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Divi Aruba Beach Resort Trip Report
Sent in by: Ermione
We returned from a trip to Aruba - stayed at the Divi, Divi for one week with the whole
family (2/5-2/11). We meaning my husband and I (55yrs.) and
three grown children (30, 27, 25). The weather for the week was wonderful.
It did not rain except for the last morning we were there and only for about 1 hour. Bring
your SUNBLOCK the sun is very strong and you do not feel the heat of the sun because of
the winds which blow at a constant 15-17miles per hour. By the way it's a warm very
welcomed wind. It does not get chilly, at least for me, until about 5:00 when the sun
starts to set then the wind was cool to my body. I will break down my comments by category
and hope to give you some idea of the area thru my eyes. This will be a little lengthy.
Divi Rooms - We stayed at the Lenai building, my kids at the Casita building. To tell you
the truth, we paid a premium for the Lenai room and the Casita's were just as nice. The
Casita's are a cluster of 7 buildings (perpendicular to the beach) but all the patio's
face the ocean (I can't explain it any better). I would prefer paying less and staying at
the Casita's. Rooms 316, 326, 336, 346 are all the end units closest to the beach. The
Lenai building faces the beach but is the last building farthest from the main area
closest to the Tam. It seems less crowded because they have more lawn in front of them.
They told me they renovated the Lenai but I believe they only put in new beds. It was
clean and there were always enough towels. Bring your own hair dryer (they have none in
the rooms), and body lotion and aloe if you happen to get burned. They do provide you with
shampoo and conditioner in a dispenser in the shower but the conditioner was so, so. If
you have dry hair like myself, bring your own conditioner. There is no REMOTE for the TV
and a lot of people were annoyed but it did not alter the fact that Aruba was still
paradise. It is annoying when you have to get up and turn the channel or close the TV, but
so what. As far as other rooms go. I heard the Vista II room closest to the beach was nice
but if you request the Vista I or II you may get stuck with a back room. I met a person
who was in a back room and they requested a move. The only extra room was in the garden
room behind the Casita's with no view of the ocean at all. They elected to stay where they
were. Another person told me they also were in the back rooms and did not like it. I am
not sure if they got a "special deal" and that is why they were put there.
Anyway, if we ever return I will request the Casita's. Fax Lisa - reservations manager 11
days prior and request your room.
Divi Area - The grounds were nothing to rave about. The front of the Hotel was not a
pretty sight. All the deliveries pass thru there and the cement is cracked perhaps they
will work on that some day. It would be nice to come up to a nicer front. When you arrived
you went to the front desk and waited until they could take you. Then you had to wait for
the bell person to take your bags. There is only one person so we had to wait for
approximately 15 minutes. Its annoying but that too passes. They did not rake the grass or
sand while there and you did see a lot of cigarette buts on the floor but after a while
you just ignored them. I guess they figured the wind would blow them away. They have
automatic sprinklers that run early every morning. So you do see puddles of water in some
spots but that too dries up with the wind. They are working on the bar that got destroyed
during the storm and will be finished with it by April 30, or so they say. It should be
nice when they finish. I do have to say that for the mess the storm made (from reading the
bb) they seemed to have cleaned up very nicely. There are no
huts on the beach itself. All the huts (gone from the hurricane) are on the grass area,
the beach is not very wide but wide enough if you want to lie out on a lounge chair.
People can still go around you without bothering you or getting wet. My kids spent their
time on the beach, we were under the hut in front of our room. I personally liked a short
beach. You do not have to go very far to get a drink (they have a
small bar between the Lenai and the main area). The water was cool when you got in but was
warm after getting used to it and crystal clear. The water
had small waves constantly. If you go to the hotels up beach (Aruba Beach
Resort, Casa del Mar, Bucuti Beach, Manchebo
Beach, Costa Linda etc) the
water is smooth. I did not use any beach shoes the shells are not even
worth mentioning. Maybe a strip 10 inches wide but you can go over them to
the smooth bottom and still be in only 4 ft. of water.
Activities - They have activities but because we were the farthest from the
main area I missed them all. I was not very satisfied with their activities anyway. You do
get a schedule and can decide to watch the clock as to when its time to go. But, I was
busy relaxing and enjoying the water. The biggest problem was that most of the activities
were at the Tam Beach area
anyway(the stretch of beach between the Divi and the Tam), and I did not
want to walk over there for them. My kids did go once to see but they told
me that they were playing beach volley ball without a net! Humm. They just
left. They told me it seemed to be a very young crowd. I am a tennis player
and they do have clinics every other morning at the Divi. The other times it was at the
Tam. The Tam has two courts, Divi one, but when the clinic was at the Tam only one court
was used. The other was reserved for other players. Therefore, if you have a lot of
players (we had 8-10) you had only one court and it was from beginner to advanced. So for
two hours you just grinned and beared it or left. I believe you could set up a time to
play with the pro for later but I never tried. There is no Gym at the Divi and you must go
to the Tam if you want to exercise. I did not see any game tables at the Divi, only at the
Tam perhaps I did not look for them. Saturday & Sunday at the Divi are very quiet,
nothing especially going around. It seems that more activities happen at the Tam. All in
all we liked the Divi better. We did not like the grounds of the Tam and we saw no beach
at all there. Perhaps there was some on the other side but we did not venture that far. I
should ask my kids.
Outside Activities - We did rent a 4X4 while there and had a ball. The other side of the
island is very different. Yes we did get lost. They say that they mark all of the main
places but we did not find some. The 4X4 was great we went over the mountain at the
natural bridge and yes I did a lot of praying. My kids got a big kick out of it. Would I
do it again — Hell Yes! Baby beach was very nice although we got there at 4:00. The
water was warm but I went snorkeling and saw only a few little fish. We did not go to any
snorkeling trips, much to my dismay. My husband does not snorkel so I did not go which was
odd because I usually do. Oh well, next time. We did go on a "Time share talk"
It was supposed to be 1 hour it took 2. Yes, I did get antcy. That was not for me. We got
our $100 casino chips but could only use it on the tables. Not in the slot machines. They
use American money (nickel, quarter or dollars)at the slots and return the same if won.
Yes we did loose. My daughter won $40, she always wins. We had a good time. Oh yes, I put
my name in a barrel and won $20 gift certificate at a restaurant which we did not use (did
not have enough time). We left it for the maid. I am sure she will use it! We went to
town, very enjoyable, oh yes it did rain for 5 minutes. On the last day we took a bus to
the farthest hotel, the Marriott. Yes, the grounds are beautiful but I still like an all
inclusive.
Food - The food was nothing special. All the meals were plentiful. We ate
at the Red Parrot which was very nice. If you are a vegetarian like my daughter you can
request a special meal at the Red Parrot and the chef will
prepare it. We did not know this. The Italian restaurant at the Tam was passable. Not as
nice as the Red Parrot. The steak was OK at the Red Parrot but I've eaten better. As far
as I am concerned the food was good, not
great but good. The pizza's were very good. But, you get tired of eating
them. Since they make them from scratch, there is a wait for them. Not a
bad one. The drinks are O.K. While there don't forget to ask for a "ZOOM",
very good.
People - The people there were very friendly. The guest were friendly too.
What surprised us were the number of elderly people. The average age was
approximately 60. Now don't get me wrong, I am 55 but I think of myself in
my 40s. For that reason, when the evening of dancing came, the only people
on the dance floor were a hand full. Luckily, my kids and I were there and
a few other women. I enjoyed the music though. When they had a show all was there then
they all disappeared except for a few. The Tam was the same.
There were kids a lot of kids at the Tam, more than I would want and they
were always at the game tables when we decided to go over there. Personally, I had three
of my own and I do not want to be around them on my vacation. Like I said this is what I
saw at this time but I don't know what it will
be like any other time. My husband and I usually go to an all inclusive couples resort
only and I was not prepared for so many retired people at
one and kids at the other. My kids were also surprised but it did deter us
from enjoying ourselves. We all enjoyed just eating, drinking, sunning and
resting!!!
Well, I think I covered it all hope I did not bore anyone with my comments.
If you have any questions, please feel free to E-Mail me and I will be happy to try to
answer them. Enjoy your trip, and have a "ZOOM" for me actually for all of
us!!!!
P.S. - My husband, I and one daughter went Air Aruba
and had no trouble.
Waited for about ½ hour on the return. My daughter and son went Delta.
Delta cancelled her flight from Charlotte, NC after they had mechanical
trouble and told her to return the next day, but she told them they would
have to get her to Aruba and today! They did via American Airlines. (Bravo,
to my daughter, I taught her well!!!) Their return trip had no glitches.
Ermione
ermione_n@hotmail.com
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