Take reunion planning from pressure to paradise
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Updated: October 01, 2009 10:53 AM
If you are stuck as the designated planner for an up-coming family reunion, take heart that major relief is on the way.
Did you know some of world’s best resorts offer to do the planning and all of the hospitality for you?
Indeed, this means the end result — a reunion in which your family bonds grow stronger — will turn into an exciting vacation for you, too.
Location is paramount — and, no doubt, it is a challenge to meet and please the interests of an age group that spans several decades.
And yet, say the specialists in this field at Club Med, such exciting spots “as a beachfront paradise in the Caribbean or Mexico, or on a five-masted yacht sailing into several ports-of-call, or at a resort on a cliff above the French Riviera, are dream locales that have so much for everyone.”
Here’s more to consider on the Club Med checklist:
■ Choose a location that is easily reached for all family members.
■ Put food first.
Surveys show time and again most travellers put “exquisite meal experiences” at the top of their wish list.
Give your family the biggest variety every day, all day, from grand buffet-style dining to specialty restaurants, to gala private dinners with special theme nights.
■ Choose a place with an abundance of engaging — even unique — activities for every age, indoors and out.
■ Ask about facilities for infants, if needed, and for supervised recreation programs for tiny tots to teens.
■ Consider shoulder seasons for value at a lower price.
■ To enhance photo-ops, laughter and life-long memories, choose a resort with both traditional and surprise recreation.
For example, traditional water-sport activities include windsurfing, waterskiing and sailing.
But activities can get even better than that.
Surprise them with kitesurfing and wakeboarding.
Give family members a chance to try scuba diving for the first time with a qualified instructor.
Plan tennis lessons or learn golf from pros.
Plan a day at the spa or give them a destination with unique offerings like yoga, archery, kick-boxing, pilates or even flying on a trapeze at Circus School.
More information at clubmed.ca.
— News Canada
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