Who loves family vacations?? I do but sometimes it seems like our family vacations center around the kids and what they want. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and the time I get to spend with them, but MY ideal vacation isn’t necessarily standing at the bottom of a water slide to catch my daughter as she goes down it for the 100th time. Or watching my son tubing all afternoon. Half the time I come back from vacations more tired than when I left! So I'll be totally honest here. Sometimes my "perfect" vacation would be relaxing by the pool drinking a margarita. Not having to watch the kids and keep the peace between them, but truly relaxing - heck maybe even dozing - by the pool! But with kids who are always on the go, what I want to do has always taken a backseat. Well, not anymore! 
This past weekend my family and I were invited to visit Sandpiper Bay at Club Med. This beautiful, all inclusive resort is located exactly 3 hours from Bradenton in Port Saint Lucie, FL. Before I went I looked up the resort online and it all looked great - lots of restaurants, pools, water activities, kids club… But what I encountered once I got there is truly a game changer when it comes to vacations.
Club Med is located on the banks of the Saint Lucie River, and has 307 rooms and 7 two-story buildings. Room options include a Club Suite, which is perfect for couples, or a Deluxe Family Room with a king bed and 2 twin beds located on either side of the room. Not having to share a bed was a big plus for my kids! The rooms also come with a standard bathroom with shower and bathtub, minifridge, robe and slippers for lounging and one of the biggest walk-in closets I have seen! We also had a spectacular view looking out at the Marina. One thing I loved about our rooms was getting into them. Instead of regular room keys you are given a bracelet at check in (color coded for kids under 17, ages 18-20 and ages 21+) that served as the key to our room (and also could be linked to a payment card if desired for additional purchases). So there was no more worrying about having to carry a key around or losing it. And when we returned from our adventures at the end of the day and my hands were full of sleepy kids, I could just put my wristband up to the door to unlock it instead of having to put everyone down.
Sandpiper Bay has two restaurants - The Marketplace and The Riverside Restaurant. We ate at The Marketplace which is a buffet style atmosphere. They always had the "kid friendly" options of chicken fingers, pizza, a salad bar, hot dogs, hamburgers and French fries available, but then switched up the rest of the meals to include grilled pork, stir fry and more, plus the best selection of deserts I have ever seen!
The Riverside Restaurant is a table service restaurant for ages 10 and up. It offers late breakfast, late lunch and late dinner. It requires a reservation and is at an additional cost. There are also two bars - Slice - which is the main bar for the whole family and The Infinity, a smaller bar located at the adults only pool. Our view as we had our breakfast in the morning was spectacular!
So, what makes Club Med so unique? Here are the top 5 things:
5. Club Med and their staff. Did you know that there are 68 award-winning Club Med resorts worldwide, but only ONE in the United States?? Seriously guys, how lucky are WE that the only Club Med in the US is just 3 hours from where we live?? And the staff?? SUPER friendly! I’ve never been to a resort where the staff are so friendly and helpful. Case in point – have you ever had dinner that night with the person at the front desk who checked you in when you arrived? Me neither, until our trip to Club Med! As we were walking to dinner that night we ran into our front desk attendant. We started talking and he asked us if he could join us for dinner. Over our dinner conversation, we found out that the majority of the employees live on site, so you see them walking around the resort, eating in the restaurants and enjoying the entertainment right along with you. I love this! This definitely made us feel more welcome during our stay to always be seeing our smiling staff who knew our names!
4. All inclusive. I love that once we came onto the resort so much was included ~ your accommodations, full-board gourmet cuisine, Children's Club for ages 4 to 17, unlimited water and land sports, open bar (yes alcoholic drinks!) and day and night entertainment.
3. Entertainment. Club Med has daily and nightly entertainment and they truly go all out for it. It's not unusual to go to lunch and see all the employees lined up in a conga line signing and dancing. Our first night we enjoyed the circus-themed show "Out of Time" followed by a huge dance party complete with neon bracelets and necklaces, finger lights, smoke, strobe lights, costumed characters, stilt walkers and more. The second night was the phenomenal "Decades Show" that showcased bands and their music from the 50's until the present. This was probably my favorite part of the trip as my whole family danced and sang along. Of course, I thought the 80's-90's songs were the best with performances by Madonna, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, The Backstreet Boys and more! Here is me and Abbey jamming out to Guns and Roses front and center!
2. Circus School and the Flying Trapeze. Living in the "Circus capital of the world" we see circus acts pretty often. But going through the circus school gives you a whole new appreciation for the art. The circus school was part of the Kids Club and my kids got to walk on balls and try out the aerial silks.
Then they got to try out the flying trapeze. Both of my kids did it and I was so proud! Here is a short video of my son, Peyton, attempting the Flying Trapeze. It is a lot higher up and a lot harder than it looks ~ super proud of him for trying!
1. Kids Club. Club Med offers a children's club with age appropriate activities for 4 months and up! Baby Club Med is for ages 4 months to 23 months, Petit Club Med is for ages 2 to 3 years (both of these programs are at an additional cost), the Mini Club Med is for ages 4 to 10 and the Club Med Passworld is for ages 11 to 17. When my husband and I found out there was a kids club, we figured we would send the kids for an hour or two so we could enjoy some time to ourselves. But when I (and the kids!) saw the actual schedule of events they would be doing that day, our plans changed fast. With fun events like swimming, crafts, circus school, trapeze time, sports (including soccer, tennis, football, volleyball and more), miniature golf, playground time, talent shows and more, my kids wanted to do it all! 
My “drop the kids off for an hour” plan turned into an all day fun day for them (9:30AM until 5PM). There was also the option to drop them off for dinner and an activity afterwards so you could enjoy a romantic dinner with just your spouse. It seemed like a long time for them to be gone so we actually snuck into the room for the last 30 minutes to check on them. It warmed my heart to see both of my kids laughing and having a great time. I knew that the kids club was a major success when they asked the next morning if they could go back!
And you know what I did during that time they were in the kids club? I had MY vacation!! Yep – that’s right. My husband and I lounged out in a cabana (included!) with some margaritas (included!) and enjoyed our time together, without worrying about the kids because we knew they were having a great time. I got my nap by the pool, and we also participated in pool aerobics (every day at noon!), a Name that TV/Movie tune contest and a cornhole tournament.
There were so many activities that we did not have the opportunity to experience this time, but will definitely be trying them on my next stay (yes, I am already planning our next trip!) Club Med boasts the first L’Occitane branded spa in the US featuring 7 indoor treatment rooms, a manicure and pedicure room, a hair salon boutique and a Zen Lounge Garden. If you are looking for a more "active vacation", Club Med has you covered with. It has the largest sports school in the world with options in tennis, golf and volleyball. Also enjoy beach volleyball, basketball, soccer, sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding, water polo, table tennis, the Club Med training and weight room and bocce ball. You can also book water sport excursions (at a cost) including jet ski rentals and tours, tubing, river fishing, flyboards, cruises and boat tours, wakeboards and water skiing (although they are having a special this summer for FREE water skiing!).
Thank you Club Med Sandpiper Bay for a true vacation for ALL of the family. It was a weekend that we will not soon forget and I seriously cannot wait to go back.
You can get more information on Club Med Sandpiper Bay HERE.
I was provided complimentary accommodations for the purpose of this review. All opinions stated are my own.
