Hedonism 2 Review

A review of Hedonism 2, otherwise known as Hedo II in Negril, Jamaica.

For years I’ve been hearing about the Hedo resorts, so I decided to look into Hedo II in Negril and see what the hype is all about.  My search started on a Hedo forum which led me to about a half dozen other Hedo forums……people love to chat about Hedo but they leave out the juicy details!  After a while I decided that I wanted to see Hedo II to see what the hype was all about.  Since I already had a room booked for my stay in Negril I talked to their marketing department about a couple of day and night passes to review their property with a friend of mine who owns a tour company in Jamaica.

First off, Hedo II is a nude resort, but they do offer plenty of areas where you can wear clothes if you are shy.  Speaking of shy, nobody is shy at Hedo!  If you think you are too fat, too skinny, too young, too old……….don’t worry there are very few models running around the place!  The whole vibe at Hedo is all about being relaxed and enjoying yourself…… and maybe others if you are lucky   If you want to relax and explore yourself book your next vacation at Hedo II.

Booking a room at Hedo II:  SkyAuction, SkyAuction, SkyAuction (If you can’t tell, I think SkyAuction offers some excellent rates)!  You can book your rooms directly with Hedo or you can use about any on-line booking company that you can dream of.  As of the time that this was published, Hedo was offering a $570 savings coupon on their web site so be sure to check it first.

Checking in at the Hedo II: While hanging out in the Hedo lobby for awhile we witnessed a few people checking in and they seemed to get processed rather quickly.  The front desk is properly staffed with customer service agents who are waiting to serve you.

Room quality: A quote “People don’t go to Hedo for the rooms”.  I’ve heard that quote over and over again and think it’s a bunch of bullshit!  The rooms are very nice and exactly what I would expect from a top rated Super Club resort.  Take a look at my video at the end of this review to see some pictures of the rooms.

Staff: One word—–>  PROFESSIONAL.  During the course of our stay, we did not meet one staff member who was not happy and ready to help us with whatever we needed.  Even the bartenders who serve the free drinks and seldom see a tip had an excellent approach to customer service.  Thumbs up to whoever oversees the employee training programs at Hedo II.

Food: 3 words——> not overly seasoned.  Overall the food was very good but I’m used to food with tons of seasonings when I’m in Jamaica.  I guess it’s safer to serve bland food with the seasonings on the side so appeal to 100’s of people instead of the few (like me) who like every thing extra spicy.  Hedo offers a ton of places to eat and since we were only there for a couple of meals, we could only sample two of them.  When I return I would love to sample all of them

Overall Rating of  Hedo II:  A professional operation that is managed and staffed by professionals.  Think of the Ritz, take away the glitter, add some Jamaican charm and you have Hedo 2!

My slide show of pictures of Hedonism 2:

Xtabi Negril Review

Review of the Xtabi in Negril Jamaica

Location: Mint mint mint!  The Xtabi is one of if not the best location in Negril!  All of the rooms are within a minutes walk to the ocean and the caves.  The grounds are full of trees, bushes and flowers, it’s almost like the whole place is one giant garden– be sure to bring a camera and plenty of memory cards.

Since the Xtabi is located in the “West End” of Negril it’s away from all of the beach hustlers and people that are attracted to tourist.  If you want to visit the beach and don’t feel like a long walk you can take a route taxi for about $2.00USD each way.  Within a five to 10 minute walk from the Xtabi you will find a grocery store, several places to eat including 3 Dives which is next door and several little shops that sell tee shirts and tourist items.  The west end area is very laid back, we walked up and down the road several times without being hassled or pressured from any of the people in the shops.  In fact, the shops were actually fun to go into since you could browse and exchange small talk without any sales pitches.

Booking a room at the Xtabi: Direct booking with the hotel is horrible! Their website does not not offer an on-line booking option and booking via e-mail took weeks. If you are looking to book through most of the primary on-line booking places (Hotwire & such) you might have a hard time finding the Xtabi, as a guess I think it only showed up on half of my searches. Direct booking with the Hotel might get you a lower rate since they MIGHT offer a cash discount.

Checking in at the Xtabi: The check in process only took about 5 minutes and then after another 5 minutes we were escorted to our room. In my opinion the process was very prompt when compared to other hotels in Jamaica.

Room quality: The Xtabi is not a 4-5 star resort, they offer simple rooms and cottages at a very fair price.   Since I had seen pictures before I traveled to the Xtabi it was exactly what I was looking for at a price that I could afford. The beds and furniture were fully functional, all floor and wall surfaces were clean and the linen was in excellent shape. I can’t think of a single item the room was missing or a single item that I would add that would not take away from the rustic charm. Actually, the bidet in our bathroom really wasn’t needed…….I tried to use it but that is another story for another time

Staff: Every staff member that we came across were just perfect in every way. From prompt service to going an extra few miles in some cases to look out for us, I give them a big thumbs up!

Food: I only ate one meal (breakfast) at the Xtabi and the food was excellent!  Since they offer free wi-fi in the dining area I was able to catch up on some e-mails while I waited for my food.  The dining area is also located close to the ocean entrance and where you enter the caves so a nice cold beer is never far away.

Security:  The security at the Xtabi was excellent!   Both their day and night security staff greeted us and let us know that they were there if we needed anything.  We saw them every time we entered the property and they always seemed to keep a close eye on who was coming and going without acting like baby sitters.  The night time security guy (Omar) was nice enough to hand write a letter thanking us for our stay.  While I forget the day time guys name he was also a great guy that provided us with some very helpful tips.  If you are reading this and know his name please leave a comment so I can edit it into this post.

Overall Rating of the Xtabi:  This is a hard one, by Jamaica hotel standards I would give the Xtabi a 5 star rating. By US hotel standards I would give it a four star rating.  The issues with booking and communicating with the hotel really bother me but that is the norm with most of the places in Jamaica.  While I enjoy the whole laid back attitude while on vacation in Jamaica I’m uptight when I’m sitting in the US trying to book a room in what I consider a timely manner.  I would suggest either booking a room at the Xtabi on one of the booking sites or forgetting about e-mail and sucking up an international call if you want to book direct.

Slide show of the Xtabi:

The Xtabi’s website:  Xtabi Resort Negril Jamaica