When in France
Spending your holidays at Club Med’s newest ski resort means the only way is French
In Jean Eustache’s movie “Le père Noël a les yeux bleus” (Santa Claus Has Blue Eyes), celebrating the holidays had all the elements of French haute chic in the 60s. In less than 50 minutes, the short film captured the French way of life: cigarettes, midnight rendezvous, fashionable duffle coats, and the yearning desire to be seen sipping dry martinis al fresco at the swanky Le France brasserie. The art of socializing was dependent on your network — who you meet and the parties you attend mattered gravely at getting on the next guest list.
If we had to liken this culture to a Club Med experience, a look back at its early days will tell you that the similarities are not far off. With wide eyes and animated movements, veteran Club Med staff would tell me how the early French ski resorts were the epitome of an adult’s playground. It was a popular European fantasy to spend one’s holidays in a Club Med resort. While all-day dining, open bars and cozy accommodations were more than enough to draw in the crowds, it was the idea of frolicking in a safe haven where likeminded social butterflies had one goal in mind: to party.
Club Med was founded in 1950 by Gérard Blitz and Gilbert Trigano, who together revolutionized the vacationing lifestyle. At the time, the world was going through a slow recovery from the aftermath of the Second World War. Free were the people from the shackles of rations and curfews, and the only agenda on everyone’s minds was to live life large with the days of war behind them.
The concept of large communal spaces, all-day dining and roundthe-clock entertainment was based on Blitz’s experience of being in the athlete villages during the Olympic games, when he represented Belgium in water polo. The philosophy was simple: “The aim in life is to be happy. The place to be happy is here. And the time to be happy is now.” And long did happiness live. By the Swinging Sixties, Club Med was reputed for being the most popular shindig for singles and young couples. The custom terminologies further strengthened Club Med’s identity, where terms like “Chefs de Village” and “Gentils Organisateurs” (GOs) were used in place of hotel manager and hotel staff. The Club Med spirit was a tough one to break. One would be hard-pressed to find any GOs who are