Please note that this review is from Sept 29th - Oct 5th, 2019. I took notes daily so that I could get around to writing this lengthy review. For those that don't enjoy reading Yelp novels, here is a quick overview. This location rates more of a 3.5 than a 3, but not quite good enough for a 4-star. The absolute best part about this resort is the staff. They do their best, sometimes going above and beyond, to help you have a wonderful time. My complaints are with the rooms, the weather and the adult activities in the rain.
CONS
~ The pool was drained and gutted the 3nd day we were here. No one ever told us that we wouldn't be able to use the pool during our stay. This was planned construction, not a last-minute accident or emergency. I do water aerobics twice a week to keep my blood circulating and not having the pool was unacceptable. They do offer a Quiet Pool for adults only, but it was only 2.5" deep.
~ Our first room had a leak outside our bathroom and in the area we would get dressed. At first it seemed ok, since it wasn't in a living area, but then the bathroom started flooding because of the toilet. We called the next day and they sent someone out to fix it. Temporarily it seemed ok, but then I had to demand another room because the ceiling was bubbling up and there wasn't a dry spot on the floor. Eventually we got a new room. Perhaps this was a mistake. Every night after the move, we were bitten in our sleep. Hindsight says that the leak was WAY better than the bites. Our three cans of bug spray didn't do the trick
~ The ocean is closed? What's that you say? We opted to come here during this season, so we expect that the weather may not always be great. We figure that most children are in school during this time. Ok, back to the ocean being closed. We are sailors. Well, I like to sail and she actually is a sailor. So I decided that since they offered sailing lessons, this would be a good time to learn so that I could sail her boat one day. We were turned away the morning and afternoon session on Monday.
One of the gentlemen told us that the ocean was closed so we couldn't go out. Ok, so tell us that Club Med won't let us go out because of the weather, not that the ocean was closed. The ocean is a vast body of water that can not be closed. However, I later learned what the gentleman meant by that. Club Med follows the guidelines of the government and if they feel it isn't safe, then we can't go out from Club Med shore. Plenty other boaters were out, but they were not from Club Med.
~Bites at dinner. On Thursday they have "White Dinner", which is out on the lawn. The concept is lovely, but the execution, not so much. Earlier in the day, we asked Danny, Restaurant Assistant Manager, if they had sprayed the lawn (only because we had gotten bit so much on Wednesday, the first night in our new room). She stated that they had and that they always do. We were hopeful. Unfortunately whatever they use isn't strong enough to deter the insects. The table that we were scheduled to be seated at had too many bugs on the table before we ever sat down. I apologized to the people already at the table, but said I couldn't make it through a meal here. One of the guests showed me a huge bandage she had received from someone at Club Med to cover her bites. She had several bandages. OUCH! So we were seated at another table and the bugs hadn't made it to the table, but they were on the seat and/or bottom of the table cloth. There was a guy who stood there whacking the bugs around me. I felt uncomfortable having him stand there and do that for me, but more importantly, I was too concerned that I would be bit all over the place again. Neither of us finished our meal as we wanted to go wash away the bugs. By the way, dessert would have been out of the question as bugs were making their way to the chafing dishes.
~Daytime adult activities were limited. Day one we were just getting settled in for the afternoon. Day two was storming and by Day three we wanted some Club Med adult activities not affected by the rain. I opted to grab a book and she solved her Sudokus. The teens seem to have the most activities as they have their own room with backgammon and things like that. Maybe the adults should be allowed to join during stormy weather
PROS
~The staff is phenomenal. They are what make this place enjoyable.
-Manu & Daniel - awesome bartenders -Flavia & Juan - phenomenal, attentive waitress and waiter. Juan even helped us with a few Spanish words and sentences -Clara,Sailing instructor who played pingpong with Cheri since no other guests would play -Louis, Sailing Manager dined with us a couple of evenings -Ivan, Sports Manager & Resident Comedian, who also dined with us one evening before his performance in Frida-Hector, Friendly Receptionist-Alex, Spa Manager who always had a smile on his face-Wendy, Lighting Technician-Sophia, GM-Andrea, Boutique and Anna, Tennis Instructor read more