Club Med Punta Cana reflects new upscale aesthetic

Alonso, the boat's first mate, handed me a hunk of French bread as I donned a face mask and flippers.

"I've already had breakfast, thanks," I said.

He laughed. "No, this isn't for you. This is for the fish."

These fish ate well. I certainly had in my three days at Club Med Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

We were anchored beyond the reef that framed Club Med's beach. In the distance I could see sunbathers, swimmers and even some figures on the high trapeze.

The bread lure worked. Within a minute of hitting the water, I was surrounded by multicolored parrot fish, angel fish, sergeant majors and trigger fish that darted between squiggly grasses and waving coral and practically ate out of my hand.

I'm a longtime Club Med fan. In the mid-1970s, my husband and I honeymooned at Club Med La Caravelle in Guadeloupe, where we were oddities in a sea of singles seeking partners, at least for a night or a week.

It was the era of plastic pop-off beads, spartan rooms, potent rum punches and connections.

I revisited that same Club Med in 2007, now updated and upmarket. Gone were the cell block guestrooms, the unimaginative menus and the speed-dating scene.

I'd checked out Club Med's Martinique resort, Buccaneer's Creek, a year earlier. A $60 million makeover had helped relaunch the island as a viable destination for the U.S. market.

The Punta Cana resort, five minutes from a modern airport, is spread over 75 acres of beachfront property at the southern end of the miles-long, burgeoning hotel strip that has transformed the area into the hottest tourism spot in the Dominican Republic.

"We're still the biggest property in Punta Cana, but when Club Med opened here in 1980, we were all alone," said Xavier Mufraggi, the company's CEO for North America.

That's a principle that has guided Club Med since the French firm first opened low-cost resorts in the 1950s: go into a place early, nail down the best and biggest location, establish the destination and watch the visitor buildup.

A more recent strategy evolved five years ago when Club Med switched gears, forsaking its mid-market roots to become a luxury, all-inclusive brand both for adults and families.

Henri Giscard D'Estaing, chairman and CEO since 2003, when the branch revamp was launched, reduced the club roster to 80 "villages" from 120, sold 80% of its gym business and all of its Jet Tours retail-agent arm.

More than two-thirds of the villages have been upgraded, redone and expanded since 2003. Anyone who partied at Club Med's properties back in the day would not recognize today's contemporary resorts, where flat-screen TVs are the guestroom norm, international cuisine is overseen by a culinary staff that includes 40 chefs at each property and the stroller lineup at the mini-clubs resembles rush-hour gridlock in Manhattan.

"We try and create a vacation place where no one has to compromise, where parents can recharge and reconnect with each other and their kids and where everyone has their own time, as well," D'Estaing said.

A hard and fast rule at the eight Club Meds in the Caribbean, Mexico and the U.S. is that no building is taller than two stories.

My room in the coral-colored, white-trimmed Playa building was on the ground floor and had a small patio and a view of one of the 32 new oceanfront family suites across the wide pathway.

Walking to breakfast at the Hispaniola restaurant one morning, I fell in step with a middle-aged couple, longtime Club Med fans on their first visit to the 556-room resort since its $34 million renovation last year.

"Our room is modern, bigger and brighter than last time, we love the new bar and grill near the beach and I could happily spend all my days at the spa," the woman said.

Golf was her husband's thing, and with 15 courses located within a short drive of the resort, he aimed to play them all during their stay.

I overheard mommies talking up the resort's new Petit Chef program for the 4-to-11-year-old set, where kids go into the kitchens and learn to cook. I saw seniors happily perusing the chef's dinner specials at Samana restaurant. I joined some kids in a game of petanque, like boccie, on the beach.

The French were there en masse during my visit, and so were their children, from infants to teens.

Europeans make up 30% of all visitors, matching the U.S. in numbers, and the rest hail primarily from Mexico, Central America and South America, according to Mufraggi.

"We were full for the holidays, but the rest of the winter has openings," he said. "For 2009, we're well prepared for a slower-moving economy. It's a challenging time, but Club Med has an upscale product line, diverse activities and all-inclusive packages and prices.

"We're well-positioned as a great value for upscale clients who do not want to forego their luxury vacation."