Holiday Inn Resort Aruba: Great location - terrible food

The hotel is located on a beautiful strip of the beach though the water is milky in this area. The hotel is well set up for small children. While we could always find something to eat, the food is terrible. The buffets were less than mediocre and nothing was ever warm.

Riu Palace Aruba: Beautiful Resort

........Tripcentral recommended this resort and we werent disapointed. The rooms wrre very clean abd the staff was friendly. The beaches were awesone and the weather was perfect. We are going back next year with the whole family.........

Riu Palace Antillas: NOT A 5 STAR!

If you have never been to an adult only 5 star resort then you probably wouldn’t know any better.... however, after staying at Excellence Riviera Cancun & Punta Cana, Secrets Wild Orchid for the past number of years, this hotel was not the standard we have become accustomed to for a similar price point. It is really a hotel masquerading as a resort. The biggest positives have nothing to do with the Riu – consistent high temperatures, hot sunny days, great walkable beach, warm ocean water, bo [... read more]ardwalk(safe at night), beautiful sunsets. These positives helped to make up for the lack of 5 star qualities. Hotel positives: Strong Wifi that reaches the pool & beach area. Cappuccino Bar & 24 hr self serve food & drink area. The self serve coffee machine (coffee, cappuccino, decaf, hot chocolate) was better than the coffee in the restaurants. Wine, beer, alcohol also available here. Due to a delayed flight, we arrived at close to midnight and appreciated the drinks & sandwiches. Clean rooms & hotel premises. Comfortable beds. Refrigerator in room. Piano player in lobby. Rum punch upon arrival. Smiling, friendly staff. Strong a/c in rooms. Soundproof rooms - Never heard any noise from neighbours or from hallway. Breakfast buffet – lots of variety; fresh; cooking stations. Lunch - 2 buffet types of restaurants available – one indoors & one semi-outdoors. You can sit in either & get food from either. Good variety of food choices that varied from day to day. Great salads! Lots of seafood. Chaise lounges – never had a problem getting 6 lounges together at the pool under a retractable canopy. Lots of available shade in the pool area (which is needed because the sun is so intense). Pool towel service was never a problem. There was never a line up in the morning or late afternoon when towels were being returned. Pool temperature was perfect. One afternoon, jello shots were served. Another afternoon, kitchen staff brought around cups of ice cream. Pool bar service was good. Daytime activities: some activities were visibly available – darts, bocce ball, bean bag toss, water aerobics (also not the best I have experienced) Even numbered hotel rooms have the best view – pool and ocean. Odd numbered rooms look out at the Riu Palace but if you look to the left, you can also see the ocean. Reasonably priced store on lower level of hotel. Mexican & Italian restaurant: great appetizer buffet prior to ordering your entree. Entrees were okay. Fusion Restaurant – ok. Good desserts which included a liqueur. Steakhouse -men could wear shorts as it was semi-outdoors. Lobster was FANTASTIC. Steak was very tasty–the best we have had in the Carribbean. Good Caesar salad. Ate there twice as we felt it was the tastiest restaurant with the best semi-outdoor atmosphere. Good service. Relaxing meal. Never felt rushed. Hotel Negatives: Rooms – plain hotel room and furniture – nothing wrong with it – but not as nice and atmospheric as the other resorts we have stayed in. 6 of us travelled together– in 3 rooms-all rooms were fine–no smells, no mustiness. We were told that our room was a “partially renovated room”- that meant new granite in the bathroom, maybe a fresh coat of paint – hard to tell. Things missing in the room: no clock; no pen or paper; toiletries were NOT replaced once used up; no WINE in the room bar; no snacks in the room bar; no order form for room service. Lobby – Small Bar area, hard to find a seat & only open until midnight. Lobby chairs – some are incredibly uncomfortable (made for giants with long legs) A la carte Restaurants - a HORRIBLE method of reserving. Unless you had read about the process on trip advisor, you would have no idea of the procedure involved in making dinner reservations as nowhere did anyone inform you of this process at check in, nor in the information sheet given to you at check in. The longest lineups waiting to make reservations were at 8 a.m. We would go around 9 a.m. and were able to get into all the restaurants we wanted and twice to the steakhouse. You have to be flexible as to which restaurant is available. 6.30 was the more difficult time to get a reservation. They allow you to make 2 reservations within 3 days. If you have a group of people, you will need all the room numbers. Once the reservation lady writes your name and room numbers on her list, she gives you a small piece of paper confirming the date, which restaurant and for how many people. You have to give this paper to the greeter when you arrive at the restaurant. Dinner seatings are only 6.30 & 9 p.m. & at each meal there were empty tables. It is difficult to understand why they won’t let people walk in and eat to fill up the tables. Only wine and beer is served in the restaurants. Alcoholic drinks were not available. Also very odd – pinot grigio was only available in the Italian restaurant & nowhere else in the resort that we could find. Mexican, Italian & fusion food was ok. The waiters totally rushed us in the Mexican & Italian–we were in & out in less that 1 hr15 mins. Breakfast Buffet Restaurant – good food & lots of variety. An indoor cafeteria like atmosphere. Definately lacked atmosphere. Needed some music as all you could hear were dishes clanging. A small area available that was outdoors (surrounded by cement) Buffet for dinner - each night had a different theme – theme was posted outside the door on the day of. If you asked at the front desk, they could tell you the themes for the entire week. Perhaps this information should be shared & posted somewhere, so that you could organize yourself with which buffet theme you would like to attend. Poor Communication: Poor signage explaining where things are located. (One sign outside of the breakfast buffet listed the times the restaurants and bars were open until) No signage telling about the daily activites. (yet we noticed there was a board like this next door at the Riu Palace). Hotel information sheet given at check in did not address all things that would make your stay helpful. No daily activity sheet. Only one sheet was given upon check in which listed things for the entire week. We found a lot of it to be not correct. Trip advisor comments had said you could go and eat next door at the Riu Palace. We went there to find out that as of a month ago, we were no longer able to make reservations at their a la carte restaurants, but only could use their buffets. Theatre Bar - completely out of the way of foot traffic. It took us 2 days to find this theatre (which is just past the breakfast buffet room). This room also lacks the Carribbean atmosphere. The chairs are very uncomfortable. It feels like you are inside a steel structure despite the fact that a portion of the long rectangular room had no roof and one side of the room was also open. Night Entertainment – probably the absolute WORST night time theatre entertainment we have seen in the past 7 years of going to 5 star resorts. Musical bands were decent enough but were not completely live – used prerecorded music and even singers. They needed to be playing in a warmer atmosphere in a more central location of the hotel where people may walk by and maybe stay for a bit. Music at Pool area -2 totally different music systems playing 2 totally different types of music. If you were sitting in between, you couldn’t really tell what music was playing from which system – it all meshed together. The best music was one afternoon when a 3 piece band played out by the pool and in between their taped music was played. Unfortunately, this only occurred once during the entire week. No air mattresses allowed in the pool. No hooks on public women’s bathroom doors to hang purses, towels, beach bags. (Floors always wet in pool area). No waiter service at Beach (probably because it is a public beach). Very poor waiter service around pool. Not enough waiters for the number of people; but bar service was good. No drink of the day. Only 1 type of beer available – Balushi. If you wanted a hut on the beach you needed to be lined up by 5.45 a.m. waiting for the beach attendants to open up for service at 6 a.m.(It was still dark at this time!!) 5 Elevators - some waiting at prime time.(lots of new granite around the elevators). Casino - very smoky! Turn down night service meant “closing the curtains”. Sunday night beach party had live music and a bar. Lack of decorations to set the mood. Luckily we were walking by so we saw it happening. People from the Riu Palace taking up space around pool, bar in Riu Antillas. Communication of front desk staff - We were trying to arrange a late check out as we didn’t need to leave the hotel until 6.30 p.m. We had tried to call the hotel prior to arrival, but could only get through to a general Riu customer service line who told me to ask upon our arrival. I e-mailed the hotel 10 days before arrival, & received an e-mail back that said to request the late check out when we arrived. Upon arrival, the front desk person told us to come back 3-4 days prior to departure to make that arrangement. 3 days before departure, front person told us to come back the morning of departure between 7 and 9 a.m. At midnite,(the night before departure),front desk person took my name & room no. said they would write it into the orange book –no problem–1st hr free and then $20/hr for however long we wanted & to come back in the morning before 9 a.m. to reconfirm the arrangements. At 7.45 a.m. on the morning of departure, front person told me it was absolutely impossible – no rooms available and my name was NOT in the orange book. 2 different managers came out to deal with our request & with a lot of haggling, were given a later checkout. Inconsistent customer service replies

Holiday Inn Resort Aruba: Aruba Holiday Inn

We have stayed at this resort with family and friends many, many times before the updating and have always enjoyed the friendly staff and climate. The updating of the facilities have made it even more enjoyable. For example, the new front desk for one thing is a refreshing change as is the water station directly across from it. The updated Ocean Bar with wide screen t.v. viewing (for late afternoon) is great, updated garden furniture in the gazebos, hammocks, etc. are all welcome changes. Garden [... read more]s & pool areas are maintained nicely. All staff members are amazing - they want you back and show it - especially the bar servers and managers in the various restaurants. The 3rd pool by the Sea Tower and the fitness area inside the tower are great. Now a few things that bothered my wife and I: we would not recommend to couples of our age at this time of year (2 wks. mid Feb.) as many of the children are out of school & run wild and are not wonderfully disciplined by their parents. Will try to come back in Jan. next year.) The other point has to deal with surcharges for certain drinks (6.50 U.S. for Buds & 7.00 for Heineken. Right across the street there's a store where you can get them for 3.50 - 3.75. Find out where the locals go and get them even cheaper. Certain items on the menu carry a 10 - 12.00 surcharge (grouper, sole) The twist here is these surcharges apply if you are on the all-inclusive plan but not the others. HUH? Anyway, we'll come back. Sorry for the negative items but we would not be honest otherwise. We would recommend this hotel for travel at other times of the year than we chose.

Riu Palace Antillas: Great Stay

The Antillas was a great experience. Food and drinks were excellent with lots of variety. Grounds and hotel facilities were clean and well maintained. You also had access to the Riu Place facilities as well. The beach and water were great. As the hotel is located in a string of hotels the beach is somewhat crowded with vacationers and you needed to be out early in the morning to claim your beach chairs. They did however had a staff member help you find a spot if you could not find one. The Antil [... read more]las section of the Riu complex to my knowledge was recently acquired from an other hotel and the only concern we had were some maintenance issues with the room. The patio door did not latch and the dead bolt on the room entrance door did not function. The patio door was repaired however the dead bolt was not. Overall we had a wonderful stay and would return again to the Antillas.

Riu Palace Antillas: AMAZING TIME!

I went to the Riu Antillas 01FEB-08FEB with my boyfriend, my sister and her boyfriend. We had an AMAZING time! We had heard before going that the rooms were not totally up-to-date since the hotel was the former Westin and that is true to some extent but they were CLEAN - that's what mattered most! We had a partial oceanview which was great. The staff was very friendly and the pool/beach area was very clean. The food was excellent - we went to the Steakhouse restaurant and the other one called KR [... read more]YSTAL - both very good food. The rest of the time we did the buffet which was just as good. Overall, this was a really fun trip and we have no real complaints. I would recommend anyone go to this resort. We will be going back!

Riu Palace Antillas: I will go back to this hotel

I really enjoyed my stay here last week. I have been to the Riu Palace twice before and wanted to check out the Antillas. It was great being at a adult only resort. The rooms were satisfactory. Comfortable beds. The rug was dated but clean and we had a good view of the ocean from our room. It was nice to be able to go over to the Riu Palace for some meals. We enjoyed going there for lunch to the Nautilus and to their buffet some evenings. At the Palace you could eat outside which was nice. There [... read more] was great selection at the buffets. I enjoy Chilean wine which is what was served so I was happy. There was free Wi-Fi. Nice big pool. The pool bar had a large sitting area that was lovely. Nice staff. Beautiful beach. If you enjoy walking there is a great boardwalk outside the hotel.

Riu Palace Antillas: Great Relaxing Holiday!

The trip was fantastic! Over all the hotel was great and lived up to my expectations. The rooms was slightly outdated, however they are clean, the water in the shower is extremely hot and the towels are refreshed twice daily. Let's face it, we do not travel all that way to stay in our room. There was only really one A la Carte that was of interest as we could not access the ones at the Riu Palace, nonetheless, the buffet had a huge selection with changes made every day. If you cannot find somet [... read more]hing to your taste at the buffet you are too picky. The service at the hotel was one of the best that I have experienced. Everyone was always happy, always friendly and you did not get the sense that they are waiting for a tip in order to go above and beyond. There is no language barrier whatsoever. Many speak English and French with no accent. Aruba itself was excellent, the weather was perfect (a little too windy - could not sit on the beach because of it) but the pool was super and we dipped in the ocean when we felt like it. I like the location. You can leave the resort for a short walk to the markets or local restaurants at night which is nice. Kinda had a Cancun feel without the spring break kids. :) We hired a local guide named Howard Folkes to tour us to the local sights. He did a great job and his price was more than reasonable for a private tour. I would definitely go back to this same resort and recommend it to anyone!

Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort: 3rd time - still awesome!

Third trip in 2 years and still love it. The Hotel is great, rooms clean, service terrific, we were all inclusive and food is spectacular. The boat ride and the private island are always one of the highlights - passing by the cruise ships in the morning as you head out to the island - priceless! Can't wait for trip number 4!

Tamarijn Beach Resort: Could not ask for better

Hotel is not fancy but we felt very comfortable. All rooms are ocean front and I mean ocean front - the beach is right off the patio. Food was excellent. The only negative was the staff, they were not all that friendly. Hotel grounds were nice and clean. Would not hesitate to go back. Spoke with many people that had been there up to 15 times. Great place to go and relax or tour. Location was excellent - could walk to town. Loved the beach!!!!

Riu Palace Antillas: rooms a big dissapointment

while the pool, beach and staff were all wonderful the rooms were very disappointing. the lamp shades had rust and mold on the inside, the carpet was split and frayed and so badly split you could trip on it. The walls in bathroom were so dirty I wiped them down. I complained to front desk, sales manager, Sunwing rep and room manager and nothing was done. I could have moved to the Riu Palace for an additional 50.00 per night...x 7 nights.

Riu Palace Antillas: Excellent Holiday!!! Exceptional Island !!!

Great Holiday, Great Resort which will only get better! People who give this resort a negative review are either looking for something to complain about, generally unhappy people or very hard to please! Riu Antillas was exactly as advertised and expected! Both of us have travelled extensively & we do have expectations! The Antillas delivered! *check-in fast *great beach & ocean, great pool area ( both of these are the main focus of our trip) *food is the highest quality, buffet exceptional, stea [... read more]khouse excellent! *top 6 floors or so re-done. We stayed in a Westin style room which met all our needs. Furniture slightly dated, T.V. & A.C. Excellent. Bed Comfy. We are only in room for an hour or so when getting ready for supper! Service exceptional! * the Strip behind the Hotels is a mini Cancun/Playa Del Carmen. Vegas"ish"! Great shops dining entertainment. Fountain and light shows. Very easy walk! A nice addition for the evenings when on holiday! *Private tour with independent local guide Howard Folkes was absolutely perfect. About 5 hours filled with knowledge, history, local lore & legend. He customized the tour for us to see exactly what we wanted and left out what we cared less about seeing! On top of the popular destinations Howard brought us through subdivisions to show us how the locals live, showed us some of the oldest residences and architecture on the island. Howard had all the historical information about Aruba's evolution, past hurricanes and shipwrecks. Also quite comical, just not as Funny as us...LOL! Google HF Tours for contact info or have Tour Desk do it for you! A notch Above the large tour bus cookie cutter versions.reasonable pricing, excellent value! Aruba is great! Antillas is a great base to enjoy it from. Chris & Lynne (group of 8)

Riu Palace Antillas: Had a great Time!

We stayed here for our honeymoon and although the rooms were not all quite refurbished, ours was beautiful, room 1602 oceanfront suite. It was well worth spending the extra. Food was very good, and buffet excellent. It does not have an open air concept feel but once you get used to the grounds, you can always find a nice place to sit out and eat.

Tamarijn Beach Resort: Beautiful location and wonderful beach

This was a great spot, rooms right on the beach, wonderful sand beach, good food and fabulous spot to escape the winter. Beautiful sunsets, nice restaurants and lovely swimming. There are many very expensive hotels in Aruba but this is a little more reasonable. Wonderful massages offered too

Riu Palace Aruba: Beautiful Resort

Excellent, the staff very helpful and the happiest people ever, cleanness was excellent , rooms cleaned and towels changed twice a day, food there was a lot of variety and well prepared and presented, I had a wonderful vacation and like to visit different places and would most likely return in to Aruba and RIU Palace

Holiday Inn Resort Aruba: GREAT HOLIDAY!!

My Husband and I just returned from 1 week holiday at Holiday Inn Sun Spree in Aruba. It is the 4th time we stayed there and loved it. The renovations are complete and they have done a remarkable job. I like this place because every one is friendly. The resort is very clean , the food is good and the best beach location. See you next year....

Riu Palace Aruba: Amazing with a couple of glitches.

We are very happy with our choice of resort. The location was the best. The rooms clean and service very good. Just 2 things need improvement for us. 1. more washrooms at the pool area 2. better food for all the restaurants especially the buffet. We are told that the company plans to renovate the rooms and yes they could use an update but they were fine for our vacation. The resort looks the grandest on the Palm Beach.

Riu Palace Antillas: Riu Palace Antillas

Definitely not what I expected from a "5 star Riu Palace" Public areas were nicely renovated, but food quality and service were lacking. Pool area was understaffed and rarely were you able to get a drink pool side unless you got it yourself. No one cleaned the pool straws cups and other debris littered the pool by 1pm and no one cleaned it unless you asked them to and then they only did one little area. Absolutely no beach service. Food was either cold or not available, room service gave no opti [... read more]ons; ham & cheese sandwich, nachos, fruit plate or chocolate cake, THATS IT. Our room had not had any renovations done on it, old stained carpet and furniture, reeked of mold and mildew, carpet was wet enough to put towels down. And the topper was the wet sheets when you went to bed because the carpet was wet the entire room humidity was extremely high. So much so that our luggage was 9kg heavier then when we came in and we were charged $180 USD cash only upon departure Some staff tried very hard to help make your stay enjoyable but when your so disappointed it's hard for them to make anything right. Others could care less and made that very apparent. As for entertainment, there was none. Never would I recommend this "resort" not even to someone I didn't like.

Riu Palace Antillas: Miss Leading review of Rui Antillas

Assya & Mikes Aruba Jan 3 till Jan 10 ,2015 Rui Antillas Adults Only Price $2400.00 Per Person Here is my side of the story that I encountered at the Rui Antillals 5 Star Resort Every aspect of my story is true My wife and myself decided to go to Aruba. It is our first time there and we booked it with a lady at Trip Central "Debbie". I told her that we like to go to a place without kids as we prefer to have "peace and quite".She suggested Rui Antillas and we looked forward to that trip. We book [... read more]ed it only 3 weeks in advance so the price was higher than other guest on the resort. Our flight was delayed ninety minutes due to ice storm in Toronto so we did arrive in Aruba at 12 midnight.When we arrived at the hotel I went directly to the front desk and asked the young fellow if I could Upgrade my room as I wanted a room overlooking the ocean and his reply was that if you want a different room you will have to see someone the following day. At midnight, we were all hungry so we found a place where they had food for 24 hours as they said, but there were only empty dishes and no one to help... The hotel is old Western bought by Rui and opened before the rooms were renovated. They are small with dirty carpets and small bathrooms. Far from the suites we expected. Sunday morning I was going to talk to the front desk and there were others complaining already . Most of us managed to change their rooms only to realize that the new ones were no better. Later that day I wanted to make reservation for dinner in the special dinning rooms but I notice there were 17 in line in front of me and Only one lady taking the reservation WOW.We did wait 15 minutes and the line did not MOVE.I did not wait any longer and left. On Tuesday morning I met the General Manager Richard Velasco of the resort at 10 am and introduced myself and explain that I had a couple of concerns that I hope he could resolve. I complained about the rooms, also I mention to him that I was not willing to stand in line for 2 hours to have dinner in one of your two restaurants. He agreed to look and find a way for the problems to be fixed. On Monday night which was Jan 5,2015 Canada was playing Russia in the finals in hockey on TV. Approx 40 guest from Canada packed in the casino bar since that was the only place with the game on to enjoy our country playing for the Gold Medal. All of us were told not to seat at the bar seats because they were for cash drinks and if you are not purchasing a drink you cannot seat. There were only about 10 chairs available. We still watched the game but were not impressed with the staff . It looked to me that people working there were not concern if their guests were happy. I noticed the same attitude at the buffet restaurant and the beach bar. We have been to many Riu hotels in Mexico,Dominican Republic,Costa Rica,Bahamas that we liked and we expected to enjoy our stay in Aruba as well. Of course I must give credit to the things that were great and positively nice. The food was very good, a lot of variety and good presentation. From crab legs, jumbo shrimps, lamb chops to prime rib and beef Wellington. Fantastic taste and enough food to make your vacation a big indulgence. And there were people who did their best to please their guests . Jerry,Mery,Gerardo and Johnny from the pool bar did a very job. Lidia too was very helpful. Well done. Also Sherwin Maduro, the fron desk bell boy had always a smile on his face. He was very helpful every time I asked him a question,I would hire him to work for my pastry company in Toronto. We did go for lunch and dinner at the Rui Palace next door and what a difference it made when you can sit outside to have your meal. Something that was not available at our hotel. To end my story about my trip to Rui Antillas Resort I must say it is not a FIVE STAR HOTEL as it leads people to believe. I heard a lot of guest from Canada complain about one or another thing which come down to the answer.... They will not RETURN to that Rui Resort and they would not recommend it to family and friends. When I spoke to the general manager I mention that I was going to send him a copy of this letter with my concerns. Will I return to your Hotel. NO Will I return to another Rui YES I hope you can look at all my concerns as I took the TIME to write my comments Thank You Mike

Divi Aruba Beach Resort: Very disappointing

Very disappointing for a four star resort and very expensive for what you got. Loved Aruba and the people (which is why I rated our vacation two stars instead of one) but would never go back to a Divi resort. Place was very old and tired looking. Definitely needs some renos. Small pool and no hot tub! Aruba is very windy and somewhat cool at night so hot tub would have been nice. The food was awful. Needed a table saw to cut the beef--definitely not 4 star food. We stayed at Couples last year fo [... read more]r less money and it was far superior. Plus the package included transfers to and from the airport. No one picked us up to take us to the airport on the return home and all the resort said was "we don't deal with Sunwing". After trying to call someone to no avail we hailed a cab so we could make our flight at a cost of $25 US. I have yet to be reimbursed.