Editor Pick
Marriott Aruba Ocean Club
- May 27, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
lprstn from Glen Burnie, Maryland
We stayed in the Marriott Ocean Club, a beautiful resort with all the amenities of a Hotel. The only other large resort developer on the Island is named Divi Aruba, who had just as nice accomadations, but there site was a little more spread out. Marriott’s site has all the restaurants, entertainment, beaches, and other amenities just a short walk away.
We rented a car (which I suggest) and chose to take Avis insurance because if you damage a car in Aruba, you have to pay for the damages before you leave and get reimbursed by your insurance company when you return to the states.
We arrived at the resort and got placed in room 5273 which was on the 2nd floor of the main building, it was a “garden view” in which we had a great view of the pool and if we turned our heads to the left we could see the beach. Our room was a 1br, with a 2 person Jacuzzi tub, 2 person shower, and a sleeper sofa. The kitchen had granite counters and a breakfast bar. The resort had a great pool, although you couldn’t use the pool at the Marriott Surf club, I didn’t mind as the Ocean Club was MUCH less crowded and congested and had a more cozy feel to it than the Surf Club. The beach was riddled with covered huts called Palapas with beach lounge chairs under them, and if you wanted one in the morning you could just reserve it for free. However, I was always able to get a front row palapas no matter if I reserved one or not. We packed seasoned meat that I froze, and pre-cooked Minute Maid rice for dinner. I also pre-ordered online eggs, ham, cheese, bread and milk for our breakfast, that we picked up from the onsite market when we arrived. It was already packed and ready to go. My first evening here we just relaxed by the beach, watching the sunset and drinking a Pina Colada…yum.
We went to the beach, packed a picnic lunch & drinks from our room and dipped in the beach (my 1 complaint about this resort and this part of Aruba was the sand was HARD, with lots of crushed seashells and if you didn’t wear swim shoes you could cut your feet). The beach water temp was warm and blue, with pirate ships, wind surfers, and other water sports right onsite and in view. They had a band playing in the background, and iguanas roamed freely. The onsite casino, which we didn’t feel paid out to well, and they had high bet minimums at the tables (we play black jack) starting at $10. So we went up the road to the Alahambra casino that paid out well and we could play black jack for $5 a hand.
The large gym rivals some gyms you may pay for a membership to join, then went out to explore some of Aruba on our own. Mostly everything in Aruba will be closed on Sunday. A short walk down the beach will take you to the bar called Moombas for drinks. Dinner at Smokey Joes, a fantastic rib joint, where the rib dish was about $15 and they had these great Jaimacan beef patties…yum yum.
They usually had another band playing all day, and you can make dinner reservations for Madam Jeanette’s a cozy, romantic Carribean / dutch restaurant. They have pastries and ice cream at the elaborate snack bar in the casino. Definately reserv the 8 hour jeep tour (which is the best tour for you $ at 79 pp and includes a great lunch and all the sites the Island has to offer in 1 swoop). We went on the tour with ABC for the 8 hr tour of Aruba that covered the natural pool, baby beach, the oldest catholic church in Aruba, the caves, ostrige farm, old gold mines, the natural bridge and the lighthouse…definitely well worth every penny! We came back the room and had dinner at Simply Fish (a restaurant on Marriott property), located on the beach at the Marriott where we were staying. We enjoyed the dinner, location, and the service.
Don't leave without stopping at Linda’s Pancakes for a late brunch…YUM…YUM… then we turned in the car, went flew home.
Definitely a do over vacation! The Marriott Aruba Ocean Club far exceeded our expectations and is a definite do over.
When I booked this trip I was a bit skeptical of Aruba for my kids as I thought there wasn’t much to see or do here, and the airfare to get here was too expensive for a relaxing vacation….Was I ever wrong!
From journal Marriott Aruba Ocean Club...