Editor Pick
My favorite Caribbean all-inclusive resort-Part 1
Jamaica & Hedonism Blog April 25 to May 3, 2009
Day 1 Saturday, April 25, 2009
Well, after working late into the night on some last minute travel arrangements for some long-time clients, my plan to spend the night at the La Quinta (park and fly) hotel near the Tampa Airport finally came to fruition. Unfortunately, my wakeup call at 4:30 a.m. came too soon and it was off on a shuttle to Tampa International Airport and a short flight to Miami on American Airlines at 6:30 a.m. An uneventful 41 minutes later I arrived in Miami but had a nearly a 4.5 hour lay-over until my connector to Montego Bay, Jamaica.
That Florida-Jamaica 71 minute flight too was uneventful and landing in Sangster Int’l Airport then meant about 30 minutes in the immigration line (3 flights landed nearly at the same time) and then after baggage claim and a short wait in the customs line, I was whisked through once the customs official saw I was a veteran Jamaica traveler, a professional and had nothing but costumes in my luggage. A stop and check in at the SuperClubs lounge, some water and then a short wait for the shuttle bus to take me and others to both Breezes and Hedonism III resorts. Note: There is a new (small) Margaritaville bar just outside the exit doors behind the SuperClubs lounge.
The bus trip was almost 2 hours as we had a stop for a restroom break and a chance to buy a drink and/or some souvenirs along the way. We were also slightly delayed due to the clearing of an accident from earlier that day on rain-slicked roads that unfortunately took the lives of 3 people. :-(
After the drop-off of Breezes guests, it was onto Hedo III about 5 minutes away and a brief but joyous check-in (and my 1st glass of champagne for the day) as I met with staff and especially Leejay who welcomed me back as family. :-) My journey had taken a total of 12 hours! (minus the 1 hour time difference in Jamaica—Central time vs. my Eastern time) but the airline price was right as I used American Airlines vouchers provided after they lost my luggage on one of my European trips last year.
After a short walk with the porter to my usual room #715 (ground floor in the au naturel section and my 3rd time in this same room) and a quick check of the room, I immediately headed for the nude pool to check on the arrival of more Krewe members and another champagne while swimming and relaxing in the nude pool. Eventually I made it to the hot tub-jacuzzi where I met both first time guests and Hedonism veterans. Some recognized me as The TravelSlut :-)
Following that I went to the Scotch Bonnet waterfront restaurant (also known as the Reggae Café) for Jamaican style food but realized it closed at 7 p.m. so it was onto the buffet but not before stopping to check some of the outside vendor’s handicraft areas near the Tropical Terrace Restaurant(feel free to negotiate with them).
I was in for a special treat this night as the finals for the 2009 World Pole Sport and Fitness competition was being held right on the main entertainment stage adjacent to the buffet restaurant. Some great, freshly made shrimp pasta and samples of other foods filled me up and I then returned to my room to get into true TravelSlut character before the contest began. (see photos and be sure to check my spiked boot look).
13 women from all over the world vied the 1st place in the competition and what an incredible amount of skill, strength and athleticism was exhibited. Choreographed to music, the acrobatics on poles was astounding and the judges scoring criteria was similar to Olympic ratings. I was able to mingle and met both old and new friends during the evening and posed for dozens of photos. Apparently my Big-Hair and wild costume reputation preceded my actual appearances! :-) I was also fortunate to pose and get photographs with the eventual winner—Miss Felix Cane of Australia and also the runners-up from the USA-Jenyne and Pantera. This was a first for me seeing this type of competition and my videos show-and-tell a better story. Very cool.
After a quick midnight snack it was back to the room and I opted not to head to the disco or pool but instead got some much-needed sleep. Had I gone, the evening theme was Glitter which I had sprinkled on my body) and Glam. It was the end of a long 21 hour day.
From journal My amazing 8 nights @ Hedonism III, Jamaica May 2009