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 ATP Tour tennis camps. 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).

About the same time, it become one of only three Club Meds in the North American Zone to offer optional three-hour-a-day tennis camps under the direction of the ATP Tour. 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 ATP Tour package (which costs an extra $150 for the three-day program). Its reigns in class sizes to a maximum student:pro ratio of 6:1, and the instruction is directed by someone from the ATP Tour, who also trains the pros who help him teach. "We want to lure tennis players to Club Med rather than just get those who are here to come out to play," says Mark Cook, the ATP Tour supervisor who heads the program. "We divide players by level and so can really break down the strokes for beginners and offer advanced players (which at Sandpiper means an NTRP rating of 3.5 or higher) more fun, creative things to work on."

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."

Your Call

Here's what others have had to say about Club Med-Sandpiper.

• "We had a good time even though there were not many tennis players there during our early- February off-season stay."—W.H., Adv. Int., March 2008

• "I participated in the ATP program here last year and was a lttile apprehensive since they said they had their own 'tennis academy' this year. Still went because this is a wonderful 3-generation family vacation spot. Turned out I was the only student in the Christmas-New Years time, so I had 3 days of 3-hour private lessons, two with the head pro nick/vic?? He was very helpful and paced the lessons so I din't drop from exhaustion. Equally important, he was very upbeat throughout, with no indication that he was being imposed on because there was only one student. Other than a brief round robin, I didn't participate in the other programs, since 3 hr per day was enought."—R.O., Int., January 2008

Other Recreation

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.

Children's Programs

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.

Lodging

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.

Restaurants

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.

Calendar

See Also

If you're looking for other resorts with an adult tennis camp and well-run children's programs, check out:

• Amelia Island Plantation, Florida
• The Bridges Family Resort & Tennis Club, Vermont
• Club Med-Punta Cana, Dominnican Republic, which also has the ATP Tour Tennis Programs
• Kiawah Island Golf Resort, South Carolina
• Northstar-at-Tahoe, California
• Sunriver Lodge & Resort, Oregon
• Wild Dunes Resort, South Carolina
• Wintergreen Resort, Virginia

Travel Essentials

Seasons. Year-round.

Club Med-Sandpiper
3500 S. E. Morningside Blvd.
Port St. Lucie, FL 34952
561-398-5100
Toll-free: 800-CLUB MED
Fax: 561-398-5101
Web Link: Club Med-Sandpiper

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