My usual visit to a Club Med over the last 40 years has been for 2-3 weeks. However this was a spur of the moment trip of only a week. Looking back that's over 798 days of CM' stays since my wife and I first discovered it in 1976, BoraBora (now closed) I have written a long review of the last week.

The CDV (Chef de Village) is the key person at the resort. I marvel at them. It takes a very energetic and experienced person to train a fresh group of workers every 6 months and keep them working day and night for the season. Of the 30 or so different CDV's I've enjoyed over the years this one (Jessie Choe) was close to the bottom of the list. She was laid back and not very present except during show kick offs and waving goodby to guests as they departed. As a consequence the whole group of workers was somewhat laid back with little things being missed all week. Workers (GO's) were basically on vacation.

Little things like absence of working ice cream machine for Vanilla (except one day), late putting out pre dinner snacks on time, lack of napkins becoming the joke of the resort, etc, etc. The list is a long one. Very typical of a lack of active leadership that I have experienced a few times in the past. Always leads back to the CDV who sets the daily tone. I'm sure she is a nice person, but to quote a few nice sisters from Canada after the new Club Med'rs get together with the CDV, "I would fire that girl if she worked for me". These were nice professional level ladies in their mid 50's. Went on and on and used the "F" word which almost shocked me out of my chair. Anyway this seemed to be the consensus of many first time guests.

Frankly my only really only bad experience was getting tired of explaining to first time Club Med'rs over meals that this was not typical and to give it another try in the future.

Being experienced I found a way as always to work around problems and enjoy myself. An example would be after three visits to the front desk over two days trying to get an ironing board that worked in my room (all rooms have one) I finally gave up and offered a maid a $20 bill to cop one from a vacant room and bring it to me. Took about 3 minutes and the problem was solved. If I had to keep going back to the front desk I would have eventually gotten angry.

Also typical was little things like the ice cream machine in the restaurant not having working Vanilla except one day. I put it in the suggestion box, mentioned it at the restaurant. Bland reaction. However I love the deserts at Club Med and always have too many, but like with ice cream on top. Chocolate only was working most of the time but not my thing. So I missed out on 3,000 calories a day of deserts. Was probably good for me. In my younger years I probably would have raised cane and got something done and gained 5 pounds a week. Follows the good and bad for those interested.

Nurses: Very nice and qualified. Marjorie seemed almost over qualified. She seemed to know more about Heart Disease than my Cardiologist at home. My on-board heart computer had some adjustments the week before my trip and I was nervous. She checked my BP almost daily and when I discovered I was going to come up short on a heart med she procured some for me.

Front desk: Most were more pleasant than in past visits. Since all guest problems are normally reported there first it's easy for them to wear down and become somewhat surely and negative. Was not the case. Since most reported problems were not getting solved down line, they continued to be nice with a smile anyway.

Main Bar: It was nice to see old friends like Arnie and Alex who are mainstays and live in the Turks. The rest it was hard to get eye contact or a smile. The manager hid most of the time out of site. Service was very slow and poor. I think under-staffing the bars is another way Club Med is trying to cut expenses. So it's hard to blame staff. Basic bar drinks are still included. The water fountains at the main bar were plugged in but the cooling not working.

Sharkies Bar: Same. I gave up twice trying to get a drink and went to the main bar instead. Horrible. Bar area is greatly expanded which was nice. The water fountain at Sharkies did work and put out cold water to refill your bottle.

Sharkies Food: It was well organized and Great burgers, fries, etc. Tough to get a napkin though. Shortage of napkins kind of became a joke among of guests but disappeared by mid week. At first I thought it was just another CM cut back but now think just bad purchasing and distribution problems throughout the resort.

Annex Restaurant: Closed, another cutback.

Rooms: I booked through Mill Travel for the first time in years and they made sure I got a ground level room in Bldg D. It was clean and the perfect location for one with a cane and bad back. Thank you Mill and CM. However the mold was worse than normal. Often a complaint on Trip Advison reviews. The maids are not given anything like Tilex so they can't be blamed. Just the Club being cheap. The water was hot and working. The air conditioning was weak as normal. But I bring a room fan so it was tolerable. Left it at departure as usual with the hardest working GO (worker) I had contact with. Helen from sailing. I also bring one good light bulb and switch it out so I can read in bed. Lights are weak like most resorts these days.

Main Restaurant: Food quality and variety continues to decline as it has over the last 10 years. Mash Potatoes and Fish were as rare as hens teeth. Croissants at breakfast were fresh one day old leftovers the next. Etc. Guacamole was very good on Mexican night. The desert spread was excellent as usual for a Club Med but without Vanilla ice cream not working which I enjoy on top I saved a ton of calories. Little disappointed since I skipped lunch one day looking forward to over indulging desert. Tried the Chocolate but not my thing. It was bad enough I tended to go to Sharkies and have a late afternoon Chicken Burger and just skip dinner. They had a number of tables set up out around the pool and you could reserve one with a purchase of a bottle of wine. Another nickle and dime Gimmick from the new Club Med owners. Friday evening as usual the Club usually goes all out to give a good memory to the guests. Tables were all set out around the pool area and the weather was excellent. Downside, the live entertainment was load like it is sometimes in a bar at home so I got my food and ate in the sports bar area where it was quieter.

Land Sports Activities: No weekly baseball game for first time in years. One of only three land sports I really look forward too. One other is the Ping Pong tournament. I showed up with a few others for the scheduled 2:30pm tournament Friday, but no GO to organizer showed. I was disappointed since I practice at home and like to compete for first place on vacation. Never saw the advertised Pool tournaments kick off for lack of an organizer either but may have and I was doing something else. Excellent basket ball court but no scheduled activities. Tennis courts in very good shape and Simon the pro didn't need any management to do an excellent job. All tennis players I visited with were very happy. The third is Bocci ball but had no scheduled tournaments as there usually are.

Land Sports Equipment: Ping Pong tables in good shape. Pool tables falling apart. Beach Volly Ball polls hanging crooked and nets falling apart. Tennis rackets, balls, nets, courts all in great shape.

Trapeze: I didn't hear much about it but the GO's from the trapeze team did a great job in the shows.

Scuba and Snorkeling: All I talked too seemed to have a good time. I saw one dive boat go out with looming clouds and only a few guests on board. It would have been easy to cancel the trip, but they went. I think Scuba is contracted out.

Maid Service: I ask when I arrive to skip it. They give you a special do not disturb kind of sign. I only get maid service in my home once a week so I have never understood having it daily. The sand was building up by midweek so I ask a maid if she could clean it. She said she is only allocated enough to do the rooms on her list but would be happy to do it the next day. She did a fine job on Thursday. I did notice that the maids were not as outgoing and happy as usual. One day a maid was walking from room to room screaming something. She went on and on. Later a walked by same area and she was still in a tyrant. I asked if I could help her with anything. She screamed that her boss was pushing, pushing and pushing. She was still upset and raising her hands screaming to nobody in particular as I walked away. Most guests I talked with were happy with Maid Service.

Pool: Was cleaned daily and in fair repair. Never a life guard as in past visits to this resort. I guess another penny pinching move.

Internet: At $50 a week it's a little high but worked excellent. CM still blocks a lot of stuff. Anything close to gambling or porn are blocked. I like to stay up with WSOP on utube but it's to close to poker and blocked. Streaming sites were also blocked. It worked in my room for the first time ever. It's supposed to be included starting the Winter season, November, but knowing Club Med II expect it to be slow with a premium upgrade for a price.

Transportation: Very good but still expensive at $40 each way. It would help if CM held a sign or something at the airport. I couldn't find them and was ready to hail a cab when I asked somebody. They told me the guy in the Red shirt sitting on a bench way down the terminal outside was the CM guy. Once I found them things went smoothly. As a note, if you add the transportation and internet it's more than a nights stay.

Evening Shows: I didn't attend since they have become repetitive after 40 years, but observed a few times. All seemed to enjoy. One of the few times you would see the CDV.

Resort: Deteriorating every year. I love this CM since it's one of a few world wide for adults only. I hope they find a way to keep it going. Rumors abound that they are not investing since lease is up soon. As soon as their is a new one things will change. Or "They are going to build a new one on the agacent island", etc etc. Same rumors for the last 5 years. Only a few at the top of the organization really know.

Guests: Majority were from Canada. Few from North East US, maybe 10 from Dallas area and a real nice couple Tim and Liz from LA area. The Canadians are some of the nicest people on the planet and visiting around with them made my week a great one in spite of the place. I HAD A GREAT TIME! Also a few pleasant surprises running into some guests I hadn't seen in years from past at other Club Med's. The average age was older than normal. I ran into a nice oriental man who had actually been going to Club Meds a little longer than me. He was a tennis player who used to go to Paradise Island Club Med 4 or 5 times a year. Very long time ago.

Smoking: There is a 20 foot square area with five chairs and an umbrella just outside of the theater. No smoking in the resort except there. Never saw one worker in the smoking area. They would just leave their posts and sneak behind a bush, tree or bldg and catch a short smoke. This just added to their already busy schedule. I suspect there was a lot of smoking in rooms by all.

Sailing: What I enjoy the most. For the first time I can remember all the Hobie Cats were in working order. Helen seemed to be the hardest working in the bunch. As a group they were pretty laid back and found it easy to close down sailing. "Come back tomorrow" instead of "Wait awhile and maybe the wind would come up". The guy in charge of sailing was somewhat of a Phantom person like the CDV. Only saw him a few times at the sailing area. He did show up on Iguana island and pitched us all standing in the hot sun to be sure to give "sailing" a good review when leaving the village. GHOSH. Also something new was "Bring $5" on the Armada trip to Iguana Island for a local guide. I didn't and those who did were disappointed. He walked the group who did around the deserted hot island with no shade. Was a real scam. Suspect the Club maybe gets a kickback?? Most of IIguana's were hanging around the broken down picnic table under one of the few trees on the island close to the beach waiting for people to show up and feed them.

Weather: Very very hot. My first time to the Turks in September. Typical hot sun with a few clouds broken up by a 1 hour rain in afternoon followed by still air for an hour. The rain did cool things for awhile. So I would say perfect, except hot.

The Club was only about 30% full which is probably normal for Sep. School in US recently started as well as hunting season kicking off.

I am scheduled to go back for 2 weeks of December and looking forward to it. I am sure the CDV Jessie is a real nice girl but really belongs back in Services Management where she came from. I still haven't figured out how she got this difficult assignment. Perhaps some social corporate experiment or maybe just a politically correct move. Frankly it's a mystery to me. Normally a CDV comes up through years of hard work through the sports or entertainment group.

Hoping for a change, but if not I will have a great time as usual.

Ouch! Well, Bob you know your Club Med and you know what to expect. Big disappointment in the GO attitude. You mention that the CDV is important in energizing the GO's, well, he or she is just as important in energizing the GM's. I'm sure that you also remember the great CDV's even if it happened 15 years ago. Concerning this particular club, it's time to either close it down or fix it up. Right now it is slowly bleeding to death. BTW, the lack of upkeep and maintenance is something I hear about all the club locations. This has to be a corporate directive to squeeze as much money as possible out of a location.

Hi Bob,

Great in-depth review as usual. We'll be there in a few weeks to check it out for ourselves. These days, we buy our own mango juice at the IGA store to keep behind the bar for our favourite mango daiquiris! Hopefully the CDV is just getting settled in and will improve over time. We were hoping for a return of Barq or Mike Clarke. We also remember the good and the bad (Charles and Max). The CDV makes a huge difference!

Did you happen to recall what the colours are for the dress codes?

Thanks again for the update.

TJ2VEGAS

Bummer. I was there when she arrived in May and she seemed nice and energetic. One GO gave her rave reviews having worked with her before. Also while a lot of GOs were leaving, the new group seemed good. But Bob is right when the CdV is not proactive or around, they slack off. A have been there many times with Simon as the tennis pro and he is very good-one of the better tennis pros. Bob, did Simon do the night poker tournament? He ran a good game. Really a shame Turks is trending downward. I am a big fan of Michael Clarke and he whipped that place into a good state. The CdV after him was often gone (hopefully nothing serious) but the place went downhill. Sounds like the trend continues.

Bob, when are you going in December? I will be there Dec 2-10. As to the airport, when I am traveling with someone I use a taxi. Taxis are $20 a person to CM (same as CM) with a $40 minimum charge. So with two it is the same price as CM, more comfortable, and faster. Just tell Diesel you are going and he will alert CM. In one of my trip reports, I mention a taxi guy ,Lumpy, who we often use. Nice guy.

I'm not sure what all jobs Jessie had on here way up, but one of them was a sailing GO (chief of sailing, I believe) at Columbus Isle, so at least we spoke the same language.
I suspect it has been several years since your last visit to Turkoise Bob, as some of the things you mentioned have been true for our last several visits. I'm not sure when the last base/softball game was, but not for a while. Several other things you mentioned, like the annex restaurant being closed, and the "wine purchase gets you a table by the pool" are in this category also. And, yes, SCUBA and snorkel are contracted out to an independent outfit. I believe this is true throughout the Caribbean at least.
The $5 fee for Iguana Island does seem a bit hokey, but is actually valid. I've known for some time (years) that other excursions to Iguana Island were being charged $5 per person "Park fee" and had been surprised that we had not been paying it on the "Armada" to Iguana Island. This time they (GOs) told us to each bring along $5. If the "Park Ranger' was there he would collect the $5 and all would be good. If the ranger was not there, then we would just bring the $5 back with us. If the Ranger was there and someone did not have the $5, then it might get unpleasant. This is something caused by the island government and park administration, not Club Med.
I have heard so many rumors over so many years about what is going to happen to Turkoise, that that I am now very much in a "I'll believe it when I see it" mode. Something does need to be done though, it has been going downhill for a long time and really needs major refurbishment (both the physical facilities and the quality of the services such as food).
I guess I am one of the few GMs who never cared for Mike Clark. He always seemed to be big on "window dressing" but did not really make any significant changes/improvements to the village.

I really didn't like Mike either. I think he owned only one shirt. However he did walk the beach every afternoon with a tray of fresh fruit.

You have to have some experience at CM's to read behind the lines of my review. The 4-5th months of a season brings a group of young people (GO"s) close to the burn out state. They don't know what if any new assignment they will get next season. They are getting tired of being overworked. Probably most are looking forward to fulfilling their obligations and returning to home or school. The great job they thought was going to be such much fun is waning, It's CM typical for late season.

Add to it an occupancy of 30% and you and I or anybody would be just the same as any of them in our youth. I think it's normal for them to slack off and try to have more "personal fun" at this point. In my 20's I know I would.

It takes an extraordinary CDV to keep things going strong during this seasonal time. It's a time when as one says "separates the men from the boys". A CDV may be winning the race at the beginning but looses the at the finish line. I'm sure I would do no better, but I'm paying, not receiving.

I know/understand exactly what you mean Bob... We have typically gone to CMs in April and Oct which is in the prime "turnover" time. We have been to some villages when it was obvious that most of the GOs couldn't wait to be gone. (A visit to Paradise Island stands out in that regard.) Other times the GOs were happy and excited about new assignments, yet somewhat sad to be leaving their friends at the current village.
Will be interesting to see how things are when we arrive there in about 3 weeks.