A Week of Paradise in Aruba

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I liked the restaurant so much we returned another evening! In fact, I only have positive feedback on this restaurant.
Location: Excellent. It is conveniently located next to Aruba Beach Club. We were able to walk!
Menu: Excellent. The menu includes at least six entrees, a house specialty (12-oz. certified churrasco steak), and the ambassador’s five-course dinner.
What is included in the five courses: A choice of appetizer (I chose the seafood crepe), soup or salad (I chose the salad, which was very different from the normal bland garden salad), a choice of entrée (of course, I selected the churrasco), dessert (I chose the apple strudel), coffee, and a bottle of wine.
Quality: Excellent. The steak was tender and what I would describe to friends as mouth-watering. Even the wine was good quality (not the bargain wine from a supermarket).
Price: Excellent. The five-course dinner was $29.95!
Other positives: The restaurant had a choice of indoor or outdoor seating. The décor was very nice, with pink tablecloths with a red tablecloth down the middle of each table. There were numerous statues placed around the dining room. The waiters were very friendly and attentive and entertainment was provided to give us a very relaxing dining experience.

Next to the deck area of the restaurant is the bar (which we visited later in the week), a small dining area beyond the bar, and a huge pool.

The bar we visited the most – Sandbar
This beach bar was conveniently located for us (two "hotels" away at Bucuti’s), and we stopped at least three times. Happy Hour was from 4 to 6pm, and the frozen drinks were ½ off (approximately $4.00 each during Happy Hour). I sampled several, including mudslide, banana colada, and my favorite, Anne Bonny! Most everyone loved the friendly atmosphere of the bar, and most evenings, the bar had more patrons than other beach bars in the area. Each evening, we enjoyed listening to the steel drums entertainment. Management also provided free munchies. What more can you ask for?
The most unusual bar - Charlie’s A friend of mine had told me that if I went to Aruba, I had to visit Charlie’s. This bar was not convenient to where we were staying (it is outside San Nichols), but on one of our sightseeing trips, we made a slight detour to find the bar. Unusual is one word to describe the bar. While we were sipping our beers, we had plenty of stuff hanging from the ceiling to look at. I have never seen so much memorabilia in a bar! Every spot of the walls, ceiling, bar, windows, etc., is covered with something. Lots of signs are prominently displayed and they are funny. Even the signs outside the bar are hysterical. I took a few pictures of the interior and exterior because only a picture can truly describe the uniqueness of the place. One final note - the jukebox is very old.
The closest bar for us – Tortuga (at Aruba Beach Club) One nice element of this bar is that it is Happy Hour all the time! I sampled quite a few of the frozen drinks, including a pina colada, Nutty Monkey, and strawberry daiquiri. The bartender, Andre, was very friendly, and I especially appreciated that he turned the TV channel to the President’s Cup (golf) so I could continue watching the sudden-death playoff. After several holes, the captains agreed to end as a tie!

While my wife and I were waiting at our hotel, we wondered if we would recognize the transportation vehicle. If you look at the picture of the bus, you understand why you cannot miss it. I only wished I had my video camera to take pictures of all of the witty sayings painted in the interior. The craziness of the bus was indicative of the entire night.

At the beginning, most people are reserved, with only some people singing along with the blaring music and shaking a maraca. The driver makes stops at the major hotels and then drives to the lighthouse area. At this point, most people are now more festive and singing more as the hosts pour champagne. You toast to the evening (as you watch the sunset). The hosts (two drivers and two other persons with the company) explain the evening. In a nutshell, we are told that we will go to a restaurant for dinner (and a free drink) followed by four separate, but quite different, bars for some singing and dancing, entertainment, lots of fun, and a free drink at each bar. They also sell some T-shirts to remember the evening (and for some, remembering may be impossible at the end after more than five drinks!). The hosts also sell a portable plastic cup for cheap drink refills. We may have been the only people who kept to only the five drinks!

Top five reasons I would sign up for the party bus next time:
I laughed and laughed and laughed all night.
Everyone was singing (even the tone-deaf people) and shaking the maracas.
I want to take a video of my wife dancing on the bar! (Which would have been better than the attached picture.) Can you believe that just about every woman was up there?
I want to participate more in the festivities, such as dressing up in the carnival costumes instead of just watching others dress up. The picture shows some of the colorful costumes!
The hosts were very personable and their happiness was infectious. They made the evening a night to remember. They really were party facilitators. The last picture is of two of the hosts at the last bar (Carlos 'n' Charlie’s).

We have recommended this "attraction" to our friends and told them it is a "must do" event.