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Hedo III (Oct. 26/03) vs Hedo II (Nov. 2/03)




Trip Report

Ok, we have recovered enough to prepare a trip report comparing H3 to H2 and I’m going to use the hotel quest comment card as a guide. Reception

H3 is best and the quickest with a smooth system that got it done fast. H2 on the other hand turned it into a sit and wait marathon. There were 4 couples checking in and it took over ½ hour to get registered. One person working, checking out was almost as bad . When we finally got a room we had been stuck in a corner about as far from where we wanted to be as possible. Three hours later and numerous excuses and delays from the front desk we got moved. Talking to others they had similar stories.

Guest Rooms

H3 wins this in a big way with very nice bright rooms, TV, clock and CD player. The bathroom is huge with a jetted tub and windows that open. It doesn’t get much nicer. H2 on the other hand has smaller rooms although they were clean and well maintained but the bathroom is the size you find on an airplane. There is barely room for one in there let alone two. No TV or clock in the room either, not a place you would want to spend much time. H2 has started remodeling some of the rooms but unless they are going to make sign cant changes with larger bathrooms they are just going to redecorate the same problem.

Main Dining room

H2 wins this hands down with a larger better laid out facility with three levels of seating. Basically not a bad seat in the place compared to H3 where if you are not near the front you will have a hard time seeing the shows.

Food Service

They were both good with lots of choices and lots of food. The buffet style starts wearing thin after a couple of weeks but the specialty restaurants offer a nice change. Full points to both with H2 offering a bit more seafood especially shrimp and lobster. The Japanese restaurant at H2 was a disappointment; it is just a few tables stuck in the back corner of the main dining room. No atmosphere and the noise from the main stage made it hard to carry on a conversation.

Bar Service

Again both resorts excellent with no shortage of drinks and everything you want. I did find the bartenders at H2 to be more helpful and willing to get you a drink quickly. At H3 on several occasions the main bar would have 3 or 4 bartenders and they showed no interest in serving customers, more interested in talking to each other. At H2 the nude pool bar and food area are separate and there was a nice meet and mingle atmosphere in the area between the two.

Nude Pool

I like the H3 nude pool better. It gets more sun and is larger with a nice sitting area in the shallow end. There is also room for volleyball and more room for playing. All the pools at H2 have foot baths to wash your feet before going in the pool. Nice feature I’m surprised H3 overlooked.

Nude Hot Tub

H2 wins this one hands down, there hot tub is huge with lots of corners to slide into for more intimate moments. Just a really nice layout and nice location. H2 also has several small pools scattered around the resort and a couple of other small hot tubs.

Towels and Beach Chairs

H3 gets the nod for bigger and better towels as well as more of them. H3 on the other hand has nice closed cell blue foam air mattresses on most of the chairs which can be used in the water. Entertainment Coordinators

Both are good and they all work hard but H3 gets the nod. Part of that may be because of the great interaction between the H3 staff and the Wild Bunch.

Scuba Diving

Having diving included is a big plus for me going to Hedo. At H3 you can do two dives a day while H2 only allows one dive a day and the first dive must be a shallow dive. The diving is similar but the week I was at H2 we had dolphins, nerd sharks and big eagle rays as well as sea turtles. I travel with most of my own equipment and would encourage other to do the same. The equipment at both places is getting old and needs replacing and fixing. There was seldom a dive that there was not some type of equipment problem or something broken. Broken ladders on the boats, broken and frayed life lines, leaking BC.s, malfunctioning regs and power inflators. The weight belts at H2 weren’t much above rocks on a string and could best be described as a collection of junk. I owned two dive shops for several years so I know the difference and they really need to address the equipment issue before there is a serious problem. A year ago H3 had two really good dive masters that were fun, knowledgeable and showed an interest in each and every dive. The new dive master this year showed little interest and looked bored most of the time. He was just going through the motions and didn’t seem to care. H2 dive masters were much better and made each dive fun by showing some interest. I’d still dive at either resort but it would be nice to see some equipment upgrades and things fixed.

Resort Layout

H3 is very compact; you are never very far from anything. Its buildings are very bright and the nude pool and beach area are compact. H2 is older and the buildings show there age from the outside. The grounds are much bigger with some areas quite dark at night and lots of quaint little hideaway spots. At H3 you do stairs everywhere while H2 is one level or gently sloping walks.

The Beach

H2 wins this hands down with nice sand and a much bigger nude area. I was however quite disappointed with the amount of rock and weeds especially on the nude side. The beach gets better as you get closer to the prude side. H3 has been improving there beach and although it will never be able to match H2 it has been improving.

H2 has a couple of rafts that you can float out to with room for 4 or 5 couples or 35 Wild Bunch members. There is also lots of air mattress around and we never had a problem finding one.

Piano Bar

Both are nice and very similar but from what I remember H3 seemed a bit nicer. By the time we got to the piano bars at either resort the party was well underway and everything was looking good.

Disco

H2 wins this hands down with a nice facility with class and atmosphere. There are a couple of windows behind the bar so you can see people in the pool. The bar area is separate from the dance area and there is room to talk, socialize and even sit down. The dance area is through an arch way and the music is great. They play lots of dance music and play what the crowd wants. If you like to dance H2 is the place and you don’t have a long steep set of stairs to navigate. The disco at H3 sucks, it is terrible and the people playing the music are rude, inconsiderate and very disrespectful. The last two years I have been there we have requested some dance music but instead they play what they want, mostly loud rap. Every night is the same and it all sounds the same, loud and irritating. The try to drive you from the disco so they can play more of the same and have there own party. I can not believe the management of the resort allows this to happen. Some big changes are needed in the disco.

Shops and Services

One nice feature at H2 is a small internet café that was very popular. Surprised the older resort H2 had it and the newer resort H3 did not. It came in handy on a couple of occasions. The staff in the gift shops all look and act bored to death. None of the shops have any change or money and lose more business than they get. We decided not to buy gifts at both shops because they could not make change, there loss not ours.

Overall

There are pluses and minuses for both resorts but after a week at both Hedo II has a better feel and atmosphere and would be my first choice. The biggest negative is the small bathrooms but the beach and disco more than make up for it. The large rooms and nicer nude pool at Hedo III are overshadowed by the terrible disco and music. Hedo II wins me over and I think it would be nice to see the Wild Bunch give it a try next Halloween.

Bob & Sandra

British Columbia, Canada




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