Guest Post by Rachel Mannino – Vegan Life
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My vegan family just returned from a trip to Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Port St. Lucie Florida. Myhusband and I wanted a vacation with plenty of vegan food and kids clubs with childcare. Is it possible tomeet those two requirements while on vacation? Yes, it absolutely is! In fact, there are multiple optionsfor meeting these needs. We opted for Club Med Sandpiper Bay – the only all inclusive resort in theUSA. Overall, our trip was a bit of a mixed bag. I will break it down into The Good, The Bad and the
Downright Ugly.
The Good Club Med Sandpiper Bay has a wonderful kids club. We have two children, ages 3 and 6. We had to pay alittle extra for our youngest to be part of Petit Club Med, but it was a completely reasonable amountgiven childcare from 9am – 4pm for up to 6 days of the week (you don’t get a refund for unused days,which was fine with us). Childcare for ages 4 and up is included as part of the all inclusive resort price!We cannot speak highly enough of how fantastic the kids’ clubs were. It’s a camp style experience forthe kids. They did crafts, played at the splash pad, swam in the baby pool, played on the playground andmore. Each day had a different theme like the Olympics or science day. Our kids made friends, laughed,ran around, colored and made crafts. And the GOs (Club Med speak for the childcare providers at thekids club), were very attentive, fun energetic people who really bonded with our kids. Special shout outto Jessica, Susana, AJ, Hayley, and Sky at Flamingos (Petit Club for our 3 yr old), and at Geckos (Mini Clubfor our 6 yr old) – Morgan, Elle, Joanna, Ava, Ariel and Casey. I cannot PRAISE these GOs enough. Theyhandled my clinging 3 year old like pros while she screamed at drop offs (caught her smiling and happyan hour later when I spied them going by as a group), changed diapers, and got my little excited aboutthe pool for the first time in her life. The Geckos team kept my 6 year old engaged and happy all day – afeat given how super high energy he is – and he’s still asking to go back to the kids club now that we’rehome. Five stars all around for this crew! And did I mention that having child care on vacation means that the parents can actually have a vacationtoo? I lazed around by the pool, took naps, had leisurely lunches with my hubby and generally took deepcleansing breaths knowing that my kids were happy all day and my husband and I got a good solidbreak! Another highlight for this resort – the vegan food. There is primarily one restaurant on property – thebuffet style marketplace. Buffets are usually not a vegan’s friend, but this one was a gem. Our first nightthey had delightfully seasoned vegetables with basmati rice and a well-seasoned vegetable lentil soup.Whole food, plant-based goodness at a resort! Can you believe it? Overall, the breakfasts are a little light on vegan options. They have sautéed vegetables and kale,oatmeal, toast, bagels and preserves. Compared to lunch options which usually had something vegan atevery station. Every buffet station clearly listed the ingredients and most popular allergens (except MSG,which did come up for me). Every dinner had a special vegan station with a plate full of whole food,plant-based goodness. The Marketplace staff were consistently helpful, friendly and accommodating.
They hunted down almond milk for me every morning and ordered additionalSome of the stellar dishes I loved included: the coconut rice, island rice, lentil stew, vegetable poutine, fried plantains, pineapple tofu, and the spicy Asian salad. They also had some flavor of sorbet every evening, though, sadly, many of the other desserts were not vegan.
The Bad While the resort met my most important desires for a vacation – childcare and vegan options – I’m sadto say that I don’t think we’ll be returning to Club Med Sandpiper Bay. For one, it’s closing in September 2022. Club Med is selling the land and no one really knew who or how it was going to operate movingforward. However, even if the resort was to remain open under Club Med management, we probablywouldn’t return. The rest of the resort outside of the childcare and the Marketplace was pretty terrible. The resort isneglected and in complete disrepair. Our balcony door was broken upon arrival, the bathroom doorbroke while we were there. The landscaping is littered with weeds and unkempt bushes. Peeling painteverywhere. Patched ceilings that weren’t bothered to be painted over. Obvious damage to roofs andsiding of the buildings. Broken furniture in our room that was scuffed and battered and looked like aprop for a high school theatre production! It was gross. And though the housekeeping staff tried hard toclean and tidy, there was no way of overcoming the feeling that this resort was run down.In addition to that, there was really only one restaurant available. There was a little snack shackavailable during times when the main buffet was closed, but they frequently ran out of food. Thisproved disastrous with small children who need to eat after swimming for three hours. For a resort that caters to families, the evenings were horrible for us. The loud late-night music wokeour children up in the middle of the night, which meant that we were all awake in the middle of thenight. I just couldn’t understand why they were blasting music at the main bar that loudly at 11:30 p.m.
with so many kids at the resort.
The Downright Ugly The front desk was a nightmare to deal with – supremely unhelpful. Cockroaches in the room? Well, it’sFlorida…can’t do anything about that.One of the staff stole your sunblock from the pool deck? Oh, well, we’ll keep an eye out to see if theyturn it into lost and found. The spa staff were horribly rude to you? Oh, well, thanks for letting us know.We met multiple other families who also complained about the front desk staff – including one thatspotted mold in their room and had an allergic reaction. Front desk wouldn’t even move them from amold infested room! And the spa staff were so rude to us at every interaction. I had reached out to my travel agent toschedule a spa appointment in advance and her Club Med rep told her that it would be absolutely noproblem for me to book when I arrived at the hotel. So I walk into the spa and they are almostcompletely booked. Oh, and the dual treatment room that they advertise absolutely every where?Didn’t matter, because they apparently don’t actually do couples massages. And the list of services they handed me while I was standing there – they didn’t do half of them! Then there was a time mix-up withmy eco tour and the one pedicure they were able to actually offer me, and they refused to rescheduleand charged me for a service I never received. Unbelievable! My vacation got a whole lot better when I just stopped talking to the front desk and the spa staffentirely. Overall, I think Club Med at Sandpiper is the worst run-down hotel I’ve ever stayed in. Heck, I’ve stayedin student hostels that were in better shape! I did not get my money’s worth at this resort. But I holdonto the memories of my kids’ happy faces and the delightful meals I ate. I think for my next vacation, Iwill look for a different company that provides a good value and a fantastic kids’ club experience for my
littles.
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