FAM REPORT
CLUB MED FAM TO VAL THORENS SENSATIONS
VAL THORENS, FRANCE
DECEMBER 10-15, 2017
This FAM allowed me to take a guest so I traveled with a skier friend, Terry.
We left Boston on Saturday, December 9 on an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin that was scheduled to depart at 9:30 pm but was delayed 3 hours because of a snowstorm. The delay caused us to miss our connecting flight from Dublin to Geneva the next day. Europe flights were delayed everywhere because of snow. We changed our flight to a connection through London to Geneva which ended up being cancelled. At that point we asked for our luggage to be removed from the plane and returned to us. While I changed our tickets for a flight the next day, Terry waited for our bags but mine never showed up!
Aer Lingus transferred us to a hotel outside of Dublin for the night and we returned to the airport the next day, flew to Geneva and transferred to Club Med Val Thorens.
My bag did not get delivered to Val Thorens that day. I checked out the skis and equipment provided by Club Med and spent the afternoon trying to track my luggage. Finally I decided I should buy some clothes and equipment for skiing so that I could ski the rest of the week. I purchased the necessary equipment: helmet, goggles, pants, ski socks, thermals, shirt, gloves as well as some toiletries.
I joined the resort tour for our group at 4 pm. The tour included several rooms, the dining facilities, bars, disco, ski room, spa. Club Med is a vast resort with access to a ski trail that takes skiers directly to a lift that services the entire area as well as connecting lifts to other resorts such as Courcheval and Meribel. Guests can ski directly to the resort from a variety of lifts and the resort is close to the famous “La Folie Douce”, a dance party and outdoor concert for skiers featuring musicians, DJ, and entertainers. It is also found in Val D’Isere and is known throughout Europe and popular with the “Jet Set”.
Club Med Val Thorens features:
*A truly all-inclusive concept with options for more upscale food and beverage choices for an up charge
*A welcome desk in the first level with drive up access to the front doors and easy access to the elevators
*A main dining facility “Yurts” featuring various creative chef stations and a large comfortable dining room with great views
*A relaxed dining area and bar “Epicurious” featuring chef stations and a casual rustic “modern” atmosphere
*A bright and ultra chic bar and entertainment venue “Oxygen Bar” featuring comfortable lounge chairs, an outdoor terrace and Jacuzzi, with great music and entertainment nightly
*A skiwear and casual wear shop on the 4th level
*Modern, nicely appointed rooms, each with a terrace and class doors to enjoy the views of the mountains and ski runs
*A spa facility for massages and spa treatments
*A fitness room with assorted machines, weights, mats and workout area
*A large steam room and dressing rooms and showers
*A large “Rock climbing wall”, staffed by trainers, in the main 3-story lobby
*Comfortable seating areas throughout the hotel for individuals or small groups to relax
*A large ski room for gearing up and an equipment center for rentals and repairs
*Hot chocolate and non-alcoholic drink stations in the main lobby areas.
*Hot wine and hors d’oeuvres daily in the ski meeting area for access to the lifts
The resort was modern, clean and bright with colored lights and accents. The staff was helpful and engaging and I enjoyed many conversations with staff members throughout my stay. The waiters, bartenders, and facilitators were also the entertainers in the party venues at night. They held lively stage shows and musical entertainment every evening. The evening started with pre-dinner cocktails, followed by dinner and ended in the Oxygen Bar. The resort was geared towards an adult clientele and any children that I observed at the resort were teens or young adults and I never observed them in any bars or clubs.
On Wednesday evening, Dec 13 we were treated to a special dinner and wine tasting at Epicurious Lounge. The chefs prepared special dishes and wine selections in conjunction with the sommelier. The food was exceptional this particular evening. It should be noted that the food at every meal was delicious and wonderfully served.
The town of Val Thorens is a mixture of modern and rustic alpine architecture. There were numerous restaurants, shops, and markets spread over a large area, accessible by one mountain access road and numerous smaller streets and walkways. Most of the shops featured ski apparel and ski equipment and gear associated with all-season mountain sports. Most items in the stores I visited were extremely expensive. For example, I needed some tape for a small injury and a roll of adhesive tape cost the equivalent of $12 USD. The resort is at a high altitude so many visitors experience altitude sickness and difficulty in walking and climbing stairs accompanied by shortness of breath. After a few days, visitors acclimate somewhat to the altitude and it becomes more comfortable.
During the days our agenda included breakfast between 8-9 am followed by ski departures when the lifts opened about 9 am. I was able to ski for 3 days, Dec. 11-13 and enjoyed one sun-filled day and 2 days of continuous snow. Val Thorens area constitutes an extensive ski area connecting multiple villages and resorts such as Courcheval, Meribel and Les Menuires as well as others and making it one of the largest ski resort areas in the world. We were able to ski from Val Thorens to Meribel on the sunny day since trails were clearly visible but on the remaining days we stayed in the Val Thorens area due to poor visibility and the danger of avalanches. Snow levels were high and Val Thorens had trucks throughout the day hauling away the piles of snow blocking the streets and sidewalks. The snow was continuing when we left the resort.
It is worth noting that my missing duffle bag was delivered to the Club Med front desk at 11:30 pm on Thursday, Dec 14 and I left on Friday morning at 5:30 am for my return flight to Boston. I never opened my bag!
Cancun/Playa Mujeres Fam –
I spent 3 nights at Secrets The Vine, 4nts at Secrets Playa Mujeres and toured several other resorts in each area.
Cancun –Secrets The Vine – is a very attractive resort on a beautiful stretch of beach; we had a great view of the sea from our balcony. Unfortunately the Sea is not swimmable most of the time. The resort’s 3 pools are situated beachside, so you have a great view of the water from all of them.
Our only disappointment at the Vine, besides the beach, was the food; it really left a lot to be desired. We might have just caught if at an off time as I’ve had clients stay there who thought the food was fine.
Service at the resort was most efficient; they work hard to please.
Hyatt Ziva – Great resort; excellent location on a peninsula; beautiful sea views surround the resort.. There are two swimmable beaches; one has some surf, the other as calm as a bath tub. They offer all kinds of water sports, water aerobics,
floating climbable rafts, water park for children, etc. This resort has something for everyone.
This is a family resort, but does have a new adult only beachfront tower (Turquoise) w/sea view rooms, it’s own VIP check-in, private airport transfers, private lounge, private roof top infinity pool, etc.
The resort has 8 restaurants, 7 bars/lounges, coffee shop, pastry/candy shop, etc .
The aromas and fresh scents everywhere in the resort are amazing!
You would never guess this resort is right in Cancun’s Hotel Zone; it’s a beautiful oasis surrounded by water, where everyone is having a fun. I can’t say enough good things about the Ziva!
We also saw the adult-only Hyatt Zilara , formerly The Royal Cancun. It’s a nice resort; with some renovating (upcoming) I think it will be very nice. You definitely know you’re in the city though!
Playa Mujeres – New upcoming resort area north of Cancun. There aren’t a lot of hotels there just yet, no shopping areas, restaurants, etc. Quite a few resorts are scheduled to open in the next year or so. The swimmable white sand beaches are very nice, the sea color not as spectacular as Cancun and the Riviera Maya though. It’s a quiet, attractive area, almost seems like it was carved out of the jungle. All of the resorts are set way back from the road.
Secrets Playa Mujeres – We really liked this adult-only resort; food was very good; service excellent, grounds were very nice and immaculately clean. They had daily entertainment by the pool which was fun and everyone seemed to enjoy.
You can use the facilities at their sister family resort, Dreams, located next door; I say next door, but it is a bit of a hike. Continuous transportation between the two resorts is offered via golf carts. Adults staying at Dreams can use the facilities at Secrets.
Dreams is a really nice resort; the grounds are lovely! Rooms are very spacious here also. There are a lot of activities offered for adults and children. Explorer’s Club for kids 3 to 12 is open 10am to 10pm; the Core Zone Teen’s Club is open 9am to 1am.
The Delphinus Dolphin Habitat at Dreams features an interactive program allowing guests to observe dolphins up close in their natural habitat; there is a fee for this.
We were able to see the play Rock of Ages at the resort, which we really enjoyed. It is playing there until at least the end of January; that is an add’l charge also.
Guests at Secrets and Dreams have special privileges at the Playa Mujeres Golf Course, an 18 hole Greg Norman course.
Transportation is included, golf rates are reduced, concierge service is available to make reservations for you, etc. Quite often the resorts will offer a few rounds of complimentary golf.
I also took a quick tour of Beloved, Excellence, and Finest Resorts in Playa Mujeres. Beloved is a 5star boutique resort, very low key. I really liked it; only negative to me is their narrow beach. Excellence is also quite nice, only negative to me was the toilet area with see thru glass in some of the Junior Suites. Beloved and Excellence are adults-only resorts.
Finest, their family resort, was too contemporary for me; thought it was stark. On the upside, they had a great clubs and play areas for kids of all ages.
All in all I really liked the Playa Mujeres area; just hope it doesn’t get too big or busy. There’s a lot of construction going on, but somehow the noise is kept to a minimum.
Nashville TN
This was my first time to Nashville and can’t wait to go back! 4 nights was not enough with all there is to see and do.
I flew out of Boston to get non stop flights. $120 round trip – Jet Blue going and Southwest home.
I stayed at the Gaylord Opry Land Resort with Marriott Famtastic certificates. The hotel was $111 a night, plus a resort fee of $20 and then self parking of $29 per day. They do offer valet parking, which is $36 a day.
This resort has just under 3000 rooms separated into 3 different wings. Each wing has a center area that opens up to water and lots of plants, trees, and decorations. We go there in the morning so as we walked into the atriums it was beautiful. Then at night all is lit up with lights handing from the glass ceilings or spot lights in the water. I thought it was impressive during the day but the night was spectacular! The resort is a destination in itself!
They were getting ready for their Christmas spectacular which starts on November 11 through January 3rd so they had started to decorate. Next time I want to go back to see this!!!
They offer rooms that face the atrium and then standard rooms that face the parking lots or Opry Mills. We had a standard king bedded room that was definitely over sized! The bathroom has a huge walk in shower, and a second sink outside the bathroom.
The resort has live music in the lobby every night from 4pm – 6pm.
The concierge can get tickets to shows that are sold out. We got tickets to a show at the Ryman Auditorium 5 rows from the stage less than 24 hours before the show!!!
Check in can be delayed so I would advise people of this. This is a big conference hotel as well and even though check in time is 4pm we did not get into our room until after 5pm. We checked in at 11am. Not a big deal for us because we did rent a car so we just went downtown.
The resort is about 10 minutes from the airport and about 15 – 20 from downtown Nashville.
The hotel does offer a 3 day shuttle pass to down town for $40 per person. The shuttle runs every 90 minutes from the hotel and then from 2 designated spots downtown. We did not use the shuttle because we had a car. They offer a free shuttle to Opry Mills and the Grand Ole Opry. The transfer from the airport to the hotel is $19 per person. I’m sure you can take Uber or Lyft for less.
In the fall of 2018 the resort will be opening a new wing with a BIG water park. It will be called Soundwaves. It will have a slide tower, a double flowrider, a wave pool, a rapid and lazy river, they will have private cabanas to rent, an adults only section and lounge, and new restaurants. They have started construction and we could see parts of it in the works.
When staying at the Opry if you show your room key you can get into Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in the Opry Mills Mall for free. This was a nice perk – cost is $20 per person to get in.
There were a few little museums near the hotel. The first one was a Dukes of Hazard museum which is free to tour. It was really well done. There have the General Lee, the tow truck, the jeep, and the police car from the show there also. They do charge you to take pictures in each of the vehicles. $5 each but you can take as many as you like with your own camera. Next to that is the Willie Nelson museum which is $7.50 per person to get into. The line was too long so we didn’t wait to go in.
Parking can be expensive in downtown if you want to park right near Broadway – which is the main strip for the attractions. If you park 2 – 3 blocks off of Broadway you can get a day pass for $20 – $30. We discover this on our 2nd to last day!
We purchased a Total Access pass which was $75 per person. We were able to pick from 4 attractions from a list of 32. This also gave us free admission to the Parthenon which is well worth the trip! The 4 we picked were, The Country Music Hall of Fame – you can go in and out all day until they close at 5pm, Ryman Auditorium tour, the Hop on and Hop off bus which was good for 2 days and made 15 stops, and the last thing we picked was the boat ride through our resort. Some of the options I would suggest making reservations for. We wanted to tour the Grand Ole Opry but buy the time we got there all the tours were sold out.
One of the stops on the hop on and off is at the Marathon Motor Works. This is the furthest point on the tour and outside the city. You can spend a few hours here. There is a vineyard, a brewery, a whiskey distillery, an antique shop owned by American pickers, some history of older cars, shops, and a candy store. Well worth getting off! There were a few other stops on the route that are free to visit but we just didn’t have time to get off at but will definitely will next time.
Broadway is the main strip in downtown; this is where 95% of the restaurants, bars and shops are. There is live entertainment morning, noon, and night. I have to tell you some of these bands and singers are so good I have no idea why they aren’t making records. 50% of these restaurants/bars are 2 – 3 indoor floors with a different singer or band on each floor and the there is a roof top bar with another set of entertainers. AMAZING view at night from the top floor of these bars!!!
We wanted to tour the Jack Daniels Distillery which is about an hour and 15 minutes from the downtown area. You can take this tour with a whiskey tasting or just the tour itself so it’s good for all ages. We drove all the way there to have the tours sold out also. The tour is an hour and ½ so call ahead before you make the drive or go first thing in the morning before all the crowds get there. Also be sure there isn’t an event going on. There was an international BBQ event going on which of course made getting in and out of there even worse.
Nashville was a wonderful trip but like I mentioned we didn’t have enough time. This destination can be for couples, families, or groups. I would suggest at least 5 – 6 nights or a shorter stay if your clients plan to go back.
Keep in mind when booking clients there is a LOT of walking on a trip like this. We love to walk so it wasn’t a big deal for us.
If you have any questions or need any tips let me know. I also have TON of pictures of the resort, downtown, and the attractions we visited.