Club Med at 75: From Party Beads To Posh All-Inclusive Resorts
Founded in 1950, 2025 marks the milestone 75th birthday of Club Med.
If Club Med were a living person, this granddaddy of all-inclusive vacations might have been sitting on a rocking chair on a front porch and collecting Social Security for some years now. Instead, Club Med, a pioneer of the all-inclusive resort, is expanding and reinventing itself.
Many boomers grew up contemporaneously alongside Club Med, which was founded by two Europeans who firmly believed that vacations should excite and rejuvenate the traveler without any hassles. These still remain the goals of the all-inclusive industry.
A Traveler’s Tale of The Original Club Med
Internationally recognized artist and designer Pablo Solomon of Lampasas, Texas, and his wife, Beverly, took their first Club Med vacation in the mid-1970s—and at least a dozen more Club Med trips in the years that followed. Like many first-timers, the young couple was smitten with the concept of an all-inclusive vacation.
In those years, Club Med had an international clientele of young and beautiful people (some of them topless); offered free-flowing wine and beer in exchange for the plastic beads guests wore around their necks; and had a program emphasizing sports, games, fun, and fitness that made it easy to meet other couples, says Solomon. “The concepts were so foreign then,” he says.
One of the couple’s first trips was to Cancun, Mexico. “The engineering was simply amazing,” says Solomon. “The property was built at the tip of a peninsula on top of coral, with poured concrete beds and walls—and massive mahogany doors.” The guests were primarily from Europe and Canada, many of them French-speaking.
Although the rooms were pretty Spartan, almost like a college dorm, he recalls that no one minded. Everyone was busy all day, often playing “silly games” to win more free drinks.
“Those vacations were a steal,” he says. The couple’s airfare from Houston was included in the package, and Club Med arranged for van or bus pickup from the airport. “There wasn’t even any tipping,” he says.
Solomon waxes nostalgic about his Club Med experiences. In Sicily, the couple swam in the largest outdoor swimming pool in Europe, and at Playa Blanca on the Pacific coast of Mexico (not too far from Puerto Vallarta), they stayed in a structure perched on a mountainside overlooking the ocean.
“It was absolutely beautiful architecturally; the buildings were built to look like pueblos,” he says. The Solomons went to other Club Med properties, including Martinique, the Dominican Republic, and Corsica.
On September 11, 2001, during one of their last Club Med jaunts, the Solomons were the only Americans at the club in Majorca when the Twin Towers fell.
On the single TV in the bar, anchors were narrating the events in Arabic, the language of many North African staff working there. That was the only time they felt the stress of the outside world during a Club Med vacation.
For the next decade after their “retirement” from Club Med, Solomon and his wife threw large reunion parties attended by their neighbors and the far-flung friends they had made in California, New York, and Canada. Like Club Med, their life and fortunes took a different spin.
“As we got older, we started going to Sandals, which was a notch up the pole in terms of luxury at that time,” he says. Later, their art business took them all over Europe, which added another rich dimension to their travel experiences.
The Evolution into a Global Luxury Brand
The first Club Med was a simple tented camp in Majorca, Spain. While many of Club Med’s fundamental values have remained constant, the Club Med of today isn’t the same as the Club Med of yesteryear.
Beginning in the 1990s, Club Med faced a series of economic challenges and management shifts, resulting in significant changes. In 2001, the company repositioned itself as an upscale, family-oriented brand. The Paris-based company was acquired by the Chinese Fosun Tourism Group in 2013, enabling its continued growth.
French national Stephane Maquaire was appointed the new President and CEO of Club Med Holding in July 2025, with the promise of continued global expansion of the brand while preserving its French roots. He now oversees the operation of over 70 Club Med beach and mountain resorts in 40 countries spanning five continents. These include Club Med’s most upscale “Exclusive Collection” of properties.
Charting the Future of Club Med
In 2025, the company launched an expansion into a posh new build, a ski resort in San Sicario, Italy (Piedmont), scheduled to open in 2028. This will be the fourth Club Med resort in Italy, with others located in Baratti (Tuscany), Pragelato Sestriere (also in Piedmont), and Cefalù (Sicily).
Another new ski resort is being planned for Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada, the second of the brand’s all-inclusive resorts in Eastern Canada, which is scheduled to open for the 2028 ski season.
Major renovations are reshaping Club Med’s flagship North American Resort, the family-friendly Club Med Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic.
The brand’s first resort in South Africa, Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari Resort, is scheduled to open in 2026.
In addition, many European resorts, including Club Med Gregolimano in Evia, Greece, and Club Med Serre Chevalier in Briancon, Hautes-Alpes, France, are undergoing major facelifts.
The all-inclusive concept remains intact, but the resorts have evolved significantly, now offering gourmet dining, comprehensive open bars, and more exclusive amenities. The company’s ambitious expansion plans focus on meeting the diverse needs of solo travelers, couples, and families with an emphasis on luxury, sustainability, well-being and connecting with nature.
Notices of reunions of devotees (from various eras and locations) on social media sites, such as Facebook, attest to the popularity of Club Med now and then.
Club Med’s Enduring Legacy in a Growing Market
While Club Med was the first, it is now one player (albeit a major one) in a crowded field of all-inclusive vacation resorts, each of which is raising the bar on luxury to lure sophisticated travelers.
With the global economic downturn, the popularity of the genre is soaring with most major hotel brands (including Fairmont, Hilton, Wyndham, Marriott, and Starwood) introducing all-inclusives.
Clearly, travelers still appreciate knowing exactly how much they will spend on their vacations and value the convenience of not having to reach for their wallets each time they receive service.
“Celebrating 75 years is a powerful reflection of Club Med’s legacy and continued leadership in the all-inclusive sector. As we look to the future, we remain dedicated to enhancing the guest experience through innovation, elevated offerings, and sustainable practices, noted Carolyne Doyon, President & CEO, Club Med North America and the Caribbean in a press release celebrating the milestone anniversary.
On YouTube: A Sneak Peek at the new Club Med Punta Cana
I first contacted Pablo Solomon in 2012 for an earlier version of this article. It has been reviewed and substantially updated.
IF YOU GO
Also on More Time To Travel:
- Adult-Only All-Inclusive Resorts: First-Timers’ Guide
- Secrets The Vine: All-inclusive luxury in Cancun
- Inside Secrets Huatulco Resort and Spa
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