Aruba Trip Report - Allegro Beach Resort

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Allegro Beach Resort

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Aruba Trip Report - Allegro Beach Resort
July 6 - July 13, 2000
Sent in by: Steve & Michele

We booked our trip back in April or May, and stayed at the Allegro from July 6th through the 13th. My typed descriptions really can't do this vacation justice! You must really go there to experience it for yourself. You will absolutely not regret it!

We flew down on American Airlines, with an hour layover in Miami. The total trip time from Newark to Aruba was approximately five hours (including the layover). Upon arrival, I noticed that some minor damage had occurred to my suitcase in transit. One of the zippers was pulled off of a row of "teeth" and the lock was missing. So I just talked to the baggage claim officer at the airport, and made arrangements to have the Allegro drop the bag off for repair.
Needless to say, I got the bag back in a few days, as good as new!

The van drove us to the resort, and we quickly checked in. The desk attendants were very cheerful and friendly, and the bellman was helpful. When we made our reservations, we got a "Super-Saver" rate, which basically means that they don't guarantee which room you'll be getting, what floor it'll be on, or what size bed you'll end up with. But a few days prior to our trip, I called to make sure everything was ok, and I put in some "requests": non-smoking, ocean view, and king size bed. When we arrived, they honored all of our requests. In fact, our room had a view of BOTH the beautiful pool AND the spectacular ocean! The room was pretty large, clean, colorful, and
comfortable, complete with a balcony!

Not that you'd be spending much time in the rooms. Frankly, I wasn't really concerned with what our accomodations would be, but they were so good that they are worth mention. Most of your time will (hopefully!) be spend outdoors. Aruba has absolutely perfect weather. Imagine temperatures in the high 80s or low 90s, with very low humidity, bright sunshine, and a constant tropical breeze! This is much more comfortable than Pennsylvania's humidity that I experience every summer. Aruba's weather is really refreshing, and it exceeds all expectations! Also, know that there are no mosquitos or bugs on the island, and the drinking water is very good.

I had never been to an island before, so I was basically amazed at how great everything was. As I stepped out onto the beach, I was dazzled by the white
beaches and the beautiful ocean. The clear blue water literally draws you to it, making you want to swim. It's also the perfect temperature, and very calm! The pool is certainly nice, but with an ocean like that, who needs a pool!?

There are plenty of activities you can do on the beach, too. We had the all-inclusive package, so we just had to sign out equipment, and it was ours to use. We used a paddleboat, an ocean kyak, and foam rafts. They also had snorkelling gear and windsurf-sailboats.

There's plenty of food, as well. There's a beach hut where you can get just about any type of drink you can think of, as well as hotdogs... And up by the resort, there's a REALLY handy swim-up bar in the pool, and a restaurant where you can get things like hamburgers and chicken fingers. At the restaurants, the waiters and waitresses and bartenders are really eager to help you! At night, there are two huge buffets that have great food, and the one place has a show every night, including a broadway "medley" show, and another cultural show. And I have to say that I had one of the best steaks I've ever had at the Papaya restaurant, which is located in the Allegro resort.
After dinner, we went to the casino a few times, which is also conveniently inside the resort.

If you get restless from spending too much time at the resort, take a taxi to downtown Oranjestad, because there is plenty to do there, as well. And you won't have to worry about wandering to an unsafe part of town, because you'll be safe anywhere you go, day OR night. There are countless bars, shops, and restaurants in town, and every place seems great!

Make sure you take some type of tour on the island while you're there. We took the all-day jeep tour from De Palm Tours, with an added "snuba" option. So the bus picked us up outside of the hotelat 8 a.m., and took us to the jeeps, and a bunch of us went all around the island, seeing historical and beautiful sites with our excellent tour guide. The island is breathtaking! It's a beautiful desert, with infinite amounts of great scenery. One side of the island has an impressively rough ocean due to the tradewinds, while the other side is extremely calm. And the end of this awesome trip, we went to De Palm Island to snorkel and snuba. My girlfriend and I paid for the snuba with the trip, which allows you to go to a depth of 20 feet, rather than having to remain on the surface, as with snorkelling. You swim out with your guide, carrying a raft which contains a scuba tank, and there are 20-foot airlines for each person, allowing you to swim below the surface. It's a really odd feeling to be breathing under the water! But it's amazing and well worth it!

We really didn't want to leave when the end of our trip came. The people are so friendly and happy, the island is so beautiful, and the weather is perfect!
When we were getting on the bus to go back to the airport, we saw one lady who was so sad to leave, she had tears spilling from her eyes. And we could
understand that, because we were also reluctant to leave. A week goes by way too fast. I would definitely come back to Aruba, and I'd urge anyone to
go there. You just can't go wrong! And you'll remember it forever!

Steve & Michele