Club Med has a longstanding reputation for providing fun, activity-filled vacations for adults, teens, and children in beautiful and sometimes exotic locations, and this resort is no exception. Situated at the bottom of the Hotel Zone on 22 acres and only a 15 min. ride from the airport is Club Med Cancun Yucatan. The resort has three primary beach areas–a calmer main beach for swimming, a snorkel-friendly beach, and a third beach for sailing, paddle boarding, and kayaking.
Sailing beach, courtesy Club Med
On the west side of the resort is Nichupté Lagoon, home to several other Club Med water sports including popular waterskiing and wakeboarding lessons. NOTE: This area of Nichupté Lagoon is also a potential home for crocodiles–the resort has guests sign a waiver if they choose to participate in lagoon activities. Reportedly, no incidents of man vs. beast have ever occurred and guests are supposed to be perfectly safe). Club Med has other wonderfully unique sports opportunities including trapeze and circus lessons, scuba school, as well as tennis, archery, aerobics, Zumba, yoga, Pilates, and Latin dance instruction. Sailing instruction is so popular at this resort that Club Med needed to build a pedestrian tunnel between the main buildings and the “sailing beach” so as not to disturb other guests with constant foot traffic. At Club Med, guests can stay as busy as they like with the multitude of activities offered, or they can do nothing but relax.
Aerial view
An ideal family vacation for many parents involves the notion of keeping their children happy and occupied while having time to themselves. To accomplish just that, Club Med Cancun Yucatan offers three stellar programs for children ages 2-3 (Petit Club Med), 4-10 (Mini Club Med), and 11-17 (Club Med Passworld). Daily indoor and outdoor activities are scheduled with the group trapeze lessons being very popular with both adults and children, and there is evening supervision of children ages 2-10 until 9 p.m. In addition to the standard sports group lessons for children, Club Med even offers a Petit Chef Program designed to teach basic cooking skills and how to make healthier eating choices for ages 4-10. Children are also encouraged to participate in shows which highlight their new talents–budding acrobats, trapeze artists, and hip-hop stars are given an opportunity to show their skills to other guests during their stay. In order to demonstrate exactly how family-friendly this resort is, Club Med also offers complimentary Baby Welcome amenities (baby bed, changing table, high chair, bottle warmer, and stroller all upon request) while food appropriate for children up to 23 months is available in the main restaurant’s “Baby Corner”.
Trapeze
The resort has many individual buildings including restaurants, bars, and two or three-story guest bungalows. It is a large property; for those guests who have difficulty getting around, there are staff-driven golf carts available for transport. Club Med Cancun Yucatan has a vibrant atmosphere and the overall décor and color schemes match the ambiance. Residence buildings are named after gemstones (in Spanish) with outdoor hallways painted to match. Many older guest room interiors are done with white, orange, fuchsia, or blue walls, dark wood furnishings and tile floors. In standard guest rooms, a metal railing separates the bedroom from the sitting room or additional bedroom area. Upgraded guest rooms in the Jade building offer oceanfront views, while the upgrade also offers a private oceanfront infinity pool, private poolside bar, concierge service, and extra food and drink perks (Jade guest rooms are slated to be renovated sometime in 2017). The newest guest room section, Aguamarina, is located by the sailing beach and includes rooms which have ocean views, two bedrooms, a full and half bathroom, and are family-of-five/six friendly. Public spaces at the resort are colorfully but tastefully done with fuchsia, orange, and warm earth tones with lots of seating opportunities. There are unique spaces, such as the main restaurant which has five themed rooms, or an open-air bar with volcanic stone countertops.
New Aguamarina room
In addition to the Aguamarina guest room building and the new Petit Club Med for toddlers, Club Med Cancun Yucatan’s recent $14 million renovation also resulted in a new Argentinian a la carte, the Maya Lounge (a combination of the theater, lounge bar, and nightclub), and the redesign of Las Cazuelas Mexican restaurant. Hopefully after the Jade renovations the rest of the resort can be updated as well. Many past guests would especially like to see the small main pool redone prior to returning–an addition of a new swim-up bar and new liner or tiles would be particularly welcome.
Type of Resort: Family-friendly
Pro: Multitude of activities and lessons for all experience levels and age groups, Petit Club for ages 2-3, family-friendly rooms
Con: Many rooms lack good ocean views, older rooms and the main pool need updating, weak WiFi, no swim-up bar. This resort recently raised the age for waterskiing/wakeboarding lessons to 18+.
Best Suited For: Families–this particular Club Med seems to have more of an emphasis on activities for 4-10 year olds. Singles primarily interested in the sports component will also enjoy it here; singles looking for opportunities to meet other singles will probably be disappointed at this Club Med.
No. of Rooms: 436
Room Amenities: King or two dbl beds, A/C, digital safe, flat screen TV, telephone, hair dryer, shower, and toiletries. There is no room service for most guest room categories. While guests can now get free WiFi throughout the resort, it has a weak signal. Faster internet service is available for a fee. Here’s a brief rundown of guest room categories:
(Older Club Rooms): Located on floors 1-2 in various buildings with grounds, partial lagoon, or ocean view. Types of older Club Rooms include the following:
- Club Room
- Club Room Lagoon View
- Club Room Ocean View
- Club Room Two Bedroom
- Club Room Two Bedroom Lagoon View
- wheelchair accessible Club Room
(Older Deluxe Rooms): Lagoon or ocean view with balcony. Amenities include robes and slippers, turndown service, coffee maker, mini-bar stocked with water and soda, radio alarm clock, iron/ironing board, and umbrella. Types of older Deluxe Rooms include the following:
- Deluxe Room Ocean View
- Deluxe Room Oceanfront
- Deluxe Room Two Bedroom Oceanfront
(Aguamarina Building Family Suites): Amenities include robes and slippers, turndown service, coffee maker, mini-bar, radio alarm clock, iron/ironing board, umbrella, second toilet area, outdoor shower area and two full loungers for ground floor rooms, balcony/terrace with beach/sea views. Types of Family Suites include the following:
- Club Family Suite: King bed, sofa bed, separate bedroom with two twin beds, half bathroom.
- Deluxe Family Suite: King bed, sofa bed, separate bedroom with two twin beds, two full bathrooms.
5 Trident Space: These VIP rooms are located in the oceanfront Jade building. In-room amenities include robe and slippers, turndown service, coffee maker, mini-bar, radio alarm clock, iron-ironing board, umbrella, balcony/terrace, most with beach/sea view. All 5 Trident Space guest rooms have access to a private beachfront infinity pool with evening snacks and champagne service, a poolside bar (no swim-up bar), complimentary continental breakfast until 11 a.m. (room service is an extra charge until 11 p.m. when it ends for the day), laundry service at an extra charge, poolside cabanas, private concierge, preferred a la carte restaurant reservations, separate check-in/out. Types of 5 Trident Space Rooms include the following:
- Deluxe Garden View
- Deluxe Two Bedroom
- Family Suite
- Suite
NOTE: Guest room buildings do not have elevators.
Physically Challenged Rooms: Available
Resort Amenities: Three pools (main pool with foam party and 5 Trident/Jade infinity pool–no swim-up bar, children’s pool at Mini Club Med, splash pad at new Petit Club Med), complimentary group lessons (trapeze lessons start age 5+, waterskiing and wakeboarding lessons start age 18+, sailing, archery, tennis, scuba school, snorkeling off the beach, fitness center, spa, nightclub/theater at the Maya Lounge, pool and beach wait service, hammocks, poolside cabanas only for upgraded Jade building guests, Petit Club Med (ages 2-3), Mini Club Med (ages 4-10), Club Med Passworld (ages 11-17), playground, child care, shuttle service around the resort, movies under the stars, concierge, tour desk, medical services, car rental, and currency exchange desk. NOTE: Guests need to stand in line by 8:15 a.m. to sign up for group water sports lessons due to their popularity.
Restaurants/Bars: There is one dedicated buffet restaurant with an adults-only section, five themed rooms, terrace dining, and a “Baby Corner” (La Hacienda), two a la cartes including Mexican (Las Cazuelas) and Argentinian cuisine (La Estancia) which offer breakfast and lunch options and turn into dinner restaurants at night; the resort offers the service of a sommelier. Both a la cartes require advance reservations. There are five bars scattered throughout the property (no swim-up bar)–the main air-conditioned bar offering views of the pool and the Cancun strip, the bar located between the pool and the beach, the nightclub bar, Las Cazuelas restaurant bar, and the bar for upgraded guests by the Jade pool. Drinks typically not included in the AI price are champagne and many top-shelf liquors, bottles of wine/alcohol.
Entertainment: Club Med is big on live shows featuring staff or guests themselves–see the flying trapeze show featuring the guests, you will be amazed. These shows typically happen in the theater or by the trapeze equipment. A children’s show typically starts at 8 p.m., while the adults’ show starts around 9:30 p.m. There is a nightclub which offers dancing.