Club Med Florida
We flew long haul with Thomas Cook from Manchester direct to Orlando with James Martin menus and soft drinks included. Alcohol is extra on board. 5 movies, 4 TV shows and plenty of music is available for free but if you require the Premium package then you can upgrade for £5. Plenty of leg room, it was a comfortable flight. Premium Economy class would offer more space and free drinks.
Our Club Med private transfer from the airport was efficient, the resort being 2 hours south of the Orlando or 2 hours north of Miami in an area called Port St Lucie on the east coast. The resort sits on the St Lucie River, just 15 minutes from the coast and Jensen Beach which is an 8-mile stretch of amazing sand and turquoise sea.
First impressions were good – reception greeted us with cold cloths and a refreshing lime water drink. The Resort has 337 rooms, located in 7 different 2-storey buildings (with lift). Our bags were taken to our room which was a Deluxe Family. Immaculately clean, this 2-bedroomed apartment was huge at 550 sq ft with a his and hers bathroom sinks, shower, bath and 2 toilets. A separate twin room for our son and our room had a large King Size bed with a lounge area that opened out onto a patio with 2 sunbeds and a chair. The Club Family rooms are similar but feature bunk beds and are not as large. It is all about the view though, with most rooms having spectacular views over the river or marina. Well worth paying for an upgrade to guarantee this.
This unique resort offers gorgeous and meticulously maintained grounds, along with sports facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, top professional instructors and exceptional group lessons for all skill levels. Here you can enjoy Golf, Beach Volleyball, Tennis, Sailing, Kayaking, Paddle boarding, Yoga, Zumba, Flying Trapeze, Basketball, Water polo, Gym & a Spa by L’Occitane. All of these activities are included in your total price. Basic Wi-fi is also included, but you can upgrade for a better service.
Club Med Kids have dedicated areas from the Baby Club (4 months – 2 years) up to Latitude Teen Club (11-17) which is where our 13 year old spent most of his time and met plenty of American friends! There are 4 pools: Adult Only Infinity, Lap Pool, Main Pool and mini-splash kids pool. The Marketplace is the main restaurant where you will find breakfast, lunch and dinner served. There is an adult only section and it is all self-service. The food is really amazing! The evenings were themed with an optional dress code and we sampled delicious meats, fresh fish, pasta and salads, as well as local specialities. An amazing array of food is available here complimented by superb wine (Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and Coors on draught as standard) and fantastic views over the bay from the terrace. All diets catered for from baby food up to an English roast but essentially typical Club Med, very fresh, show cooking and extremely tasty! The ‘famous’ white chocolate bread must get a mention too - it was heavenly!! The Riverside Grill & BBQ is the a la carte restaurant where you need to reserve a table – here they also offer late breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Slice Bar is open all day for a refreshing drink, in the evening for a pre-dinner drink with live music and then after dinner each evening is music and dancing!
Each evening there is some form of entertainment performed by the hard working G.O’s who are the Club Med Staff. They get to know you by name, sit with you at dinner and look after your children. Next, you see them in a theatre show or musical, acting, singing, dancing, circus cabaret or trapeze show. They are a very talented bunch of people.
We did hire a car for a few days as we drove an hour north to Skydive Sebastian where I did a tandem jump to celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary! They were fantastic and a great place to go for a day if you fancy that kind of thing! We had a drive out to Jensen Beach and into Port St Lucie too both of which are on the doorstep and Reception will kindly arrange for car hire for you.
My husband is a fisherman, so bought a cheap rod from Walmart and fished around the resort. He caught a few catfish and snook. He also saw some wild manatee in the estuary and a bull shark! The river is a conservation area so all manner of wildlife live there. No alligators were seen on this occasion though!
We spent 10 nights in June at Club Med Sandpiper Bay and enjoyed every second. The weather was great (a little humid) plenty of sunshine and cloud. Food excellent, fantastic staff, amazing facilities and we all agreed great value for money.
If you think this could be the place for your next holiday – we often have special rates available to us and of course I have contacts in resort - don’t hesitate to call me on 01723 817570 and I can make it happen!