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Costa Linda Beach Resort

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Costa Linda Beach Resort
Trip Report - May 13 - 20, 2000
Sent in by: JDittmer@sjha.org

  
This was our third visit (actually fourth-spent one day there as a cruise stop) and we enjoyed it just as much as the previous visits. We arrived on Delta (pitiful first class service-ran out of entree choices and red wine on both legs of the trip). The flight from Atlanta was fine and we arrived on time. Customs was not too long and we had our rental car within an hour of arriving at the airport. Caution on reserving rental cars. I reserved the car over the internet with Economy Car Rental. They initially quoted me a much higher rate than was published on the internet. When I questioned it, they did say they had made a mistake and gave me the published rate. When we arrived, they had a big sign in the window saying they were having a special and the rate was $24.00 less for the week than I was promised. The car rental next door was even $5.00 less. They finally agreed to give us the window advertised rate. You just have to know your facts and stand your ground. They were pleasant about it all.

We stayed at Costa Linda. This was a timeshare exchange for my brother's
week. Check in was quick. The unit was adequate. We didn't think it was as
nice as La Cabana. (we stayed there on both of our previous visits). There
are no ceiling fans in the bedrooms. The kitchen was sparsely furnished. No
paper towels, no soap liquid. All personnel at Costa Linda was very friendly and helpful except the operators. The attempt to make a phone call to the states was hopeless there. They do daily housekeeping in the units which we had not expected...a nice surprise. The fitness center is very small considering the size of the resort. They definitely could increase their equipment there. It was not unusual to have to wait for a treadmill; many people worked out every day. Since we had a car and had been there before (my brother and his wife had not been there, my husband and I were "tour guides") we did not take any paid excursions. We had our own snorkeling equipment and went snorkeling on three days at different beaches. Baby Beach was very pretty and the fish eating the peas was fun. We also snorkeled on Eagle Beach. Look where the snorkel boats drop anchor and you've got it made. It is not far from shore at all in most cases. We also drove on the other side of the island to see the Natural Bridge, etc. It's a fun trip, but in a Tercel, you have to go slow in some spots. You can do it though without a jeep. We took one afternoon to do some shopping. There really are not alot of bargains in Aruba. Perfume is a little less expensive than the US.

Liquor is very expensive, even compared to Georgia prices. We took some wine with us and wish we had taken more. The restaurants were GREAT except VALENTINO'S. We ate at The French Steakhouse, Boonoonoonoo's, Driftwood, Tuscany, Pago Pago and Valentino's. (can't remember the last one, so it must not have been that great). Our favorite in terms of food and fun was Boonoonoonoo's. We had a great waiter, great food and great tropical drinks. The French Steakhouse 5 course meal is a great bargain and the food was great. Pago Pago was ok. We went there for a sunset and it wasn't very good, but the food was very good. We ate at Tuscany's (ate there on our previous visit two years ago) on a $100.00 certificate for touring the Marriott time share. It was two hours well spent for the great meal we had. Valentino's was suggested to us by a merchant that was born and raised in Aruba. She said it had the best Italian food, but was expensive. Since it was our last night, we opted to try it. That was unfortunate because of the amount of leftovers and nothing we could do with them. DO NOT ORDER THE PASTA special the waiter recommends. It is WAY OVERPRICED and they didn't tell us the price until we got the bill. Most entrees on the menu ranged from $18.00-$35.00, so we were QUITE surprised when we got the bill and it was $49.95 for the one entree. It was not worth that, no entree is. We spoke to the general manager, who was very rude. He said that in a 5 star restaurant the waiters are not allowed to tell you the prices of the specials. Well, according to what we saw, it's a four star. Yes, we could have asked the price, but we never expected to have an entree so overpriced compared to the rest of the menu. Plus, there was an entree on the menu that sounded just like the special, so we thought that was it. They also had a very limited wine list for an Italian restaurant. The food was good, but the service was poor and the general manager's attitude took a 180 degree turnaround when we complained. He offered nothing for our complaint.  Overall it was a great trip that was somewhat spoiled on our last night at Valentino's. I would not go back there based on the manager's attitude.

It was great to go through customs in the Aruba airport and not have to deal with that in Atlanta. Delta was very disappointing as far as first class service went. If we had not flown first class before and known how good it could be, I would never fly it again.  While we like Aruba, we feel that it will be awhile before we go back. There are alot of places to see and we feel like we've scoured the island in our three visits. I would always recommend to people to go there though. A fun, relaxing and very friendly place.

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The trip reports depict individual experiences and opinions
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22 May 2000