mo on the go: ultimate family travel part 1, Club Med Ixtapa Mexico

If your family is looking for a vacation where everyone from the
smallest to the pickiest members of your family all have a great time
then Club Med is a fantastic choice. Here's what my family and I loved.

Country

The resort itself is beyond beautiful. We are big fans of Mexico, Puerto Vallarta being our one of our other favourite Mexican destinations as well. A lot of people have safety concerns about visiting Mexico but we feel as long as you choose your destination carefully and use some street smarts, for example don't wander around inareas you don't know at night, then you should feel very safe and welcome in a truly amazing country.

Everywhere in Mexico we have visited has been extremely welcoming to our family and very pleasant and accommodating to our kids. This makes a huge difference to the overall experience of your vacation.

It is a hot country and if you don't like it hot then this might not be the place for you. We LOVE heat and humidity so that's probably anotherreason we love visiting there. Please do keep in mind to make sure everyone in your family gets a new hat for the trip and that you stock up on sun screen! Afternoon siestas in the heat of the day and a cool margarita help too. Naps and booze, what's not to love!

Resort

We haven't spent a lot of time at all-inclusive resorts so although we knew Club Med has a fantastic reputation we were still unsure of what toexpect. Our concerns were put to rest the minute we arrived, they greeted us as we arrived in a taxi, had fresh cold water waiting for us and offered us a place to sit down (always nice after a long flight with 3 kids). Quickly checked us in and gave us wrist bands. Then off to ourroom, guided by a friendly member of the Club Med team, who not only showed us to our room but explained everything about the amazing things the resort offers on our way there.

Club Med offers A LOT for families, pretty much everything you can think of. Let's start with our room...

With 3 kids staying hotel rooms can be down right squishy. Usually we have 2 kids in one bed, my hubby and I in the other and our youngest in a play yard. This room took the take cake for the perfect set up for families. The room we split into two with a shared bathroom.

The Kids' Room

The kids had their own twin beds plus each had a trundle bed under it sowe know we can go back once baby #4 arrives and we will all still fit. There aren't that many resorts that can boast that they can easily accommodate a family of 6 comfortably! The kids LOVED this room, with
their own tv, cupboards for their stuff and space!

Baby Club Med Welcome

Baby Club Med puts this resort top of the list for families traveling with infants. You don't need to bring a thing...other than the baby andsome diapers. Leave the playyard, stroller, baby food, snacks etc. all at home. Club Med provides it all! Complete with a little letter to their smallest guests in their perfectly made up bed, and next to the stroller your room comes with for your use around the resort. The attention to baby only begins in the room, wait until I tell you about the food and the baby club!

Food

If you like to eat...a lot, then you will love the HUGE buffet Club Med offers. With a funky interior and nightly themes for the food and dresscode they make it a lot of fun too. The all you can eat ice cream bar was a big fav with our kids who had "clean plate club" at almost every meal.

My hubby and I enjoy good food, especially Mexican food and we were not disappointed. From an impressive display of fruit, cheeses, seafood, and nightly specials there was tons to try and try we did. Who knew you could eat that much fresh guacamole at every meal. YUM.

Plus starting my day always feels better with a fresh omelet made just for me...by someone else! A little fresh fruit and unlimited coffee and I am definitely in paradise!

One thing that we didn't know before arriving was that the staff (everyone of them) eats with the guests in the restaurant and even with the guests at their tables. At first I though this was a bit strange but quickly I realized it was actually really nice to get to know all the different members of the Club Med team. We shared meals with Mini Club GOs, the HR manager, sailing teacher, and so many more. They each have a great story and seem to love working there and many have worked at several of the Club Med resorts around the world. Many have also built relationships with guest families who visit annually.

Kids' Food

Where would kids be with staples like hamburgers, plain pasta and chicken fingers...a whole lot better off if you ask me but vacation isn't the time you want to fight your kids on food choices. Thankfully we do that enough at home so although the plain pasta with cheese and
butter is always a hit at least we had them try quesadilla, enchiladas (my fav) and lots of other new foods (the ice cream bar helped out in getting them to try new things too, hey what's a little bribery?! :)

I have to say at breakfast while I was in heaven with my omelet and coffee, I watched kids from all over the world from toddlers to teens ALL gravitate to the sugary crap cereal. Everyone of them made a beeline in the morning for those little boxes. I swear it is the little box they want, I doubt if they were in a big bowl the excitement would be the same. But hey it's vacation and if they are happy and hopped up on sugar, there is always the pool and the beach to burn it off in and on.

Baby Food

Again as a mom of 3 I have packed baby food and trekked it to more placed than I care to admit. Terrified that if we got there I wouldn't be able to find safe and familiar food for my baby. When visiting a Club Med resort leave your baby food at home, your baby will thank you.
The chef at the restaurant is more than happy to steam up whatever yourbaby's favourite veggie of the week is, there are those little boxes ofcereal (not all sugary) that are great to grab for a snack on the beach. We stocked up on Corn Flakes in the morning. Plus they have a
bottle warming and microwave all set up for you. Plus they have a fridge of milk stocked with full size tetra packs so we could take one to our room to have on hand for our milk junky toddler. Add not making baby food to your vacation! The only warning you might come back with a baby with gourmet tastes! Click here to read more about what Club Med has to offer babies.

The FUN!

Beach, pool, spa, tennis, basketball, soccer, trapeze! There are enough activities offered at Club Med to keep everyone as active as they want to be. From teens and dads playing soccer every evening to babies playing in the sand on the beach...well more like eating sand on the
beach, I really loved how active the whole resort was. In fact our kids had a blast doing a little bit of everything especially that they could go to the Mini Club med for a few hours or the whole day.

Children's Clubs

Baby Club Med - 4months - 2 years

Petite Club Med - 2 years - 4 years

Mini Club Med - 4 years - 11 years

Juniors' Club Med - 11 years - 17 years

More Services for Children/Teens