07
Feb
2007
Hi EveryoneFeb
2007
After asking questions a couple of months ago from all you Phuket experts, I was quite reassured about our impending holiday to Club Med Phuket. We are going in April during Australian school holidays. Today, however, this review, that I have copied below, of the resort appeared on Trip Advisor. Can anyone who was there in January tell me whether this is true or not. I am going with two teenagers and the whole reason we are going there is for the Teen Club and the activities, particularly circus school, for the kids. I am now seriously worried, because my kids will be devastated if there is no teen club, or it is so boring that kids need to be threatened with it as the reviewer comments. I am also concerned about their comments regarding food being like canteen food. There is not much point paying for all inclusive if it isn't any good.
Looking forward to your replies and thanks once more.
Deb
Traveler rating:
Phuket: Club Med Phuket: "Club Med let down"
Jan 29, 2007 Sarajane, perth western australia
My experience with this property took place in:
January, 2007
After spending a fabulous week at Club Med in Bali last year we were so impressed we decided to try the Phuket club In January for 13 nights. Upon our arrival in Phuket where we received none of the normal Club Med greeting we instantly felt things were not right. Sadly our suspicions were confirmed. The standard of this Club in every respect is so far behind our experience in Bali you cannot believe they are part of the same group. You just expect an organisation like Club Med to uphold standards.. The food in Bali was spectacular, in Phuket it was kindred to an office canteen. The kids club was without fun resulting in the majority of kids congregating around the pool and bar areas. In Bali the GO's made an effort to put on a kids show each night so the kids were involved with rehearals. Out of 13 nights in Phuket their were just two shows which included the children. In Phuket the GO's weren't really interested in the kids and were much more interested in performing themselves. They should have listened to the audience because on the night the kids were allowed to perform the audience went wild. I couldnt help but feel sad when I heard parents threatening their kids with the kids club if they didnt behave - in Bali we couldnt keep our kids away from the kids club as the GO's in Bali just made sure the kids had a ball, where in Phuket they were going through the motions, with one or two exceptions. There was absolutely no sign at all of a Teen Club, as apparently the GO that was in charge was on Holiday, now this is great except that a large part of our holiday invoice must have been allocated to the care of our kids. The circus school in particluar was dissapointing as the only activity they did was the high flying trapeze which meant a lot of kids missed out. Our kids love circus and this is one of the reasons we chose to go to Club Med. In Bali every day they did a variety of circus schools and my kids were able to master new skills which made their holiday so memorable. The circus GO's may be compentant performers but they don't care about the kids, we had to beg for our kids to be included in the circus show, apparently they only let kids do the trampoline whilst the trapeze and other skills are confined to the GO's. This was absoloutely not the way it was done in Bali, the kids always took centre stage. Perhaps the Phuket Go's should consider joining the circus if they want to perform, and Club Med should get some child friendly GO's. Whilst the GO's circus show was well presented and received (particulary by the many Europeans who came without kids.)I can quite easily go to the circus to see this. This is paticularly worrying as apparently the Phuket club is responsible for the circus schools throught Asia. Perhaps Club Med Phuket should just own up and become an adult only club. After this experience we will probably not risk Club Med again for whilst you don't mind the major investment when things are as good as in Bali when it all goes wrong you just dont get what you have most certainly paid for. Club Med is still a great concept, a great way for kids to have a holiday and a place for us all to make friends, but it has to be better than this. You cannot help but understand the problems at this club as we overheard one GO comment to another at dinner "yeah, well we get complaints every day about something but there's no point in doing anything about it because you'll only get another complaint the next day." Wake up Club Med Phuket you have let us down and you are letting your whole organisation down.