Club med??
 

I have a friend who recently went to the Club Med in Turks and Caicos..She claims the food was great and the beach was magnificent(I know the beaches are great anywhere on T&C)..She said the rooms were very basic but clean. <BR> It was such a good price for a week stay there ..can anyone give me an opinion..I think she is full of crap..I think it is a dump and in that case not worth half of what she paid...

Although I have not been to the Club Med on T&C, I have heard nice things about the club there. I have done 3 Club Meds over the last few years and enjoyed each one. <BR> <BR>The food was good and plentiful. The water sports and excursions were nicely done and you have alot of options to do activities or just relax. <BR> <BR>I would love to hear of someone with a stay at T&C, though I know the island is very beautiful. <BR> <BR>If your friend got a good deal, and enjoyed her trip I would say take her advise.

Haven't stayed there but have stayed at club med in Mexico. I found them pretty basic but clean and comfortable. Food reasonable and room rates were reasonable. Good choice if you are looking for cheaper but decent accom.

With that attitude, you're probably not going to like anything...you might as well stay home.

Isn't Club Med known for their less than luxurious rooms? Isn't the whole point that your room is just for sleeping and you'll be spending your time outside on the beach, playing tennis or learning a new activity? <BR> <BR>I did a Club Med (not T&C) a few years ago and had only one problem - that damn singing. Other than that it was fine.

It is a dump. Yes the beaches were nice except at Club Med. They never once cleaned or raked the sand. The rooms were sparse, paint peeling, no water pressure, sewage smell from the toilet and only double beds were available. The food was medicore at best. The almost all inclusive means you have to pay for all drinks whether it is alcoholic or not. The only time you get free drinks is during breakfast, lunch and dinner. You have to buy bottled water to drink. Club Med is situated in an area which is quite remote. To get to downtown T&C, you would have to pay a Van Taxi $40 one way. It is only 15 to 20 minutes away. They don't have normal taxi's or public transit. Oh I forgot about the mesquitos in and out of our room. I was bitten alive. Definately not for couples who want quiet time. Two restaurants available, one buffet the other sit down. You have to make reservations for the sit down restaurant. The glitch is, you have to line up in person at 12:00 everyday to book for that night. Usually by 12:15 all the available spots are gone. The wait for food on Friday and Saturday nights could be more than 1/2 hour due to new arrivals. Lastly, the excursions are incredibly expensive. For a 5 hour snorkeling trip with lunch cost us about $250 USD. It is not cheap in T&C. You really don't get you money's worth here. I would opt for Cancun if you want clean beaches, clean hotels, good food and excellent service. Sorry to be so long winded but this place was what I considered vacation from hell. I still have the scars from the mesquitos to remind me of my ordeal.

Thank you Cindy..I knew she was full of it..I know Club Med is not for me and I would never actually go there but it is tempting when you can get air,room and food for 7 days for $1500.Tempting but as you put it , it would be a vacation from hell and that wouldn't be worth anything. <BR>It amazes me how each person can have such a different perspective on a resort or hotel.Even on this board the best of the resorts (Cap Juluca, Caneel etc)get such mixed reviews!! <BR>In real life also..I have a friend that loves Caneel..another friend who hated it..Oh well C'est la vie!! <BR>Thanks though for your reply..

Having been to T & C MANY times - I would highly recommend it EXCEPT for the CLUB MED which has a very bad reputation. Any other hotel on Grace Bay will give you clean (but expensive) accomodation on a superb beach. We were once staying at a middle of the road kind of hotel about 2 miles down the beach from Club Med and 2 women arrived from Club Med and booked a room at our hotel. They said they could not take another minute at the Club Med. They were quite satisfied with our hotel.

KD, <BR> <BR>If you're expecting 5 star luxury accomodations and gourmet meals at rock bottom prices, then you are being unrealistic. <BR> <BR>Club Med has basic but clean rooms and food which is relatively good, but can get tiring after a week (I personally think they only have about 3 jars of spice in the kitchen). You'll only enjoy it if the primary focus of your vacation is the beach, water and land activities, and meeting lots of new people. <BR> <BR>I visited CM Turks and Caicos last year and have friends who have gone this year. We all had a good time. I spent almost $2000 on airfare and accomodations for the week and I can honestly say that the trip was totally worth it. I don't know which beach Cindy was on, but mine was definitely spectacular. I wasn't overly concerned with the other issues she addressed because I researched the village and knew what to expect. Some of her complaints could be alleviated by planning, such as buying some of your own liquor in town, as well as sodas, water and insect repellant. <BR> <BR>I would vehemently disagree it's a dump. Its spartan, but I found the entire village to be clean. The draw of this resort is not the accomodations, but to meet new people. I made some great friends from both North America and Europe who I still keep in touch with. A friend from Paris whom I met there will, in fact, be providing me with her spare bedroom in Paris next month when I visit. <BR> <BR>If you're young, want to have fun and can adopt an easy, relaxed, just-have-a-good-time attitude, you'll have a great time. If you can't then you won't.

KD it amazes me that you would take the word of a total stranger over your "friend'!

One more thing, Cindy got seriously taken for a ride when she paid $40 for a taxi ride into town. We got a cab driver to do a 3 hour tour of the island (more than enough because there's not much to see inland) for $48 total.

After reading all the replys to my post..I just want to say a few things..First,I would certainly not take a strangers advice over a friend,but I will tell you that the reason for my original post was that my friend boasted her $1500 great and fabulous club med vacation to me the day I got back from a $6000 vacation on St. John which was actually great and fabulous and worth every penny, she was saying that I wasted my money and could have had just as nice a time at club med..Well I don't think so especially after reading some of the posts ...so maybe you can understand my wanting to know the truth about club med..I do not know anyone else who has ever been there so I thought I would get some answers here which I did.

Just wanted to clarify a few things. I've travelled around the world and have stayed in various resorts from not so great to fabulous. The reasons for picking club med were 1)reputation - for what they charge it must be good 2)almost all inclusive 3)adults only. I was not the only person on the resort that was not happy with the accomodations or service. Granted I wasn't looking for luxury but, the condition of the room doesn't even compare to Howard Johnsons. I found dead bugs, cobwebs and screens that were torn and never fixed. I'm sorry, if i go to a resort I would expect comfort above what I have at home. This place didn't even have a bathtub. A shower that barely worked. I spoke to numerous guests and majority of the people were quite disappointed. Even the ones that came back for their second visit. They said, they visited T&C club med when it first opened and they commented nothing had been upgraded since. Hey, if your idea of vacation is paying a lot of money for not so great room, average food, dirty beaches only at CM (clean water though), having to share a table that sits approx. 8 and having the same conversation (where are you from?, how long have you been here? etc..) every night. By all means go to Club Med. Maybe the people who love Club Med haven't been exposed to a decent resort that offers excellent service, excellent food and comfortable, clean rooms. If partying is your primary criteria for a resort, this is the place for you. <BR>

Hey Cindy, I thought you sounded familiar. You're the same one who said almost exactly the same thing about the Nassau Beach Hotel -- it's a dump. <BR> <BR>Let's try this: What do you like? <BR>

KD - You're conclusions are correct. Your friend was totally unfair to tell you that you wasted your money. Sounds like a fabulous vacation and money well spent to me. <BR> <BR>Cindy - It sounds like the problems you had were more related to your failure to do your research (and perhaps ask for room problems to be rectified or another room). You should have checked out the club before you booked, there's plenty of information online free for all who search for it. Plus, the village is not suited for everyone. People who were there seemed to have outgoing, friendly personalities and wanted to enjoy themselves. Perhaps you had the glass is always half empty attitude? If you really get down to it, Club Med is not an expensive place to stay. I think for room, board and most activities it costs about $100 per night. Cheap in my opinion, and yes, I have been exposed to top resorts - Four Seasons, Ritz Carltons being the resorts of choice. I have and would recommend the resort to friends wholeheartedly, but with the caveats that have been mentioned here. I guess it all comes down to knowing what you're getting and knowing that you're not going to get everything for almost nothing.