There are days when you wake up full of vim and vigour, ready to take on the world – and there are days when you wake up feeling as though you’ve been freshy beaten with a garden hose.
We wake late at 8:15 am – late for us, at least – and I enjoy my usual breakfast of baguette, eggs, sausage and pineapple. I manage not to lodge the baguette in the toaster, but the sausage was cold. You win some, you lose some.
Rest days bring their own challenge – we want to take a break, but we also want to do something. So I join my wife for the morning’s beginner yoga session:
Photo Credit: Club Med on Facebook
The instructor does an excellent job of explaining the positions in both French and English, and how each move can be adapted to adjust the difficulty. The class lasts roughly 40 minutes, and I feel as though I’ve had a workout by the time it wraps – and it really helps loosen my muscles. I may have to look at adding yoga to my routine when I get back home.
We briefly consider heading off on a hike, but the rain has resumed in earnest. So off to the pool again – we alternate between reading on the loungers and relaxing in the steam room. Thus far we haven’t seen Mini Club (Kids Club) in the pool yet – there have been kids, but the noise and activity level have been manageable. It also helps that the steam room is adults-only.
Time for lunch. Roast chicken and onion rings:
And a mille-feuille and chocolate brownie for dessert:
The brownie is exceptional – moist and rich
Plenty of writing and video editing left to do, so we decamp to Le Chalet for a time. The clouds lift, leaving a spectacular rainbow in their wake:
Having passed the halfway point of this trip, it’s worth taking a few moments to consider how this visit to Club Med Charlevoix has lived up to expectations.
Last summer, we ran into issues with both Teens’ Club and mountain biking. Teens’ Club only ran certain days due to the lack of children on site, while we departed the day before the start of mountain biking. We’d hoped to address both issues by arriving a week later, and that worked – no issues with either Teens’ Club or moutain biking.
We lucked out last time by scoring a reasonably-priced upgrade to a suite. We’d worried that we might feel deprived in our “regular” River View Family Room, but it’s offered us almost all of the suite experience at a much lower price point. The suite-only lounge is nice, but it’s not worth the extra cost in our opinion – particularly when the Le Chalet bar area is sparesely attended, and every bit as comfortable.
And the other elements? Food and service have been somewhere between very good and excellent, and the programming remains one of Club Med’s strongest points. There’s been a marked increase in wellness activities like yoga and meditation, and there is almost always some sort of live music performance, kids’ activity or circus lesson being offered. The resort simply doesn’t feel busy, or overrun with children – there have been splenty of spots to sit, and children tend to be older than in the winter months.
Best of all, we managed to significantly lower the cost of this booking due to one of Club Med’s special flash sales earlier this Spring – dropping the cost of our holiday from over $10,000 for the week to approximately $5,700. That works out to just over $200 per person per night for food, accommodations, drinks, entertainment and tours. It’s an exceptional deal.
The weak spots? Well, Club Med does charge a marked premium for outside excursions. We saved almost half the price of our Canyoning Quebec excursion by booking directly. I do understand that resorts need to charge a mark-up on these outside tours, but 100% markup for a next-door excursion strikes me as extreme.
Bottom line – we’ve really enjoyed visiting Club Med Charlevoix in the summer, and hope to continue to do so in the future.
That said, Club Med Charlevoix is busier today. The Quebec school system wrapped up today, and tomorrow is St. Jean Baptiste Day – Quebec’s national holiday. The sudden surge is understandable, though it’s hard to give up the peace and quiet we’ve enjoyed during the first half of our holiday.
With new guests come new expectations – and my wife is surprised to hear some new arrivals screaming at the GOs (Gentle Organizers, Club Med parliance for resort staff) about the lack of mountain biking classes for the under-eight crowd. Having seen first hand how challenging these trails can be, I fully understand why Club Med limits these classes to older children. Not everyone agrees, apparently. My wife departs before the Not-So-Gentle Security is called – which seems the likely outcome of that spirited exchange.
Her deep stretch class also maxed out the space in the cardio room with a record 19 partcipants. There were only 18 mats so the last person was directed to the gym to find a spare. The instructor reminded everyone to be at least 10 minutes early the following day as they are expecting a lot of rain again and consequently more guests doing the wellness classes.
Off for dinner, where I enjoy crispy swordfish with mango sauce and panceata:
Followed by chocolate cream pie:
Back to Le Chalet once more, and then off to our balcony to savour this spectacular view:
Then off for an early bedtime – with luck, we’re hoping to find a break in the weather to go hiking tomorrow.