THE summer months are usually synonymous with family-friendly vacations at any number of beach destinations around the world.

But when it comes to people who want some extended fun in the Mediterranean sun - well, Greece is the word.

Anyone whose experience with Greek culture has been limited to ordering moussaka at restaurants and watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding on cable TV will be pleasantly surprised to discover that the Acropolis is not necessarily the name of a nightclub and that tourism is a major contributor to the Greek economy, with the months between June and September being dry, sunny and ideal for activities involving swimsuits and suntan lotion.

While Greece is not likely to replace more convenient beach destinations such as Bali, Phuket and the Maldives, it does make for an interesting alternative, especially since the all-inclusive, hassle-free holidays offered by Club Med in those destinations are also available in Greece, courtesy of Club Med Gregolimano.

Located at the south-eastern end of Euboea, the second-largest of the Greek Islands just north of the mainland, Gregolimano still takes a bit of getting to, requiring a 90-minute drive from Athens airport to one of several coastal towns from which a boat can be taken to the resort. The alternative is a four-hour drive that takes the long way around.

Four-trident status

In keeping with Club Med's strategy in recent years of going up-market, Gregolimano has just been fully renovated - it is now a four-trident resort, on par in luxury terms with its resorts in Bali and Bintan. So far, only three of the 80 or so properties in the company's current portfolio - Mauritius, Morocco and the club's five-masted sailboat - have the top-of-the-line, five-trident status, with its touted "friendly luxury" policy that allows for gourmet catering and in-room service, in contrast to the usual buffet and communal seating set-up in all of Club Med's resorts, or villages, as they are called.

The resort occupies a picturesque plot at the base of a large hill and features both a main block built against the hill and newer villas scattered along the pine tree-lined beachfront.

There are three categories of rooms, all of which are finished in local stone, while there is the usual assortment of Club Med facilities.

As Club Med regulars will know, the bar, restaurant and other public spaces comprise the focal point of the resort.

Club Med's multi-cultural lifestyle philosophy is best represented by its staff of GOs, or Gentle Organisers in the company vernacular, a modern-day foreign legion whose job it is to look after guests and attend to various tasks such as bartending, instructing at sports, keeping the kids amused, organising parties and performing at nightly variety shows. Once upon a time, particularly between the 1960s and 1980s (the Club Med concept was started in 1950), hotel rooms were relatively spartan, catering primarily to swinging singles who spent most of the day participating in outdoor activities - and the evenings in nocturnal activities of a more extra-curricular nature. These days the formula is more solidly family-centric and will continue to head in that direction. Gregolimano is a family resort first, but it is equally appropriate for couples with disposable income to burn.

The resort store, for example, features fancy designer T-shirts and swimming trunks that sell for 130 euros (S$276) and more.

The holiday routine here includes daily water sports and other sporting events, fitness programmes and excursions to nearby towns.

Apart from the store and special tours, however, guests might be hard-pressed to spend more. As at every Club Med, guests walk around with coloured wristbands that preclude the need to pay for basic items like food and bar drinks or sporting activities - it's all included in the package price.

The holiday routine at Gregolimano, which is only open during the summer months, includes daily water sports and other sporting events, fitness programmes and excursions to nearby towns. Club Med also knows how to throw a beach party. During a brief recent stay, a section of the beach was magically transformed to resemble an Ibiza- style beach club, complete with tented seating, a large bar and proper dance floor. As a live band blasted out cover versions of classic Beatles and Rolling Stones songs under a canopy of stars, the atmosphere was nothing if not Euro-centric and uniquely Mediterranean in flavour.

A gentle breeze blows constantly through Gregolimano, and combined with the warm sun and the famously azure waters just offshore, it's easy to figure out just why a Mediterranean vacation is so alluring. The beach here may not be as appealing as the powder sand beaches found in Thailand and elsewhere, and there are some irritants such as the flies that seem to be everywhere. But, on the whole, the concept encourages a relaxed, laid-back mood - guests can either participate in the active lifestyle or simply chill out on their own.

There are undoubtedly hotels with nicer rooms and beaches to be found in the Greek Islands - and elsewhere around the world - but Gregolimano is perhaps an archetypal 21st-century Club Med resort. The company's primary objective, according to CEO Henri Giscard d'Estaing, is to be the market leader in high-end, all-inclusive multi-cultural holidays.

It's an easy-to-accept concept that has won over new customers and earned the loyalty of many existing ones. Sun, sea and sand holidays will always be around, and so, it seems, will Club Med.

This article was first published in The Business Times Weekend edition on June 28, 2008.