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Aruba - The Verdict
My husband and I just returned from an 8 night stay at Aruba's Bucuti Hotel. We chose the property based on online reviews and were pleased to find them all very accurate.
Their staff is some of the most friendly I have ever encountered. From Illis at check in, Bettina at the Concierge desk and Bruno at the bar, to Nandranie our housekeeper, their team is dedicated, professional and sets a fantastic example of what great guest service looks like. I work in the industry and have never seen a staff so successful at making every guest feel significant at every turn.
We spent our first night in a "Bungalow" room. It was a great room in a great location. There are only three and they are right in front of the pool (technically, the pool restrooms.) It was appointed the same as the Tara Suite we moved in to. There's alot of fuss about the Tara Suites and don't get me wrong, it was very nice but if we were to return, we might try to stay in the Bungalow room that faces the Tara Suites (and the ocean) because they have larger patios than the Tara Suites.
We chose this resort because we didn't want to vacation with other people's children and were not interested in activities. Our intention was to spend our days on the beach and we enjoyed that very much. There were a couple of children there, they were bored. The resort isn't kidding when it advises families interested in activities etc to stay elsewhere.
Other reviews were right on target regarding the room. The furnishings are hip, the room has a great vibe. The towels are tattered, they still dried just fine though. The room is warm - crank up your ceiling fan, it helps a great deal. The toiletries are in a pump dispenser on the shower wall, ours was mislabeled (it had two pumps marked shampoo, took me 3 days to figure out I was putting lotion in my hair!) They do not offer conditioner so plan accordingly.
The pool was nicer than I expected after reading other reviews and the lounge furniture around the pool is the most comfortable I've ever seen.
Our daily amusement was watching (and admittedly, occasionally participating in) what we started calling the "palapa dance". People seriously get up to reserve their palapa for the day at daylight. I'm doing other things at daylight - like sleeping. While I feel the exercise borders on the absurd, you learn to play the game if you want to spend your beach day in a particular location. People get their towels the night before for the next day and then place them in lounge chairs under a palapa very early in the morning, many before the towel hut opens at 7:30. I was impressed by the fact that I never experienced anyone "stealing" a palapa that was already claimed. We had our table snagged one day when we weren't looking. If you are staying in a Penthouse unit, you are guaranteed an ocean front palapa. I've stayed at other resorts in Hawaii that charge for the cabanas in prime locations. I'd rather pay $20 to have a good seat for the day and get to sleep late than play that game again.
The Beach Bar is a great feature. The bar staff is friendly and fun, the drinks are tasty. Happy Hour is from 4-6pm and 9-10pm daily and they do 1/2 price mixed drinks (no discount on Balashi).
Breakfast is included in your stay and they have expanded it to be a full "hot" american breakfast. This was such a treat. An omlette every day? yeahhh!!! Breakfast is served in two locations - in the Tara Lounge for Tara guests and at the Pirates Nest. The only difference is that the omlette/french toast/pancake station is at the Pirates Nest. The Tara Lounge has eggs, bacon etc as well as the cold cuts and pastries.
I mentioned breakfast is free right? I was appalled at the number of people who complained about aspects of breakfast. "This fruit isn't ripe enough", "There aren't any eggs", "why don't you have any more wheat toast?" Our first several days there, there were so many difficult, complaining (for no real reason - you're in paradise for pete's sake!) guests, it was hard to settle into vacation mode. They must certainly have someone at home who does a better job of preparing them breakfast. ha. If you're a complainer, go stay somewhere else. The team at Bucuti is far too pleasant to have to deal with you.
Free internet access in the business center was a great amenity.
I'm going to write individual reviews on restaurants we visited but the cliff's notes version (and know that if you enjoy flying thousands of miles to a foreign country and eating the same stuff you get at your Chili's in Cleveland, Aruba will make you very happy. We finally started boycotting restaurants that featured caesar salad, fried calamari and french onion soup - they all have it!) is:
The Old Man and the Sea - VERY romantic, expensive cab ride, great ambiance, okay food. Nice wine list.
Pizza Bob's - okay. I had to confess. In reading other reviews, I thought, "oh sure, I'm going to go all that way and have pizza. No way." I lied. We had dinner our first night after a long day of traveling at Pizza Bob's - the pizza was great and from 5-7 they do $2.50 Balashi.
Cuba's Cookin' - Great food and menu items that we can't get at home. We went there twice. Mojitos were some of the best I've ever had. Live music.
Driftwood - suggested by lots of locals. It was okay. Food was good but not great. Service was good.
Palm Beach Refreshment - off the beaten path and tourists never eat there. Great local color. Open for lunch.
Old Cunucu House - Great local food, everybody we asked about local food suggested we go there. We sat on a tented patio and had great food and beer and were joined by a cat who wanted to take a nap on the patio.
Pincho's - Very cool setting, good food, creative drink menu.
Taste of Belgium - decent list of belgian beers, none on tap. Nice dinner appetizer menu but would have LOVED moules and frites with my beer.
Mr Jazz - we didn't eat there but we had late night drinks there twice. It's in a really touristy location but the musicians are fantastic. A really neat night out.
We tried to go to happy hour at the Balashi Brewery, after a $27 cab ride we were the only people there - if you're with a crowd, it has really great potential.
Also gentlemen, when dining out in Aruba, even if it's your "dressy one", please don't wear your sleeveless t-shirt to dinner. Larry the Cable Guy is not actually an authority on appropriate dinner apparel.
Their staff is some of the most friendly I have ever encountered. From Illis at check in, Bettina at the Concierge desk and Bruno at the bar, to Nandranie our housekeeper, their team is dedicated, professional and sets a fantastic example of what great guest service looks like. I work in the industry and have never seen a staff so successful at making every guest feel significant at every turn.
We spent our first night in a "Bungalow" room. It was a great room in a great location. There are only three and they are right in front of the pool (technically, the pool restrooms.) It was appointed the same as the Tara Suite we moved in to. There's alot of fuss about the Tara Suites and don't get me wrong, it was very nice but if we were to return, we might try to stay in the Bungalow room that faces the Tara Suites (and the ocean) because they have larger patios than the Tara Suites.
We chose this resort because we didn't want to vacation with other people's children and were not interested in activities. Our intention was to spend our days on the beach and we enjoyed that very much. There were a couple of children there, they were bored. The resort isn't kidding when it advises families interested in activities etc to stay elsewhere.
Other reviews were right on target regarding the room. The furnishings are hip, the room has a great vibe. The towels are tattered, they still dried just fine though. The room is warm - crank up your ceiling fan, it helps a great deal. The toiletries are in a pump dispenser on the shower wall, ours was mislabeled (it had two pumps marked shampoo, took me 3 days to figure out I was putting lotion in my hair!) They do not offer conditioner so plan accordingly.
The pool was nicer than I expected after reading other reviews and the lounge furniture around the pool is the most comfortable I've ever seen.
Our daily amusement was watching (and admittedly, occasionally participating in) what we started calling the "palapa dance". People seriously get up to reserve their palapa for the day at daylight. I'm doing other things at daylight - like sleeping. While I feel the exercise borders on the absurd, you learn to play the game if you want to spend your beach day in a particular location. People get their towels the night before for the next day and then place them in lounge chairs under a palapa very early in the morning, many before the towel hut opens at 7:30. I was impressed by the fact that I never experienced anyone "stealing" a palapa that was already claimed. We had our table snagged one day when we weren't looking. If you are staying in a Penthouse unit, you are guaranteed an ocean front palapa. I've stayed at other resorts in Hawaii that charge for the cabanas in prime locations. I'd rather pay $20 to have a good seat for the day and get to sleep late than play that game again.
The Beach Bar is a great feature. The bar staff is friendly and fun, the drinks are tasty. Happy Hour is from 4-6pm and 9-10pm daily and they do 1/2 price mixed drinks (no discount on Balashi).
Breakfast is included in your stay and they have expanded it to be a full "hot" american breakfast. This was such a treat. An omlette every day? yeahhh!!! Breakfast is served in two locations - in the Tara Lounge for Tara guests and at the Pirates Nest. The only difference is that the omlette/french toast/pancake station is at the Pirates Nest. The Tara Lounge has eggs, bacon etc as well as the cold cuts and pastries.
I mentioned breakfast is free right? I was appalled at the number of people who complained about aspects of breakfast. "This fruit isn't ripe enough", "There aren't any eggs", "why don't you have any more wheat toast?" Our first several days there, there were so many difficult, complaining (for no real reason - you're in paradise for pete's sake!) guests, it was hard to settle into vacation mode. They must certainly have someone at home who does a better job of preparing them breakfast. ha. If you're a complainer, go stay somewhere else. The team at Bucuti is far too pleasant to have to deal with you.
Free internet access in the business center was a great amenity.
I'm going to write individual reviews on restaurants we visited but the cliff's notes version (and know that if you enjoy flying thousands of miles to a foreign country and eating the same stuff you get at your Chili's in Cleveland, Aruba will make you very happy. We finally started boycotting restaurants that featured caesar salad, fried calamari and french onion soup - they all have it!) is:
The Old Man and the Sea - VERY romantic, expensive cab ride, great ambiance, okay food. Nice wine list.
Pizza Bob's - okay. I had to confess. In reading other reviews, I thought, "oh sure, I'm going to go all that way and have pizza. No way." I lied. We had dinner our first night after a long day of traveling at Pizza Bob's - the pizza was great and from 5-7 they do $2.50 Balashi.
Cuba's Cookin' - Great food and menu items that we can't get at home. We went there twice. Mojitos were some of the best I've ever had. Live music.
Driftwood - suggested by lots of locals. It was okay. Food was good but not great. Service was good.
Palm Beach Refreshment - off the beaten path and tourists never eat there. Great local color. Open for lunch.
Old Cunucu House - Great local food, everybody we asked about local food suggested we go there. We sat on a tented patio and had great food and beer and were joined by a cat who wanted to take a nap on the patio.
Pincho's - Very cool setting, good food, creative drink menu.
Taste of Belgium - decent list of belgian beers, none on tap. Nice dinner appetizer menu but would have LOVED moules and frites with my beer.
Mr Jazz - we didn't eat there but we had late night drinks there twice. It's in a really touristy location but the musicians are fantastic. A really neat night out.
We tried to go to happy hour at the Balashi Brewery, after a $27 cab ride we were the only people there - if you're with a crowd, it has really great potential.
Also gentlemen, when dining out in Aruba, even if it's your "dressy one", please don't wear your sleeveless t-shirt to dinner. Larry the Cable Guy is not actually an authority on appropriate dinner apparel.
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