From the moment we stepped out of the airport, all the stress of travel was taken care of for us. We could see the Club Med sign at the arrival gate, where the driver met us and led us to a mini-van with another family of four.
The resort is only a short 20-minute drive away from the airport and we were greeted by about ten happy, smiling and waving G.O’s. We were told to leave our bags, as these would be taken to our room for us, and we were led to a lounge for a welcome drink and cold towel.
Our G.O Chris welcomed us to the resort and gave us a briefing as to where we could find everything we could possibly need within the resort. He also suggested that we download the Club Med app, as it would show us a map of the resort as well as a schedule of all the daily activities and nightly themes. Paper copies are also available at the reception, but Club Med are aiming to be a greener resort.
After our introduction, we were led to our room and shortly after, our bags were delivered. We headed down to the Deck for a late, Al a Carte lunch which was just delicious, and the surrounds were divine. Meals are a mix of seafood, western cuisine such as burgers or sandwiches, and Asian foods such as spicy noodles, with a choice of entrees, mains and desserts. In the evenings, you can book to dine here, and from 7:45pm they have a special Al a Carte menu, mostly with seafood specials, but also options for those who may not like seafood. The Deck Bar also serves snacks and canapes throughout the day, so you can be assured you won’t go hungry during your stay!
We spent the afternoon looking around the resort and orientating ourselves (this place is huge). We found, at one end of the resort, the sports centre where you can participate in golf, tennis, archery, squash and more. We walked back towards the Deck Bar, via the beach where we found the Water Sports hut. From here they do three snorkelling trips in a boat daily, as well as stand-up paddle boarding, wind surfing and beach volleyball.
Along the beach is a sea of red day-beds both on the sand and on the grass, and they are the perfect place to bring your drink down from the Deck Bar and relax in the sun. Past the Deck Bar is the theatre where the evening shows are performed and further down the beach is the mini-club and night club.
The Kids mini-club has a fantastic playground, but they also have loads of dedicated staff who spend time with the children and take them to other activities around the resort. We saw them throughout the week walking with the children, chatting away and singing songs together.
Across from the theatre on the other side, you will see the main swimming pool, including children’s pool, excursions office, boutique stores and reception. The trapeze is located behind the swimming pool and there are two training sessions per day – children in the morning and adults in the afternoon.
Across from the boutique shop and up the stairs, you will find the main restaurant, Agung. Here you will find the buffet three times a day with stations of different cuisines (Indian, Japanese, Western, Italian etc.) made fresh at each station. There is an option of sitting outside on the deck, inside or in the Zen (adults only) area. The stations included Indian where they served different curries, Japanese (my favourite!) which altered between soups, sashimi, sushi and noodle dishes; the Italian station served different pizzas and pastas each day; and the Western station served sausages, chips, steamed vegetables etc.
The G.O’s aren’t allowed to sit on their own, so they will come up and ask to join you during meal times. This is fantastic as they are so friendly and easy to talk to, and they help get everyone involved with the activities.
In the evenings there are performances in the theatre, depending on what theme night is on. My personal favourite was the circus show which included trapeze, lyra and other aerial performances which left the audience gob-smacked. The circus team just have so much skill and strength.
After the shows, the staff get everyone so pumped and take their enthusiasm to the Deck Bar where they involve the guests by sitting and having a chat or getting everyone off their bums and dancing the night away. If the weather is good, the party will continue to the beach night club after midnight.
The best feeling in the world was knowing that all week we could eat whatever we wanted and as much as we liked, drink whenever we liked and kept ourselves busy with the number of activities, but knowing we didn’t have a bill to settle upon check out. Our bags were taken and stored for the day until it was time to leave, when we were farewell-ed with lots of hugs and great memories.
We were in Bali during the Agung eruptions and Club Med were very organised. As we were on the bus, a G.O informed us that if our flights are cancelled, there is a Club Med representative already at the airport who we could go and see. They would bring us straight back to the resort and we would receive a discounted rate, (which was claimable on travel insurance) until we could fly home again.
The staff certainly made the atmosphere a lot more fun and welcoming. They are so organised and really do think of all the little details. All this combined definitely makes the whole Club Med experience 10/10!