Club Med Ixtapa Pacific, April 2008

We are experienced Club Med travelers, having paid about 20 visits to 7
different villages over the past 20 years, but this is the first visit
to a true "Family Village". We had an opportunity to visit a recently
renovated village and find out just what is different about the family
villages, so we thought it would be interesting to check out Ixtapa.

If you haven't heard, the Ixtapa Pacific village has just undergone a
massive renovation and the facilities are really very nice. To be sure,
there are a few rough edges, but we happened to visit during the
official Grand (Re)opening week and there was still some final finishing
work going on. Club Med has been focused on moving "up-scale" over the
past several years and the Ixtapa Village reflects this change. Don't
expect a fancy Hyatt or Hilton type resort; its' not that kind of
"up-scale". The lobby is not all marble and mahogany and the bars are
not dark quiet retreats, rather the entire village has a very lively
atmosphere: everything is very nice but not pretentious or stuffy. You
would not feel uncomfortable of out-of-place anywhere in the village
wearing a swimsuit and t-shirt.

The grounds are relatively extensive with a fairly long (about 1/2 mile)
beach all to itself. Along with the normal central facilities
(reception, dining, bars, theater, boutique, etc) there are about 300
guest rooms, circus facilities, tennis courts, archery range, miniature
golf course, rollerblade track, several pools, kids facilities, separate
restaurants, and there is still enough open space so you never feel
crowded. Besides the main pool (two pools, really) that is mainly for
kids and families, there is also a very quiet adults-only pool (although
there is no bar service close by, so it is not very popular).
Everything is well maintained and very clean, including the public areas
and guest rooms.

If you have never been to a Club Med resort, you first need to
understand the GO concept. GOs, Genteel (or Gracious) Organizers, are
the mostly young, international, staff who are the heart of the village.
They organize most activities, provide lessons, and assist guests (GMs
or Gracious Members) with anything they want. They are universally
friendly, outgoing and helpful. The GOs that run the "mini-club" and
some of the other kids activities must also be some of the most patient
people on earth. GOs are not the "staff" or the "employees", they are
your friends and companions for your visit. GOs are moved from village
to village so if you visit other villages in the future, you are likely
to see some of the same ones again. This time we were lucky and were
able to meet up with several good GO friends, like Andrew and Brian, as
well as make many new friends, like Jo, Kyle, Jonnie, Peter, Kathleen
and many others.

The renovated rooms are very nice with updated fixtures (such as the
"rain" shower head and flat panel TVs). They are well maintained and
kept clean by the staff. The room towels are some of the largest and
fluffiest I have ever seen. The drapes over the windows are very
effective so you can shut out the sun and sleep as late as you like.
There are different types of rooms and we had one of the smaller ones
but families would typically get a nice large two room unit and some
have balconies across the back. The only fault in our room was that
there was no mirror within 6 feet of a power outlet which made drying
your hair (with the provided hair dryer) a little challenging.

Club Med, being a French company, is generally known for providing good
food and plenty of it. The main restaurant was very good, both for its'
facilities (spacious, light and airy, comfortable) and the food. We did
feel the food in the main restaurant was "toned down" a little from
other villages, probably to make it more in keeping with the tastes of
all the children there. The food quality and variety was still
excellent, but just not quite the variety (for adults) at each meal that
we've had at some other villages. There was more than the usual pizza
and pasta dishes and not as many highly spiced dishes. The fresh fruit
was excellent, however, with very good mangos, papaya, pineapple, and
even fresh guavas. We visited both annex restaurants (reservation only)
and they were generally exceptional. Whereas the main restaurant is
buffet style (with wine and drinks provided by waiters), the annex
restaurants were full table service and the servers were very attentive,
although with the occasional rough edge typical of a recently opened
facility. One evening we ordered coffee after the meal and it never
arrived, so we just adjourned to the main bar and had our coffee there.
The "Luna Azul" served "fusion" style dishes (I would call it somewhat
different variations fairly standard themes) and the "Miramar" was a
"Argentina Steak House". The various restaurants and snack bars run a
staggered schedule, so there is always something available to eat and
drink from about 7 AM to well after midnight. The meal the evening of
the official grand reopening was definitely outstanding, with lobster,
Beef Wellington, and other specials, but I suspect that at least some of
it was there because of the reopening celebration (but we enjoyed it
anyway!). Other nights there were sushi (mostly California rolls) and
even caviar, so the challenge will be to avoid putting on too many extra
pounds.

We generally go to Club Med villages to sail, windsurf and snorkel, but
these activities were somewhat limited at Ixtapa. The wind did not come
up enough to sail until mid afternoon, and then it was relatively light.
The snorkeling was off-property at Ixtapa Island (reached via water
taxi) and when we went there we could tell there were lots of fish, but
the water was too cloudy that day to see very much. Since there is so
little wind, windsurfing is not offered. We did brush up on our archery
skills several times, but I must admit that Andrew outshot me on the
last day when he joined us for a few rounds of shooting. Normally we
might be bored with such a relative lack of activities (for us) but we
took several excursions, took several nice walks, and the excellent GO
team made up for any lack of our normal activities.

But, Club Med Ixtapa Pacific is really about families and kids. Couples
and singles just don't go there very much because almost everything is
geared for the kids. I was amazed at the effort and facilities that
were dedicated to families/kids. The kids were broken up into 4 or 5
groups by age and, with the help and guidance of the GOs, they
participated in many different activities, from just playing in a little
wading pool, to learning to do tricks on the "flying trapeze". Many of
the children rehearsed for and participated in several of the nightly
shows, with children as young as 4 years old taking part in the circus
show and obviously loving every minute of it. We would frequently pass
groups of children going from one activity to another, with the GOs
leading them in a song or a chant. The children could eat several meals
with the GOs, and they were entertained at least 12 hours a day. What
is really amazing is that this was all done with no "video games" or
other passive "sit down and watch the computer/TV" kinds of
entertainment, these kids were active all day. I'm sure they slept well
at night. Our two boys are grown and gone, but if we had a family now,
I couldn't think of a better place to go for a true family vacation.

Even for the adults and non-family GMs, there are nighttime activities
and partying. There were two "beach parties" and several events around
the main bar (such as a loud and festive "Brazilian party") to keep
almost everyone entertained.

One "hint" for people considering visiting the Ixtapa village (or really
any other Club Med village): if you check the normal rates for most
villages, they will seem to be relatively expensive. Watch the specials
(at the Club Med web site) or work through an experienced (with Club
Med) travel agent. There are frequently special rates for limited times
that make it very affordable.

I intended this to be a "short review", so I'll stop now, but if you
want to see the full length review with photos you can check my personal
web site (no advertising) at www.hammocktree.us/ms/trips.html. The
full length review with photos and a large photo album is now available.



Mike