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Aruba Trip Report - Feb
05, 2000 - Feb 12, 2000
Sent in by: MichaelLSr@juno.com
We travelled via TNT VACATIONS on a
Tradewinds charter flight out of Boston. Since we were a big crowd we overpowered the
Holiday Inn front desk; a greeter came around with rum punches - a nice touch, and
well appreciated.
Our room was clean and tidy, with private balcony,two double beds,TV, alarm clock, an
in-room safe with combination lock, hair dryer, iron, ironing board, coffee maker and
complimentary coffee. There's an ice maker and soda machine on each floor. A big feature
for us is we were able to keep the window wide open - no screens necessary - while we
slept.
We are not big eaters so did not select the "dine around" plan or patronize the
Miramar restaurant. We did like the Seabreeze restaurant, with lighter fare. Also, every
night the hotel has a themed dinner show, we went to the Caribbean beach party night,
right on the beach - we enjoyed it. The day after we arrived we went to an orientation
meeting for TNT travelers. It was obvious not everyone in our group was there. The
organizers handed out tickets to each guest for raffles. Some activity providers made
presentations and offered some significant discounts to TNT travelers. After the
presentations the MC started calling winning numbers. Some people walked out on this. We
won a
tee shirt and a booze cruise excursion for one. A great investment of our time.
Just next to the HI there is the
Pelican Nest restaurant, build on a pier. It is a great place to watch the sunset while
enjoying a tropical meal. Walking the opposite direction up the beach we found a
"watering hole" for locals where on Sunday afternoons they serve grilled seafood
in true Aruban style. Not sure of the spelling but believe it is called Hadicurari.
The HI also has a casino (we played slots - don't ask how we did), a pool, of course, a
couple of grocery/convenience type stores, souvenir and clothing shops. Depending on the
time of day there are four or five bars open on the property. Most bars have unadvertised
daily specials.
Going out the front lobby and turning right we found the bus stop ($1.25 to go downtown),
then about 200 ft further came across Dunkin Donuts, Subway and TCBY. Continuing a little
further then taking a left down a side street we found a China Buffet (I liked it, Carol
was not impressed) and a MacDonalds. From there you can see a sign for Wendy's and close
to it a convenience store. The farthest point is maybe a 1/2 mile from the HI.
We walked up and down the Palm Beach area; I believe the HI has the best stretch as far as
shade and crowd density are concerned.
We went on two excursions. The "Tattoo"
dinner-booze cruise is OK if you like cheap drinks ($1.00 and $2.00),dancing andgames. We
thought it was fun. The "Mi Dushi"
sailing and snorkeling cruise was great-but only if you like open bars, barbecued chicken
and ribs, also snorkeling amid a sunken
wreck and more fish than you can count.
We did go downtown for the "compulsory" shopping
trip; it is a nice area, plenty of sights and shops.
Other than that we spent most of our time at the beach, enjoyed swimming in the beautiful
turquoise (or is it aqua?) water. The constant breeze is refreshing, not at all
distracting or uncomfortable.
Aruba is an open island, you don't need to be concerned about safety or leaving your
resort. The staff at the HI and other people we talked to were friendly and courteous.
A couple more items, ...drinking water is very pure and tastes great, better than home!,
and on Monday nights the HI has a manager's cocktail party from 6 to 7 PM with free hors
d'oeuvres and open bar for all guests.
The Holiday Inn was fine for our taste, Aruba is probably the only island we've been to
that we intend to visit again.
Hope this has been helpful. If you have any particular questions feel free to email, MichaelLSr@juno.com
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