I could never get into Blender because of its old interface and I recently gave it another go and editor is a lot better, though there's some things I'd need to get used to in it.
Plus, you can select a Maya like interface for Blender if you decided.
Hexagon 2.5 is also a good tool, in fact I might recommend (for the sake of using free stuff) Hexagon and Blender to be used together. Hexagon 2.5 is built around modelling and is meant to make it easier and smoother. It also comes with a build in UV Mapping tool and even a 3D paint tool for texturing, bump mapping and displacement.
I've used Hexagon 2 since around release and I used to have a lot of trouble with it, it was quite buggy, but since 2.5 it seems a lot more stable - I had a few problems up until I changed the Open GL settings around a bit. Hexagon is only free for a limited time.
Blender is a full 3D package, so you've got the modelling, animation and rendering. Some 3D modellers prefer to use outside tools alongside their main 3D package, hence the recommendation for Hexagon.