Inside the kids club at the Azul Sensatori
DAY 4 — Welcome to a 21st century kids’ club. This might be the best kids’ club I’ve seen. Certainly one of the best-thanks to partnerships with My Gym and Fisher Price at the Karisma Azul Sensatori resort just south of Cancun (www.karismahotels.com). There is a big play room complete with trampoline and balls to jump in.
There’s a room just for doll play; a theater, one stocked with Fisher Price toys where kids too young for the organized programs (under four) can play with their parents. In another arts and crafts room a group of little girls are busy decorating door hangers while at the next table, noisy boys are stacking the wooden pieces for Jenga. “We’ve got kids here from China, Sweden, the UK, Canada and the U.S. IT’s amazing,” says the counselor, herself from Britain.
Outside is a wonderful kids’ pool complete with water play area-shooting canons, water basketballs, sprinklers. And next door is the sleek teen club — complete with “mocktail” bar and plasma screen TVs on the wall.
It’s nice to know the facility is here when the kids need to get out of the sun, when it’s too blustery for the beach, when parents and grandparents need a break.
I’m impressed by the “family rooms” that are in this section of the resort — big enough to comfortably fit a family of five with a sliding door to separate the kids from the parents. Everything you need for a baby is provided gratis too — a crib, baby bath and changing area, stroller, even a bottle warmer and monitors. There’s a lending library of 20 different Fisher Price toys too — just let the concierge know what you want (baby doll carriage, robotic dinosaur) and the toys will be delivered to your room. A good idea, I think.
This place clearly is about families — from the kids’ spa treatments in a separate area of the spa to the kids menus in the restaurants that reflect that cuisine.
I see lots of multigenerational families and Alexia Muralt, the resort sales director, says if you book more than five rooms, you qualify for a special “family and friends package complete with a special dinner, Olympic games on the beach — and more. This week, there are 15 reunions at the resort, she said. Typically at least 30 per cent of the guests are multigenerational families — more during holiday periods.
“What’s not to like,” says Brenda Mackillop, watching her two grandchildren splash in the pool. “It’s a gorgeous spot and the camp is out of this world so we can get a little break too.”
Everywhere I see grandparent’s parked poolside or beach side next to strollers, playing cards with grandchildren, watching them on the beach playground, heading out in kayaks with them. Why should kids have all the fun?