Phuket June 2012 Part I - Club Med

Earlier this month, hubby, dear son and I went on a holiday to Phuket with a group of friends most of whom we have known since our Uni/hostel days. The whole gang of us consisted of 10 families, with 20 adults and 16 kids! Oh boy, were we a boisterous group!

It has been 10 years since hubby and I went to Phuket, naturally we were really keen to re-visit the island. This time round, we stayed at Club Med since it's a family-oriented resort where there are plenty of activities at the Kid's Club to keep the kids entertained throughout the day. Ahem, something like a holiday childcare facility *wink*. Of course, there are lots of activities for adults too. And most of the activities are inclusive in the package, as well as all the meals.

Our flight onboard Silkair was pretty smooth and uneventful. Dear son was quite excited to be on an airplane and surprisingly willing to be buckled throughout the flight, with the help of toys and snacks to keep him entertained.

Upon touching down and clearing customs, we were greeted by the representative aka GO from Club Med who issued us with the resort info and room keys. Thereafter, we boarded a chartered air-con coach to Club Med located at Kata Beach. The journey took about an hour.

 Front porch of Club Med.

Upon reaching Club Med, we were greeted by a group of GOs who presented us with garlands, cold towel and fruit juice.

Reception area. Love the royal colour combination of purple, red and orange.

 Beautiful lotus planting.

We were ushered to the stage area, where the GOs gave a warm welcome with a short song and dance. The stage is also the area for performances by the GOs in the evening. After a short briefing, we were led to our rooms for check-in. The entire Club Med is known as the Village and there are plenty of activities for families, adults and children at specific timings. Daily schedule of activities and events are posted at the notice board near the stage area.

The bar area. I think this has got to be the most popular area in the Village with a full day drink service provided, given that the weather is so hot and humid. There are all sorts of drinks available, from cocktails, alcoholic drinks to mocktails, sodas, juices and even kids' favourites like iced milo.

Hubby and my favourite drink, a mocktail called Sweet Phuket, made up of lime juice, soda water, brown sugar and grenaline. Quite refreshing.

There are plenty of lounge sofas around the bar area for people to hangout.

Reading corner.

I love these uniquely-designed rocking chairs.

Plenty of drinking water provided as well.

Large cozy sofa beds near the stage/pool area. Notice the flooring? I thought they look so retro.

More sofas.

Free-form pool, separated into 0.5m and 1.2m depth.

Water polo and aqua aerobics are conducted here daily, and even a water acrobatic show put up by the GOs on one of the nights.

These deck chairs by the pool chair are literally fully occupied from afternoon onwards.

Walkway towards the adult lap pool, located at the far end of the Village, for adults only.

A pity we didn't get to swim here at all.

I only came to this area on the last day, again a pity that we didn't get to laze about these cabanas. But then again in such hot and humid weather, I guess most people chose to stay either in the air-con room or in the water.

Our Club Room with King-size bed.

I was a little disappointed with the room as it looks a little bare with minimal furnishings and decor. I thought they could have been better furnished given that the resort just underwent a renovation.

The boutique selling Club Med apparels, accessories and souvenirs.

Spa at Club Med which I wanted to try initially but couldn't find the opportunity.

Some of the activities include this flying trapze. Kids who are above 4 or 5 years old also get a chance at it. Unfortunately, hubby and I didn't try the activities within Club Med itself (like golf, archery, ball games, water games) as either we were occupied with dear son at the pool or we ventured out for shopping and exploring. Haha, sort of defeated the purpose of staying at Club Med, no?

The 25 hectare Club Med Village is just a small road away from the beach area.

The sea was actually very choppy with strong waves, due to the Northeast Monsoon season.

Red flags are put up along the shore to warn beach goers against swimming in the sea due to strong underwater currents.

Not sure if it was due to the monsoon, the beach was not exactly clean with bits of litter here and there. Nevertheless, we brought dear son to the beach one of the evenings to play with sand which he enjoyed thoroughly.

Nevertheless, we caught a beautiful sunset at Kata Beach one of the evenings.
Overall, some parts of the Village looks a little dated, despite the said renovation. But with the company of great friends, we truly enjoyed ourselves!

In the following posts, will write about food, some places of interest and massage. Stay tuned!