Aruba - November 2005 Trip - Hotel & Rest. Info

Just back from a week in Aruba. Great time. Here's some info for
those considering this dest. This is our 2nd visit. Excellent
destination choice. Do not believe the weather reports that say rain
60%. Weather.com showed a 60% chance of rain everyday before we
went and it was BEAUTIFUL everyday. Perhaps we saw 2 five minute
showers the whole time and they were needed as a break from the 90
degree humid but awesome weather.

Stayed at the Hyatt Regency which is still hands down the best resort
on the island. The staff are extremely friendly and the accomodations
and upkeep of the facility is top notch. You will not be disappointed
with the Hyatt.

Other hotels (in order of location up the beach starting from the end):


Wyndham: Concrete village from the moment you walk through the raised
ramp entrance. Not really the choice location--but, if last minute,
you can stay their and walk to the other hotels. Had a couple rests.
that looked ok. one italian rest. Baci and the other Pago Pago
steak/seaf. On a 1 to 10, we'd rate this about a 5 for that area.

Radisson: Very nice choice. More contemporary (used to be the Golden
Tulip). Large lush grounds with a pool that goes on forever. They
were even showing a nighttime poolside movie on a big 100" screen.
About $3 change a night. They have a four star rest. there called
Sunset Grille. EXCELLENT service and food; aged steaks, seafood,
sushi and you must try the Martini salad. These guys know exactly
what they're doing! $ 2 roulette table minimum. Ok casino; more
slots than some other locations.

RIU Aruba Beach: <<yawn>>; 1970's florida motif; Need I say more?

Occidental: Being renovated -- used to be the Americana. This will
be a choice selection when they are done. Two towers and a good sized
property with a nice beach. Smaller than Radisson.

Hyatt Regency; Open air lobby; lush grounds; parrots; waterfalls;
waterslide and swim up bar; great beach; many bars; Casino has live
band playing inside a stage located 15 feet up in the air in the casino
over the bar. $5 min roulette; a few good slots paying well. Best
burgers on the beach and Ruinas del Mar (dinner) is a good romantic
dinner choice with the best seats outside overlooking the small lagoon
that houses six black australian swans that swim up to you during
candlelit dinner.

Playa Linda; Great bagel spot out front; Nice looking facility;
timeshare.

Holiday Inn: At one point in the late 70's is was a probably THE
place to go but it's a bit dated and not a "plush" choice. Lots of
watersports and located next to Tony Romas for ribs.

Marriott: new facility, bright & clean but sterile. Can't walk to
anything from the Marriott yet. It's just out there on the end of the
High Rise section fenced off from the world. Probably the nicest
Casino on the island but way overpacked with folks playing penny and
nickel slots.

Other notable dinner destinations:

Hostario Di Vittorio - across from Hyatt behind shopping area;
Excellent Italian food; great service; Try the pounded veal chop
parmesean with truly al dente linguini; indoor & outdoor seating;

Chalet Suisse: A well established choice for dinner; great seafood &
steaks; A few dollars less than The Sunset Grille or Ruinas Del Mar,
but the cab ride will eat the difference so it's a wash. Try the
cheesecake (cross between NY & German style with a slight brown crust).

La Petite Cafe: Filet mignon & shrimp on a 500 degree fire heated
lava stone cooked at your table. Can you say SIZZLING GOOD?

Oh.. and everywhere you go, the US dollar is what they take and give
you back.

Enjoy !

Don't want to go there. I'm on Alabama's side.
G
"twoplays.25" <twoplays.25@> wrote in message
news:1131906800.860630.230620@g47g2000cwa. o...
> Just back from a week in Aruba. Great time. Here's some info for
> those considering this dest. This is our 2nd visit. Excellent
> destination choice. Do not believe the weather reports that say rain
> 60%. Weather.com showed a 60% chance of rain everyday before we
> went and it was BEAUTIFUL everyday. Perhaps we saw 2 five minute
> showers the whole time and they were needed as a break from the 90
> degree humid but awesome weather.
>
> Stayed at the Hyatt Regency which is still hands down the best resort
> on the island. The staff are extremely friendly and the accomodations
> and upkeep of the facility is top notch. You will not be disappointed
> with the Hyatt.
>
> Other hotels (in order of location up the beach starting from the end):
>
>
> Wyndham: Concrete village from the moment you walk through the raised
> ramp entrance. Not really the choice location--but, if last minute,
> you can stay their and walk to the other hotels. Had a couple rests.
> that looked ok. one italian rest. Baci and the other Pago Pago
> steak/seaf. On a 1 to 10, we'd rate this about a 5 for that area.
>
> Radisson: Very nice choice. More contemporary (used to be the Golden
> Tulip). Large lush grounds with a pool that goes on forever. They
> were even showing a nighttime poolside movie on a big 100" screen.
> About $3 change a night. They have a four star rest. there called
> Sunset Grille. EXCELLENT service and food; aged steaks, seafood,
> sushi and you must try the Martini salad. These guys know exactly
> what they're doing! $ 2 roulette table minimum. Ok casino; more
> slots than some other locations.
>
> RIU Aruba Beach: <<yawn>>; 1970's florida motif; Need I say more?
>
> Occidental: Being renovated -- used to be the Americana. This will
> be a choice selection when they are done. Two towers and a good sized
> property with a nice beach. Smaller than Radisson.
>
> Hyatt Regency; Open air lobby; lush grounds; parrots; waterfalls;
> waterslide and swim up bar; great beach; many bars; Casino has live
> band playing inside a stage located 15 feet up in the air in the casino
> over the bar. $5 min roulette; a few good slots paying well. Best
> burgers on the beach and Ruinas del Mar (dinner) is a good romantic
> dinner choice with the best seats outside overlooking the small lagoon
> that houses six black australian swans that swim up to you during
> candlelit dinner.
>
> Playa Linda; Great bagel spot out front; Nice looking facility;
> timeshare.
>
> Holiday Inn: At one point in the late 70's is was a probably THE
> place to go but it's a bit dated and not a "plush" choice. Lots of
> watersports and located next to Tony Romas for ribs.
>
> Marriott: new facility, bright & clean but sterile. Can't walk to
> anything from the Marriott yet. It's just out there on the end of the
> High Rise section fenced off from the world. Probably the nicest
> Casino on the island but way overpacked with folks playing penny and
> nickel slots.
>
> Other notable dinner destinations:
>
> Hostario Di Vittorio - across from Hyatt behind shopping area;
> Excellent Italian food; great service; Try the pounded veal chop
> parmesean with truly al dente linguini; indoor & outdoor seating;
>
> Chalet Suisse: A well established choice for dinner; great seafood &
> steaks; A few dollars less than The Sunset Grille or Ruinas Del Mar,
> but the cab ride will eat the difference so it's a wash. Try the
> cheesecake (cross between NY & German style with a slight brown crust).
>
> La Petite Cafe: Filet mignon & shrimp on a 500 degree fire heated
> lava stone cooked at your table. Can you say SIZZLING GOOD?
>
> Oh.. and everywhere you go, the US dollar is what they take and give
> you back.
>
> Enjoy !
>

Not to turn this thread into a political one, but what happened was
awful however, the island didn't cause it.
This place might as well be another State because it is packed with
Americans who won't stop going there anytime soon.
Too nice a destination. We pray for justice, but not through indirect
means.

"twoplays.25" <twoplays.25@> wrote in message
news:1131907224.000407.157080@f14g2000cwb. o...
> Not to turn this thread into a political one, but what happened was
> awful however, the island didn't cause it.
> This place might as well be another State because it is packed with
> Americans who won't stop going there anytime soon.
> Too nice a destination. We pray for justice, but not through indirect
> means.
>
I visited Aruba back in 2002 primarily for the diving and although I had a
good time, I haven't had the urge to go back to the island. The diving was
good to great but here's what I think of the island.

First of all, I disagree with you that it "might as well be another State",
because although there are a lot of Americans, there are also an awful lot
of Dutch people. From what I remember, there are 2 or even 3 jumbo jets that
land at the airport straight from Schipol Airport in Amsterdam and in fact,
in my hotel, there were more Dutch tourists than any other from any country.

Aside from the diving, there was really nothing else that appealed to me.
The people are supposedly friendly and their mantra is "One Happy Island".
Tourism is obviously big in Aruba and the locals have really honed theirs
skills to cater to the tourists, however, I found that the friendliness of
the locals seemed almost "fake" and "affected". A lot of the ones I met had
some kind of "hidden agenda" when you though they were just being friendly.
They only thing they want to do is separate you from your money. This one
guy was very friendly to us and made it seem that he was genuinely friendly
but in the end, he almost demanded that he be rewarded for even keeping us
company, in spite of the fact that we already bought him a lot of drinks.

Also, when I was there, several rooms in the hotel we robbed, while the
guests were in the room. The locals attributed the rise in the crime rate to
the influx of Venezuelans and Colombians though I'm not sure if that's just
an excuse.

Also, the island itself is really a desert and all the "life" is underwater
and so the landscape seemed bleak to me. Even the so-called "natural
bridges" had really on appeal to me. Baby Beach was supposed to me nice but
that huge refinery tower just ruins the whole ambiance.

The only other advantage that Aruba has is that they are *not* in the
hurricane belt and so they are rarely hit by hurricanes. However, if you
don't go during hurricane season there are a lot of other islands in the
Caribbean that are wonderful.

Yes, the diving was good, but all in all I consider Aruba to be a very
mediocre island at best.

Just my personal take on things.

You're welcome.

You watch Faux News? That hag Beth Twitty is on there every night with
nothing new to say, just whine about how everything is not being done
exactly the way she wants it . Frankly, I was surprised anybody from
Alabama left their trailer park to go to another state, much less Aruba.

"G&G" <G&G@> wrote in message
news:vI-dnfooackvGureRVn-gg@...
> Don't want to go there. I'm on Alabama's side.
> G
> "twoplays.25" <twoplays.25@> wrote in message
> news:1131906800.860630.230620@g47g2000cwa. o...
> > Just back from a week in Aruba. Great time. Here's some info for
> > those considering this dest. This is our 2nd visit. Excellent
> > destination choice. Do not believe the weather reports that say rain
> > 60%. Weather.com showed a 60% chance of rain everyday before we
> > went and it was BEAUTIFUL everyday. Perhaps we saw 2 five minute
> > showers the whole time and they were needed as a break from the 90
> > degree humid but awesome weather.
> >
> > Stayed at the Hyatt Regency which is still hands down the best resort
> > on the island. The staff are extremely friendly and the accomodations
> > and upkeep of the facility is top notch. You will not be disappointed
> > with the Hyatt.
> >
> > Other hotels (in order of location up the beach starting from the end):
> >
> >
> > Wyndham: Concrete village from the moment you walk through the raised
> > ramp entrance. Not really the choice location--but, if last minute,
> > you can stay their and walk to the other hotels. Had a couple rests.
> > that looked ok. one italian rest. Baci and the other Pago Pago
> > steak/seaf. On a 1 to 10, we'd rate this about a 5 for that area.
> >
> > Radisson: Very nice choice. More contemporary (used to be the Golden
> > Tulip). Large lush grounds with a pool that goes on forever. They
> > were even showing a nighttime poolside movie on a big 100" screen.
> > About $3 change a night. They have a four star rest. there called
> > Sunset Grille. EXCELLENT service and food; aged steaks, seafood,
> > sushi and you must try the Martini salad. These guys know exactly
> > what they're doing! $ 2 roulette table minimum. Ok casino; more
> > slots than some other locations.
> >
> > RIU Aruba Beach: <<yawn>>; 1970's florida motif; Need I say more?
> >
> > Occidental: Being renovated -- used to be the Americana. This will
> > be a choice selection when they are done. Two towers and a good sized
> > property with a nice beach. Smaller than Radisson.
> >
> > Hyatt Regency; Open air lobby; lush grounds; parrots; waterfalls;
> > waterslide and swim up bar; great beach; many bars; Casino has live
> > band playing inside a stage located 15 feet up in the air in the casino
> > over the bar. $5 min roulette; a few good slots paying well. Best
> > burgers on the beach and Ruinas del Mar (dinner) is a good romantic
> > dinner choice with the best seats outside overlooking the small lagoon
> > that houses six black australian swans that swim up to you during
> > candlelit dinner.
> >
> > Playa Linda; Great bagel spot out front; Nice looking facility;
> > timeshare.
> >
> > Holiday Inn: At one point in the late 70's is was a probably THE
> > place to go but it's a bit dated and not a "plush" choice. Lots of
> > watersports and located next to Tony Romas for ribs.
> >
> > Marriott: new facility, bright & clean but sterile. Can't walk to
> > anything from the Marriott yet. It's just out there on the end of the
> > High Rise section fenced off from the world. Probably the nicest
> > Casino on the island but way overpacked with folks playing penny and
> > nickel slots.
> >
> > Other notable dinner destinations:
> >
> > Hostario Di Vittorio - across from Hyatt behind shopping area;
> > Excellent Italian food; great service; Try the pounded veal chop
> > parmesean with truly al dente linguini; indoor & outdoor seating;
> >
> > Chalet Suisse: A well established choice for dinner; great seafood &
> > steaks; A few dollars less than The Sunset Grille or Ruinas Del Mar,
> > but the cab ride will eat the difference so it's a wash. Try the
> > cheesecake (cross between NY & German style with a slight brown crust).
> >
> > La Petite Cafe: Filet mignon & shrimp on a 500 degree fire heated
> > lava stone cooked at your table. Can you say SIZZLING GOOD?
> >
> > Oh.. and everywhere you go, the US dollar is what they take and give
> > you back.
> >
> > Enjoy !
> >
>
>

Vic Vega wrote:

> You watch Faux News? That hag Beth Twitty is on there every night with
> nothing new to say, just whine about how everything is not being done
> exactly the way she wants it . Frankly, I was surprised anybody from
> Alabama left their trailer park to go to another state, much less Aruba.
>
> "G&G" <G&G@> wrote in message
> news:vI-dnfooackvGureRVn-gg@...
>
>>Don't want to go there. I'm on Alabama's side.
>>G
>>"twoplays.25" <twoplays.25@> wrote in message
>>news:1131906800.860630.230620@g47g2000cwa.google gro...
>>
>>>Just back from a week in Aruba. Great time. Here's some info for
>>>those considering this dest. This is our 2nd visit. Excellent
>>>destination choice. Do not believe the weather reports that say rain
>>>60%. Weather.com showed a 60% chance of rain everyday before we
>>>went and it was BEAUTIFUL everyday. Perhaps we saw 2 five minute
>>>showers the whole time and they were needed as a break from the 90
>>>degree humid but awesome weather.
>>>
>>>Stayed at the Hyatt Regency which is still hands down the best resort
>>>on the island. The staff are extremely friendly and the accomodations
>>>and upkeep of the facility is top notch. You will not be disappointed
>>>with the Hyatt.
>>>
>>>Other hotels (in order of location up the beach starting from the end):
>>>
>>>
>>>Wyndham: Concrete village from the moment you walk through the raised
>>>ramp entrance. Not really the choice location--but, if last minute,
>>>you can stay their and walk to the other hotels. Had a couple rests.
>>>that looked ok. one italian rest. Baci and the other Pago Pago
>>>steak/seaf. On a 1 to 10, we'd rate this about a 5 for that area.
>>>
>>>Radisson: Very nice choice. More contemporary (used to be the Golden
>>>Tulip). Large lush grounds with a pool that goes on forever. They
>>>were even showing a nighttime poolside movie on a big 100" screen.
>>>About $3 change a night. They have a four star rest. there called
>>>Sunset Grille. EXCELLENT service and food; aged steaks, seafood,
>>>sushi and you must try the Martini salad. These guys know exactly
>>>what they're doing! $ 2 roulette table minimum. Ok casino; more
>>>slots than some other locations.
>>>
>>>RIU Aruba Beach: <<yawn>>; 1970's florida motif; Need I say more?
>>>
>>>Occidental: Being renovated -- used to be the Americana. This will
>>>be a choice selection when they are done. Two towers and a good sized
>>>property with a nice beach. Smaller than Radisson.
>>>
>>>Hyatt Regency; Open air lobby; lush grounds; parrots; waterfalls;
>>>waterslide and swim up bar; great beach; many bars; Casino has live
>>>band playing inside a stage located 15 feet up in the air in the casino
>>>over the bar. $5 min roulette; a few good slots paying well. Best
>>>burgers on the beach and Ruinas del Mar (dinner) is a good romantic
>>>dinner choice with the best seats outside overlooking the small lagoon
>>>that houses six black australian swans that swim up to you during
>>>candlelit dinner.
>>>
>>>Playa Linda; Great bagel spot out front; Nice looking facility;
>>>timeshare.
>>>
>>>Holiday Inn: At one point in the late 70's is was a probably THE
>>>place to go but it's a bit dated and not a "plush" choice. Lots of
>>>watersports and located next to Tony Romas for ribs.
>>>
>>>Marriott: new facility, bright & clean but sterile. Can't walk to
>>>anything from the Marriott yet. It's just out there on the end of the
>>>High Rise section fenced off from the world. Probably the nicest
>>>Casino on the island but way overpacked with folks playing penny and
>>>nickel slots.
>>>
>>>Other notable dinner destinations:
>>>
>>>Hostario Di Vittorio - across from Hyatt behind shopping area;
>>>Excellent Italian food; great service; Try the pounded veal chop
>>>parmesean with truly al dente linguini; indoor & outdoor seating;
>>>
>>>Chalet Suisse: A well established choice for dinner; great seafood &
>>>steaks; A few dollars less than The Sunset Grille or Ruinas Del Mar,
>>>but the cab ride will eat the difference so it's a wash. Try the
>>>cheesecake (cross between NY & German style with a slight brown crust).
>>>
>>>La Petite Cafe: Filet mignon & shrimp on a 500 degree fire heated
>>>lava stone cooked at your table. Can you say SIZZLING GOOD?
>>>
>>>Oh.. and everywhere you go, the US dollar is what they take and give
>>>you back.
>>>
>>>Enjoy !
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
So now what do you think about the Aruba Government or Dutch classic
vacation air. Another young girl was reported as missing after an
Aruba stop over.

--

BILL P.

Just Me and Dog

"William Boyd" <williamboyd@cableone.net> wrote in message
news:3uahvfFvrm8eU1@...
> So now what do you think about the Aruba Government or Dutch classic
> vacation air. Another young girl was reported as missing after an
> Aruba stop over.
>
Where was this reported? Post a link if you have one.

Vic Vega wrote:

> "William Boyd" <williamboyd@cableone.net> wrote in message
> news:3uahvfFvrm8eU1@...
>
>>So now what do you think about the Aruba Government or Dutch classic
>>vacation air. Another young girl was reported as missing after an
>>Aruba stop over.
>>
>
> Where was this reported? Post a link if you have one.
>
>
It is on FOX News.


--

BILL P.

2004, 2500 SLT Quad Cab, Dodge Ram,
SLT, SWB, 2WD,
5.9 HO Turbo Diesel, 48RE Auto Trans,
Anti-Spin 3.73 Dif.Rhino Liner,
Husky 16K. Voyager Controller
2005, 27RL Wildcat, DT/PC Wi-Fi.
Dual EU2000i Hondas
Just Me and Dog

"William Boyd" <williamboyd@cableone.net> wrote in message
news:3ucqn9F107qknU1@...
> Vic Vega wrote:
>
> > "William Boyd" <williamboyd@cableone.net> wrote in message
> > news:3uahvfFvrm8eU1@...
> >
> >>So now what do you think about the Aruba Government or Dutch classic
> >>vacation air. Another young girl was reported as missing after an
> >>Aruba stop over.
> >>
> >
> > Where was this reported? Post a link if you have one.
> >
> >
> It is on FOX News.
>
You mean Faux News? I did check their website and found nothing there.
(Besides the usual nothing.).