to show off their pussy. Seriously? Does that line work where you come from? If you want to get all x-rated, at least be good at it.

[SandwichOfHam]

While I haven't been there yet, I can certainly understand the camera thing. I attend an event in Nevada (a large one up in the desert near labor day weekend...some of you might know what I'm referring to) and we have had a couple people that were terminated from their jobs because some higher-up recognized them from a photo. Granted, both of them were employed by rather conservative employers, but the potential for negative repercussions is definitely real. Another problem was that some people were using professional video/photo equipment and taking videos & photos of people for their wannabe GGW type commercial porn site.

Disrespectful people with cameras that think they can just snap photos everywhere and of anyone because it's "in public" irk me. :/ I'm glad that people stood up against it. That makes us feel a lot better about going to know that people take issue with it. :-) Only 9 days until the trip!

[pornstar1360]

I think not to long ago someone posted nude pool photos of a group on here and started a storm of controversy....

[JayNSteph]

That sucks about all the problems. I am hoping that it will get better. We will be going down in February and I hope there won't be any confrontations that you had to deal with. Totally kills the mood. Thanks for the report!

[boundforsun]

Nick and Kitty thanks for the great trip report, sad to say though that it confirms our decision to spend our hard earned vaca time at Temptation also. we were just saying that it is great what Temptation can provide for the price you pay, and wish Hedo could at least try. Yes it is a different vibe at Temptation but thats not a bad thing. and if you are there with your group you can make your own vibe, we have been to both Desires and both Hedo,s and both Temptations and they are all good, but it just sad what is goin on at H2 rite now, we hope SuperClubs steps up for everyone, but for us there is no doubt that its Temptation for us for now, you cant ask for a better value because you really want for nothing when you are there, we took two trips this year, first to Temptation, then to Cabo cause we were so happy that it was Desire again. We will be heading back to Temptation--enough said!!!!. we love Jamaica and people and will really miss them, hope to return if ever Super Clubs gets their heads out of their butts.

[LoveVoodooTravl]

Caliente Caribe is a great property, however it is very hard to get air, and hard to get to the resort once you arrive. We just returned from Fantasy which was simply amazing. How was the food in general? They just got the chef from Starfish who I thought was AWESOME there and had a smaller budget. They also got the Sushi Chef, who is Japanese and a a pretty famous chef in Jamaica.

[mac_r_a]

Great trip report, sorry to loose you as a Hedo crew. As for the camera, had a similiar incident when we were there, but if you remember reading my trip report, I took care of it with the mic from the DJ at the pool and and very big mouth on my part. I am def the Kitty of the relationship. I was reading your report and when you talked about Kitty going over, that would/was me. Cameras are pretty quicly spotted and taken care of by staff/security/guests. They do NOT get away with it!!