Hi Louise,

Thanks for your message. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. We came back last night and here is my report. The place is paradise. I have been to many islands in my life (Tahiti and Fiji being my top choices) but now I can add Guadeloupe. Everything is perfect in terms of temperature, friendliness, taste, smells, beyond gorgeous and luscious landscape. The Club itself is smaller (650 people max) so it's quieter and warmer -- feels like family and a true village in terms of general vibes. We were lucky enough to arrive on the same plane with another couple from Washington and their precocious 5 y.o girl similar to mine - the 2 girls were best buddies and the French only mini club was stress free for them. The G.Os were all nice and efficient but everything being smaller and the capacity being only 400 at that time of year, all kids from 4 to 13 are together which makes it more tiring for the little ones. Food was OK - not as exquisite as Cancun or as well presented as Ixtapa but I heard they cut their budget by 25% so some nights it felt like a cantina but I mostly eat fruit and veggies and I was happy. My mom thought the meat was hard but was impressed with the pastries. The complaints from the GMs was that it was dead at night. The club did lack some of the general energy and drive of the big clubs influenced by the Americans' business savvy. Some shows were mediocre and some activities and excursions were cancelled for lack of participants. I had my kid with me and met my mom there so I could care less. I made it work and met a lot of people. The excursion on 4x4 was a really cool exploration of the island and i heard that the catamaran was also great. My kid who has been to 2 other club meds summed it up pretty well. It was her favorite place for 3 reasons 1) hotness 2) prettiness 3) peace and quiet. My only complaint was the fact that my cell phone was almost never working. I could never even check my voice mail and text messages took 4 days to send. There are two networks that conflict with each other and it's very annoying. I knew that their internet stations were down all the time so I brought my wifi laptop and bought $35 worth of Internet connection. I could only use it for 6 minutes during the 10 days. Fortunately, I made my own connections with a G.O. and he let me use their internal computer but even that was a pain as it took 5 minutes to open an email. Retrospectively, the lack of connection makes sense as this island is truly a paradisiacal haven and an ideal way to forget about L.A. stress. I heard that the Dominican Republic has more buzz and night life so I think I'll try it next year. The rooms are very nice, especially the ones overlooking the ocean- spacious and perfectly designed. I visited a suite out of curiosity but its luxury almost felt out of place. All in all, an excellent vacation. Speaking French was very helpful since there was only one another American couple during my stay. I guess no one wants to take 3 planes to get there (the trip back was a hassle). Have one question for you - is the Dominican Republic easier to get to or do we have to take 3 planes?

Hope this fuels your imagination and Travel Agent knowledge 😊

Cloe