Overview
As soon as we arrive at the lobby to check-in, a staff member
welcomes us with ice tea served in Margarita glasses or bottles
of water, plus cold washcloths for kids and adults. The cool down
welcome is part of the upmarket services and amenities that Club
Med Cancun Yucatan, like other Club Meds, has added. After Hurricane
Wilma devastated Cancun in 2005, Club Med closed for a year of
renovations that cost more than $20 million. The formerly adults-only
resort re-opened in November 2006 with upgraded rooms and a new,
family-friendly attitude. Now, the resort features a Mini-Club
for ages 4 to 10, a Junior Club Med for ages 11 to 13 and a Passworld
Teen Club for ages 14 to 17.
What remains from the old Club Med is worthy too: the beach and
the friendly staff. When Club Med Cancun opened in 1976, it was
the first resort in the now populous Hotel Zone. As a pioneer,
Club Med grabbed a prime location and a large lot, one with a
wide, mile-long, sandy beach. In Cancun, that's especially significant
because most other resorts are high-rise buildings that line up
in close proximity to each other on small patches of sand.
Club Med stretches out on, arguably, the best beach in Cancun.
In addition, you can also find quiet, adult-oriented oases at
two of its other "beaches" -- really small swaths of
sand big enough for just a few lounge chairs. Such solitude, however,
is rare and wonderful, especially in what's becoming beach-poor
Cancun. In addition, the breakwater at one end of the beach tames
the sometimes rough Cancun waters, creating a reasonably calm
sea fine for family splashing and swimming.
The other side of Club Med edges Laguna Nichupte (Nichupte Lagoon),
an inland waterway. With water on both sides, the resort has a
sense of openness. The resort makes good use of the shallow lagoon
by staging waterskiing there. Since the resort occupies the tip
of the Hotel Zone, the property also offers a great view of the
Hotel Zone's skyline.
The GOs, Club Med shorthand for "gracious organizer,"
the brand's moniker for staff are another plus. They not only
head up activities from trapeze to tennis, but they act like friendly
camp counselors, interacting with guests, encouraging them to
participate or simply chatting. At meals GOs are required to dine
with guests, one GO to a table. This is another way Club Med makes
you feel welcome.
Long gone are the days of bare-bones accommodations. Club Med's
384 rooms and 18 suites stretch throughout the property in low-rise
three or four story buildings. When we reach our room, we find
a swan fashioned out of towels resting on our bed, another welcoming
touch.
Written by Candyce H. Stapen
