Given the frenetic pace at which we were to be exploring Israel in December, we had decided that once the family had dispersed, we would go somewhere for a relaxing vacation (cue foreboding music).
Because we were using Star Alliance award travel, it became obvious that it would be almost impossible to get to somewhere warm outside of Israel that was not in a state of upheaval. Egypt would have been the obvious destination... but post-Mubarak it was too unstable. So we decided to stay in Israel and head as far south as possible - to Eilat.
We wanted it to be at an all-inclusive so that once we arrived we would not have to worry about anything (cue worry music). I researched what was available in the area, and we ended up deciding to go to Club Med Coral Beach. It would be the kind of place where we could unpack and then spend a week or so swimming, windsurfing, diving, reading and blogging. No worries about where to go for meals, no need to even carry ID, and a kids' club for APL.
I had been hoping to arrange for January 2 to January 11 and when I brought up those dates, there seemed to be plenty of availability. I arranged for flights for us, leaving Israel on the 11th of January. On November 27, 2011, I tried to book our Club Med dates, but suddenly nothing was available after the 9th. I booked Jan 1 to 9 (prepaid and non-refundable) and then looked into switching to another hotel for the 2 extra days we had in Israel.
The more I looked, the less I liked the idea. Eventually, we just decided to avoid the hassle of switching hotels, and to change our flight to retutn on the 9th - notwithstanding a hefty change fee. But before I did that, I called the Club Med resort in Israel directly to double-check that they had not held back some inventory from the central reservation system. Here's how that call went:
Me: Hi. I have a reservation for January 1 to 9 and I want to know if you might have anything available for the nights of the 9th and the 10th. We would like to leave on the 11th.
Club Med Coral Beach rep: You have a reservation until the 9th? We are closing on the 8th.
Me: Closing? Why?
Club Med: For renovations. (cue apocalyptic music)
Me (completely shocked): What the #$$%@#!$$?!!
I was blown away by this. There is no way I would ever book a place that was closing for renovations. There was no indication on the website. There was nothing in the email I received from them.
When I gave the rep at Coral Beach Club Med my name, she confirmed that I was booked until the 9th. She seemed confused and suggested I call the central Club Med office to confirm my dates. And so I did:
Me: I am booked at Club Med Coral Beach from Jan 1 to 9. I just spoke to someone at the resort and she told me they are closing on the 8th.
CM: Let me check. Oh yes. I see your reservation. You are there until the 9th.
Me: Are you sure? They just told me that they are closing on the 8th.
CM: That's incorrect. You are booked until the 9th. She made a mistake. You don't have to worry about that.
Me: You're positive? I have to change my flights to leave the 9th. I am not going to be able to change my flights after I commence travel.
CM: Absolutely positive. The rooms are available until the 9th. There is no problem with your reservation. Don't worry about it.
Can you guess what happened next? On December 16, I changed our flights to return on the 9th of January. We departed for Israel on the 17th of December. On the 25th of December, I picked up a voicemail from Club Med stating that they were closing on the 8th and that I would have to adjust my plans accordingly. (cue MOFO music!)
I was scheduled to arrive at their location less than a week later and they were telling me I had to change my plans. Plus, we were busy touring all day every day. I didn't have time to try to change plans. And it was the week between Christmas and New Year's!
I sent them a couple of terse emails but had little choice at that point... We couldn't change our flights once travel had begun. Plus Tim had made arrangements to fly to Eilat from Montreal to join us at Club Med. I did look into a change... It just wan't going to be possible. But we are troopers. We figured we would make the best of it... (cue "you're screwed" music)
On January 1, 2012, we flew to Eilat from Sde Dov airport. Gorgeous flight!
Upon arrival at Club Med, we were flabbergasted. A complete dump. Clearly they were winding down in anticipation of closing. Karin told me not to unpack.
I felt terrible for Karin. I felt furious at Club Med. It was so unprofessional.
We didn't unpack. And the next day we looked around and met some of the staff. They too were being forced out on the 8th. In fact, most of them were going to be unemployed on the 8th. No one was happy. Except APL.
APL had gone to the Kids Club on the 2nd. He loved it. He didn't want to leave it. At the end of the day on the 2nd he begged us to bring him back the following day.
APL continued to love the Petit Club on the 3rd but by the end of the day, the Kids Club Honeymoon had worn off. He had no interest in returning.
Meanwhile, I was done with Club Med Coral Beach. They had completely let it go. The staff was demoralized. And the air was disgusting: Our room was on the 7th floor but it was overlooking the exhaust from the kitchen. Guess what we smelled if we opened our patio door? Lunch exhaust. Dinner exhaust. Breakfast exhaust. Repeat.
I tried keeping the balcony door closed but the AC wasn't working. I called down to get it fixed. They promised me they would. I called again. They promised again. Finally, on the 4th, someone at the front desk told me it was off for the winter. No AC. Basically the door had to stay open or the room was 90 degrees. But if the door was open, the room stank.
I called and asked for a room change. They said they only had a room on the same side of the hotel. We checked it out. It also smelled like lunch exhaust.
We had tried to make the best of it, but we had to cut our losses; Every day we spent there was a day of the opposite of relaxation. It was anti-relaxation. We had to leave.
The only thing at that point keeping us there (aside from having prepaid the entire trip) was Tim. I had to convince him to leave with us. It didn't take much convincing. On the 5th of January we informed Club Med that we would be leaving. My hours of research had convinced me of the following: Leave Eilat. Go to Aqaba.
On the 6th of January, we got into a taxi and drove to the border with Jordan. We paid $30 each to exit Israel, walked across a few hundred feet of no-man's land, and then got a cab on the Jordan side.FANTASTIC MOVE.
We spent three wonderful days in Aqaba.
Club Med has refunded us a few days of accommodation. But the story will not end there. They put us through the ringer on this one. Just writing about this makes my blood boil. What a waste of my time, energy, and money.
And since this blog is called "Boy Sees World", I should let you know what APL knows of all of this:
2. The Club Med Petit Club has toys.
3. There is lots of juice at Club Med in Eilat.
4. We left Club Med and took a taxi to Jordan.
5. The Hotel in Aqaba has an awesome pool.
6. The flight back to San Diego was really long.
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