Bucuti - Tara Suites - Aruba
 

Okay, I am an Aruba neophyte. I must confess, I have not had much previous interest in traveling to Aruba as too many other places seemed more appealing. This year I am reconsidering, but need some assistance.

As background, we have been to Anguilla (CuisanArt), Turks and Caicos (Provo-RWI), Barbados (The House), St. Martin (French - Meridien & Le Petit), as well as Grand Cayman, Bermuda, and Paradise Island.

We enjoy just beaching it during the day and fine dining with maybe some after dinner drinks and music at night.

We are considering the Tara Suites in November. They look very nice online and the place gets good reviews. Does anybody have any feedback, positive or negative, on Bucuti/Tara Suites? We loved CuisanArt in Anguilla and are looking for something a bit similar, if possible.

Eagle Beach: it sounds like what we would like....less crowded than Palm beach and no high rises. How far away is it from nice dining establishments? Are any in walking distance? Are cab rides to others a reasonable distance?

How does the dining compare to St. Martin, Anguilla and Provo? We have actually had great dining experiences at all of the islands we have visited. Can we expect the same from Aruba?

Thanks in advance.....

Bucuti is no way the Cuisinart or anything like it. The beach is lovely, though not as nice as the Turks and Caicos or the Caymans. I posted a review on Tripadisor way back in 05 or 04. The Tara penthouse suite has a creaky bed, the staff could not fix it ( not that they tried) The A/C blows right on you all night.Our teenage kids had a Tara room that stunk of mildew.Several times water poured from the bathroom ceiling, again staff kind of slow in taking care of the deluge. Dehumifiers in all rooms full and you get to empty them as the staff will not. You can get all the shade you want at the beach and do not have to stake your claim at dawn like on Palm Beach. Too bad you can't live at the beach. Do not get why the reviews are so favorable. Most resaurants are a short drive away. Stayed at the Somerset in T&C recently and that was nice, also recently stayed at the Ritz in Jamaica and that was fine, thought crowded and you are nickle and dimed to death. Have stayed at Caneel Bay and Little Dix. If you can afford them, go there.

I cannot comment on the rooms at Bucuti because I did not stay there, but I did go to beach in front of it. I stayed at the Marriott on Palm Beach and it was way too narrow and crowded for us. We ended up taking a cab to the beach near the Manchebo & Bucuti hotels because it was wider and less crowded. Overall, it's easy and inexpensive to take cabs to restaurants in Aruba. Flying Fishbone is the only one that would be expensive to get to. The Bucuti has a web cam of the beach so you can see what it is like.

We went to Provo, T & C in May, 2006 and Aruba Sept, 2006. We loved Aruba and didn't care for Provo.

Comparing the two is like apples and oranges. Can not comment on the Tara Suites. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Palm Beach. We didn't find it as crowded as many have reported. We went by Eagle Beach several times and there was less people. The dining options in Aruba has way more choices in all price ranges. We didn't care for the dining in Provo. Too expensive, not many choices and too hard to get to without a rental car. Aruba has a great bus/transportation system. Easy, convenient and inexpensive. Aruba had a better option for nightlife and things to see and do that were not water related. Aruba beaches are very nice and we found the snorkeling pretty good, but no comparison to T & C.

We want to return to Aruba and we would choose the Amsterdam Manor on Palm Beach this time. Look at the forum on Trip Adviosr. Lots of info there.

Ooops. Correction, that's Amsterdam Manor on Eagle Beach.

If you trawl through my Trip Report, I have commented on our second trip to Bucuti in 2006.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34827163

I have stayed on T&C and would agree with KVR's comments, especially the transportation issues, we did not hire a car on Aruba since public transport is to good - personally I would only go back to Provo for the snorkeling.

Thanks for all the replies. It looks like more research will be needed.

Lizzie: we spent 10 days at the Bucuti/Tara Suites in 2006 and enjoyed it for the most part. We were in the suites and didn't have any of the problems mentioned by newyorker; we found the staff pleasant and helpful, the beach wonderful as was the location. We did not care for the restaurant, Pirates something; the beach bar was great except for the flies all around the open fruit for drinks. They needed a new pool, and I understand have now done that. There are many good restaurants in Aruba, and cabs are easy to get. There is a fine restaurant within walking distance--the Dome, I think. We visited the busier Palm beach area and were glad we didn't stay there.

Tara suites are nice, minimalist, clean, lots of marble & gauze & subtle colors. Exactly the opposite of the old Aruba room theme of loud floral bedspreads and heavy wood furniture. I'm picky about rooms & we liked our Tara suite muchly.