By Stacey Zable, Travel Pulse Daily

For my family, a stay at Club Med Sandpiper in Port St. Lucie, Fla., is like a visit with family -- without the stress. It's almost a second home for us and last week, when we took our sixth visit in seven years, I discovered something really not so remarkable: We're not the only family who feels that way.

Club Med Sandpiper boasts an impressive 40 percent repeat guest rate. And with 90 percent of its guests being families, these kids, like mine, are literally growing up at Sandpiper. One mom whose family has visited numerous times over the last 10 years, told me with certainty that her nine-year-old daughter will become one of Club Med's famed G.O.s (gracious organizers) when she's older. She joked that she and husband will be forced to join the staff as well. This particular family was from Toronto and met the mom's parents and brother's family from Madrid at Sandpiper for a week-long family reunion. Her parents preferred to meet in Florida in November than Toronto for obvious reasons.

So what draws families such as mine and others to this spot an hour's drive from Palm Beach International Airport? We chose Sandpiper for our first visit as a last-minute vacation "save." My husband and I were supposed to go to Puerto Rico and leave our then 18-month-old with our babysitter. The babysitter got sick and I selected Sandpiper strictly because at that time it was one of the few properties that featured a camp that included babies. I had no idea how impressed I would be.

Yes, my husband and I relaxed and we enjoyed our stay, but even at that early age my daughter had an unbelievable experience. It was the first time she ever went on stage during the Mini Club's weekly kids' show. This first step -- one she would never have taken if not for our trip -- might have paved the way for her unbelievable comfort level on stage today as a solo singer.

That same girl, now eight and a half years old, spent another unbelievable visit at Club Med last week enjoying things she would never have done in "real life." She went on the trapeze, took archery lessons and went sailing. The nine-year-old future G.O. from Toronto may be a friend of hers for life if we can schedule a visit to Club Med Sandpiper next year when her family visits. This year my daughter was able to converse with ease with G.O.s who sat at our table during meals. She comfortably asked them what they did at the village and where they were from. Only at Club Med can your kids be introduced to such an interesting group of people, all with their own stories.

My five-year-old daughter also loved the G.O.s she met at Mini Club each day. She especially liked her counselor, Rodrigo, and was so happy to celebrate his birthday. All the counselors at the Mini Club seem to truly care about the kids. They reach out to them when they see them on property when they're not in Mini Club, and always, always remember their names.

As for the adults, my husband got to play golf and tennis. We both took the legendary Jack's yoga class. Jack is 86 and has worked for Sandpiper for 25 years -- even before it was a Club Med (the property celebrated its 20th year as a Club Med this year). We also got to eat dinner alone at the Riverside a la carte restaurant. For my husband and me, however, it's the family travel adage that we live by -- if our kids are happy, we are happy!

Sandpiper was not crowded last week, with most kids in school. We took advantage of Election Day and took them out for two days to make it a five-day weekend. Many parents don't believe in pulling their kids out of school to travel, but I know my kids learned more in those five days then they would have in school that week.

Another set of parents we met at Club Med were from New Jersey where the kids had three days off from school for the week and they also took advantage of the timing. As a travel agent, you can look for opportunities such as these and suggest travel. At only 40 percent occupancy, we had the 100 G.O.s practically to ourselves. There were no lines for any activities and we received individual attention and service wherever we went. We did stay at Sandpiper once during Spring Break when the property was at full capacity. It was still fun and wonderful, but your clients will really appreciate the lower rates in the off-season.

My older daughter literally cried when we left after this visit. She doesn't want to wait until next year to visit; she wants to return in a few months. It also was really the first time that I felt a true sadness myself as if our stay wasn't quite long enough. But as I told my daughter, there is one thing we know about a Club Med Sandpiper stay -- we will definitely be back.

For more information on Club Med visit www.all-travel.com/clubmed or call 800-300-4567 and ask for Brian, Cory or Louise.