We are a family of four that stayed Marriott Ocean Club in Aruba. This resort is comprised of condos that are timeshares, but open to rental by the public. We rented for the week. The property is flanked by the Marriott Stellaris Resort and also the
more +Marriott Surf Club (another condo/ time-share property available for rental.
Getting there: Airfare to/from Aruba is pricey due to it being off the coast of South America and quite a distance form the U.S. From May through September, however, airfare is cheaper to/from the island, as are resort rates. This makes Aruba a prime location for a family vacation when the kids are out of school.
The Ocean Club is an amazing property. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and someone is always cleaning or picking up debris. We stayed in a one-bedroom condo. Ours was convenient to the laundry room (free, but bring dryer sheets and laundry detergent if you plan on doing more than one load, they only supply one pkg. of detergent in the condo) and elevators. Daily maid service kept our place super-clean, wiped up the kitchen while we were at the beach, ran the dishwasher, swept up, and refreshed the towels. The full-kitchen was fully stocked with any type of utensil or appliance that you could want/need for the week. The two person jacuzzi tub in the bedroom, while only used twice during our week, was relaxing.
Resort: The resort is spread out, hence not crowded at all. Every morning at 7:00 AM, my husband or I would reserve a palapa (beach hut) for free. (If you wanted the same hut every day, you could pay $15 per day for a hut in the first row facing the ocean). You would also pick-up/return your beach/pool towels here each day. Each hut had two chairs and a table. If you needed more chairs they were readily available. The palapas were spread out and not on top of each other. Don't worry if you are in row 4, 5, or 6...there is an ocean view from all of them! Note: If you are a reader, there were books on the counter of the towel hut that were left behind by other guests to enjoy. The Juice Bar at the beach, while a bit pricey ($7 each), was great serving fresh fruit blends during the day. There was also a cold water cooler with cups if you didn't want to leave the beach. No fear in drinking the water on this island. It is very clean and pure (i.e. no stomach problems to worry about!). The pool bar had a different drink/beer special every day. Absolutely no problem leaving your beach bag and stuff at the palapa...no one bothered anything. As with any vacation, I never leave purses/wallets/cameras/jewelry at the beach unattended. There is a decent-sized pool, with swim-up bar, and large deck area. There is also a very large hot tub built into a rock structure adjacent to the pool. Due to the amazing water and warm ocean, there were only a few people in the pool at any time of the day, and many secluded spaces to rest or enjoy a book. The lobby stores had anything you'd need if you forgot something from home, or wanted to pick up some groceries, drinks, etc. We used the BBQ pits one day (for free) to grill a late lunch. Very clean with easily accessible picnic tables.
Food: Ling and Sons to purchase groceries for the week was great. I went the first full day we were there to stock up on everything that we would need. I also brought alot of dry goods (which is allowed), two bottles of booze (one allowed per person entering the country) and a few frozen meat items in a freezer bag (also allowed in original packaging). The store is a cab ride away ($9 each way) and very clean/nice to pick up vegetables, fruit, yogurt, juice, etc. We ate breakfast and lunch in the condo (or on the beach) to save on expenses. Please remember that prices are somewhat higher than in the U.S. as all items are shipped in weekly.
Dinner: There are a wide variety of restaurants on the island to suit every tase. We went to Moby Dick's, a short walk from the resort in the Paseo Harencia mall. We ate outside and it was tasty and enjoyable. Another short walk away was Smokey Joe's for BBQ. Great sandwiches and ribs. We cabbed down to Gianni's by the Radisson resort for Italian food. The place was packed and rightly so as it was really good. Dinner was wonderful at Simply Fish at the Marriott resort on the beach with our toes in the sand. Twin lobster tails, prawn cocktail, caprese salad, and dessert. Beautiful to watch the sunset (we did make reservations here for 6:30 to see the sunset). Our last night was easy at Champions, in the lobby of the Ocean Club. It was really good and carry-out is available.
Excursions: My husband and son went out with Melina fishing charter, located adjacent to the Marriott at the Haducurari dock. Nothing was brought in, but they had fun!
We also did an afternoon ATV trip with Watapana tours and it was a real adventure. They picked us up at the Ocean Club. They took us to the collapsed Natural Bridge, the Natural Pool (to swim), and all around the island. We had a breakdown along the way, and also a flat. Who cares...we were on island time!
Up and down Palm Beach (all of the high-rise hotels/resorts are located here) are many water sports operators. The kids went tubing too many times to count on "Sea Ya". Dad went along in the boat to watch and everyone came back with smiles! Palm Beach is beautiful and the water color is amazing.
Casinos: During the evening, we visited the Marriott, Holiday Inn, and Hyatt casinos. All were packed and alot of fun.
Shopping: We went downtown for awhile one day to pick up a few souvenirs and walk around. Lots of cruise ship passengers were in. It is always interesting to see the architecture and take in the island's history. It helps to get off of the beach for awhile.
Weather: The weather really is always the same in Aruba. Count on alot of very hot sun with most days in the 80's to low 90's. If it does rain, it usually only lasts a minute or two. For that reason, sunblock is a must at all times. The wind blows continually (which really helps to alleviate the heat of the sun) and you don't think you are getting burnt...but you are! Re-apply, re-apply, re-apply!
This is a beautiful island with very friendly people. The island is extremely safe as tourism is their number one industry. Everyone we encountered was courteous and helpful. Would we return again...in a hearbeat. It is truly "One Happy Island".
Date of Stay: 03/15/2009
Children in Party: 1
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Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club
