Bucuti Hotel/Aruba ??Walking distance to many restaurants
 

Are many restaurants within a short walking distance from the Bucuti or will a cab be necessary each evening??

Several years ago, I stayed at the Manchebo which is next to the Bucuti. I don't recall (m)any nearby restaurants other than the ones at the Bucuti and the Manchebo. There's a ship restaurant right on the beach at the Bucuti and a steak house or French restaurant at the Manchebo. Otherwise, I think you will need a cab to go to restaurants other than those.

There are a few restaurants within walking distance from the Bucuti. Obviously, the Pirate's nest is in walking distance since it's at the resort and it's beachfront with good food. Also, there's the French Steakhouse at the Manchebo resort next door. You have to try their special for $30 that includes 5 courses and a shared bottle of wine - they have the best steak I've eaten in my life! There are are others, but these are the only two that we tried since we had our own transportation. <BR><BR>I highly suggest that you rent a 4wd for at least part of your stay there. The highlight of our trip was exploring the island on our own. We rented a Suzuki Samarai (sp?) for only $206 for the week from 2-Plus car rental. 2-Plus is owned by Economy Car Rental and they rent the older vehicles that Economy no longer uses. Our Suzuki was a real bomb, but it ran great and got us everywhere we needed to go. We even drove it to the Natural Pool! That was an experience in itself. I've never seen such terrible &quot;roads&quot; in my life! But, I would do it again in a heartbeat! <BR><BR>Have a great trip!

Hi,<BR><BR>My husband and I walked to Le Dome from the Bucuti; about 10-15 minutes. The Suisse chalet is about another 5 minutes; then 5 minutes more is La Petite Cafe at Paradise Beach Villas and a few restaurants at La Cabana. There is also a restaurant in Costa Linda (which we did not try) next door to Bucuti. <BR><BR>You will love Bucuti!

Thanks for your help.

We are hoping to stay at Bucuti for a week next summer. We will probably rent a car for at least part of the time but I am wondering if you can walk to the &quot;high-rise section&quot; (like the Radisson).
Thanks, Laurie

We stayed at Bucuti last winter, and plan to go back next year. I think it is rather far to walk to the high-rise section - half an hour or more. We went there only by car. One restaurant close to Bucuti, 5 or 10 minutes walking, that we liked a lot was Le Dome.

I went to Aruba in July with a group and they stayed in the low rise section and we stayed in the high rise area. We thought it was close but definitely not. Maybe almost a couple miles apart. If you want to be in an area to walk to things I would definitely stay in the high rise area. We hung out with our friends at the Divi a few nights and that whole area is definitely more secluded. We ended up having to get a scotter and then a Jeep for a few days so we could easily get to and from.

For the past few years we have spent the Christmas holiday week in Ponce at the Hilton. We just learned that there is in progress construction on property. We have had terrible experiences staying at resorts with ongoing construction so we are hesitant to stay there for this trip.

We were close to booking the Bucuti on Aruba but I just read that they are adding more rooms and that construction will not be completed until later in 2004. Does anyone have info on the Bucuti or Ponce Hilton construction: where is it, how disruptive, etc.?

By the way, if anyone has stayed at the Manchebo Beach Resort recently, I would love to hear from you about what you thought of it. We stayed there a long time ago.

Thanks.

Marianna ~
If you go to the Bucuti's website (www.bucuti.com), you will read that they expect construction to be complete in March 2004. There is a webcam which is actually following the construction progress.
Tricia