We have just returned from 14 days at Club Med Ixtapa Pacific, and we had such an amazing time, that I need to share the experience! This was our first time at a Club Med, although we have been to all inclusive hotels previously. While I can't speak for all the Club Med facilities, this specific resort is amazing. Prior to booking this holiday, I read many reviews in Trip Advisor, and our experience parallels many of the extremely positive reviews.

We have two children (6 years and 7 years), and selected the club primarily based on the Kids program (mini club). The kids program and staff are amazing. My daughter is a little shy, but they had her participating in all activities - kayaking, sailing, hip hop shows, etc. etc. She had no interest in the trapeze, and she was extremely grateful that no one pushed her beyond her comfort zone, or made her feel badly for not participating. My 6 year old son was hanging from his ankles on the trapeze though!

The staff to child ratio is excellent, and the kids are exceptionally safe and happy. My biggest frustration was my kids whining when I tried to be a good parent, and take them out in the afternoon to spend quality time with us! After 10 days, my son was begging me to let him spend the entire day at kids club "like all the other kids". . . . One of my favorite part of Mini Club was the ability to have the children eat dinner with the other kids from 6:30 - 8:30. The parent signs them in, gets them a plate of dinner, and you are free to go enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony (or where-ever you choose) and have a romantic dinner for two! My husband and I have not had so much private time, and quality "us" time since we became parents. . .

The Mini Club hours are from 9 - 5:30, and then from 6:30 - 8:30 pm, six days per week. We never had the kids in all day, but they were in and out depending on the activity and day. For those parents that want to make a night of it, you can register the kids for a "pajama party", where they can be babysat in the kids club until 1:00 am. This is an additional cost of 22USD per child (half price occasionally!), but for a special night out seems worth it. The kids watch videos, play games, and then nap in their pajamas. You can also arrange for babysitting in your room at approx. 20USD per hour.

As noted in other reviews, the facilities are beautiful, and all newly renovated. Many fellow travellers commented on how natural and beautiful the grounds of this facility were compared to other Mexican resorts, and a number of people indicated this was their favorite Club Med facility for familiies (since the renovation). It is smaller than many of the other Club Med family resorts, and there is more personal interaction with the staff and between guests. The layout is also excellent for children, who can easily find their way around, in a safe environment.

Although I'm duplicating what other people have said in reviews, the management and staff at this Club Med are truly what make the experience so spectacular - for kids, families, and the few couples that I saw.

The Chief of the Village (or General Manager), Jean Marc is an extremely personable, gifted leader. His staff (the GO's and the local Mexican employees) all speak highly of him. They love working for him, and it shows. One GO, in an admiring tone, said to me "he (Jean Marc) is everywhere, and knows everything going on". I think it is true. I heard wonderful stories from guests and staff alike. Jean Marc knows many of the guests by name, he upgraded a honeymoon couple (who obviously didn't have the money) to a suite, gave t-shirts to the guests and kids who participated in the shows, speaks daily with as many guests as he can (and remembers personal details about many). . . .To get world class service in a hotel, it really must start with the top managers, and this is clearly the case with this Club Med.

Most importantly for me, the staff at the Kids Club were great. All spoke fluent English, many spoke French and Spanish. I don't think there was a child in the Mini Club who didn't have someone there that was fluent in their language. When our stay was ending, both my kids made cards for the GO's at the Mini Club - thanking them and saying how much they would miss them (and I am lucky if I get a card for Mother's Day!)

Club Med is not a cheap vacation by any means. However, it is on par with all the 5 star Mexican resorts I looked into, and from my experience, when you consider the calibre of the children's programs, the food, and the personalized attention every man, woman and child receives, its worth every penny. We will start saving our money now, so we can go again in 2010! The 2 weeks was amazing, if necessary, I'd settle for 7 days, although try to stretch it to 10 days if at all possible!!!

Jennifer and Kevin from Vancouver, BC

Our family first went to CMI in 2006 and had a fantastic time. We returned in February 2008 with our 5-year-old daughter and our 1-year-old daughter and were thrilled with the renovations. Everything that we loved the first time has remained, and the renovations have substantially enhanced the experience.

- The GOs: They continue to blow me away with how genuine, fun and caring they are. My 5-year-old was crying with genuine sadness when we left.
- Mini Club: My 5-year-old loved going to Mini Club every day. It's heaven for extroverted, fun-loving kids.
- Baby Club: My 1-year-old (who is in daycare normally) didn't take to the Baby Club as well but she did finally attach herself to a particular GO (she's a little picky with who she lets surround her anyway so this is more a reflection on her personality rather than the Baby Club). It's very well-equipped.
- Food: Varied and tasty. I don't understand how anyone could complain about the food. Also, neither we nor anyone we knew got sick on our 2 trips here.
- Main Restaurant: It's now enclosed and with A/C, so the problem of bugs and birds flying through the restaurant has been eliminated.
- New Bar: They built a new bar and patio area between the main pool and the new Argentinian restaurant. They had a singer/guitarist at sunset every night which set a great mood for the evening.
- New Photo Shop: They now have a staff photographer snapping shots around the resort, which you can then purchase in the photo shop. It was a little pricey but we couldn't resist some of the photos. Try to select and purchase your photos before the rush of Saturday morning departures.
- New Cabanas: The lounge chairs on the beach and by the pool were previously somewhat uncomfortable. They now have thicker padding and they've also placed a number of large cabana-type "beds" on the beach and by the pool. They get taken early in the morning but perhaps by now they've figured out a reservation system.
- Rooms: The best part of the renovations. The rooms in the Laguna building are a thousand percent better than in 2006. The rooms are twice as big now, with a divider door separating the adult from the children's spaces. The beds are now comfortable, the decor is appealing, the closet space sufficient, and the overall amount of space was more than adequate for a family of 4.
- Restaurant Reservations: It's still a minor irritant that to make a reservation at the special restaurants, you have to go stand in line at noon the day before at the theater.
- Shows: Varied. In general, we tried to make the shows each night because it was a fun atmosphere; just know that the quality varies signficantly. On one night there was a dramatic Cirque du Soleil - type act; on other nights it was a kids hip-hop show that my 5-year-old was only marginally interested in participating in. As long as you're not expecting big city performing arts, you'll be moderately entertained. And the shows and after-show events contribute to a great sense of community. If you miss the shows, you might also be likely to miss the other evening events that occur right after the theater show.
- Beach: While Ixtapa doesn't have the turquoise water of the Caribbean, the advantages of this beach are that it's safe for young kids with only gentle waves and has few hawkers.
- Departure Area Changing Rooms: I don't remember them having this in 2006 but near the front desk, they now have lockers and changing rooms so that you can check out of your room on departure day but still use the pool or beach. Don't forget to bring an extra day bag to put in the locker while your other bags are being transported from your room to the bus earlier in the morning.
- Arrivals/Departures: Try to book your air travel with your CM vacation. While it's a little hectic coming and going as a group, you would miss one of the better parts of the CM experience, which is the warm welcome of GOs lining the entrance singing, waving and clapping as you arrive/depart.

Don't forget to bring:
- Multiple bathing suits: it's damp here so it takes several days for suits to dry
- Walkie-talkies: to locate your family/friends throughout the resort
- Backpacks or day bags: for each of your family members in their respective locations
- Lots of Sunblock: Otherwise, it's expensive here. You could bring mosquito repellent but we've never had a problem with them here.

We became huge fans of Club Med during our first trip and are likely to take many trips back to this and other CM resorts in large part because of the children's facilities. It's a great place to go in order to both travel with your kids but also get some adult time away from them while they are enjoying age-appropriate activities.

Not being to a Club Med for a long time made us nervous. I didn't know if it was going to be better or worse. All I have to say is that nothing has changed scince 87! The food quality is like a 5 star resturaunt. The kids clubs and activities are supurb. And the staff (GO's, Manager) are always on top of things and looking for fun things to do.
The buffet is huge. Every single night they have a different thing. Some of the things (hamburgers, fries, pasta, dessert table) stay the same every day. One night it's Mexican night. One night they have Chinese night. And they have some other speciality resturaunts like a Mexican resturaun and a Steakhouse. We liked the buffet better. During the day, the steakhouse is a snack bar that anyone can use. they have burgers, nochos, quesadillas, and even cookies. While wating for dinner get some of you friends into the lounge. One person gets the food, One gets the cards, One gets the Drinks, and the other person sets up the game. Perfect settin for fun.
The activities are listed here. Kayaking, Swimming, Soccer, basketball, Ping pong, Billiards, trapeeze, tennis, rollerblading, archery, mini golf, and sailing. Spend a bit of money and go on an exursion. We went on the snorkling trip on Ixtapa island and had a lobster lunch. I was awesome! They also have some more like ATV's and swimming with the dolphins. Every single night they have a show ( music , dancing, singing, ect.) thay is funny of just astonishing. After that they have some sports thing . One night it's hocky, one night it's basketball, one it was poker! ( kids included.) The GO's are fun and are always nice.
To save a bunch of money for the hotel. Be flixible with you dates and get a last minute deal. You will save thousands.
The rooms are beautifly designed . every room has a HDTV. Plus, the kids have their own room with their own door. So if at 2 am if they want to go get a drink or 5, they can go down to the night bar/ club. I reccomend the strawberry pina colada. It was my favorite. The frozen lemonade is good to. If you choose to go there, you will be happy. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me and ask questions. Hope you have a great time.

The Rende family

we just got back last weekend and we are looking in our calender to go back again this year. We loved it and our 4 year old daughter , Josie, did too. We were there 6 nights and 7 days. She was in the mini club 3 days from 9am to 4pm. She was on the trapeze, took a couple of cooking classes, yoga, mini golf, mini magic, a show and more. They kept them busy doing something different every 45 mins. My husband and I actually got to spent time together and reconnect during the day. it was wonderful. All the GO's are great. I don't know alot of their names, but the three I do know is Eduardo, Jeff and Ceasar. they were awesome. When we left and our bus took off Josie cried and said she missed the club and her friend Jeff and wanted him to come home with us. It broke my heart, but at the same time it meant she has a great time. She also made so many little friends at the club. The food is good but the one in Punta Cana is better. Overall it was wonderful and will go back again soon. The only downside is when we were heading home josie had a severe eye infection. It was from swimming under the water in the kiddy pool with her eyes open. Bacteria got into it. She is now on eyedrop antibiotics and will be fine. With that said you can get that in any kiddy pool. So i don't blame it on Club med and will go back again.