EvanG734
Google
Club Med Caravelle, Guadeloupe has a special place in my heart. It is the location of my most cherished memories as a child, it was the location of my proposal and engagement for marriage. I've been there numerous times and to other Club Med locations dozens of times. Now that I have my own children, I wanted them to experience the same wonderful things at Club Med Caravelle. Unfortunately, our July 2025 vacation turned into an unhealthy and stressful nightmare. I am shocked at what this Club Med has devolved into. This is our third Club Med vacation this year, and Caravelle is nothing like other Club Med's we've stayed at -- which up to this time have all been positive experiences. It can be said I was a dedicated and loyal Club Med member. Things were so bad we left Club Med 2 days ahead of schedule and went home. This is our catastrophic story...||||We used the Club Med transfer service at PTP Airport. Upon arrival we were told we must wait for another passenger on a flight from Paris - Orly. We waited for at least 30 minutes in the hot, small and crowded PTP airport. There are no baby changing platforms in the arrivals area at PTP, so we changed our baby on a seat in the arrivals area. The passenger we were waiting for never showed up; so hot, sweaty and more fatigued we finally left for Club Med.||||I have very fond memories of this Club Med. Upon arrival I immediately noticed this property looked run down, very run down. Much of it is in a state of ugly disrepair, and nothing like I remember. Already two disappointments, and we weren't even in our room yet.||||We were shown to our room in the building called Basse-Terre. The building and surrounding area is run down and obsolete, however the more significant issue as we approached the building and our room was the overwhelming smell of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and rotting eggs.||||Our room was in need of an overhaul. In addition, the bedsheets and pillows had holes in them as did the towels in the bathroom. My wife said the room reminded her of a 1-star hotel room in South America. Unfortunately we were paying $650 USD per night for this hotel room. The balcony was totally unusable due to the smell. ||I told my wife to be patient and wait for one night, maybe the smell will go away. This was a mistake. It did not, and in fact it got worse overnight. The room was uninhabitable.||||Sargassum is a seaweed that is common in the North Atlantic Ocean during the summer months. It washes up onshore and creates a nuisance. However, this was worse than anything I ever experienced. Decomposing sargassum releases hydrogen sulfide gas and ammonia, which can cause respiratory, skin, and neurocognitive symptoms in both local residents and tourists. Toxic exposure typically happens during decomposition, approximately 48 hours after it washes ashore. Significant exposures (50-400 ppm) may produce difficulty in breathing, agitation, confusion, nausea and vomiting, elevated blood pressure, and loss of consciousness. At higher concentrations, rapidly causes myocardial infarction, unconsciousness, seizures, acidosis, and death. Hydrogen sulfide is absorbed by the upper respiratory tract mucosa and causes histotoxic hypoxemia and respiratory depression by exerting an inhibitory effect on cytochrome oxidase. There is no evidence for specific treatment.||||In addition, a toxic and banned pesticide that was used in the French West Indies decades ago is commonly found in this decomposing algae.||||We learned from talking to a G.O. that this issue had been going on for a while and that a lot of G.M.’s were complaining. The Sargassum that ends up on the beach is “stored” in a bay east of the tennis courts of Club Med Caravelle where it decomposes, and the Basse Terre building and a few other areas (tennis courts, kids area, etc.) are immediately downwind of this decomposing mass of sea algae.||I can not believe Club Med does not alert guests about this obscene health problem. I can not believe Club Med allows guests/G.M.’s to stay in this building while this seaweed decomposes. ||||Both the French and the American government acknowledge inhaling the gas from this decomposing seaweed is dangerous and toxic. This accumulation of seaweed was not natural, we were told it was placed in this area to decompose. ||Utterly unacceptable. Disgusting and irresponsible. This was not France, it reminded me of Haiti. I hold Club Med in contempt for putting the health and well being of my family in danger.||||We complained about the room and the smell the next morning and we were told we would have to wait another night to get to the new room. Also, to get a new room we had to pay 620 Euro’s additional ($730 USD). The only other option was to not pay and we would be forced to stay in the toxic room, complete with the nauseating smell, headaches, sinus issues and burning eyes.||||The next morning we moved everything out of our initial room and waited around Club Med all day for the new room to be cleaned. Even with a baby, Club Med did not give us any accommodations. It was clear the Reception Desk was not interested in our comfort. The Reception Desk was not interested in our health. The Reception Desk was not interested in the experience of the G.M.’s. ||We were exhausted as the toxic gas the previous 2 nights prevented adequate sleep. We were sleep deprived, had headaches and sinus issues. ||When our new room finally opened up in the mid afternoon after complaining several more times we realized our luggage was still outside our old room. Club Med never moved the luggage we placed outside that morning, it was sitting outside all day and we moved the luggage to the new room ourselves. Things do get stolen here. Again, Club Med broke promises and could care less about the G.M.’s.||||The new room was in a building called Ste Anne, east of Basse Terre. The smell was somewhat better, but we still observed the smell and we saw again there were holes in the bedsheets, stains and holes in the bathroom towels. Completely unacceptable, yet this was an “upgrade” we were forced to pay for.||||On the third night a loud buzzing sound began in our new room at 1 a.m. Imagine having an alarm clock near your ear that you can not turn off. It was a group of insects that was behind the headboard of our bed. This headboard was attached to the wall and impossible to move. The insects made a relentless noise, similar to an alarm on a cell phone. The noise continued until sunrise. Sleep for the third night was impossible. ||||I was told by the Reception desk the next morning this insect noise was common. No, that is dishonest. The insects were in the new room we paid for. I never heard this noise my entire life, after probably 30 stays in various Club Med properties.||The food at Club Med Caravelle did not compare to other Club Med properties we have stayed at recently. There was very limited selection. The Club seemed somewhat dead and depressed and lacked energy, but perhaps this was because of our declining health and sleep deprivation. ||||The beach here is beautiful. Vincent at the sailing shack was fantastic. The man who served drinks at the beach bar was very nice. Everything else was a living hell. Instead of being at Club Med and being care free, at peace and happy, we were miserable, sleep deprived and in declining health. Club Med is fully responsible.||These problems weren’t able to be resolved, so we left Club Med two days before our scheduled departure. We went home. Of course, our transportation was 20 minutes late (stuck in “traffic”, they said), just like when we arrived on the island.||I will never again set foot on Guadeloupe. I will never again go to Club Med Caravelle. It was money poured down a drain to a greedy, mismanaged and decaying resort. We were paying money to have our health and sanity compromised. ||||As we left I noticed Club Med immediately had other G.M.’s ready to move into our vacant rooms. No attempts at removing the insects preventing sleep, no alerts to the future guests about the toxic fumes caused by the decomposing algae. I find the behavior of Club Med greedy and abhorrent. ||||We were wondering if this Club Med will soon be sold, perhaps that is why it is in disrepair? Maybe this is the way the new owners, Fosun Group, does business? Regardless, they are taking advantage of the G.M.’s and compromising the health of their families.
