OK, this is going to be an honest review. I very much appreciate honest reviews whenever we are planning an expensive vacation, so that is what I provide to others. We will probably visit Hedo again, at some point. If that is all you wanted to know, you can stop reading now. Now for some details:
Arrival at airport: I see no need to get into that. It is what it is. Hedo is a long way from the airport. This is especially troublesome on your last day, when you are told you have to leave 5 hours before you flight. If you don't plan a late flight that day, you basically lose a day of your vacation. Something to think about, unless you want to spring for the local airline to hop you from Montego to Hedo.
Check-in: Not bad. I especially liked not being hounded by time-share salespeople, like other resorts we've been to (Desire in Cancun, for example).
Room: Just OK. It was small, worn, uncomfortable mattress, weird shower. It all worked, though, and we don't spend a ton of time in our room on vacation.
Food: Just OK. I was particularly disappointed in the fruit. I love to enjoy fresh tropical fruit when on vacation. The fruit at Hedo tasted like it came from a Wal-Mart in Iowa. The food at the buffet was like a cafeteria restaurant. Edible, but far from memorable. We tried the restaurants, too, with mixed results. Nothing wowed us at all.
Bars: The bars were good. Well stocked with most of the top shelf liquors you'd expect. I do believe it is all watered down, however.
Service: This is a complaint area for us: Bartenders: While mostly friendly (not always), the bartenders consistently were poorly trained. If you wanted a vodka and cranberry, no problem. If you want any other drink with an actual recipe, they don't know how to make it and they didn't seem to have any interest in finding out. We also ran into a couple of instances of surly attitudes at the nude side pool bar. In one particular instance, my wife asked the bartender (who gave the impression he didnt wish to be working that day) what his specialty drink was. He replied: 'water." It wasnt a joke, he wasnt teasing. He just grunted "water."
The service otherwise was good. Friendly and attentive waiters/waitresses, the daily service of our room was well-done and timely. We had no problem with theft at all.
Facilites: Very good. The pool and hot tub were great, and they were cleaned daily. This was the congregating point for the nude side, and we had many hours of fun meeting and visiting with naked people from all over. One surprise was how shabby and cheap the beach and pool furniture was. It needed to have been replaced years ago. Also, there was a lot of "hogging" of furniture around the pool. It appeared people claimed it with towels/shoes, etc and never let them go all week...even though they were unoccupied much of the time. We found plenty of furniture available at the beach, however. Although, each morning I had to wander down to a stack of furniture on the prude side to get a side table for our drinks. Each morning, someone had taken it.
Guest info: There is none. No one told us what the activities or schedule was. We only learned about things from other guests who'd been there enough times to know. I was particularly troubled that no one on the staff warned us about sea urchins. Shortly after arriving, we hit the beach and began to wade into the water to meet some people who were already out there. They began yelling and waving, urging us to stop because they saw we were barefoot. They educated us about sea urchins (thankfully!) and we were saved from the distinct possibility of having our trip ruined the moment we arrived.
The play room: The only night we tried it was during a rainstorm, and they'd moved it from its usual location (open air roof) to a gymnasium. NOT a sexy atmosphere, but at least they tried.
All in all, we had a fun time, but only because of the other guests who where there. We'll likely go again at some point in the future just because we know the guests are fun - but not before we try another place or go back to Desire again.
Direct comparison to Desire Riviera Maya in Cancun, however, Hedo loses. Yes, Desire is a smaller resort, so unless you are there with a group, you might find yourself surrounded by the same people day in and day out (sometimes good, sometimes not). But at Desire, we found our room more well appointed, the mattress much more comfortable, the staff much friendlier and more well-trained, we had bartenders who could make just about any drink imaginable (and willing to find out if they didn't), the coffee bar in the mornings was divine (not so at Hedo), the fresh fruit was amazing, and the food was much better overall. Also, at Desire, the pool area was nicer, with much more deck area for sunning, plenty of beds surrounding it, and very little "hogging" of furniture by guests. Also, the rooftop hot tub has its own swim up bar, staffed all night long (a very handy touch Hedo could stand to have).
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