Do you specifically want to know about the activities and food at Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Florida? I don’t blame you. When you’re planning a family vacation to an all-inclusive resort, the activities and food are definitely two of the most important things! So, look no further! For the past two years in a row, my husband and I have called Get Away Today to plan a trip (my favorite and FREE-to-use travel agency) to this super fun all inclusive resort in Florida on the St. Lucie River. My husband, myself, and our 7 children are already anxious to go again. You may have seen last year’s post, with lots of info on what there is to do at the resort: Club Med Sandpiper Bay Family Vacation. This year, I thought it would be fun to break our trip down into 7 reasons why we love Sandpiper Bay. What is it that keeps bringing us back? Why do we want to go again?? Well, I’ll tell you!
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Activities and Food at Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Florida
There’s Lots and Lots to Do!
Oh man, if you’re an active family, there’s TONS to do. Seriously… where to start? How about a list??
- Swimming – several pools available!
- Tennis Courts
- Basketball Courts
- Beach Volleyball Courts
- Soccer Courts
- Pickleball Courts
- Professional Trapeze with Instructors
- Paddle Boarding
- Sailing
- Kayaking
- Dancing/Clubs
- Kid Clubs
- Group Lessons
- Food, Food, and More Food!
- Weight Room
- Spa
- Mini Golf
- Night Activities with the Staff
- Adults Only Pools
… and those are just off the top of my head. I’m sure I’ve missed several things! No matter what mood you’re in, there’s something that you will love to do. Get Away Today really knew what they were talking about when they helped plan this trip for us!!
The Resort is Close to the Beach & Small Private Lake Beach
The Sandpiper Bay Resort has a small lake beach. Most of the space is used for passing out kayaks, sailboats, and paddle boards, but there are a few lounge chairs out for relaxing. Sometimes it is recommended to not swim in the water, but either way, for ACTUAL beach lounging, I suggest taking a short drive to a local beach. Club Med Sandpiper Bay is conveniently located within a short driving distance of the beach and it’s fun to be able to take in a little more of Florida. So, you can basically add that on to the list of activities at Club Med in Florida.
Long Eating Windows & Lots of Food
With 7 kids, someone is ALWAYS hungry, and luckily there’s always food to be found. Whether it’s at the buffet that opens for hours, three times a day, or the sit-down-and-get-served cafe. I’m sure there’s an actual term for that, but it’s not coming to me right now!
My kids loved the buffet. Every meal has a different theme… some nights the dinner buffet has Indian food, Mexican, etc. But, no matter what the theme is, there are always some other options. There are burgers, pizza, and hot dogs every night, as well as an Italian pasta and salad bar. The desserts change nightly too. I must admit, the desserts leave something to be desired. Think ‘cruise desserts’ and you probably know what I’m talking about. Like, something super pretty that looks delicious, but has somehow had all trace of flavor sucked out of it. Club Med, if you need some dessert recipes, I would be happy to share some. 😉 We did, however, like the crepes for dessert, despite the crepe lady being the grouchiest one at the resort. My kids were scared of her! They would drag me with them to get their crepes. Sigh.
If I had one major tip for the resort, it would be to get nicer food service people. Some of them were awesome. But, if we ever had a bothersome experience with employees, it was… well, basically it was just the crepe lady and the guy at the club in the evenings. He thought kids asking for smoothies (included in the resort price) was SUPER annoying and was happy to just pretend you weren’t there until you left out of frustration. He was only interested in serving adults their drinks. I didn’t love that. And, if it really is that annoying to serve a child, just turn the dang machine around and we can push the smoothie lever ourselves.
Needless to say, neither of those turds put a damper in our love for the resort. We would go again in a heartbeat. My kids are already asking when we’re going back! 99% of the employees are super awesome. We loved that lady that cleaned our room. She was so cute bringing us chocolates every night, getting our volleyball that we kicked up onto a third floor balcony, giving us extra waters. We loved the kid club leaders. They’re super fun and loving. There were lots of employees we had a great experience with. I just want to be completely transparent in my travel reviews, because it’s only realistic that I would have some constructive criticism, right? 🙂
Laid Back Pools & Several of Them
If there’s one thing I appreciate, it’s a business that doesn’t treat you like a child, hovering over your every move, ready to blow a whistle at any moment. Thank you, Club Med. Lifeguards were often present at the pools, but thankfully didn’t run the place like a bunch of fun-killers. We loved having a few pool options to choose from (some were more crowded after different times of the day), being able to play basketball, wrestle in the water, have swim races, or whatever. We loved their pools! My only piece of pool-advice would be to get your pool towels from the towel booth earlier in the day. They had strange hours and closed too early. So if we didn’t think ahead, we were plum out of luck, dripping all the way back to our room. If you do get your towels and they’re closed after you’re ready to turn them back in, it’s not a big deal to just hang onto them and use them again the next day, or return them for new ones. I mostly just love that they even give you towels at all, and you can keep returning them for fresh ones (assuming they’re open.) I did hear though, that if they’re not open, you can go to the front desk and get them there… but we’re too lazy for that! But, it was so nice not having to pack pool/beach towels for 9 people… can you imagine? That would be nearly an entire suitcase full!
Fun Weather
Okay, if you think Utah weather is fun (snow in May?!?)… Florida weather is insane and my kids loved it. A sunny day turns into a torrential downpour, complete with hail, in a matter of seconds. It was making us laugh. We would be out playing a family game of basketball and then running for our lives when the sky starts instantly dumping buckets… or barrels of water. Then 5 minutes later, you’re good to go back out and then the whole process repeats itself, but the next time you’re in the pool, or playing volleyball, or golf. My kids were pretty impressed with the newly created lakes outside our room door. As a huge Peppa Pig fan, Grace couldn’t get enough of the ‘muddy puddles!’ And, a lot of times we didn’t even run for cover. Looking beautiful and having hair fuzz-free was the least of our interests. We just wanted to have non-stop fun! … I think I wore lounge or workout clothes the entire time. Not one of my ‘cute outfits’ made it out of the suitcase, and I was totally okay with that.
We were there in the spring time, which I would imagine has much more rain. I think we would probably prefer that than a super hot summer vacation. And, maybe not being there during the summer means less crowds?? We’re all about that.
Room Perks… In Case You Wanted to Know Too!
So, when I wrote a Club Med Sandpiper Bay review from our trip last year, I mentioned how the rooms are a little strange. Still true, but it’s nothing bad. It’s mostly the layout. But, there’s several things I love about the rooms. First, when we walked in, the staff was so thoughtful with our situation. They had a Pack and Play already set up for my toddler to sleep in. There was a stroller in the room that had her name on a tag wrapped around it. Can I tell you how great it is to not have to pack a stroller on the plane to bring?? So great. We used that stroller a ton! And, the resort is okay with you parking it wherever. We could bring it in the buffet or we could leave it outside. Whatever was most convenient for us. There were extra linens, a baby bathtub (that we didn’t need, but loved the thought), a changing table station, and a fridge that was repeatedly filled with drinks for the taking!
Second, there’s tons of hot water. When 9 people need to take a shower, it’s never fun to be last and get the cold water. I definitely appreciated not having to think about that. Another thing I loved is the air conditioning works like a champ. It can get a little muggy outside, so it was always nice to have a room that was actually refreshing to come back to. Basic comforts that are surprisingly not always standard = Huge.
While we’re talking about little things that are actually big deals… I love that rather than room key cards, the resort gives you a bracelet with a mini key card on it, even the kids get one too. It was so nice not having to keep track of those dang cards… hoping my kids don’t lose them, wondering where they put them after. Small thing, but loved it.
* If the resort is reading this review, my biggest suggestion for the rooms is to leave a broom and dustpan in there for the guests to use. With tile floors throughout the whole room and going in and out all day long, we were often tracking in sand and dirt. I would have loved to clean it up myself, instead of having to wait for the cleaning service, the next day. Every time we got in bed, we had to brush our feet off, before we could stick them under the covers!
We didn’t spend a whole ton of time in the room, but when we did, it was definitely a relaxing place to be.
Relaxing Atmosphere ~ Relaxing is one of the best activities of all!
Speaking of relaxing, with so much to do and things going on all day, you always have the option to do absolutely nothing… and sometimes doing nothing is the best thing in the world! I loved just sitting out on the back porch watching the kids goof around. My husband and I would lay on the pool beach chairs while the kids played. We could read, sleep, listen to podcasts, soak in an adult pool, grab a bite to eat at the outdoor cafe, or just chill in our rooms. Sometimes when a vacation is constant go-go-go, you come home feeling like you need a vacation. Not so, with this one… it was the best of both worlds!
I hope you’ve found this review about the activities and food at Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Florida helpful. If you want to book this same trip, just give Get Away Today a call and be sure to tell them ‘Or so she says…’ blog sent you! You can also book lots and lots of awesome trips on their online site.