My Story

Telling you the true story of Club Med is a real pleasure for me, a passion, but perhaps you don't know my story and how the site you are currently reading was born, grew over the years and became what it is today: a benchmark!

The beginning.

It all started with a young woman who decided to take a two-week vacation.
Through a sponsor (yes, at one time sponsorship forms existed), she signed up with Club Med and went to their resort in Cefalù, Sicily. It was the summer of 1962. (The resort manager was Jean Paul Richez.)
This trip gave her memories that would remain forever etched in her mind.

Those were her only holidays at the Club. In 1963, she got married and never had the chance to go back.
I, on the other hand, was born on a cool, rainy day in May 1967.
As a child, holidays were spent with family, in Le Pouliguen, La Baule, and later Le Touquet. Beach club, sandcastles, and sailing on 420s at the Pajot sailing school (no less!).

We lived in Boulogne-Billancourt (a town located on the other side of the Paris ring road, a stone's throw from Roland-Garros stadium and the Parc des Princes). This proximity to Paris allowed me to stroll through the city's streets and avenues with my mother, sometimes even venturing as far as the Champs-Élysées. At number 88 on that avenue was the Club Med office.
We would go in and leave with the summer Trident—back then, it was in landscape format! Back home, I remember the names of the villages: "Santa Giulia, Palinuro, Arziv, Moorea…" and the photos that made us dream.

Let's move on…

The day I became GM

In 1990, I was 23 years old, had a job, and like any good employee, I was entitled to paid vacation.
I remember asking my mother for advice on a destination where I could spend a well-deserved holiday. She almost immediately told me to check out Club Med! So, I did!

After acquiring and browsing through the Trident Winter 1990/91, my choice fell on 3 snow villages located in Switzerland: Villars, Engelberg and Zinal.

I registered on a Saturday in November 1990 on the ground floor of the Club Med building located at 25 Rue Vivienne.
Of the three destinations I had pre-selected, only Zinal was still available; the other villages were fully booked.
The voucher arrived a few days before departure. I left on a special Club Med train from Paris Bercy station.
This first eight-day stay didn't really thrill me; in other words, I discovered that skiing wasn't really for me—or perhaps it was the other way around! But Zinal, with its beauty and the tranquility of the place (we were at the end of the road), had made a lasting impression on me.

I'm also getting to know the Club, the village's organization, its customs, its wacky or artistic shows, and its crazy signs. (At first, when you don't know the rituals, you think you're in the middle of a cult.) But you quickly get into it and really enjoy it.

After this first, somewhat disappointing experience, I decided to return for two weeks in the summer of 1991, precisely to the place my mother had been 30 years earlier: Cefalu.
A fabulous location, an atmosphere like nowhere else, an extraordinary village chief (Pierrot la Tendresse). In short, a real feeling of having made the right choice.

The trips then continued for 17 years. Initially, twice a year, one week in the snow, two weeks in the summer in the sun, then three times a year.

Interest in the history of the Club.

He was born in 1996 during a summer stay in Porto Petro. The village chief's name was Gino Andreeta (that name sounds familiar!).  

Before leaving, I bought myself "The Saga of Club Med," a book written by Gilbert and Serge Trigano. In it, they recounted their story and the history of Club Med. Having a strong interest in 20th-century history, I was quickly captivated by their narratives.
This book undoubtedly sparked my passion.

2000: The arrival of the Internet

With the democratization of the internet, blogs and small personal websites emerged. Being proficient with computers (I was and still am in the IT field), I created a small website where I talked about my holidays at Club Med and what to see around the villages. Text and photos illustrated my pages. The site also included a discussion forum where visitors could exchange information (Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and others didn't exist yet at the time). I called this site souvenirs-dun-gm.net  

For personal reasons, my stays at the Club ended in December 2007. Djerba la Douce was my last resort. I also closed my website a short time later.

July 20, 2010: the birth of Collierbar.fr

After a three-year hiatus, I've decided to return to the keyboard, but with a few changes. No more holiday memories; I'm going to focus on what truly interests me: the history of Club Med, especially since there's nothing on the subject online. I need to find a name for the site, something that reflects the Club's history, in short, a symbol that represents it. The Collier Bar seemed like the perfect name!

The first pages I wrote and published quickly attracted former GOs (Gentils Organisateurs - Club Med staff), I received emails of encouragement, and meetings took place where I met former GOs and village chiefs. It was also during this time that I started collecting everything related to the Club. I found things, I bought things, and people gave them to me too. In short, the cupboard filled up at lightning speed (today, the cellar and a storage room are even used).

In 2011 the website was complemented by a Facebook page.

Students preparing their theses, tourist offices (Portiragnes, Golfo di Baratti, Cadaques…) as well as a number of print and broadcast media (Arte, France TV, RMC, Le Parisien, l'Équipe magazine, Capital, Les Échos, Conde Naast etc…), the Cité de l'Architecture at the Trocadéro for an exhibition, and even Club Med itself are asking me to contribute to their articles, reports, and events.

My contacts with past and present GOs have multiplied over time. Appointed an honorary GO in 2016 by Michel Bré, and recognized as the guardian of the Club's history (or its historian), I now manage and administer several Facebook groups in my free time: Réunion GO, Alliance GO, Le Petit Baigneur (formerly Laurier), and La Cinémathèque du Club Med. I also participate in organizing events that bring together hundreds of GOs. As for the website you are reading, I update it regularly as well.

I never would have thought that at the start!