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The DR's Club Med offers upgraded facilities, bigger Kid's Club, sports: everything you need for a tropical beach vacation.

Louise, the vivacious 20-something Brazilian G.O. (Gracious Organizer) who shepherded half a dozen of us new arrivals to our rooms at Club Med Punta Cana, pointed out the Mini Club along the way and gushed, "It's the best place here." That turned out to be where she worked, of course. Though her opinion was biased, her enthusiasm for tending to a flock of 4 to 6-year-olds was genuine, and hinted at one significant reason that today, 70% of Club Med's clientele are families.

Renewed, Refreshed and Ritzy

Punta Cana, one of 80 Club Meds in 25 countries, trails along a boulevard of white sand at the eastern end of the Dominican Republic, a mere 10 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. Following a $34 million renovation in 2008, it joins Club Med Ixtapa in Mexico as one of the flagships of their enhanced, upscale family-vacation properties.

At 75 acres, strung along more than half a mile of coast, Punta Cana is one of the largest Club Meds in the North America zone. It took me roughly 8 minutes to walk from my room to the reception center -- and I'm a fast-paced New Yorker. But the Club needs space in order to have room for its vast array of diversions and amenities.

The reception center is an expansive, open-air, marble-floored greathouse; its high thatched roof supported by log beams is decorated with giant hanging woven basket chandeliers, huge Dominican clay pots, woven rope chairs and sofas. Hanging metal sculptures depict scenes of the DR's landscape, people, and underwater bounty. A Wi-Fi enabled lounge at one end connects to El Cielo, the main bar, which is a few steps above the main pool, a free-form lake the length of a football field, with a shallow kiddy area at one end. A footbridge across the pool leads to the beach and Atlantic beyond.

Determined to lure those accustomed to more creature comforts and personal service, Punta Cana built Tiara, a complex of 32 two-bedroom oceanfront family suites tricked out with such amenities as computers with Ethernet connections, espresso and coffee makers, teak decks with ocean views, and access to a private, lifeguard-protected infinity pool. Staying in one of these suites also comes with added perks, among them private pickup at the airport, golf-cart transportation around the property, concierge and laundry service, a stocked mini bar, and breakfast room service.

Although I had not booked one of the suites, the décor and amenities of my accommodations had also been spiffed up in this latest round of renovations. Located on the second floor, it had two rooms: one with a queen-size bed, and a second behind sliding doors, with twin couches that could serve as beds for kids. There was also a walk-in closet, a bath with a shower (but no tub), a flatscreen TV, coffee maker, and a small balcony with a couple of teak chairs and views of tropical landscaping.

These accommodations are scattered on both sides of the reception center in two-to-four-story clusters (none with an elevator) with corrugated metal roofs, white latticework trim, and stucco walls variously painted in Caribbean colors of coral, mango, and yellow. Grass, tropical trees, and flowers including fragrant plumeria, poinciana, African tulip, bougainvillea, and oleander, fill the spaces in between.

Once you've paid your $60/year per adult Club Med membership, the all-inclusive pricing bundles not only meals and lodging, but most activities and liquor as well (though there is an additional fee for the Baby Club). Beyond that, you pay extra only for off-property excursions, golf (access for 15 nearby courses), and activities like scuba diving or waterskiing, so it's simple to budget the real cost of a holiday.