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Club Med Cancun: Mayan ruins, tennis, fitness and water sportsAnd the famous singles resort now welcomes kidsBy Lucy KomisarIt had been decades since I'd tried to sail a small boat, but the Brazilian GO (Gentil Organisateur or Gracious Organizer) did a brief "show and tell" and then passed me the steering bar. The Mexican waves and wind were moving gently and the small Hobie Cat catamaran was so steady, that I pushed the rudder and pulled the sail to "come about" without a hitch. Back on the beach, the GO invited me to take the boat out on my own.
The ride had been exhilarating, but "I have a tennis date," I said, sorry to miss my "solo" voyage. Club Med started out as “chic European rustic.” I recall visiting Club Med Eilat in 1971, with its doors without locks, pop-it beads for currency and GOs ordering “everyone into the pool for aerobics!” If that’s your vision of Club Med, change it! The emphasis on sports at Club Med hasn’t altered, but a lot else has. Club Med's swinging singles have grown up and had kids. And the French management, now headed by Henri Giscard d'Estaing, son of the former French president, has decided to welcome those kids with programs for small children through teens.
Cancun has seen many changes. It was an isolated fishing village in the 1970s, when President Echeverría of Mexico decided that Acapulco had gotten too crowded and the country needed another resort. Cancun was selected from all other contenders. On the northeast corner of the Yucatán peninsula, it was not even on most maps. It was surrounded by jungle; Cancun in Mayan means "snakepit”! But Cancun had the world’s second largest coral reef after Australia. It was known by scuba divers who chartered seaplanes to go to the reef. Yucatán also had some of Mexico's major archeological sites, most prominently Chichén-Itzá. The Mexican government in the 1970s had a tight connection to France – many of the elite had gone to French universities. Now they go to American schools. Partly as a result of those connections, Club Med was among the first to respond to the invitation to develop a resort. It chose the best real estate, 22 acres set between the Caribbean and the Nichupté Lagoon, so that there's water everywhere you look. It is comfortably separated from the row of hotels on the strip in view across the sea.
The stone temple and other structures were built from the 13th to 16th centuries. The central plaza is dedicated to Mayan rain god, Chaac. The site, which Adriana explained was dedicated to the civil, religious and residential activity of the elite, was restored and opened to the public in 1997. The 13th-century temple, known as El Castillo, features a serpentine figure descending from the top of the steep stairs -- from heaven -- to fertilize the land.
The rainy morning gave me a good excuse to join Myranda’s Pilates class. Whew, those muscles never knew what hit them! Other guests were using the running machines.
Also about to open was the Mini Club for kids from 4 to 10 and a teen club to be open during school vacations for 11 to 18-year olds. The new family friendly resort provides strollers, cribs, baby baths, a nursery for baby supplies and even a blender to use for pureeing the food served at the buffet. The resort for singles has certainly grown up! If you go: Club Med, Punta Nizuc, 77500 Cancun, Quintana Roo – Mexico Internet connections, ethernet in the rooms and computers or wifi hotspots at the central plaza, will cost a fee not yet established. There are 80 Club Med villages in over 40 countries. Coming next: renovation of Ixtapa on Mexico’s west coast. Photos by Lucy Komisar |
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The sailing lesson was done in the style which helped make
Club Med famous – friendly, expert teaching and the best equipment. No sunfish
or sailfish here, but the more expensive catamaran, with joined twin hulls that
provide stability and make it much less likely that you will tip over. The
catamaran, from kattumaramm, "logs bound together," in Tamil, was invented by
fishermen in Tamilnadu, India, who had a serious interest in staying afloat in
all kinds of weather. But Hobie Cats are racing catamarans, so expert sailors
can fly with the wind.
The Club Med village at Cancun, damaged like the
neighboring resorts by the 2005 Hurricane Wilma, has been totally rebuilt, the
beach has been restored and expanded and palm trees replanted. It was reopened
in November in time for the winter holidays.
One afternoon, guests piled onto a bus that took us to El
Meco, an archeological site 45 minutes away. Our guide Adriana explained that
the name means bowlegged, after the rancher who owned the property! The word
Yucatán, by the way, means "I don't understand.” When the colonial Spaniards
landed there, they asked the locals, “Where are we?” The Mayas replied,
"Yucatan." I don't understand.
You can't climb the steps, but neither could anyone else in
Mayan times except the priests. In front of the temple are altars for offerings:
the Mayans practiced human sacrifice, of young female virgins, of course. A long
row of columns is left of a palace, which was covered with thatch roof. You can
see the carving of a rattlesnake on one of the stones. From Club Med, you can
also do day trips to Chichén-Itzá, Tulúm and other important sites.
The connection to archeology is quite serious. Henri
Giscard came to the resort in November not only for the reopening but to
announce that it had joined the World Heritage Alliance of the United Nations.
It will launch programs in Yucatán to promote sustainable tourism. There are 830
World Heritage sites in 138 countries, and Mexico has 36 of them, including five
near Cancun. They are Campeche, Chichén-Itzá, Uchaml, the Calakmul archeological
site, and the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve. Club Med Cancun’s Discovery Club
features trips to seven archeological and nature sites.
But more now about what Club Med is famous for. I had
excellent tennis lessons with Vincent, who switched easily between French and
English to accommodate his students -- four one day, three the next -- as he put
us through exercises aimed at practicing a variety of shots. There are eight
hard-surface courts, six of them lit for night playing. And the Las Cazuelas
restaurant and Las Chispas terrace bar overlooking the sea are a few steps from
the courts, ready for after-play drinks and meals.
On another day I went snorkling. A brief tropical rain had
stirred up the bottom, so I didn't see much. The fish are better at nearby Isla
Mujeres; the Discovery program will take you there on a catamaran. But I was
delighted with the good snorkel equipment, which was much more technologically
advanced than what I was used to using.
Entertainment is a Club Med tradition, and two platform
stages have been set up on either side of the pool. One cocktail time featured
Mayan dancers and then, across the water, a performance of the Mexican hat
dance. On another evening, the Moscow Circus troop presented acrobats,
stilt-walkers, and clowns. A tent auditorium is set up for shows. Think "Las
Vegas" glitter and peacock feathers. Films are shown on an outdoor screen; the
sound for anyone paying attention comes through earphones.
The buildings and rooms feature local arts in a décor
created by the Marc Hertrich studio of Paris. Bedrooms are in three-story
whitewashed buildings with balconies, all rebuilt after the hurricane. My room
had a Spanish leather chair, black painted wood desk, a bamboo light fixture and
baskets, and a red sisal rug on black tiles. My sunken "living room" had a sleep
sofa and fridge overlooking the terrace and lagoon. The most elegant and
luxurious rooms are in the Jade building, with concierge service and computers
hooked to the internet.
Another Club Med specialty hasn't changed. The buffet at La
Hacienda is copious. Mounds of shrimp and other fish come fresh from the sea.
Wines are from Baja California, Mexico, as well as from Chile and Spain. And
instead of an outsized single dining room, La Hacienda, which means a villa, is
divided into rooms in the styles of different colonial manors. Las Cazuelas
features a Mexican buffet. La Pergola, a sit-down service restaurant that will
offer grilled food and tapas, was still being completed.
There are 384 rooms of various categories; weekly rates are from $1190 per
person in low season to $1350 in high season.