Club Med

MONTROUIS, Haiti -- In paradise lost, the pastel-colored villas are empty, the tennis courts give way to weeds, and a lone woman sunbathes topless on a half-mile stretch of pure white sand."

Lounges, programs for youths help groom future customers You'll never embarrass your teenager again. At least, not while you're all on vacation. Just book one of the growing number of hotels, resorts and cruises that give teens their own tour guides and lounges, with dance clubs, theater classes, spa treatments, video arcades and more. You and your offspring need meet only at meals -- and maybe not even then. Even Club Med, once synonymous with swinging singles in paradise, is catering to teens.

Q. Nobody seems to be doing much of anything these days, especially traveling. What do you think about my 100 shares of Club Med? How well will the company do?A.The itch to travel may be returning. Stock of Club Med Inc. (around $22 a share, New York Stock Exchange) should outperform the overall market as many more people, especially Americans, look to travel again, said Carolyn Levy, analyst with Shearson Lehman Brothers.Caribbean and Mexican locations in particular are expected to benefit.

Travelers choose the Caribbean for many reasons, only one of which is to escape the woes of winter. Subtract that and you still get balmy weather, beautiful waters, friendliness, food and the sense of well-being that such a vacation can bring. If you add substantial savings to the equation, you have good reason to consider the Caribbean during the off-season. Here are some ideas: Club Med has seven-day, all-inclusive getaways starting at $675 in its resorts, including those in Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic and Martinique.

Q. My travel agent friend keeps raving about Club Med. D you think it is a good investment now? Is anyone really traveling with all the problems in the U.S. economy?A.It might be time to say: "Pass the pina coladas, dear."Buy shares of Club Med Inc. (around $19 a share, New York Stock Exchange) the well-known operator of vacation resorts, for it has built a loyal and well-heeled clientele from throughout the world, not the U.S. alone, said Carolyn Levy, analyst with Lehman Brothers. Not all nations are in the same shape as the U.S. economy, she noted.

HUATULCO, Mexico - It's nearly 4 a.m. Where is my 14-year-old son?Only at Club Med, I think, would a 2:30 a.m. curfew - the first he's ever required - not be sufficient.Matt arrives sheepishly a few minutes later. "Sitting by the pool with a bunch of friends. Lost track of time," he apologizes.This is the teen who didn't want to come to Club Med because it would be "so boring." Instead, he's found himself smack in teen heaven. Offering Club Med's only organized year-round teen program, Club Med-Huatulco draws more teens - typically 100 a week and as many as 250 during school breaks - than any other resort I know.

COBA, Mexico -- "I'm sorry," said the manager, though clearly he wasn't. "You are not on the list."These may or may not have been his exact words. Possibly it's the residual anger that distorts my recollection of the incident, even of his name. Was it Michel? That would have been more appropriate for a French hotel. But Mitchell sticks in my mind, so that's what I'll call him.He had the look of one of those Europeans who don't do well in the tropics, who are given to lethargy and who knows what unwholesome practices, a Malcolm Lowry character right out of "Under the Volcano."

Brunswick Corp."Brunswick (NYSE, BC, $14.62) appears to be coming out of a long slump, reporting first-quarter earnings of $0.14 a share, versus a loss of $0.10 a year earlier," says Babson Investment Report."

Kosher at Club MedJewish families who keep kosher can now get in on the Club Med experience. The Club Med village of Huatulco on the Pacific coast of Mexico, will cater to those wishing kosher food until Feb. 27. Whether the kosher month will become a rotating feature among Club Med's 100 villages worldwide depends on the response.Besides the full range of Club Med sports and sightseeing activities and the Mini Club for kids, there will be daily services at an on-site synagogue with a Torah.

Lounges, programs for youths help groom future customers You'll never embarrass your teenager again. At least, not while you're all on vacation. Just book one of the growing number of hotels, resorts and cruises that give teens their own tour guides and lounges, with dance clubs, theater classes, spa treatments, video arcades and more. You and your offspring need meet only at meals -- and maybe not even then. Even Club Med, once synonymous with swinging singles in paradise, is catering to teens.

John Issa's idea for his Jamaica hotel, the Negril Beach Resort (now Hedonism), was radical in 1976. The "all-inclusive" resort would include all premium-brand liquor, wine and beer, even the mini-bar. "People told me this formula would never work. Only the French had been able to do it, and Club Med charged for drinks," recalls Issa. "They said the guests would overdrink. I didn't know how much it would cost until we did it." The guests must not have imbibed too much, because the resort was an immediate success.

It took me two days to find something that wasn't included in the room price at Breezes Bahamas all-inclusive resort in Nassau. For $171.50 per night, the cost of a room for one person, I got all meals, burgers by the pool, snacks and a midnight buffet. All premium brand liquors, beer and wine at four bars were also included in the room rate. Order a bottle of wine at dinner and it's included. Want a Bloody Mary to start the day? It's included. Serve yourself at strawberry and banana daiquiri machines -- there's a bottle of Appleton Jamaican rum to splash in. Also included in the room rate are scuba, tennis, sailing, wind-surfing and water-skiing lessons.

ABOARD CLUB MED -- At dawn today, veteran ocean racer Grant Dalton will sail this 110-foot maxi-catamaran out of New York, on course for the ultimate sailing challenge. He may or may not set a speed record as he crosses the Atlantic in the world's fastest ocean racer. In any case, it would be just prelude. The New Zealand skipper is gearing up for something more sensational: victory in what is called The Race. The brevity of the title matches the simplicity of the challenge: to be the fastest sailor around the world, non-stop, in the boat of your choice.

Pristine beauty Mary Beth Malooly, Baltimore, I drove from Baltimore to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge to see birds migrating north. I didn't see as many geese and ducks in the spring as I had the previous fall when they were flying south, but I did see this beautiful sunset. It was quiet and I was the only person around. I felt like I was seeing the Chesapeake Bay in its old, pristine days. A MEMORABLE PLACE Sweet Bahamian breezes By Melodie Taylor SPECIAL TO THE SUN In late April 1996, a puddle-jumper from Miami transported my husband and me in just 30 minutes to another world -- the Bahamian island of Eleuthera.

HUATULCO, Mexico - It's nearly 4 a.m. Where is my 14-year-old son?Only at Club Med, I think, would a 2:30 a.m. curfew - the first he's ever required - not be sufficient.Matt arrives sheepishly a few minutes later. "Sitting by the pool with a bunch of friends. Lost track of time," he apologizes.This is the teen who didn't want to come to Club Med because it would be "so boring." Instead, he's found himself smack in teen heaven. Offering Club Med's only organized year-round teen program, Club Med-Huatulco draws more teens - typically 100 a week and as many as 250 during school breaks - than any other resort I know.

COBA, Mexico -- "I'm sorry," said the manager, though clearly he wasn't. "You are not on the list."These may or may not have been his exact words. Possibly it's the residual anger that distorts my recollection of the incident, even of his name. Was it Michel? That would have been more appropriate for a French hotel. But Mitchell sticks in my mind, so that's what I'll call him.He had the look of one of those Europeans who don't do well in the tropics, who are given to lethargy and who knows what unwholesome practices, a Malcolm Lowry character right out of "Under the Volcano."

Teens to parents: Skip the museums. Ditto for isolated mountain cabins. Most important, keep that vacation itinerary loose."We don't want to be tugged around all day from activity to activity. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, not educational," explains Mike Pretekin, a ninth-grader from Englewood, Colo."Give the kids a little freedom," adds Paul Lux, a 13-year-old from St. Louis."Go where there are other kids," chimes in Joey Greenbaum, a seventh-grader from suburban Chicago. "Then you won't have to worry about being with your parents and getting yelled at all the time."

John Issa's idea for his Jamaica hotel, the Negril Beach Resort (now Hedonism), was radical in 1976. The "all-inclusive" resort would include all premium-brand liquor, wine and beer, even the mini-bar. "People told me this formula would never work. Only the French had been able to do it, and Club Med charged for drinks," recalls Issa. "They said the guests would overdrink. I didn't know how much it would cost until we did it." The guests must not have imbibed too much, because the resort was an immediate success.

Teens to parents: Skip the museums. Ditto for isolated mountain cabins. Most important, keep that vacation itinerary loose."We don't want to be tugged around all day from activity to activity. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, not educational," explains Mike Pretekin, a ninth-grader from Englewood, Colo."Give the kids a little freedom," adds Paul Lux, a 13-year-old from St. Louis."Go where there are other kids," chimes in Joey Greenbaum, a seventh-grader from suburban Chicago. "Then you won't have to worry about being with your parents and getting yelled at all the time."

Kosher at Club MedJewish families who keep kosher can now get in on the Club Med experience. The Club Med village of Huatulco on the Pacific coast of Mexico, will cater to those wishing kosher food until Feb. 27. Whether the kosher month will become a rotating feature among Club Med's 100 villages worldwide depends on the response.Besides the full range of Club Med sports and sightseeing activities and the Mini Club for kids, there will be daily services at an on-site synagogue with a Torah.