From the very beginning, many villages have been featured in the numerous Club Med resorts. Some have left their mark on the history of Club Med. Alcudia, Golfo di Baratti, Montenegro, and Marina di Campo were famous because they were among the first resorts. We should also consider Leysin, Fort Royal, Al Hoceima, Assinie, and Bear Valley in the USA, which were among the first to be established (the first ski resort, the first Moroccan resort, the first in the Caribbean, etc.). Over time, they have disappeared from the catalog for various reasons (expiring concessions, fires, or closures due to unprofitability).
Today, we can find some of these old villages under other brands, such as Porto Petro, Magic Haiti (Lookéa), Les Restanques (Pierre & Vacances), Les Menuires and Les Bergers (MMV), or they have been transformed (the Belvédère and Mont Blanc villages in Leysin have become an international luxury hospitality school, Dieulefit a retirement home, and Pompadour was bought by a Lebanese businessman to create a top-notch equestrian center). In other words, it's a second life for them.
Other villages haven't been so lucky. These villages, which could be described as abandoned by everyone for lack of honest buyers, are slowly dying in oblivion, overgrown with vegetation, brambles, covered in graffiti, and vandalism of all kinds, whereas just a few years ago they were legendary villages. Think of Ipsos Corfu, Malabata, Caprera… the list is long, and the photos circulating are heartbreaking.
But perhaps you've forgotten, or don't know, that some towns and ski resorts once had Club Med villages.
Everyone knows Tignes Val Claret, of course, but the first village in Tignes was called Super Tignes. There was also a village in Val d'Isère, which looks nothing like the village we know today.
In Serre Chevalier, the current village is located in a place called Le Bez, but the original village was built in Le Monêtier. Depending on the Tridents (the club's logo), it appeared under the names Altitude, Le Monêtier, or Serre Chevalier. It was the first Club Med ski village to open in France. That was in 1957. Today, Altitude still exists and is easily recognizable. It is operated by the EDF (French Electricity Board) works council.
What can be said about the Manial Palace in Cairo, Caesarea in Israel, Paleo in Greece, Hawaii, the village on Réunion Island, and the hundred or so other villages, known to some, forgotten by others, that have contributed to the club's history?
For my Parisian friends, the club also had the Clubhouse on Rue Thérèse, opened on February 1, 1957, as well as a hotel opened in the 1970s in Neuilly-sur-Seine, between Porte Maillot and La Défense (58 Avenue Victor Hugo). Today, this hotel is the Marriott Neuilly.
These villages have also played a part in the history of Club Med. The Village page of the website allows you to revisit them briefly.
The current Club Med (Chinese, I know…) should reopen a village-style resort (a luxury one) like in the good old days for us 60s and 70s… nostalgia, nostalgia… JUST ONE VILLAGE, CLUB MED 50… that would be so cool! I don't like Club Med as it's become, a luxury summer camp for spoiled kids
Hello,
As a former "GO" and ALWAYS a "GO" at heart, I am looking for the address where I could obtain, in particular, two or three white cotton Bermuda shorts, from the old "GO" uniforms…
The Did.
Good evening, I'm a former GO (Gentil Organisateur) from the 70s. Today, there's nothing like the old villages anymore. I regret the disappearance of all those villages. I spent years in the club, and it makes me weep to see all this. I think of my first village in Cadaqués (Spain), Palinuro, Donoratico, and my last village/hotel, the Charleston, in Leysin (Switzerland). It was a real GO life, unlike today, as J. Pierre Batard, former CDV (Centre de Vacances et de Vacances), says
Hello you – Me too, former GO –
My first village = Monetier-les-bains with the late G.Roussel,
then Les Restantes, with S.Gorsse (G.Colard animator),
then back to Monétier, with S.Gorsse again,
then Corfu Ipsos with P.Baquéri (I don't know the spelling of his name and Puce in animation),
then Vald'Isère with the late JP Batard and still Puce animator.
and there I stopped, to become an actor in Switzerland.
So, my GO friend – Wonderful memories and many regrets about what these clubs have become (Corfu in particular, a disaster) – I became a GM to relive some good times, but I stopped too, the atmosphere wasn't there anymore – After Cadaqués, Croatia, Tunisia, seeing village chiefs moping around because "Paris" no longer gave them the attention they deserved, seeing the GOs no longer enjoying working like us, countless hours with joy, because the GMs were becoming increasingly demanding, disrespectful of the work done and the GO teams, it was very demoralizing and very expensive on top of that, and so; I never went back at all and I found other clubs, less expensive and just as good, with entertainment teams as good as those of the CM.
There you have it, you know everything and those who read my comment, perhaps they will recognize themselves in it.
Take care everyone, and always remember to have fun wherever you go on vacation; that's the secret to having a great time.
Jef
Monnetier-les-Bains, village chief Gérard Roussel. I spent a season working at the bar there…
It's a long time ago…
HURP GO
I completely agree with you; I discovered the Club in 1976 in Al Hoceima.
I still go back, but rarely, and more out of habit than genuine interest…
I would like to know the exact address of the place where the Club Med in Montalivet was located, where I spent unforgettable holidays as a child in the years 1968-1970
As a former GO (Gentil Organisateur) from the 60s and 70s, I have nothing but regrets for the disappearance of so many villages. I have very fond memories of my first village, "Les Restanques," near Saint-Tropez, and my last, Leysin (Charleston), with the memorable JP Batard, and then others (Villars, St. Moritz, Cadaqués, Djerba, Agadir, etc.)
As a child of the kids' club, spending countless holidays in Pompadour, Villars, Chamonix, Marbella (San Miguel), Al Hoceima, and many other places,
I've experienced the inevitable rise in quality.
This has meant the teams can no longer let spontaneity, whether it's a joke or a situational prank, instead fostering a festive and exuberant atmosphere. There were no days off back then: all the GOs (Gentils Organisateurs, or Club Med staff) were always on their toes.
Today, there's a fear of a poorly timed joke that would immediately turn into customer complaints sent back to Paris, which would then be unleashed against the CDV (Centre de Vacances et de Vacances - Vacation Club Director) or the team, resulting in a bitter and disastrous backlash.
Now, they maintain a politically correct image with a hypocritically festive atmosphere
. Nevertheless, I still go back today (as long as I can afford it, but that won't last) for the quality of service and the assurance of a highly organized operation. And a little bit out of nostalgia…
Today, many GMs go there as a token gesture, out of a need for recognition from their peers, but no longer truly for the love of sport and the unfiltered, communal celebration.
Hoping for a return to a village of huts? Hard to believe; the top brass would be too afraid of tarnishing the image, when in fact, it would be perpetuated in this world yearning for nostalgia.
his state GO to Eleuthera in 1983 as responsible for free immersion and picnic, may entertain so much! Poi medico subacqueo a COzumel anno dopo, poi Malabata polivalent. Aneddoti: alla fin de la stagione vennero afare il calendario Pirellli….. with Laura Balled con ui divenni amico….