Honeymooning in Aruba and wanting the best
 

I am honeymooning in august and b/c of the hurricaine season I am being forced from the royal plantation in jamaica to aruba b/c this choice seems safest and a ton of friends and family rave about aruba.

I need help!! We want AI, high calibur (ritz 4 season types) with good restaurants etc. I'm not crazy about chain hotels..hilton/wyndamm etc but if that is the best option I will go for it.

Any advice on everything from sights to food to activities would be GREATLEY appreciated!

Thanks
Christina

The quality of the hotel's restaurants really shouldn't be a consideration on Aruba. There are so many excellent restaurants on the island, it would be a shame to limit yourself to just (or primarily) your hotel's. I strongly recommend that you not limit yourself to an All-Inclusive resort on Aruba.

I agree with Laby.

Check out this website,

http://www.restaurantsaruba.com/ it has 119 restaurants listed.

We enjoyed - Le Dome and Iguana Joes, total different ends of the price range and enjoyable for different reasons.

There are so many good choices that it would be a pity to limit yourselves to AI

Gotta try Chez Matilde and Madame Jeanette (sp?). great food

A hurricane is always a gamble in the Caribbean, but any island in the Caribbean starting with St. Lucia and going south is less likely to be affected by a hurricane, but hurricanes are a possibility even with Aruba as Aruba is NOT outside the hurricane belt as commonly believed. That is something Aruba Tourism promoted because Aruba relies heavily on tourism because it has to import almost everything. There was a hurricane warning out for Aruba in 2004 when Ivan went through the area and although Ivan just missed Aruba there was major flooding, beach errosion and damage to some hotels. You may want to take a look at Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, as well as Aruba is not your only option. It is fairly commonly known that the all inclusives in Aruba are not as good as other Caribbean destinations in what they include and most are older hotels converted to all inclusives. Good luck with your choice and have a wonderful honeymoon. 8-)

Definitely do NOT do an all inclusive in Aruba. The restaurants are too good.
On hotels, the Hyatt is probably the nicest on the island. There is a small hotel called the Bucuti which has rave reviews for their Tara Suites. It is quiet at the Bucuti. If you like action and watersports at your fingertips, Palm beach is the way to go. We stayed at the Marriott and had a great time. It is a great marriott. I thought the Hyatt was a little more plush looking. There are no FourSeasons or Ritz type hotels on Aruba. Another hotel is the Radisson. You may want to check that one too.
Aruba was a great trip and we had lots of fun. Go to aruba-bb.com It is a bulletin board like this but dedicated to Aruba. I got lots of info from this very nice group of people that love Aruba.
Bermuda is very nice for a honeymoon too.

We stayed at the Radisson and loved it. The restaurants are wonderful. There's a good night life there too.
Trish

There is nothing equal to the Ritz or 4S on Aruba. The Radisson, Marriott, and Hyatt are probably the nicest resort-type hotels there, but they are not equal to a 5-star luxury hotel.

YOU DID A SMART THING BY CANCELLING ON JAMAICA, I AGREE WITH girlonthego. BUCUTI IS AN EXCELLENT HOTEL ESPECIALLY THE SUITES.

When I stayed in Aruba, I was at LaCabana because of being a college student at the time. If you are not on a budget, I would recommend the Radisson. A couple of friends stayed there on their honeymoon and had an incredible time.

This resort is not all-inclusive, but I would not recommend an all-inclusive in Aruba because you would miss out on all of the great restaurants. (especially El Gaucho- if you like steak! don't make plans following though because you will be too full!) Driftwood is also another good choice (seafood).

Aruba is only like 10 miles long and 6 miles wide, but there is so much to do. My boyfriend and I rented a car for a day and traveled the island on our own and found everything we were looking for (natural bridge, rock formations, national park, lighthouse, etc.) We also did a jeep tour not knowning that we would be paired up with another couple, but it was more exciting to take the adventure alone. You can also take a tour of their beer plant (balashi). We didn't do it, but the beer is good!

I've been to 4 caribbean islands and this was definitely my favorite. The locals are very friendly and I can't wait to go back. I hope you have a great time!

I would also say not to limit yourself to the AI in Aruba. We just returned from the Aruba Surf Club 2 weeks ago and had an awsome time. We grocerie shopped for a few things and went out most evenings. Aruba has a vast aray of great restaurants to choose from and not all that $$$. Have fun!

Both the Hyatt and Raddison are very nice, but I agree with others that it is not 4 Seasons/Ritz quality. If you want that quality and want to avoid hurricanes, I would go to Maui. You may not want to travel that far, but if you do, you have a Ritz, a 4 seasons, the Grand Waielea and a few other 5 star hotels. Good luck!

My fiance and I went to Aruba in June 2005. We stayed at the Radisson - It was TERRIBLE! I would not recommend it to anyone. While we are early risers on vacation, the parrots squawking at 6:30AM were extremely annoying! You have to get to the beach to reserve a "Palapa" (hut) by 6:30AM if you want one in the front row. The food at all of their restaurants was terrible - especially the grill by the beach. The rooms were very old, outdated, dark and dingy. It seems to be very difficult to get a room with a King bed - most are 2 double beds. If you don't like chain type places, you will not like the Radisson. However, the beach and the ocean were so beautiful, we will return to Aruba. Next time, we will stay at The Bucuti. If you are used to paying the prices for 4 Seasons, Ritz, you should look into booking the Tara Penthouse Suite. It has a huge balcony! Contemporary decor, mahogany furniture, plasma tv, computer, etc. We did not stay there, but went to check it out. The pool was nothing special, but they were getting ready to do some major renovations.

The Flying Fishbone (make reservations for 6pm so you see the sunset) & Papiamento Restaurant are a MUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! El Gaucho is also amazing, just be sure to order the Gaucho steak as it's by far the best on the menu.

It's between the Hyatt & Raddison as far as the nicest hotels are concerned.

Aruba is the right choice, just bring lots of sunscreen.


Mazel Tov on your upcoming nuptuals!

If you were thinking of going to a Sandals resort they have a hurricane guarantee which should give you peace of mind. If you go to the Royal Caribbean, you can go to their other two resorts that are close by. They run shuttles back and forth all day and evening. Each resort has a different atmosphere with different things going on. You can book reservations to go to any of the restaurants on any three resorts. Everything is included. They have excursions to other resorts and other places in Jamaica. Jamaica is my favorite country and I have been all over. I love the people.