Bahamas: “Club Med Columbus Isle-Not as Advertised”
Club Med San Salvador Island NOT AS ADVERTISED. What a miserable vacation it turned out to be. The beach is lovely, and the facilities are very good, the food barely passed for mediocre, and the atmosphere was just awful! This was our third Club Med, the last two in Mexico, and we will never go to another Club Med again. We have two kids, 8 & 9 yrs old, and they did not get much use out of the Kids Clubs in the Mexico resorts, so it was no necessary we go to a Village with a Kids Club. The marketing material, along with representations made by their agents said that kids are welcome and Columbus Isle would be just great for families. To avoid the Christmas travel crowds, we pulled the kids from school for a week in February (both kids are great students). We were in for quite a shock when we went poolside; a good half of the women were topless. (While this may appeal to many people, it is not the kind of thing for kids from where we come from.) My wife was totally humiliated. I did complain while I was there, asked about getting off the island (not easy), and was shrugged off. Upon our return home I learned that nude bathing is against Club Med policy, (even the GOs were going topless), as well as it is against the laws of the Bahamas.I really dont care what they do at the Village; just dont promote it for kids. They had plenty of opportunity to warn us (or the travel agent). Their response concerning my complaint ha been very unsatisfactory. The food. While the food in the Mexican Villages was excellent, the food at Columbus Isle varied from standard buffet mush to inedible. A person in the buffet line in front of me had to kill a bug crawling out of a dish. Then the server tried to put the platter back! Some of the fish dishes were above average, and the bread was decent, but we did not put on any extra weight because the meals were so great. If you like fresh air, forget it! The theater (where it is clearly posted No Smoking was a fog. In fact we had to walk out of shows because our eyes and throats were burning because of the thick cigarette smoke. But the smoking is everywhere. It may be a cultural thing with the large French contingent, but at meals, the pool, even in the ocean plumes of smoke always seemed to be in ones face. The bar bracelets are a good idea, but during popular times you had a good wait to get you drinks. They said they were short a bartender. Oh well. This was a huge disappointment. In the future we will not be going to Club Med.
San Salvador: Club Med Columbus Isle: “loved it!”
Perfect for a family trip. A variety of activities to keep the entire family active and out of each others hairs. Fabulous GO's.I had the best time to the point where the entire family (8 of us) almost came to the agreement of staying an additional 3 days.Cons:Sand Fleas bites.
San Salvador: Club Med Columbus Isle: “Gorgeous Property, Bad smelling bathrooms”
Beautifully decorated rooms and club house with antiques from Asia. The grounds are immaticulate, the beach is georgeous and the staff overall very friendly. Unfortunately there was a problem with the sewers in the bathrooms which made the rooms smell. We were given other rooms which were less malodorous, but still the smell was always present after flushing of the toilets. The food was excellent, but can vary depending on who the head chef is, ie: in the middle of the week, the Chef was replaced, and the food gradually became better. Beginner divers beware! Club Med changed their policy of Resort Certification to 2 lessons instead of 4. This means that you must have free diving experience or be very comfortable in the water to venture out for your first diving experience. Club Med will take you to depth of 60 feet on the first dive! I was fortunate to have a sensible instructor (ask for Sarah) who volunteered to accompany me on the snorkeling boat to calm my diving jeeters. Since the Club was closed for 14 months, some of the coral was allowed to grow and you will see beautiful brain and fan corals. Hammerheads, sting rays, bottle nose dolphins and turtles are also present and visibitily is very good. Besides Club Med, there is nothing to else on this small island to visit on the island. The French composed about 85% of the visitors since Club Med runs an unbelievable promotion for a direct flight from Paris. (It costs the same for an American to fly from Miami for a week stay). Wish the Americans would get as sweet of a deal.
San Salvador: Club Med Columbus Isle: “Columbus Isle”
It's absolutely gorgeous. The food is great, and the diving is divine. If you like hammerhead sharks, this is the place to dive.