Good times at Club Med
What comes to your mind when you hear Club Med is likely dated as this French brand that started in the 1950s has gone through a few changes over the years. A few years ago the brand invested about 1/2 billion dollars to upgrade a variety of resorts and changed course from a singles vacation place to a family oriented sports resort and the Sandpiper Bay, Florida location is considered the flagship for this new direction of active wellness.
We had been invited to visit this facility on numerous occasions and finally accepted so earlier this year in conjunction with the 2575 Championships held there. Having also been at Sands Beach Resort on Lanzarote and at Playitas on Fuerteventura on other occasions we could also compare the Sandpiper Bay spot to these popular European triathlon training camp destinations.
Located about 2 hours from the Miami and Orlando airports and less than an hour from West Palm Beach, the massive resort sits right at the foot of the St. Lucie river.
There are plenty of swimming and lounging options at Sandpiper Bay, and crowding was certainly not an issue while we were there. This family pool is very beautiful and is right next to the main restaurant and just a hop and a skip away from the beach itself.
The lap pool was reasonably quiet too, something that we never encountered at Sands Beach or Playitas in Europe. That though should make most any triathlete happy as fighting for space is one of the least favorite swimming activities.
Club Med has specific coaches on staff for the various sports they offer and fast elite age grouper Tommy Alore handles triathlon and running for the resort. He also is involved in the master swim classes in the morning.
While we were there Olympian Manny Huerta offered swim tips to eager triathletes and otherwise interested folks. Being able to sign up for special attention is a big selling feature for these Club Med places.
The sky looked angry at times but Huerta was able to run his session without a drop from the top.
Food is a very important part of this all inclusive resort and you can eat as much and as healthy as you want of course in The Market Place, the main restaurant on site. It offered a variety of Italian, Asian, Mexican and North American foods in a market style atmosphere. We were particularly fond of the white chocolate bread they bake on site and it is likely the most talked about food item in this restaurant. But there were indeed plenty of healthy and nutritious options available too.
Riverside Grill is another restaurant on site and here is a look at one of their Sunday Brunch outside buffet bars. The meals inside the Riverside Grill are on the fancy side and very delicious and well worth experiencing. The third more casual Soleil restaurant offers healthy a la carte dining options and sits between the two other ones.
Birthdays are clearly celebrated in style here and the staff in general is very friendly and eager to assist.
Sailing and stand-up paddling are offered here and a natural fit for a resort right on the water.
The staff, known as GOs or gracious organizers, is involved and skilled in a variety of sports. The trapeze area seemed especially popular and we noticed some of the GOs who had helped out the guests, who are considered GMs or gracious members, during the day to experience their first or second trapeze act, perform at night during a Cirque du Soleil styled high wire show.
Your intrepid reporter managed to not completely embarrass himself on the trapeze, but a high wire or trapeze career is not in the future.
Family members who are not as interested in flying on the trapeze or swimming and running can relax and rejuvenate in the Club Med Spa by L'Occitane. Plus of course after a hard workout a well handled massage is absolutely welcomed by body and mind.
The golf course and facilities take up the biggest space of this massive 1001 bed resort near Port St. Lucie. And if this 18 hole golf course is played out, there are plenty others nearby.
If anyone can teach you how to play golf it is Don Law, and he even managed to teach and entertain a very opinionated and standoffish German media dude. Golf is likely also the biggest driver of traffic to this resort as we speak.
Tennis is another big hit at Club Med Sandpiper Bay and some of the greatest young talent attends an academy there. We did not snap pictures of the tennis courts and related facilities, but watching some of the juniors play made it clear that we will be seeing them on ESPN before too long. But you don't have to be an upcoming champion to play there.
Beach volleyball is the newest sport offered at Club Med and a very amazing facility has been set up to handle this hip beach sport. There will be a few tournaments on site and Club Med hired experienced staff to assist guests to become familiar, sandy and tanned.
There is plenty more to do on the water ranging form family fishing, to dolphin tours to wave running eco tours. Plus you can just rent a wave runner or sport boat if that is what floats your boat.
Who is watching the kids while you are running, swimming or golfing? Club Med offers Baby Club Med, Petit Club Med and Mini Club Med for kids ranging from 4 months to 10 years old, and the staff is super engaged with the young ones. Club Med even offers a 7pm to 1am Pyjama Club for those who want a quiet evening or date night out.
Quite a few facilities are dedicated to the youngest ones and we had never seen a large of an army of high-chairs in a restaurant as we did at Sandpiper Bay.
With the sun setting on the St. Lucie River guests returning from evening workouts and or dinner enjoy a quiet time on the beach.
Places like Club La Santa, Sands Beach and Playitas are very popular with triathletes in Europe and have been so for many years now. We even encountered a few North American athletes there, but to most North Americans with limited vacation and considering the very long travel time to Europe, it really isn't feasible for most, and that is where places like Club Med Sandpiper Bay come in. It is not as triathlon focused as the European places that have embraced the sport, but it offers most anything a triathlete could possibly want there. I personally did not ride there, but swam and ran and enjoyed the options I had. How expensive is it? If I were to book my family including my 2-year old twin boys into the resort in mid May of this year I could get an all inclusive package for $2,740, the same setup in August would be about $300 less, and looking forward to January of 2015, when maybe most would consider a little training camp away from winter weather, my family could spend 7 days there for $1836. And especially from most locations in the Southeast or the East coast it is pretty easy and fast to get there. And remember, Disney World in Orlando, Florida isn't too far away from this resort.
All images © Herbert Krabel slowtwitch.com
