jentrav

We just returned from a 6-night stay at the Raddison Resort in Aruba. I would highly recommend this resort, as it was very much as advertised. Our room was an oceanview with a veranda, well worth the extra $250 (total) that we paid. One note about the oceanview: music was played at the outdoor bar every evening until 10-10:30, and the noise was pretty audible in our room. It didn't bother us, but if you go to bed early, it might be a problem. The room also contained a nice little refrigerator which we originally thought was a minibar. We were able to walk about 1/4 mile to a grocery store and buy milk, etc., which enabled us to snack a bit instead of eating out three meals a day.

The hotel's two pools are spectacular and the beachfront itself is probably the best of all the high rise hotels. As you exit the back of the hotel to go to the beach, you walk through a lovely area of palm trees, etc., then pass by the two pools. It feels really luxurious. Although the resort was probably not at its highest occupancy in early January, there were plenty of people there and we never had trouble getting a palapa.

We ate at several restaurants, mostly based on recommendations we found on this site. Pizza Bob's was just a few miles away, near the low-rise hotels, and we took the bus there for dinner. Excellent and casual. Iguana Joe's is in town; again we took the bus and had a fun dinner there after doing some shopping. The best part about that was watching the cruise ships leave port. We ate at Salt & Pepper our first night. It was fine - nothing to write home about, but a good choice for tired travellers. Gianni's is a nice Italian restaurant just across from the Raddison - very good and it was fun to people-watch. Smokey Joe's is in the same general area - the ribs were great - very casual, but service was great as well. For our last night, we ate at the Sunset Grille at the Raddisson - a special dinner and a great way to end our wonderful vacation.

A fnal note: we booked the entire trip through Costco.com. DH is a finance guy and he enjoyed comparing prices for the package (air fare, hotel and airport transportation) versus purchasing each individually, as we usually do. He figured the Costco package saved us a couple of hundred dollars, and they also threw in a $150 beverage credit at the hotel, which was a nice treat. Dealing with their customer service prior to the trip was very easy and pleasant and the trip was exactly as they represented, so we would definitely book through them again if the price is right.

I'm happy to give more details if any of you have questions. We loved Aruba!

qwovadis

thanks for posting great info.

Lolo12

I too just came back from staying at the Radisson.
We were probably there at the same time.

We booked through Players Choice. We got a $200 beverage credit along with a $25 spa credit(which is just a dent in their prices). We also had breakfast included. I had never used Players Choice before but would again. We were supposed to fly out on Jan 8, but due to the impending storm we made last minute changes and left the day before. Guy at PC was able to arrange everything for us. The hotel did not have our room reaady when we arrived so they gave us a suite - wow - it sure spoils you for when you check into the regular room!!

We ate at the Sunset Grill our first night - like to start off the vacation in style. The other restaurants we ate in were Aqua Grille, Papiamento, Papillon, Madame Jeanette, Trattoria at the Lighthouse, Scala, Salt'n Pepper and Smokey Joe. We liked everything except Smokey Joe.

jentrav

I think I would look at Players Choice since I've seen lots of postings about its good prices. Did you use your entire $200 beverage credit? We had fun with ours, and finished it up on the last night at Sunset Grille. I agree the spa credit was a waste - we had two $25 credits, but they couldn't be combined, so I didn't use them. All in all, a great vacation.

Lolo12

Yes - I used the entire $200 beverage credit - even ran over a bit. The pricey bottle of wine at the Sunset Grille helped towards it. Although the spa wouldn't use both $25 credits, I did splurge on a massage that was oh-so wonderful.

RiverRat49

We were there in Feb. of 2009. Don't rule out The Buccaneer. We had an excellent dinner there and the whole inside is like you are under water with huge aquariums. Iguana Joe's has scrumptious ribs and a laid back atmosphere. The Flying Fishbone was good. Moomba's is an outdoor restaurant right on the beach, located right by The Marriott Surf Club. We had a very nice sunset dinner there. If you visit restaurantsaruba.com you will get a whole listing and how they rate. Enjoy!