Bucuti Aruba thoughts?
 

We are planning a stay at this resort in the Spring...anyone have any thoughts to offer...vs. highrise section, beach area,service,etc.

We just got back from Bucuti 10 days ago or so; it was our 4th or 5th stay there. Bucuti is a very friendly, quiet, low-key hotel on a huge beach. Service is excellent, everyone aims to please. The rooms are basic, no five-star frills or luxury, but clean and fairly spacious. You can choose between a garden-view room, either on the Costa Linda side or on the Manchebo side, or a room facing the beach.
We much prefer the low-rise hotel section where Bucuti is located. The beach is much bigger, which means more room for everybody, never having to reserve a beach chair even in high-season when the hotel is fully booked, etc. The one thing we disliked this year was the beach sports concession on the Costa Linda side (which Bucuti did its best to prevent!) with horrible, horrible jetskis. (I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate these things...)
Still, everything else was great. Bucuti has just built a new wing, the Tara wing, which will be opening on March 19. It's right on the beach and looks very nice from outside.
The highrise hotels are on a much narrower strip of beach, so the beach is far more crowded. However, if it is activity that you are looking for (casinos, watersports, sculpted swimmingpools with waterfalls) these may be a better choice.
Finally: the Bucuti does not encourage children, it is very much 'couples-oriented'. We occasionally did see families there, but only with very small children who were happy to paddle in the pool. If you plan on bringing older children they will be bored there.
Hope this helps, good luck!

Thanks so much...sounds like just what we are looking for.What about the dining offered by the Bucuti??and do they offer beach beverage /food service??Thanks so much ...

As for dining, Bucuti has a restaurant called 'Pirate's Nest', right on the beach. If you want a really romantic dinner you can reserve a table out ON the beach, by candlelight!
But frankly, we find this restaurant OK but not the best. Service is very friendly, but a bit disorganized somehow. I would certainly advise trying other places as well. Manchebo next door has a restaurant called the French Steakhouse which gets many rave reviews (although the one time we had dinner there service was slooooow, although the food was excellent). Another restaurant within walking distance is Le Dome - we had dinner there last year and it was great. However, I read that this has been sold to new owners, including a new chef, quite recently, so things may have changed there (I hope not!).
The best dining we had on Anguilla was at Madame Janette, perfect food, wine and service - incredible. This is not a place that advertises itself, and it is hard to find, so if you go there take a taxi. And reserve well in advance - it's very popular. Very much recommended.
As to Bucuti's beach service, when you are on the beach they bring you a red flag - if you put it up that means that you want service, and the beachboy will come and take your order. Bucuti also has a beachbar with drinks half-price at happy hour from 4 to 6. But we preferred the beachbar at Manchebo - the bartender mixed a better margarita!
Hope this answers your questions - if you have any more just ask!

Whoops - I noticed I wrote 'Anguilla' but of course I mean Aruba. (We've ALSO been to Anguilla but that's a different story).

Carola, thanks for the report. Bucuti is on my list of places to stay. I am so bummed out about the jet skis!!! Were they out and annoying all day long? I too really hate those things.

Weelll... in all fairness, the watersports concession is still (!) quite small, just a shack on the beach, basically. So there just weren't that many jetskis (yet!). But those that were there, yes, they were out most of the day. Except by late afternoon around 5, which was when we would usually go swimming (best time of the day, weatherwise!), they were usually gone. But otherwise you could usually hear their annoying insectile whine. One other reason I hated them is because they tended to go very close past the shore - dangerous for bathers I think! An accident is just waiting to happen... Also, they are dirty and smelly. Let's hope the Bucuti is successful in chasing them off. Alas, the government, specifically certain corrupt officials, is not on their side.
But on the plus side, as said there weren't many, and I wouldn't let you deter this from going to Bucuti!