Gunterman Tennis Schools
Amelia Island, FL; year-round Flexible pkgs; adults & jrs.
www.greattennis.com
TOPS'L Resort
Top 10 U.S. Tennis Resort Tennis pkgs: 888-248-4964
www.topsl.com
This is your opportunity to rate and review the resorts and camps you've visited. As material comes in I'll post it here, so you can read what others think.
So far, I haven't received any written feedback on Club Med-Sandpiper. If you've taken a tennis vacation there, I'd like to hear your reactions.
Rate Club Med-Sandpiper
Two things distinguish Club Med-Sandpiper from most of its sister properties: its superb and extensive children's programs for kids as young as 4 months and its optional tennis academy. That combination, when coupled with spacious rooms, makes it the best Club Med option for families who also care about tennis.
Set alongside the Port St. Lucie River, 45 miles north of the West Palm Beach airport, this expansive club covers some 1,000 acres, taking in a 19-court tennis complex, two golf courses, four swimming pools, a circus tent, inline skate park, a marina, a sprawling restaurant, a theater, and a bar. The Club dates to the late 1980s, when it moved into the premises formerly occupied by the Sandpiper Bay Resort Hotel. That explains why the accommodations are much larger than is typical of Club Med. Then extensive renovations carried out in 1999 significantly upgraded the rooms even further by adding new furnishings and televisions, so that it really does offer the comfort typical of a resort hotel (minus room service).
Ordinarily, tennis at Club Med consists of free hour-long clinics designed either to teach the basics to beginners or focus on a particular stroke or theme for intermediate-advanced players. Sandpiper offers those, too; however, anyone serious about his tennis is better off opting for the tennis academy (which costs extra), a three-day program of 90-minute sessions for beginners and three-hour sessions for more experienced players. In addition, because this is a family resort, there are several levels of junior instruction: Le Petit Tennis, for those ages 4 to 6; Quickstart for those 8 to 10; and a junior mini camp for those 11 to 13.
Like all Club Meds with courts, Sandpiper also offers several afternoons of social tennis tournaments, consisting of singles, mixed doubles, and a random partner event called "Doubles Surprise."
Golf Courses. Sandpiper has two 18-hole golf courses, a 9-hole par-3 course, golf academy, and practice facilities.
Sinners: A 6,896-yard, par-72 course located in the village and renovated in 1998.
Saints: A second 18-hole course, this one about 10 minutes away, also par 72 but shorter at 6,557 yards.
Fitness Center. There is a small fitness center with a covered outside deck overlooking the river and a lap pool directly in front of it. Some of the aerobics, stretching, and body sculpting classes take place there, weather permitting. The air-conditioned fitness center itself houses a selection of Stairmasters, treadmills, and exercycles and a few weight-training machines.
And ... Beyond tennis and golf, the other major sports at Sandpiper are inline skating—there is even a half pipe—waterskiing, sailing, and the circus. In all cases there is no charge for lessons or use of the equipment.
Sandpiper demonstrates its commitment to luring families by offering three levels of children's programs: a Baby Club for those ages 4 months to 2 years (one of only two in the North American Zone); a Petit Club, for those 2 to 4 years; and a Mini Club, for those 4 to 12. These provide supervision and activities from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (or until 9 p.m. in the case of the Petit and Mini clubs). Sandpiper also has a baby-bottle room, which is open day and night and contains a supply of baby foods and supplies. Parents can also pick up strollers with umbrellas there or arrange for babysitters from outside.
The 365 rooms at Sandpiper occupy seven three-story buildings grouped around the central village. All have outside entrances and full terraces; some have views of the river. None is far from reception. These are very spacious rooms, particularly by Club Med standards. Each has two single beds, two rattan couches with brightly colored cushions, a television, a phone with dataport. The bath, in tile and marble, has a separate vanity area with a hair dryer. There are large walk-in closets (with two safes), a small fridge, an open shelves.
Like all Club Meds, Sandpiper serves up an extensive and quite varied array of fruits, vegetables, salads, pastas, breads, cheeses, hot and cold entrees, and desserts as well as an assortment of kids' favorites, like pizza, burgers, and hot dogs. It is all quite good. The buffet tables stand at the center of a sprawling building whose right and left wings contain two expansive rooms of tables. Adults with children are shuttled to one end; those without children have a choice of dining near families or at tables of their own at the opposite end. In addition, there is Le Riverside, a restaurant on the porch overlooking the river. It serves four-course dinners at tables as large or small as your party. There is no extra charge; however reservations are required to dine there.
If you're looking for other resorts with an adult tennis camp and well-run children's programs, check out:
These rates, per person, are for lodging, meals, and all but premium activities, like the ATP Tour camps. Rates vary from week to week. Those quoted here are for land only; however, packages with airfare from major U.S. gateway cities are also available. In all cases, you must be a member of Club Med to sign up. Cost is $30 for a one-time initiation charge and then $55/year for those ages 12 and over ($25 for children under 12).
Seasons. Year-round.