Club Med Crested Butte - ski resort

You'll see Club Med's kids' classes all over the mountain: ski school starts at age 4, snowboarding at age six.

When not on the slopes (2 sessions daily), the kids programs occupy the bottom floor of the resort, and two points stand out:

• the many separate rooms and programs for different ages. Mini Club Med is for ages four to ten, in different sub-groups; Junior Club Med is ages 11 to 13.
• the lack of screens-- video or tv. The kids play games and have fun! They also create dance numbers for the Mini Show-- see below.

Kids can also do a Siesta evening program, but for an extra charge. As for teens: programs for 14 to 17-year-olds run during peak holidays.

The buffet restaurant serves three very good spreads a day. Chocolate breads are a specialty of Club Med. In fact, breads have an entire section (-- and desserts have a room--): walnut bread, cheese bread, and – on Asian night— wasabi and cream cheese bread.

Note that most seating is at round tables that seat eight: this is another feature of Club Med; GO's and GM's(guests) eat together and the vibe is friendly.

Each dinner has a theme, and Asian night included sushi, spring rolls, and Mongolian hot-pot. Kids section' is always well-stocked with pasta (with separate sauce,) pizza, and other faves. Kids also like the self-serve ice-cream machines. Don't worry: lots of healthy veggies too.

The resort also has the reservation–only Wilderness Restaurant, and the Cold Creek Grill, which has a sit-down service and also presents beautiful appetizers that you can just pluck and eat.

In late afternoon, hot dogs and other munchies are laid out. And hot chocolates are endlessly available. Vive le all-inclusive!

"Crazy signs" are a Club Med trademark: a team of GO’s --and maybe the “chef de village” too-- dance and do hand signs while an avid audience of kids and grown-ups imitate. (Sort of like the Village People.)

The weekly Mini-club show is always a hit: each kids' club age group has costumes suitable for a musical number, and even the youngest group takes a turn on the professional-style stage, complete with proper lights and sounds effects.

Guests wanting more nightlife can try the bars adjacent to the resort, or in the town of Crested Butte. (Free shuttle; just a few minutes away.)

Meeting up with older-kid skiers is a breeze. Instead of “meet me at X lift at noon, so we can go have lunch" --which usually means one party hangs around wasting time -- simply meet kids at the restaurant, and if they arrive first they can start on their own. Chances are they'll enjoy the company of friendly GO’s.

The Brazilian Connection:

Why so many guests from so far away? First, they're familiar with Club Med, because of three popular resorts in Brazil. Secondly, these travelers love the ski classes, and the all-inclusive concept. Third: during the Brazilian mini-"high season", kids in the family will find pals who speak Portuguese.

The resort has a half-dozen Brasilian staff. Ski lessons are in English; but it all seems to work out.

^{As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary accommodation for the purpose of review. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.}