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Our Visit to Aruba 10-21-99 to 10-25-99
Sent in by: Michael & Simone
Our Flight
We left Atlanta at approximately 10 AM on Allegro Airlines. Already familiar with Allegro
on a trip to Mexico last year I was not surprised by the experience. First of all the
staff was unfriendly and unprofessional. Since the flight from Atlanta to Aruba was 4 1/2
hours we were disappointed that we did not receive food or drink until we were 2 hours
into the trip. Future travelers please eat before you go! Whoever plans the meals for this
Airlines should take a course in creativity. For the flight going down we were served
turkey & cheese sandwich and roast beef & cheese on the way back. After being
served this appetizing snack the flight attendants decided to take a long break, and
returned only once to pick up our trash.
The Aruba Grand Hotel
Never choose a hotel by the name, nothing about this hotel is Grand. The
room was very basic, no frills. One aspect that surprised me about the Aruba Grand was the
fact that they had just gone through serious renovations. However I did not see any
evidence, our room needed a serious overhaul. The furniture was in poor condition, the bed
on the passengers side had a major spring sticking out of it which nearly stabbed me. The
lamp shades were stained and needed to be replaced. One good thing was the fact that the
room was clean and the food in the main restaurant was pretty good. In the hotel brochure
they mention the fact that the Aruba Grand has a relationship with Unique Sports. Perhaps they should reconsider mentioning
this I found the staff at Unique Sports to be rude and
insensitive unlike the native inhabitants of the Island, they were exceptionally
wonderful.
Rent a Jeep
One of our best days on the Island was renting a Jeep for the day. It gave
us a totally different perspective. We recommend renting from a name brand company such as
Hertz, Budget etc. We rented
from a company called Tourista and were not impressed, the condition of the vehicle was
pretty bad.
Best Tourist Sites
Natural Bridge
Light House
Shopping
Vibes, in Royal Plaza Mall great husband & wife team
extremely generous the best prices on Cuban cigars.
Restaurants
Gasparito, Native Aruban food Excellent!
Don't Leave Home Without It
Insect Repellent, and cortisone cream the mosquitoes made there presence known.
All in all Aruba is worth going to. It definitely has some of the most
beautiful beaches I've seen. Culturally Aruba is lacking I think there needs
to be more emphasis on the totality of the cultures there, not just the
European influences. In addition Aruba needs more emphasis on entertainment. Suggestion:
Develop more clubs/lounges where live music can be heard.
Michael
& Simone
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