First Trip to Hedonism III
May 29 – June 05, 2004
The motto is… “what happens at Hedo, stays at Hedo.” On that note, the names have been changed to protect the not-so innocent.
Profile: S & R, age 33. Have traveled to Couples Negril and Enchanted Garden All Inclusives (AI) in Jamaica, as well as sailing on numerous cruises. We’re very active, and are also avid scuba divers
The quick review for those impatient people – We had a great time. We had issues with hot water and the food, so things weren’t perfect. However, we still had an excellent time, met some great people, and would go back again. When you read this review, factor in that I think we were there on a slow week, so you might have different experiences when getting a chair or reserving dinner. Now, on to the details:
This started out as a trip report, and has become more of a journal / primer. Good luck to those that make it all the way through.
The Details . . . .
We’re going where?
We decided we were due for an all-inclusive. After ruling out other islands such as St. Lucia due to price, we started the Jamaica search. Our requirements were a nice AI resort that had a nightlife. We loved Couples Negril (awesome beach) when we were there a few years ago, but everyone went to bed very early. We wanted a nightlife, but still wanted to have a decent resort.
We had pretty much decided on Breezes Runaway Bay, but multiple travel agents asked us about Hedonism III (HIII). At first, we were reluctant to consider HIII, based on its reputation. However, after different agents kept bringing up the name numerous times, we started to consider it. It certainly sounded interesting, but we thought it might be too “wild” for mild mannered folks like us. Well, we read all the reviews, and finally booked a week, making sure to pick a time that would not be filled by any big group of overly wild people. We wanted to ease into our trip. Even up until our departure, we were a little hesitant, but we were ready to have fun.
Air Jamaica? On time? No, really, stop kidding around.
The 7:40 am flight out of Philadelphia left on time, arrived a bit early. We made our way to the enclosed, air conditioned SuperClubs booth, and within 20 minutes we were on the bus. A little more waiting, and we were on the road by 11:15 am, and at the resort by 1:30 pm. There was the obligatory stop for beer, souvenirs, and for some members of our bus crew, ganja (we don’t partake in that particular activity). Be sure to tip the luggage porters and bus drivers. If you do not, they will kindly remind to do so you again and again.
The road is not due to be completed for another two years (or so said the driver. We’ve heard that before…). You’ll ride through a stretch of nicely paved road, and then suddenly shift to gravel and dirt. The bus we were on had almost no front shocks, so the hills felt like we were on the ocean. Overall, it wasn’t too bad. HIII is about 70 KM (43 miles) from Sangster airport in Montego Bay. Not counting the stop, the travel time was 105 minutes up, and about 95 minutes back.
Check-In time and we’re ready to wait
Every report I’ve read had us expecting our room to not be ready. We planned to go to lunch and then get our room, but were surprised that we had one waiting for us, and that we were “upgraded” to a swim up room in the Quad area (the clothing optional pool surrounded by four hotel blocks). I actually had read to avoid those rooms because of noise, but decided not to try and change it. We met Tovar, one of the bellhops, and he promptly escorted us to our room. I’ve read some reviews about the staff asking for tips on the sly (tips are against the rules here), but after delivering our luggage and making sure we were set, Tovar slipped out quickly before it even the appearance of tip soliciting could be inferred. The entire process was quick and efficient.
You want hot water? Go to another island.
The room was decent, all things considered. It is fairly large, with adequate hanger and shelf space in one corner. There is a large bureau as well, and multiple mirrors, although the only full length mirror is behind the bed, so you have to stand on the bed to see yourself.
Overall, we had no problems storing our stuff, and that included two full sets of scuba gear. The bed is a queen (two twins pushed together). There is a small (maybe 20 inch) TV on a shelf hanging from the wall. There are mirrors next to the bed, and above the bed on the ceiling.
The air conditioning worked well, but the remote can be confusing. We heard a few complaints about the a/c not working in other rooms. We had trouble a few times in our room, but I solved it by changing through the remote ‘modes’ (from Auto to Cooling to Dry) in order to get it working.
The keys are hard plastic cards with holes in them (using the older style locks, not magnetic swipes). We brought a coiled wrist lanyard for our key, and it worked well. The front desk will punch a hole in the key.
The bathroom was where the big problem was found: namely, the lack of hot water. In the bathroom, there is a very loud fan that works with the bathroom light. You get both or neither. This was both good and bad. When anyone was in the bathroom, he or she couldn’t hear anything said outside. The fan noise could get annoying. However, you could not hear the fan in the room with door closed, and this fan helped to block noise from outside. We kept the light/fan on at night and closed the b/r door, and were rarely bothered by outside noises.
There is a nice Jacuzzi tub that we never used. There just wasn’t enough hot water to fill the tub. We never turned on the cold water spigot at all, since we never had enough hot. The temps ranged from semi-warm to down right cold. Similar complaints were heard from others throughout the week. Don’t come here expecting a relaxing hot shower. It just won’t happen. R likes shower temps that would scald mere mortals, so she was not happy about this aspect.
The rooms are all set in 3-story room blocks, and all the rooms are the same, except for the suites. We had a “swim-up” room in the Quads area. Actually, we had a back door that opened to the Quad pool. It wasn’t exactly “swim-up”, but it was about 5 feet away from the water. Unfortunately, we spent very little time in this pool, since our time was spent at the nude pool the majority of the time.
One more thing about the room – the all tile floor was very dirty. Walking around barefoot turned my feet almost black. Also, check your bags carefully when packing up. During the week, we found two cockroaches, not to mention that we had other bug issues, as you will soon read. I think the room was cleaned well enough, but the floor tends to get dirty easily, and bugs are hard to keep out in the tropics.
No problems getting from here to there
The resort is actually pretty small, so it is very easy to get oriented at HIII. You enter in through the open air lobby. Walk out the back of it, and you are staring at the little used main pool, as well as the very often used main bar. To the immediate left and right are the specialty Italian and Japanese restaurants, and the main buffet area (and stage) is a little further to the left. Just past these is the main beach, and the water sports area. Hang a right and you pass the piano bar, the gym, the disco, and the water slide. Keep going, and you can reach the Quad area, with its clothing optional pool, or continue to the nude pool and beach. It was very easy to find things, and any room was a short distance from anywhere you wanted to go.
Water, water, everywhere . . . but the beaches suck
The pools are the place to be at HIII. The main beach looked decent. The nude beach was very small, and rocky. The 3 pools, however, made up for it. Caverns, waterfalls, shady palm trees, and swim up bars at all the pools made them quite pleasant. All are very large, but no more than 4 feet deep. There are various platforms and tables throughout the pools, and varying levels offer places to sit, put a drink, or swim a little. Don’t expect to spend much time on the beaches, but you should still have a great time. Ironically enough, the smallest pool was the nude pool, and this was home to probably 75% of the guests. Still, we had room for everyone there.
Pssst!, or, What does “Party” mean to you?
Whatever it means to you, I guarantee it means something much different to Jamaicans. I was asked more than a few times if I “party”. I was asked by the bartender. I was asked by some waiters. I made the mistake of walking too close to a large fence in the far right end of the resort, off the nude beach. I looked out, and heard a “pssst!”. Walking away and ignoring the speaker caused him to jump up and stick his head over the fence to see if I “party”. All of these partiers want to sell you a bag of dried green herbs. A simple “no thank you” works in all of these cases, and it is no bother. However, it is pretty amusing. When the fence guy propositioned me, it was about 9:30 am. So, he must sit out there all day, hoping someone goes close enough to the fence to hear his pitch. Either that, or everyone knows he is there. Anyway, enough people partake of their wares, so I am sure they are making out well enough.
For the most part, the ganja (marijuana) smoking was done at night or in rooms behind closed doors, but we still saw quote a few people lighting up in the daytime. It was never a problem for us.
Which swimsuit should I wear today?
We’re not nudists, and have not really done the nude thing before (we did a brief attempt at Couples Negril, but neither of us liked it much, and a sliver of beach in front of everyone else is not exactly ideal). However, we understood that the nude section of Hedo is where the party is located. Upon arrival, we noticed no one in the main pool. Outside our room, the Quad pool had a few people in it. From the reviews, we knew where the majority of people would be. We figured that “when at Hedo . . . ”, and so we slathered on the sunblock, and made our way out to the nude pool.
It took us very little time to acclimate. By the end of the week, we were lamenting having to put our clothing on to go home. More interesting was the attitude change that goes along with living on the nude side.
In the lobby one day, I saw a woman wearing a bikini with one nipple peeking out. Normally, this would at least catch my eye, if only because I don’t normally see that of thing. At Hedo, I was wondering only why she was wearing so much clothing, and dismissed it.
Our first full day there had both of us joining in the battle of the sexes game. One of the games involved separating the girls and guys, and having a “treasure hunt”. Well, they eventually got to asking for a naked person on stage, in front of the clothed dining room guests. While not at all the type to do that sort of thing, I figured that I had been naked all day, so what was the problem with a few more people seeing me. Imagine my surprise, after I stripped, to see my shy wife standing there nude as well. It was just a complete attitude adjustment.
At that point, I didn’t even blink when we played billiards with our new friends (chg to B & L?) Brent and Lisa. Partnered with Lisa, we lost the game (well, actually, I sunk the 8 ball early and *I* lost the game). Thanks to Brent’s warped betting, Lisa & I had to go naked to the clothed main bar and order them drinks. We went, and found only humor, rather than humiliation, when we were chastised by the manager to put our clothing on. At Hedo, it really just didn’t matter anymore, and we were just there to have fun.
One more thing – it has been said over and over that you will see every shape and size on the nude side. This is correct. We didn’t have the best bodies there, but nor did we have the worst. We just fit in, and all was well. Have another drink.
Always On, All Day, All the Time
There are about 8-10 Entertainment Coordinators (ECs) working at Hedo. These are younger Jamaicans, all with good bodies, and there to lead games, entertain, coordinate activities, and generally foster the party atmosphere. We saw them at breakfast, we saw them at lunch, we saw them at dinner, and we saw them at the late night disco, and they were always smiling, always chatty, and always in the “party” mode. This must be a really tiring job, and they do it well. They worked hard to balance out the cajoling of guests to participate, tiptoeing that thin line between encouraging and being an annoyance. They didn’t always succeed, but they did their jobs well enough. I commend them for their effort in making Hedo III a fun place. Again, we had games in which no one wanted to join, but they did their best to keep things moving.
Ya gotta eat sooner or later
We’re not gourmets. We usually don’t even like fancy French restaurants. We understand the dynamics of feeding many people. We’ve been on many cruises, so we know that it is possible to feed quality food to mass quantities. Well, Hedo III buffet food runs from decent to pretty lousy. Here is what we found at the restaurants:
The Main Buffet
Here, there are tables for 4 and large round tables for 6 or 8. There was never a problem getting a seat, but we were there at a slightly down week. There was always a chicken, fish, and pork dish, as well as some rice or pasta dish, and vegetables. The quality varied, with some dishes better than others. The red meat, in particular, was usually too tough to eat or very fatty. The pork usually wasn’t any better. Most items were edible, and we always found something to eat. Still, for the money we’re paying, we felt that the food could be improved. Note that we had much better food at Couples Negril a few years back, so we are comparing similar Jamaican resorts.
The exceptions to the buffet were the stations at lunch. At various times there were: salad stations, taco stations, and the pasta station (our favorite!). The stations are in the back right of the terrace.
Breakfast was at the main buffet, and was pretty much the same every day. However, here we had the omelet station, which was excellent. Whatever you want, egg-wise, you could get here. Fillings included: Ham, onion, tomato, green pepper, hot pepper, and cheese. The carved ham at breakfast was usually decent as well. The French Toast was pretty much a donut. Breakfast also had the best chance for fresh mango. When they put it out, it went very fast. Overall, breakfast was the best and most consistent meal of the day.
Scotch Bonnet
This was the Jamaican grill, serving jerk chicken, pork, and sausage, as well as meat patties. Located by the boardwalk, it has an excellent view. The food was pretty good here, but the service was very slow. If you ask, they will wrap up your plate and give you silverware to take back to the beach or pool with you. Of course, this perk led to conversations like this one:
S: Do you want lunch?
R: Do you mean, do I want you to go and bring me back lunch while I lie on the lounge chair under the palm tree and read my book?
So, I often left my wife to lounge at the pool, while I brought back lunch.
Nudi-Burger
The grill at the nude pool served standard BBQ fare such as burgers, as well as munchies such as nachos and cheese. Not great, not horrible, just what you’d expect.
Pastafari
This is the specialty Italian restaurant. This required reservations which could be made one day in advance. We had no problems getting seated for our two meals here. The meals were above average, but you don’t get a lot of food (my meal of “large tiger prawns” consisted of 5 small shrimp). The quantity isn’t important, since you can walk to the buffet right afterward. We were satisfied, if not ecstatic, with these meals.
Munasan
This Japanese grill style restaurant (think Benihana or Hibachi) also required reservations. We ate here twice, and found it to be the best restaurant at HIII. The cuts of beef still aren’t great, but the chicken and shrimp are excellent. This is a fixed menu, consisting of Miso Soup, Teppanyaki vegetables, sushi, salad, and your choice of meat. The Jamaicans all wear Japanese kimonos, which look very funny when you hear the accent. We had the same chef both times. She was pretty good, but had this hilarious habit of continually calling out each food in a high pitched voice while cooking. So, we were serenaded by “Veggie, Veggie” and “Eggy, Eggy” in a high pitched tone. Moving on to the meat also brought us animal sounds, so we got “Mooo, moooo, beefy, beefy, mooo”. The second time we ate here, we forewarned Brent and Lisa. Brent mimicked her, and subdued her. We found this pretty funny, but that may have been the Sake in us. With or without the “Shrimpy Shrimpy” girl, we very much enjoyed this restaurant.
None of the desserts anywhere were very good, and we often wound up saving our calories for the alcohol.
Oh, one coffee tip. My wife is a bit a coffee connoisseur, and did not like the coffee sitting in the urns all day. Well, she found that pouring in rum cream, easily available after 10 am when the bars open, made the coffee far more palatable. I’m not a coffee drinker, so I took her word for it.
Can I buy you a drink?
There are 8 bars on properly. They are never very far, and three of them are swim up pool accessible. We found the bartenders to be consistently good and efficient. When things were slower at the nude pool, Anecka would come out and take orders for drink delivery. The drinks were usually pretty strong. In the case of the rum punch, often too strong. For other items, they had no problem adding a rum floater to the top of whatever you were having.
The only minor issue I had with the bartenders was the inconsistency of drink knowledge. I had a long list of drinks to try garnered from Hedo internet sites. Sometimes, certain drinks (such as a “Big Bamboo”) could be ordered, but a few hours later no one would know how to make it. They were always accommodating, but it was odd.
Be sure to bring a big insulated mug (see packing tips, at the end). The bartenders were happy to full it, and even washed them when they looked dirty. The mugs made life much easier.
Some of our favorite drinks were: lemon drop shot, Vodka Slush, Hummingbird, Sunshine Smoothie, Rum Runner.
Service with a smile and a “Yah, Mon”
Our service at Hedo III was superb. Our water was filled constantly. Drinks were ordered and promptly delivered, breakfast, lunch or dinner. Whatever we asked for was “no problem.” (Which, in Jamaica, doesn’t mean exactly yes, but we had no issues getting what we wanted). Only in Pastafari did we encounter anyone that wasn’t overly friendly, and he still filled all of our requests. Everywhere else, the staff tried their best to please.
Dress to Impress . . . or maybe not
As you’ll see in the packing tips, dress clothing is not necessary. Certainly no ties or jackets are needed for the men. We often saw beach shorts and t-shirts at night. Women could get away with just about anything, and men could wear sneakers, or dress shorts and sandals. Nothing fancy is required. However, you can’t wear a bathing suit at night. See through dresses for the ladies, on the other hand, were both accepted and encouraged.
An outline for a typical day in the Hedo Life
Our days were fairly consistent. Up around 8 am. We would then put on all our sunblock and head out to the nude pool to claim lounge chairs under the shade. I know some people get annoyed by those saving chairs, but they tend to become a commodity. I felt justified in saving the chairs, since we actually used ours all day.
We would move on to breakfast, and then hit the pool. People start trickling into the pool by 10-ish, and the first volleyball game breaks out around 11 (there were always enough people for a volleyball game). The ECs show up by noon, and we would watch or join in on the games, if they happened. Lunch was either at the Jamaican Grill (Scotch Bonnet), the main dining room (buffet), or just the Nude Grill right there at the pool for burgers.
By 5 or 6 pm, we’d be heading back to the room for showers, possibly a nap, and then got ready for dinner. After dinner, we’d catch some of the entertainment, bounce around the Piano bar, to the Disco, to the late night buffet, and then sometimes out to the nude pool and hot tub to see any unofficial shows that were going on there.
Listed from here are some other activities we thought noteworthy.
The Hot Tub – the Show starts at midnight
Multiple hot tubs are located throughout HIII. There is the one with the see-through glass bottom, which offers a great view of feet from the cavern below, and the one at the Quad pool. However, at night, it is the nude hot tub with the reputation for interesting sights and wild people. We weren’t out there that often, but we saw a few of those sights. It is worth an evening or two to go and see for yourself, and I’ll leave it at that.
Time to get wet
I know we’re at Hedo, but get your mind out of the gutter. We’re talking diving.
We went the first day and signed up for scuba. They do not take sign ups earlier than the day before. We are both advanced open water divers, and had dived 8 or 9 months before, so we didn’t have to pass any sort of swim test. There are 3 dives per day: One morning deep dive, and two later shallow dives that include people taking the resort diving course. On our first full day, we did the shallow dive on a wreck. It lasted 35 min at about 45 feet, and the water was 82 degrees. The diving was poor. We knew the waters were over fished, so we were ready for the lack of wildlife. There were a few things here and there. We did see a puffer, a stone fish, and a spider crab, but in general things were sparse. Almost all of the fish were very small. The coral was in very poor shape, and often mostly dead. In fairness to the diving, I was told by our friends Jim and Susan that the deep dives had much healthier coral, if not much more wildlife.
The dive crew themselves were excellent. Ann Marie was a very accommodating dive master, and the crew was efficient. Even given the diving conditions, we planned to do at least two more dives during the week, and a night dive as well (which costs extra). Circumstances would prevent us from diving again, though.
We flew through the air, with less than the greatest of ease.
They have a circus school here. Supposedly, they give lessons on many different topics, such as the trampoline, high wire, or juggling, but all we ever saw was the trapeze. Still, the trapeze was the thing most people wanted to do. There is a full circus trapeze, and they run you through a standard drill (climb up, grab the trapeze, jump off, swing your legs over the bar, hang upside down, swing back up, and do a flip off). The scariest part is climbing up the thin ladder to the platform about 30 feet high, and then leaning over the ledge while being held up by an instructor.
R did the run once, and that was enough for her (I have a great picture of her screaming in the air). I love heights, so I did it four times, and was almost slightly competent by the end. It was great fun. The instructors are extremely well versed, and they have you on safety lines so you aren’t holding yourself up completely. I recommend that everyone try this once. Even if you can’t run through the drills, it is fun to swing out. Note that you need to wear socks, and have all the sunscreen washed off your arms and legs so the bar doesn’t get too slick.
Fun and Games
They have a basketball court. It isn’t that great, but it works. There are also three billiards tables and two ping pong tables, as well as a well stocked game area. They provide group games like Taboo, Scattergories, Jenga, Outburst, Life, and a bunch of others. There are tables here to play games, and a large screen TV.
The water sports area has hobie cats and other boats, as well as water skiing lessons, but we never made it there to try them out. There are also snorkeling and glass bottom boat trips, but once you dive, those things lose their luster.
The gym is small. There are three treadmills, two stair climbers, and a Cybex weight station. We made it there only once (which is quite rare for us), and the equipment was adequate, nothing more. It is air conditioned, but still very hot in there.
Finally, there is the waterslide, which is an activity unto itself. Traveling four stories, and snaking through the disco, it is a fast and fun ride. You are allowed to ride it clothed, but really naked is the way to go. There were numerous naked waterslide runs led by the Entertainment Coordinators (ECs) during the week, and people took it upon themselves to do it at night.
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Weekly Entertainment
The activities at HIII are what help make the resort unique. They are a fun combination of risqué and energetic. Here are some of the things we watched or competed in:
The Battle of the Sexes was fun, as men and women competed in different categories, some respectable (setting a table), and some risqué (fake an orgasm, sexual positions).
The Wet T shirt contest is a blast, as the girls have to parade past the judges, and then perform some other act, such as choose an audience member to lick chocolate syrup off of her.
Body Shots were always fun, as the men and women each had a chance to lick rum cream off of their partner.
The human sundae was in the same vein, as guests got to decorate their partner with sundae toppings, and then lick it off. Often, these two events got a little out of control, but that’s just part of the fun.
Also worth noting are the takeovers, led from the nude side to the clothed (prude) side. These consisted of naked water slide runs, and once a game of nude vs. pride volleyball (the nudes won).
Just because it’s scheduled doesn’t mean it happens
As I said, the ECs work very hard. Still, there were a decent number of activities that were listed but just never happened. We were at the pool every morning, but never heard anything about the water aerobics that was supposed to be happening. Other events were announced, but never appeared. This may be due to lack of participation. We were there on what looked like a slow week, and some events, such as Oil wrestling, they just could not get participants. Plus, all the events are on island time, so as 12:40 start for a noon event was not a rare occurrence. This isn’t a complaint, because we enjoyed the activities, but be aware of it.
I sense a theme occurring here
Every night was themed, although some more than others.
The Toga party at dinner was supposedly dress code enforced, listed as “No sheet, no eat”. Well, few people actually wore togas (perhaps about 30, tops), and all the people in shorts and t-shirts just watched us. It must have been a slow week.
The pajama party (in the disco) was much better attended. R wore a see-through nighty, and I wore boxers, with a 14 inch, um, appendage sticking out. There were some good outfits that night.
The 70’s Pimp & Ho party in the disco had by far the best music of the week. There weren’t that many people dressed up, but we had a great time at the disco.
Fetish masquerade night was also interesting. R wore a spandex skirt over a fishnet catsuit, and a feathered mask. I, not having packed an outfit, wore a different pair of boxers and my appendage. Our friend Brent wore leather chaps, a crochet male member, and a leather skullcap.
Boom-boppa-boom-boppa-boom
Call it techno. Call it loud. Call it the disco. The music started out acceptable, and went down from there. Except for 70s night, by 1 am the music was heavy techno, and not appealing to the majority of guests ( I can tell by how many were left). One night, there was an influx of local Jamaicans, and they all seemed to love the music. I don’t really have a problem with the locals treating this as a nightclub, but the music seemed to be more for them than for the guests.
On the other hand, any disco that has a steel cage, a stripper pole, and a water slide running though it can’t be all bad. We enjoyed dancing here, but the music could have been better. Listening to comments from many other guests, everyone loved the 70’s night, and the music should be geared more towards mainstream dancing than the constant techno beat.
In Your Eyes . . . or, “That’s a 40 Legs”
Apologies to Peter Gabriel. Bugs like my wife. Perhaps she is just too sweet, but I rarely need bug repellent if I am with her, because they all go after her. Well, Monday morning, our third day there, she awoke with some swelling under eye. A few hours later, it looked like I had pummeled her. Now, she was a bit, uh, tipsy, the night before, but we didn’t think she walked into anything. After a few hours, it swelled up enough to have us considering going home. One of our new friends Jennifer and Travis convinced us to get to the nurse on site (Thanks, Jen), and the nurse immediately called the doctor. Thirty minutes, and $175 later, R had gotten a cortisone shot, and some pills. The swelling went down slowly over the next few days. That night, she wore sunglasses, but was pretty much okay two days later. We were talking to a worker later, and she said “That’s a 40 legs’ bite”, which is a Jamaican name for a big, biting centipede. Now, neither of us saw such a bug, and have no idea how it might have bitten her on the eye, but nothing had ever caused her to react like that before. The swelling in her eye caused us to abort the rest of our dives for the week, and caused R some extreme discomfort for a few days, but at least it healed up.
Who are the (naked) people in your neighborhood?
R & I are not overall social people. We’re not shy, but generally don’t enter into small talk. However, the nude pool is, as said many times, a very laid back place where it is easy to start up conversation. We found nearly everyone very sociable, and met some great people. Brent and Lisa were nice enough to ply us with shots to officially welcome us, and we had a great time hanging out with them during the week (for those keeping track, they crushed us at pool and ping pong, but we whipped their butts at Spades, so we’re even). Guests often went to the bar and brought back giant stacks of shots to give out to all at the pool.
Hey, buddy, can I borrow a token
For participation, HIII gives out tokens. These are actually various colored poker chips, but regardless of the color are counted one for one. Some events, such as morning trivia, can get you lots of tokens. Other events might get you nothing. Each morning, there is a Token Exchange at breakfast. A pack of coffee will cost you ten tokens, and various types and sizes of run will range from 25 (pint of overproof) to 65 tokens (liter of rum cream). I would have liked to see other Hedo III merchandise here, such as hats or shirts, but it was still fun to collect the tokens.
Things to bring that we found worthwhile
Big Insulated Mug – It’s been said many times, but it bears repeating. Go to any 7-11 or Gas Station mini-mart and buy a few mugs. We had smaller ones (20 and 30 oz), but we saw many 52 and 64 oz monsters. This makes getting drinks much easier, and the bar tenders have no problem filling the mugs. We had a small third mug which we used for water. We plan to bring a bigger one next time for water. 24 oz was fine for our drinks, but we wanted a bigger one for H20. Walmart sells a “Bubba Keg” 54 Oz mug for about $8.00. Be sure to drink lots of water throughout the day to minimize hangovers and dehydration. On our last day, we had already packed up our mug, and were annoyed by having to drink out of the puny 8oz plastic cups.
Outfits for theme nights It really adds to the fun if you participate in themed nights. There are plenty of examples on the web. Use your imagination. As always, the best rule at Hedo is to wear as little as possible.
Wrist lanyard. We wound up having to go to a container store (Organized Living) to get them, but we each had a coiled wrist keychain. The front desk will punch holes in the keys, and it is SO much easier to wrap the coil around your arm/wrist, especially if you are at the nude pool and don’t have pockets.
Bug Repellent – My wife was almost eaten alive at night. Bring a good bug repellent.
Lysol – I read many people suggesting to bring a can of Lysol spray to kill the germs in the A/C. Well, I did, and I sprayed the A/C very well. We didn’t get sick. Would we have without the Lysol? Probably not, but it is worth considering.
Books – Make sure you have enough reading materiel. Typical paperback books were $16 in the gift shop !!!
Sunblock, sunblock, and more sunblock. We brought two containers of cream, and three spray-on sunblocks (SPF 30 or higher, and we left as white as we were when we showed up). I highly recommend the spray-ons, which were very convenient, but went quickly. We came home with a little of each left, but not much.
Meds – items in the gift shop are expensive, so bring all the meds you can. We didn’t use any of them, but we were prepared with Antibiotic, Imodium, Solercane, Aloe, and Dramamine. Of course, we didn’t have Benadryl, which R needed after the bug bite, but that will be added to our list.
Things NOT to bring
Long pants for guys, unless going in the winter. They aren’t needed. Dress shorts and a casual/polo shirt were acceptable for all the restaurants. I felt more dressed up than most others in my dress shorts.
A raft or float - Another web suggestions, but we found enough available around the pool that this wasn’t a problem.
Wrapping Up (or, I can’t believe he is still typing)
So, we came to the end of our trip. We said our good-byes, we got our special Hedo style farewell from our new friends Brent and Lisa, and moved on for the 8 hour trip home.
Like I said in the very beginning, I don’t think it was our best trip ever, but we still had a great time. Hedonism III was a unique experience, and very different from what we would usually do. The nude pool, the games, the people, the ECs, and the theme nights combined to form a truly fun vacation. Sure, we’d like the food to be better, and hot water would be nice, but we still plan to return one day. Next time, I’m thinking about joining a group just so we have more people to participate, but we’d go on our own again as well, since meeting people was so easy.
Until next time, I hope everyone remains Irie, mon.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to write if you have any questions. .
S and R
Darkone@comcast.net
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