Club Med Phuket

I just got back from Phuket.

To identifyCM guests, all guests are tagged with a coloured plastic identification bracelet, including kids. Different colors for different weeks

The bracelet has a dead clasp which means the only way to take it off it to cut it off .

I wonder if this is really necessary especially if you have to leave the resort to go to the beach, to the Kata shops or to town ?

I am not in favour of this bracelet tag as i feel "branded " and amounts to an intrusion of my person or privacy.

By all means, have security identification , but please find a better way
eg. a photo ID badge (quite cheap these days with scanners and digital cameras) or something less obstrusive - which is to be displayed when entering the village or when checked by security.

Other views ?

Sorry to hear about all you guys who got really annoyed with the bracelets, but I doubt it's gonna change anytime soon.

However, Club Med in general isn't exactly state-of-the-art, or up to date with technology. Honestly, the most high-tech I've seen in Club Med are the bar cards in Cherating, and that in itself isn't exactly impressive.

A photo ID badge might work, but I think their primary problem is WHEN to get it installed, especially in a village like Phuket where guests are present 24/7, all year round.

May I ask- what are the purpose of the bracelets? The other villages in Asia don't have this system including those with guests frequently travelling in and out of the village like Bali, so I'm quite puzzled to why Phuket requires it.

I couldn't stop whinging about it too until I heard why they had to do it.

The tags are mandatory because of several security breaches on the compound and to the GMs before the implementation of the tags. Also, Kata beach is public but unlike Bali it's separated from the village by a road so anyone can just rock up to CM via the back road. Even with security guards at both entrances there has to be a simple way of identifying GMs and the tags are the simplest way of doing it, albeit a little invasive.

When we were there everyone turned their tags inside out when leaving the village so no one (not many people, anyway) could identify us as GMs. To be honest I doubt the ID thing is gonna work, and its another thing to carry around so the tags sound like the best idea at the mo.

Wow. It's so strange to read this topic. I have been to Club Med four times, and each time, I have had a Club Med bracelet. The villages I have been to are Paradise Island, Crested Butte and Sandpiper. (Of course, these are on the other side of the world from the one you were visiting.) On this side of the world, the bracelet means "All-Inclusive." Your bracelet identifies you as a GM and allows you onto the property, into the restaurant and bar. It allows security to clearly identify you. During my recent trip to Crested Butte, there seemed to be quite a problem with locals trying to sneak into the village. I saw security kick out many, many people. Also, the bracelet clearly identifies those that are of legal drinking age and those that are not. (This is especially important, given the aforementioned "All-Inclusive" nature of the bracelet.)

The first time I had the bracelet (Paradise Island), it did take some getting used to. I scratched myself up pretty badly a couple of times, and it interfered with my jewelry. Since then, though, I have grown to love the bracelet. To me, it means Club Med. It's really funny, because I hate to take it off once I come home. Taking it off means my vacation is over. When I returned home from Crested Butte a few weeks ago, I sat on the edge of my bed with the scissors poised. It took me a couple of minutes before I could cut. Finally, I took a deep breath and did it. I would have worn it a couple of days longer, but I had work obligations that would not allow it.

Funny how people look at things in such different ways, isn't it?

... hmm sorry to hear that you didnt really like the bracellet.
Well, I dont see any other way to have things on the body better than bracellet. Just enjoy the fun in club med then you ll forget the bracellet. Just like some people say, club med is not about hi-tech but it s only about fun.... yee haw..!!!

Thanks for the views.

Actually, Phuket has only 2 public entrances for members (if you dont count the staff entrances). ; main and beach access.

Bali's Club med nusa dua beach is public - so anyone can access the club via the beach. With the recent bombings here, i would have understood a case of wearing ID bracelets here.

Perhaps, CM sells the idea of "All inclusive" bracelet better in the Americas - but i have yet to come across a top class resort or hotel that has resorted to this means of security.

Instead of a "dead" clasp bracelet, just use something simple like a elastic band then - which can be taken off as and when.

Cheers !

As I can remember, we started to use the bracelet about 2-3 years ago. According to the police's report, Phuket was a target for terrorist so we decided to put on the bracelet for all GMs and the GMs need to sign in and sign out everytime when you want to go out.

Think about when you're in Patong or somewhere else and then something happen to you. People will know that you're staying at Club Med so they can inform us and we can help you as well.

We do count on our staffs at the entrances also but please do understand when we have full occupancy. Sometimes, they might get confused also.

As Binyo said "Just enjoy the fun in club med then you ll forget the bracellet" .... I really agree with you.

Cheers!!!

Well, I'm not surprised to hear this. My experience with Club Med is limites by european villages, but even there, in supposedely calmer surroundings, bracelets are pretty common. Last year, for instance we were in La Palmyre Atlantique, which has a beautiful beach area, which is not private, of course. Besides, the marine sports base is located some 2 kms away from the club - a distance you may travel by mini-train or on foot whiever you prefer. Anyway, getting bracelets was the first we experinced in the village. You're getting used to it pretty fast, though.

would be a cool idea though to get a tatoo of a design unique for each village instead of a bracelet. Your body will grow to your holiday story with time, just like layers of stickers covering suitcases of frequent travellers

I don't really see the big deal about the bracelets? Why is it so awful for others to know you're a CM GM?? Is there some sort of stigma attached to it in other parts of the world? Most people come to love the bracelets as part of their vacation and a symbol of the vacation afterward. If it scratches you, like it does for a lot of women, wear it on your ankle. I've never gotten a tan line from it. It makes me feel pretty safe because I actually had a guard come up to me on the last night of my trip a few weeks ago and ask me for mine, which I pointed out was on my ankle. They need to do this to make sure you are eligible to eat and drink for free at the AI resorts. If other resorts don't do this, I'd be interested to know how they identify their guests instead. My friends and I also use the bracelets to determine if other guests are new during the week, or if they're getting close to the end of their trip by the color of the bracelet (the color starts to fade after it's been in the water/sun for quite a few days). Anyway, here in NA zone, it's a standard part of CM and one that I've never heard complaints about. If you're worried about your privacy and what others will think if they know you're a CM guest, more than protecting the security and financial loss to the club, maybe you're staying at the wrong place.

The ankle is a good idea. Especially if you do the flying trapeze. Otherwise, if you go for a catch, they have to tape it down to your wrist so you don't get scratched, and it doesn't scratch the catcher. I've always had them put it on a teeny bit loose, so I can slip it off for trapeze, and then slip it back on. The problem comes when I forget to slip it back on and I get in "trouble".

- Lisa (a.k.a. FlyGirl)

BlondesRMoreFUn - the thing with the bracelets being attached to something as visible as your wrist is that when you go into town to do some shopping at the markets, you get a targetted a lot more by the local shop/stall-keepers because the identifiable club med bracelet shows them that you're staying at a "less affordable" resort so to speak...

i think what alot of NA-zone GMs don't know is that phuket is the only village in the Asia Pacific zone that requires their GMs to be tagged, so the experience can be a little unnerving for some. Also all Asia-Pac villages (apart from Lindeman) are NOT all-inclusive at the moment.

Ive never been to Phuket, but I agree with many of the pp - I loved my bracelet and Im not quite sure how else they would identify who gets free food and drinks and who should be on the resort and such. I think an ID badge would be a pain, "Id like a screw driver please" "Show me your ID please"...Im not sure how I would store that in my bathing suite. I actually just got back 2 days ago and I haven't taken my bracelet off yet. I plan on doing so this afternoon because I have to go to work...my vacation is truly over...WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

It was funny because at Turkoise we were joking about it meant how long you had been there or how active you had been by the color. If yours was still hot pink by the end of the week, then you either got there in the middle of the week or hung out inside! ha ha!

I went on a couple excursions and I was asked about it only once by some of the other people on the tour. I was proud to tell them that I was staying at Club Med and how fun it was.

If you don't want to wear it out and about, put it on a little loose so you can slip it off or wear another bracelet over it.

I have always loved the bracelets but then again they are very VERY common in the Euro zone even with other tour operators so I never really questioned it.
The only thing that ever crossed my mind is that it would intefere with my tan (imagine the white stripe on the wrist...eeek!) so I always clasp it on as large as possible so that I can take it off while tanning and tie it to my room key so that I still have it with me should anyone ask but it's not physically on me!
...just my 2 cents' worth!