Once single-minded, Club Med in Guadeloupe refocuses

In the mid-1970s, Club Med La Caravelle in Guadeloupe was a party-hearty place that catered to singles and couples who arrived on charter flights from the U.S. on Saturdays and departed a week later, some of them slightly worse for wear.

Plastic pop-off beads paid for bar drinks, nude sunbathing on one section of  beach was accepted and expected, guest rooms resembled cell blocks, the enthusiastic staff mixed and mingled very freely with guests, and the Club Med theme songs blasted throughout the resort far into the night.

Meals were eaten family-style at round tables for eight, inhibitions melted and no one remained a stranger long.

I was there in 1975. As honeymooners, my husband and I stood out as oddities in a sea of singles seeking partners, at least for a night or a week.

Fast forward to 2007 when I returned as a veteran reporter, leaving spouse and family behind on this trip.

The signature, curving roof that resembles a giant stingray still dominated the lobby area.

The wooden water sports dock looked the same. The wide beach still curved around the bay.

Petanque, the French version of bocci, is still played on the sand court behind the palm trees.

Other than that, I didn't recognize the place.

Toddlers waded along the shore, kids and adults flew through the air on flying trapezes, moms and dads pushed strollers along walkways, couples lay on chaise lounges reading or sleeping and laptops and iPods were as much in evidence as 30 SPF sunscreen.

My room had a flat-screen TV, air conditioning, a phone, a hair dryer, a coffeemaker, a comfortable bed, lots of hot water, thick towels and housekeeping services.

Instead of one restaurant, there were two.

Reservations were required at La Beguine, the specialty dinner restaurant that offers an impressive wine list (for a supplemental charge). House wines were plentiful and included in the resort rate.

In Hibiscus, the main restaurant, tables were set for two, four and six guests as well as the traditional eight, and the buffet offerings at the three main meals each day stretched through two enormous rooms, guiding diners from appetizers to desserts, soup to nuts and diet to over-the-top.

I met Club Med lifers. "We've been to 30 Club Meds. We've skied with them in Europe, dived in Australia and the Turks and Caicos, sailed on their Mediterranean cruises. We wouldn't go anywhere else."

I met honeymooners. "We came here because it was a French island and it sounded exotic and romantic. It is."

I met parents. "Our kids love the programs. We love the free time and the all-inclusive price."

I heard talk and laughter in French, English, German, Dutch and Spanish. I talked with a man in a wheelchair. I joined a multigenerational family reunion one night at dinner. I watched teenage girls learn the salsa and teenage boys watching the girls.

All in all, it was a group of mixed ages, nationalities and interests. Everyone was having fun.

And that, after all, was the point.

La Caravelle's reopening in December following a top-to-bottom, $30 million face-lift was part of Club Med's grand plan of repositioning their resorts to appeal to a more diversified and upscale client base, according to Cedric Gobilliard, the president and CEO of Club Med's North American operations.

"Our guests' needs had changed, the market had changed and Club Med had a mandate to bring our resorts in line with a more upscale product, particularly for the U.S. market," Gobilliard said.

The 297-room resort offers five buildings with guest rooms, each bearing a name related to Guadeloupe and its constellation of nearby islands.

Les Saintes, at the west end of the beach, consists of bungalows preferred by solo guests. The main buildings of Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre (named for the two large islands separated by a river that make up the butterfly-shaped island of Guadeloupe) and La Desirade have a number of suites and connecting rooms with garden and water views.

Marie Galante, the newest building, offers patio and balcony views of the beach and sea.

Although the resort has the U.S. market in its sights, it is the French market that makes up 80% of its bookings, followed by other European guests, French Canadians and then Americans.

Club Med is banking on that to change as the resort gains greater visibility in the U.S. among family travelers and those for whom the French West Indies remains a curiosity.

The addition of Delta's weekly nonstop flight from Atlanta to Pointe-a-Pitre this winter offered travelers an alternative to the American Eagle daily connection through San Juan.

I talked to Egyptian-born Amro, the tour and excursions manager in charge of the resort's Discovery Center. He encourages guests to get out and see the island.

"You can't come to Guadeloupe and not see the Creole homes, the fishing villages, the nearby islands, the difference between the limestone plateau and sandy beaches of Grand-Terre (where Club Med is) and the rain forests and the peaks of La Soufriere on Basse-Terre," he said.

American guests gravitated toward the half-day canyoning tour (climbing and swimming in the rain forest, $82) or a two-hour Jet Ski excursion ($250). A lot of them rented cars to explore on their own, Amro said.

"One excursion is the average during a five- or seven-day stay," he said. "They like it here best."

I identified with that.

To contact reporter Gay Nagle Myers, send e-mail to [email protected].

Get More!

For more details on this article, see "Club Med Americas chief has his eye on upscale market."