“When does the fun stuff start?”
As my four-year-old grandson Cam happily chewed on a piece of “the best pineapple ever” and asked this question, I thought it was pretty obvious that it had already begun.
This was first real big multigenerational trip with my daughter and her family, so let me break down the numbers for you.
Age wise: 63, 61, 37, 34, six, four, two and one.
Suitcases: Seven
Full-size Wagons: One
Car Seats: Two full sized, two boosters
Diapers: 127,000*
*At least, it felt like that many.
Managing the diaper “load” was one of the first challenges we faced when packing up for a week-long vacation, all eight of us. As a clarifier, only the two youngest were in diapers, not us two oldest.
We split them amongst all our suitcases, along with sound machines, baby formula, sleep tents, and swimming diapers. We were all headed to the Club Med in Miches, Playa Esmeralda in the Dominican Republic.
Club Med Miches offers plenty of outdoor space to soak up the sun. (Photo Credit: Kathy Buckworth/TravelPulse Canada)
Club Med is known worldwide for their family luxury resorts which feature a wealth of activities for their youngest guests, up to their most experienced. At one time we had a 61-year-old out surfing on an AirFoil, and a four-year-old flying through the air on Club Med’s legendary and traditional trapeze, while the two-year-old was begging to play Pickleball. Not knowing what it was, was not a deterrent for her.
We used to call Club Med “Dad Camp” when we went to their resorts when my kids were younger. My husband would go off to sail, kayak, trapeze, take a tennis lesson, and shoot arrows at archery. But we discovered that it’s just as much, if not more, “Grandkid Camp” as they participated in the zipline, trapeze, mini-golf, trampoline, and yes, even Pickleball. My daughter and I also tried out the yoga, Pilates and Aquasize between us, before heading for a much needed full body massage at the onsite spa.
The trapeze is a beloved feature at Club Med resorts. (Photo Credit: Kathy Buckworth/TravelPulse Canada)
Club Med has a unique culture mostly defined by their G.O.’s, or Gentle Organisers. These are contract workers from all over the world, primarily under the age of 30. The role of a G.O. is to take care of the guests – from water sports to tennis, trapeze to the well attended Mini Clubs. They live on-site and usually work for four- to six-month periods of time, six days a week, before returning home, or carrying on to another one of the 70 Club Med resorts (both sun and ski) worldwide.
Occasionally a G.O. will make their way to the top, or to the role of the Chef de Village.
Such was the case of the brand new one at the Miches Playa Esmeralda resort, whom I had the exclusive chance of interviewing on his first day on the job at this resort.
Harrison James Dabbs and I sat down at the Café at the resort, overlooking the main pool area where I could see my grandkids and their parents splashing about.
Dabbs holds the distinction of being the first new G.O. to start with Club Med onboard the Club Med 2, their one and only sailing ship in a sea of resorts. He worked his way from fitness instructor to sports manager, to leisure manager, working through the Charlevoix resort, Cancun, the French Alps, Turkey, then his first Chef de Village role at Beidahu, China. He came to Miches fresh off his second Chef de Village role at Charlevoix, Quebec.
Harrison James Dabbs is the chef de village at Club Med Miches (Photo Credit: Kathy Buckworth/TravelPulse Canada)
I asked him what his main goals were in taking over the leadership of the Miches village.
“For me, it's stabilization. What I mean by that, there's almost a stigma in Club Med that when a chief of village comes, that they're going to turn the place upside down and change everything. I am not like that at all.” He said. “There is a winning recipe here that has made Miches improve significantly over the last couple of years. And for me, it comes down to two real main things from the aspect of a chief of village. Number one, it is rigorous and almost ritualistic training. Training consistently, consistently, consistently, non-stop with a high level of importance.”
But that’s not all.
“Number two is consistent exigence. You know, it's easy when a chief of village arrives to see everything that's wrong, make a big fuss, and then slowly lose that level but instead what it is, is consistent and always realignment. Come, show, explain why this needs to be this way and never, never lose patience or you're cool and just continue with it. And always search for improvements.”
During my visit at this Club Med, the Amazon Prime series “Dream Makers” started streaming, and I attended a watch party with some of the staff on site. The series examines what it takes to become a Chef de Village, and it certainly underlined the very different paths that they each take to get there, as evidenced by Dabbs varied resume.
“I feel like I've inherited a gift.” Dabbs said, as we wrapped up our chat, and looking out at the ocean vista and the sounds of waves and kids’ laughter, I had to agree.
And as our family celebrated our last night together with our signature somewhat chaotic patio dinner, we certainly felt as though we had been given the gift of time together, which we will always remember.
Dining at Club Med Miches include a la carte restaurants and a plated buffet. (Photo Credit: Kathy Buckworth/TravelPulse Canada)
Club Med offers family accommodation in varying configurations. At Club Med Miches there is an adult-only space at the Emerald Jungle or the Archipelago, family rooms at the Explorer Cove, or rooms in Caribbean Paradise for both adults and families. My daughter and her family had adjoining rooms in Caribbean Paradise, with cribs provided. There is a Baby Room on site with food and sterilizers, and high chairs are readily available at the restaurants.
The main buffet restaurant had a wide assortment of plated buffet options, including vegan ones, which was important to our family. The Coal & Copper (extra charge) restaurant is an upscale a la carte steakhouse. The Coco Plum beach bar offers a small a la carte menu, lunch buffet, and dinner reservations. BBQ lunches on the beach are a regular feature. The main bar is steps from the pool, and the beach bar is handy to the ocean. Both serve up a wide variety of Kid and Adult Cocktails.
Club Med Miches is located a 90 minute drive from the Punta Cana airport. At the time of publication, seven-night stays for two in July were available for under $8,000, including return air from Toronto Pearson.
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