• 20 Minutes

     asked its readers to tell about their adventures in a vacation club.

  • The first part of our series is devoted to unforgettable animators, who make the soul of these temples of pleasure.

  • Energetic, funny, warm, caring, they have left lasting memories for our readers… and more, if they have any affinities.

Aziz the catamaran teacher, Julie the village manager, Stéphane the GO dances… They are the soul of holiday clubs. From smiling in the morning to sports lessons, warm meals, club dances, aperitif games, evening shows or nights in discos, the animators are always there. A mixture of professionalism and kindness that remains engraved in the memories of many holidaymakers: “I had Marion as head of entertainment in Oman and Crete. She is both super professional, always attentive to the needs of clients, very warm and with boundless energy, in addition to having a great sense of humor. She greatly contributed to making my stays unforgettable ”, comments Christèle, who responded to our call for witnesses.Anne also has stars in her eyes when she mentions Hassan, who worked at Club Med in Djerba: “He was the village sound engineer. We had an unforgettable stay with him. He even recorded some great songs for us on a (USB) key that I listen to every day. We found him in Morocco. Always great animations with top-notch sound ”.

Praises which do not surprise Michel Proriol, former GO and author of 

If the portal had not been opened… My Club Med saga

 : “The facilitator is a locomotive, a facilitator who takes vacationers by the hand to invite them to share activities.

He is also a technician in his field, whether it be sport, music… He is a seasoned professional, because many animators have been practicing this profession for fifteen years in a row ”.

A real electric battery, it also shines with its dynamism: “I got to know Valou in a Marmara club.

He was never tired and didn't have a second of a break to cheer up wherever he went.

He had crazy energy, ”says Amin.

“It is all the more admirable as the animators are often on the bridge from 7 or 8 am and until midnight.

It's very physical work, but they keep on the adrenaline, ”comments Michel Proriol.

"She put everyone at ease"

One word keeps coming up when we talk about the animators: gaiety. And Caro, animator at the Marmara Playa blanca club, in Lanzarote, is no exception: “She had the gift of instilling joy and an energy that made even the most shy come to participate in the activity ... Everyone was comfortable and had a word for every vacationer, ”says Farah. For her part, Sarah remembers Sami, a sports host with a smile: “He did everything he could to make people happy. Thanks to him, I laughed, I shared incredible moments, I danced (especially the waltz, which neither of us knew how to dance), I sang. He managed to give me a stay that I will probably never forget ”. Anthony still laughs when he thinks of Fanfan, crossed in a VVF club: “He had a different disguise every day.One day as a cow, another as a lamppost (with a lampshade on his head and an electrical outlet that came out from the back of his pants) ”. This good humor is sometimes an exercise in willpower: “We always ask the animation team to smile, to be extroverted. It is not always easy to leave your problems behind, but it is essential for holidaymakers to get away from their daily lives, to forget their problems, ”comments Michel Proriol.but it is essential for holidaymakers to get away from their daily lives, to forget their problems, ”comments Michel Proriol.but it is essential for holidaymakers to get away from their daily lives, to forget their problems, ”comments Michel Proriol.

And when you work in a club, you have to be a bit of a chameleon: "The facilitators must know how to adapt to customers from different social backgrounds, to various personalities", continues the ex-GO.

Moreover, Nicolas will never forget Hugues, whom he met in a club in Rhodes, Greece, and who knew how to be appreciated by all: "He was very caring for everyone, all the time available for advice or to answer a question.

He was very imaginative to make vacationers laugh, even going so far as to imitate the Colossus of Rhodes for more than an hour without moving or to disguise himself as a shark to send a false alarm on the beach ”.

"We fell in love with it"

Some animators are so charismatic that they have become famous. "This is the case of Patrick Bruel, Nicolas Cantelou, Vincent Lagaff ... Because they had access to a benevolent public every evening, which allowed them to break in their number before attempting an artistic career", notes Michel Proriol. “I had the immense privilege of meeting the comedian Elie Kakou when he started out at Club Med in Morocco. He was not yet known, but gave us a great evening with Madame Sarfati! », Says Céline. Ditto for Cédric: “I had Mathieu Madenian as host. A great guy with already the talent we know him ”.

And with all these qualities, it is not surprising that the animators arouse envy… “Especially since they are tanned, athletic and always in full light,” comments Michel Proriol. Héloise will not say the opposite: “A few years ago I met a windsurfing teacher in a club. Love at first sight. We were ten years apart and very different lives. We had fallen in love. But it was a parenthesis ”. Some great adventures at the club even turned into lasting love. This is what happened for Lucie: “While staying at the Marmara club in Djerba in 2010, I met my husband, a children's coordinator. We got married in Tunisia in 2012 and now we live in Brittany. For nine years, it has been happiness ”. Julie also fell in love with a beautiful animator she met in Sicily:“We fell in love with it. He was charismatic, had a golden voice. He was 32 years old, I was 38. We left after a week with a stolen kiss. I went back to the club three times, and I decided to leave my Parisian life to join it in Sicily. Since then, we have been waiting for a happy event ”. Cédric will never regret having benefited from a stay in a club either: “I sympathized with one of the facilitators. On his return, we saw each other again, and it's been five years since we live the perfect love, married since September 2019 and parents in a few months. My most beautiful holiday encounter! "and I decided to leave my Parisian life to join him in Sicily. Since then, we have been waiting for a happy event ”. Cédric will never regret having benefited from a stay in a club either: “I sympathized with one of the facilitators. On his return, we saw each other again, and it's been five years since we live the perfect love, married since September 2019 and parents in a few months. My most beautiful holiday encounter! "and I decided to leave my Parisian life to join him in Sicily. Since then, we have been waiting for a happy event ”. Cédric will never regret having benefited from a stay in a club either: “I sympathized with one of the facilitators. On his return, we saw each other again, and it's been five years since we live the perfect love, married since September 2019 and parents in a few months. My most beautiful holiday encounter! "My most beautiful holiday encounter! "My most beautiful holiday encounter! "

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If the portal had not been opened ... My Club Med saga,

Michel Proriol, editions Sydney Laurent, 17.90 euros

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