curiousgirl964

DH and I are planning a trip at the end of the month to Aruba. We in our mid 40's and are looking for a romantic week. We are considering the Hyatt or the Marriott. Any feedback would be helpful regarding location, quality of the beach, and quality of the hotels. I know that the Marriott was being renovated over the summer. Does anyone know if that has been completed? Also, is there anywhere else that we should be considering.

patsfan1

IMO and many others will agree, Hyatt is hands down the very best resort on the island with Radisson right behind it, I would rate Marriott number 3 or 4 on the island with the Westin.
Hyatt is the most visually appealing, has the best location on Palm beach, has by far the best grounds, the nicest pool and is the most romantic.

Weadles

We thought the Radisson was great when we stayed there last THanksgiving. We had gorgeous rooms, and the facilities and beach were fantastic ( although I'd avoid the on site steak restaurant!!).

curiousgirl964

Thanks for the input. We are actually now trying to decide between the Marriott and the Radisson. We would really like a balcony and the Hyatt only has "step out" balconies.

Can anyone weigh in on the partial ocean vs. the deluxe ocean front rooms at the Radisson. Also, any thoughts on which property has the better beach/location?

Knowing

I think you would be very comfortable at the Marriott. It is a beachfront resort with luxurious accommodations and quite elegant. You can relax by the pool or enjoy one of the many watersport activities. It is more of an ideal vacation spot than the Radisson.

The Radisson has a nice pool, but the rooms and bathrooms are small and the beds are very uncomfortable! The views of the ocean from our room at the Radisson were ok, but not great.

Weadles

I think it really depends where you stay at The Radisson. Some of the rooms are definitely not as nice as others.

When we stayed there last Thanksgiving, we had two deluxe oceanfront rooms. I believe this was in the Aruba Tower? Our rooms were a very good size, with extremely comfortable beds, and both had a decent balcony with a direct view of the ocean.

The hotel facilities were very nice, although the two pools were nothing special. We enjoyed using the gym, and thought the beach was beautiful. The only real problem we had was that you had to stand in a long line each afternoon if you wanted to reserve a hut (palapa) for the next day. However, I think this is standard procedure for most of the hotels along the beach.

Anyway, no complaints. There were plenty of restaurants within walking distance, and ones that weren't, were an easy cab ride away. We'd gladly return to The Radisson, and much prefer it to our previous stay at The Hyatt.

girlonthego

We have stayed at the Marriott and it is a huge complex. There were lots of families there when we were there over a spring break.

We visited the Hyatt and the grounds are lovely and seemed less crowded. They do not have the balconies like the Marriott. The Hyatt is more centrally located and you can walk to more restaurants.

I wouldn't hesitate to go back to the Marriott as it was a great hotel and fun for my family.

For more of an adult only experience, check out the Bucuti Beach hotel. I believe they discourage bringing children. They are located on a quieter Eagle beach rather than Palm.

curiousgirl964

Thanks for all of the feedback. We decided to go with the Hyatt, afterall. We were driving ourselves a little crazy trying to choose and then realized that it was Aruba, how hard could this be? LOL. We got a great rate at the Hyatt and decided to ditch the balcony and watch the sunset from the beach.

lahayf

curiousgirl, I would try to contact the hotel before you go if it isn't too late....we were there for Omar and the beaches were pretty trashed. They seemed to be making great progress, though, so I hope you'll get lucky and they won't have any debris left. We stayed at the Marriot Surf Club and our beaches were closed completely. Good luck-we ate at Ruinas Del Mar in the Hyatt-beautiful setting.

curiousgirl964

I've been keeping an eye on that via the message boards. Looks like there has been a lot of progress since Omar hit so we're hoping for the best.