Club Med Sinai - family fun!

The last time I went on a Club Med holiday, you had to use plastic beads for currency. Now was it two red and a blue for a gin and tonic or three yellow and a pink? Whatever it was, after several drinks it became more difficult to remember!

So 16 years on, in May half term, I decided to take my daughter Lily aged 8 to test out their newest resort – Club Med Sinai – located on the Gulf of Aqaba.

A 5 hour flight to Taba and a 30 minute private taxi transfer later saw us at the hotel. We had just the standard club room with a view of the resort but we were well located only a short hop from the main pool and restaurant area so this suited us just fine.

The hotel is situated on its own in a beautiful bay, with a huge golden sandy beach leading into the shallow warm sea. There are some sharp stones at the water’s edge so jellies are an advantage here. The hotel itself has design features from ancient Egyptian buildings, and comes in earth colours which complement the surrounding rocky hills.

There are superb on site sports facilities including a golf course, tennis courts, football pitch as well as sailing, kayaking and windsurfing and other sports such as archery and table tennis. There is also a Club Med dive centre right on the beach and I understand that the equipment is top of the range.

We spent our first day chilling out enjoying the pool area and just acclimatising to the 35 degrees of heat.

On the second day, Lily ventured into the children’s club area which was really well laid out and staffed by very enthusiastic GO’s (Cub Med staff) who organise various activities for the children. Lily stayed and did archery and then kayaking in the sea which she loved. BUT for the rest of the holiday, she wanted some quality time with me so that was just fine! So we did kayaking, and table tennis and swimming – and we tried to master snorkelling and we did just have fun.

Having done a Club Med trip years ago, I knew about the lunchtime activities which announce that the restaurant is open for lunch, and also the other whacky things which go on. I did try to explain this to Lily before we went but I am not overly sure she understood what I was saying.

So when all the GO’s dressed up as pirates and had a major battle around the pool one lunch time, she stood and watched with her mouth open. She did the same when a GO dressed up as an ancient Egyptian and jumped out from behind the columns in the restaurant spraying people with water from a pistol. And again when the entrance to the restaurant was transformed into the entrance to a pyramid, she stood there amazed. It was only on about day 4, that she told me earnestly that French people are all crazy!

I cannot tell you how much energy and imagination the 60 or so GO’s put into creating a really good fun atmosphere and entertainment – we laughed many times over the week at the antics and it was really good family fun. The GO’s are brilliant at involving everyone and they go out of their way to include you, talk to you and ensure that you are getting the most out of your holiday.

I think my only regret was that it was just too windy to get Lily on the beginner sailing course. We did try, but the team said the waves were too big. As they said this, I looked out at the bay and it was like a mill pond. So I went out in a hobie cat with one of the instructors and it was only as we came out of the shelter of the bay that you appreciated the sound advice. We literally came straight into 9 foot waves and even as a fairly experienced sailor it isn’t an experience I wish to repeat any time soon! I was quite pleased Lily was back on the beach.

The food was pretty good. It was always extremely well prepared, and there was enough choice for a week’s holiday. However this place is fairly isolated so there isn’t a huge variety and it isn’t a place for foodies. I can thoroughly recommend the beef tagine – that was excellent, and there was always a really extensive salad buffet.

There is an excursion office on site and there are trips out and about, but most involve some lengthy road trips which on this holiday Lily and I didn’t want to do. BUT we had a superb holiday and we loved every minute of it. You can do as much or as little as you like on this sort of holiday and everything was included. It won’t take much persuasion for us to go on another Club Med holiday – in fact we cannot wait!