smetz

My wife and I are looking for a trip to take in late September or Early October, and one option is Aruba. We have never been to that particular island, but considering the time of year, it seems that the hurricane changes are pretty low due to Aruba's location. I've found a well priced package on Expedia that includes airfare and 7 nights stay at the Marriott Stellaris Casino - roughly $2,000 total. Other options would include some of the other resort properties there such as the Radisson & Westin, but for more money - anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand dollars extra.

Is Aruba at this time of year a good choice?

And what would you suggest in terms of hotels or other lodging?

Weadles

I would take out travel insurance for that time of year. While Aruba is typically out of the hurricane belt, the weather has been so wacky lately, that you just never know. We used TRIPMATE for one of our vacations last year, and were very pleased with how easily they refunded us when we had to canceldue to a death in the family.

As far as your hotel choices go, the beach in front of The Radisson is much nicer than the beach in front of The Marriott Stellaris. And it's much less windy than the beach in front of The Westin. Whether that's worth extra money, is of course your decision.

amarg

We are booked for two weeks from sept 18 to oct 2 in Aruba. We booked flights only and then rented a TS directly from an owner at the Marriott Ocean Club. Since Aruba has US style grocery stores and tonnes of food choices from McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts and even Starbucks and Puzza Hut to high end restaurants, we felt this was the best choice. You can easily find cheap TS rentals as many owners are willing to rent for their maintenance fees only or in our case, less than that. It's worth considering if you want more space and not be tied to a hotel for your meals or like to explore the island.

smetz

Thanks for the info Weadles, I have not used insurance before, but I was considering it in this instance. I'll check into tripmate.

amarg, that's a good tip, I have done that very thing sometimes in the past. Could you tell me what source you used to search for the TS rentals? I've used ERA Stroman and TUG before.

Hastobe_Katt

It's definitely very easy to SC in Aruba - lots of grocery stores and prices are reasonable - certainly comparable with UK prices. Pretty much all the supermarket in Aruba are Chinese owned. There are also restaurants available to suit every taste / budget.

Surprisingly, though, there is not much fish available in the supermarkets. According to friends in Aruba most of the fish there is imported from China and the far east rather than being caught locally.

whereto

I stayed at the Marriott a few years ago. Personally, I like the beach in front of the Marriott Stellaris much better than the Radisson. The beach in front of the Marriott is much larger, depth wise, so there's more room to spread out. Looked to me like the chairs at the Radisson were practically on top of each other.

I agree that the beach in front of the Surf Club and Ocean Club was not as nice - lots of small rocks. But again I was there in 2007 and they had recently taken down a pier from that area, so it may be better now.

The rooms and balconies at the Marriott are quite large, I believe they are larger than those at the Radisson. The landscaping/pool at the Radisson are lovely and the Radisson is mid strip so it's closer to walk to restaurants. We did walk to restaurants near the Radisson from the Marriott, about 1/2 mile (?).

I think either hotel is a great choice. Enjoy your trip!

Hastobe_Katt

If you are into snorkelling then there is nothing much to see on either Palm or Eagle beach. Head a little further north towards St Catherine's lighthouse to the beaches at Malmok and Arushi. There are lots of little rocky sheltered coves with lovely white sand, shallow reefs and great snorkelling. (The diving further out to sea in the same area is some of the best we thought (in terms of aquatic life - viz rays, turtles, giant morays etc))

denmal

We travel to Aruba every October - We have never had a hurricane issues - Shopping is very easy - It may rain one afternoon but it has been lovely each year - We are Marriott Ocean club owners and just love it

amarg

Hi sorry I haven't been n to answer your question re timeshares. I used the forums at aruba.com, visitaruba.com and craiglist under new york, toronto, miami, boston, etc., where I looked for ads under housing, vacation rentals and aruba. I also posted an ad as to what I was looking for on all the sites.
I actually ended up finding the rental we went with on the website for Casa Del Mar (most timeshares such as Casa Del Mar, Aruba Beach Club, Playa Linda, Costa Linda, Bluegreen Resorts, etc., ) have their own section on their website where owners post their rentals.
I contacted an owner and negotiated as I was willing to take both weeks.
I have been watching the boards and noticed that as there are way more rentals than renters, the prices keep dropping for the rentals. You can get really good deals and in fact, I could have gotten the same type of room, in the same place, at the same time, just by a different owner for $150 cheaper had I waited and negotiated.
There's also vacationtimesharerentals.com and sellmytimesharenow.com

I suggest starting on the forums at visitaruba and aruba.com, the actual sites of the timeshares and craigslist. If you don't get what you want there, then move on to redweek, tug2net.com and the others I mentioned. Remember, don't be afraid to negotiate and there are lots and lots of rentals, you'd be amazed.

We were offered a full 2 bdrm 2 bathroom at Marriot Surf Club for $900 for the week (the whole unit not lockout) as the owner had lost his job and couldn't afford to go. He was just hoping to make back most of his maintenance. Unfortunately, the date was Aug 28-Sept 4 so we couldn't go.

Good luck!

amarg

By the way Smetz, if you want a hotel like the Radisson, there's awesome deals right now through MCM travels as well as the Radisson site. It's cheaper than the other hotels so I think Expedia or wherever you looked is overpriced. It included breakfast, beverage credits, casino credits and transfers for $1200 per person or something like that. Look into it asap.

Kristen1206

If you can swing the Radisson, I would stay there. The location is much better..more central, The Marriott is at the very end of the beach and at least when we were there there were cranes and construction equipment piled at the end of the beach next to the hotel.

The Radisson's grounds, rooms (decor) and pool are much nicer as well. Plus there is a very cool bat at the end of the Pier right next to the Radisson.

smetz

amarg, thank you for that info, that's very helpful.

Thanks to you also Kristen, not having been to Aruba before it's hard to figure what locations are the best.

amarg

Yes the Radisson is a great place to stay and actually where we first planned on. We will be in Aruba Sept 18-Oct2. It all depends on what you are looking for in terms of vacation, price, amentities and what is vital to you.
For us the deciding factor was that we wanted to stay 2 weeks, we have a baby who will be just 13 months then, my sisters are also joining us (one for the whole time and the other from London, UK for the second week) and we wanted space and a kitchen. Eating in a restaurant with a baby every day is just too much. Also, even with upgrading our room at the Radisson (which is not guaranteed and can increase the price significantly as the specials are for the standard garden view rooms), a hotel room is still a hotel room and never will be as large as a timeshare or condo rental.
However, since you are a couple, the Radisson may be wonderful for you guys. I know lots of people don't like the idea of cooking on vacation but I don't mind at all. I also don't like all inclusives as I find that the cost is about $200 per day extra per person and I don't eat or drink enough alcohol to justify that. Also, with all the great choices of restaurants in Aruba, why be tied to the same choices day in and day out? I also am not a fan of buffets, no matter how good they are reputed to be.
If you can find cheaper tickets to Aruba (not sure where you are flying from), you can rent a studio or one bdrm at one of the timeshares for anywhere as low as $400 (just saw it on visitaruba.com) per week. The groceries are comparable to price in the US (go on Ling and Sons website to see) and you can always pack some stuff from home. I do since I don't need many clothes in Aruba and the timeshares all have laundry facilities. The cost of groceries for the week can be about $100. So if your flights are about $500 each (like I said, don't know where you are coming from), your timeshare rental $700 (higher price to be safe) and your groceries $100 = $1800. The timeshares also have daily maid service by the way. That still leaves you $200 ahead for other activities such as tours, sailing tours, snorkeling, car rental if you want, horseback riding, helicopter tours, dinners out at nice places, etc., etc., etc.,

Kristen1206

Smetz was referring to the Marriott Stellaris, I believe, which is just a hotel too. If you want condo type units with kicthen and living area you will want the Marriott Ocean Club or Surf Club.

Kristen1206

One more thing..Surf Club beach is not as nice as other parts ot Palm Beach...small and can be rocky. While the beach at the Ocean Club is super wide, they cram way too many papalpas and chairs in. Plus a lot of the beach is so far back from the water it's not really what i would consider "usable" beachfront. I just the like beach overall better at the Radisson and did not find it to be crowded.

smetz

I love a cheap, but good, vacation!

Weadles

We've stayed at The Radisson three times and never found the beach crowded. The rooms in the Aruba tower seem to be nicer than some of the others, but it's a very good property, and centrally located near many restaurants.

Joly226

Aruba is fabulous! The Marriott is more north on Palm Beach and can be very busy and crowded. There will also be noise from the building of the new Ritz Carlton Resort next to it. The Radisson is lovely and better located on Palm Beach. You will be able to walk to many restaurants, resorts and casinos. The Westin is also lovely. Check out www.arubahotelsbeaches.com for more information....I think you'll find it very helpful. Right now Expedia is having special Fall Sales Packages to Aruba...very inexpensive. We're going back in November because the price is hard to pass up! Have a great vacation!

OceanBreeze1

Joly,
Where is the new Ritz? North of the Marriott hotel?

Joly226

OceanBreeze1,
On February 17, 2010
The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company and the government of Aruba announced plans to open THE RITZ CARLTON, ARUBA . This will be a $200 million dollar project that will build a 320 room oceanfront 5 Star luxury resort, north of the Marriott on Palm Beach. This hotel is projected to open by late 2012.