June 19 to 26, 2004
This trip to Cancun Mexico was a Fam trip offered by Club Med. The goal was to familiarize us with the Club’s history, philosophy and facilities. It was an opportunity for me to update my memories as I had visited many Club Med villages in the seventies, both in America, Europe and Polynesia.
The Cancun village is situated at the southern tip of the bay, so although we got to see all the hotels lining up the shore, we were in a much more private setting than the others.
One thing that surprised me was the size of the village. I do not know the exact surface measurements but it is large! Walking from one end to the other could take over 15 minutes. And that is one of the differences between regular hotels which are very close to each other and Club Med villages which are just that: “Villages”. We were told that our neighbor was the president of Mexico (whom we never saw, needless to say).
The buildings are painted in warm shades of yellow and ochre, they are never higher than 3 stories and they are set among nice gardens and along either beach or lagoon. The setting is really very pretty.
The beach is never boring as it alternates between white sand and low rocky cliffs. That sand beaches were to die for! White fine sand that did not burn your feet no matter how hot it got and warm turquoise water. That is where I spent all my spare time. The waves were gentle…from time to time a school of fish would swim by, jumping in and out of the water. Birds would circle the bay endlessly. The pelicans fascinated me. They are such big birds, yet once in flight they seem so light.
Another “local” is the Iguana. There are a lot of them in the village and they seem to gather mostly around the “Iguana bar”…I wonder what came first…?
The Iguana bar was a multi purpose bar and even became the venue for a
foam party.
As is customary, we were paired up. I got lucky, as my roommate was very nice. She was the shortest in the group and I was probably the tallest so we looked like Mutt and Jeff when we stood next to each other but we were similar in many other ways and got along famously. She loved to soak up the sun and I preferred to swim so we never fought for beach chairs. She loved to dance and I like to watch, so I got to hold her purse. She likes salty foods, I am nuts for sweets so we did not compete for the food either.
Our room was in what I think as the nicest section: directly on the beach with just a bit of greenery in front for privacy as we had large patio doors. We were close to the center of the village where the bar, dining room, and pool are situated so we never had to walk very far.
The room was very comfortable, with cool tile floors, lots of storage space, a huge shower with room to put all your toiletries, a phone, mini fridge, TV, CD player, 2 safes, a very efficient hair drier and an iron. We had our own little patio with chairs and table. What more could we ask for?
All these amenities were a surprise for me as in the “old” days there were none, no phone, no TV, the rooms did not even have locks!
Another thing that has changed is the open bar concept. Gone are the bead necklaces you used to pay your drinks with. Nowadays you just walk up to the bar and ask for whatever concoction your heart desires. I am not a drinker but I did try a few cocktails, Margaritas of course and Pina Coladas, Mojitos and Sex on the beach. There was something called a Conga that tasted very healthy with strawberries and bananas. Eric the Québéquois bar tender had an unusual version of Sangria that included Amaretto and Vodka along with the red wine…not bad at all. He also made a drink he christened the “sexy bartender” that had cranberry juice in it. Needless to say that Corona beer with lime was a staple both at the bar and in the dining room.
I was surprised to see how much people drank. We were told that the villages in Europe do not offer the all-inclusive package because Europeans do not drink or eat as much between meals… It IS true that in the States everyone always seems to be holding a cup of coffee or a can of soda.
Speaking of food, the main dining room offered buffet meals that were varied and abundant but not as tasty as I remembered. There were always plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as fish and meat and pasta as well as the unavoidable hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and pizza. Each supper had a different theme, Mexican, French, Asian, and Italian etc. Some dishes were memorable, such as a watermelon and feta salad and some spring rolls on Asian night, there was also a white chocolate bread that is so popular that people order some to bring back home (yes yes I did that too). That dining room is nicely set up with all the food tables in the center and various “eating” rooms all around so it was never too noisy…very pleasant.
The annex restaurant, which opens for supper and offers a la carte menus, is right on the beach and very romantic. There is a cooling breeze there that is much appreciated when the place becomes a discotheque later at night.
Speaking of nighttime, every evening there was a show and some animation both before and after. There was a bit of everything, a Moulin Rouge show, there was an Elvis impersonator, there was a karaoke night, there were salsa lessons, a fashion show, a trivial pursuit game and every single day: THE crazy signs. Granted they have modified the music a bit but it is still the same old “hands up…baby hands up…give me your heart etc etc…”. They have built around it and it has turned into an aerobics workout for people in high heels (the girls at least). I was amazed to see the enthusiasm of both GOs (employees) and GMs (guests).
Some of the shows are a surprise, such as the water-ski instructor who decided to jump out of a second storey window, into shallow water, while his partner started the boat to pull him out and away…barefoot…
Throughout the day the “Village fool GO” would sneak up on us with crazy disguises or set ups such as the time he landed under my beach chair in full warrior gear clutching a huge loaded water gun while talking into a walky talky to some unseen chopper asking for cover as he was totally surrounded…or the time he was having dinner and a very deep conversation…with a doll. You get the idea…
Of course the main reason to pay the big bucks to go to a Club Med is the sports. There was plenty to do: water skiing, tennis, snorkeling, trapeze, sailing, gymnastics as well as many games in and around the pool.
Each activity is supervised and the equipment provided is of good quality and in good shape. Snorkeling was my fave. Even close to shore there were colorful fishes.
I went on a catamaran excursion to Isla Mujeres and we got to snorkel in the middle of the ocean. It was awesome!
That was the only excursion I went on as we had “class” most mornings. I had hoped to visit the Mayan ruins of Chitchen Itza but it was so hot I doubt I would have enjoyed them. The shopping in Cancun was typical tourist stuff, with so much silver jewelry that it becomes boring. The only shop I ended up buying in was the one that had the coldest air conditioning and I did it just to stay there longer.
So when all is said and done, I got a nice tan and a good rest, I played in the ocean to my heart’s content but summer time is much too hot and humid to visit Mexico. Club Med is pretty much as I remembered it, a great place to go to meet people, have fun and do sports…I would not mind going back and visiting some of the other villages, such as Columbus Isle in the Bahamas.
Take me back to Mexico – Main index
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