I'd like to preface this
report by saying that my wife and I had an absolutely fantastic time in Aruba. We stayed 7
days/6 nights and that wasn't nearly enough for us. We thank all of the Bulletin Board contributors for their
suggestions. With all things considered, Aruba is by far the best island we've ever been
to (considering St. Lucia, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Cancun). It being our first trip here, we
did not want to get bogged down with too many activities or be bothered with driving.
Aruba's got the best of both worlds - where there is plenty to do if you would like, and a
completely relaxing environment if you don't.
We booked our vacation in March through Liberty Travel for an early celebration of our 6th
Wedding Anniversary. We got a great deal on airfare … $420 per person.
Thursday, May 31
We arrived at JFK in New York with no difficulty (a small miracle considering we left Long
Island in the middle of the morning rush hour) and were pleasantly surprised to see no
lines at the ticket counter. Our flight left approx. ˝ hour late due to a problem with
one of the bathrooms, so we were in the air by 11:00 AM. American Airlines - non-stop,
nice flight, no problems, arrived in Aruba around 3:00 PM. We passed through Customs in
Aruba with no problem, picked up our luggage, and made a nice move by taking a cab to the
hotel instead of piling into the DePalm bus transfer (looked to be a nightmare and we
later learned that it was from another couple we spoke to). $17 cab ride from the airport
to the Wyndham. We checked in and were greeted by the Bell Captain, Frank, who took our
bags up to the room and gave us a very nice rundown of the hotel's amenities and things to
do around the island.
We booked a 'Deluxe' room which was supposed to have a terrific ocean view. We were on the
18th floor and the room was nice but on the opposite side from the pool (odd-numbered
room) and toward the front of the building (Rm 1819), so the view of the ocean was limited
at best. I went down and requested a room change but they didn't have one available in
that room class on the poolside until the following day. We said we'd take it and just
left our clothes in the suitcases for the night.
We got changed and went down to take a look around the hotel by 4:30 PM and grabbed a bite
to eat at the Wyndham's outdoor café, The Terrace. Nachos were good, flies buzzing around
were pretty annoying. Strolled to the Tambu Bar, the Wyndham's outdoor bar by the pool,
for Happy Hour - honey had a Pina Colada and I had a Balashi beer on tap, $8. We grabbed
some towels and beach chairs and laid out for a little bit/went in the amazing turquoise
water. Sun was real hot even that late in the day and we welcomed the breeze that was
gusting. We figured out real quick that the towels had to be tucked into the beach chair
or they would be blown into the water. After the beach we took a walk down the path that
runs in back of the hotels … we were real impressed with the Radisson. Came back to
the Wyndham to shower for dinner. We figured we would stay close since we were pretty
tired, so we ate downstairs at Café Baci. Food was good and reasonably priced - 2 apps, 2
main courses, 1 dessert, 1 glass of wine - $65 with tip. Headed to the hotel's Casablanca
Casino and my wife hit $80 playing slots - nice way to cap off our first day in paradise!
Friday, June 1
Woke up and went down to the beach - no huts left at 9:30 AM. Had 2 chairs set up with our
towels and went to The Terrace again for breakfast. Food was good (battled some more
flies), then lounged around all day, hopping back and forth between the beach and pool. We
took a walk down to DePalm Pier (in front of the Radisson) and booked a sunset cruise for
the night. Around 3:00 PM I went to the front desk to find out about our room change and
was pleasantly surprised at the terrific view we now had (Rm 1712) … beautiful view
of the ocean and of the pool and landscape below. We transferred our things over and got
changed for the cruise.
We thought we were going on the Pirate ship (Mi Dushi) but apparently we booked with the Fun
Factory catamaran, 5:30 -7:30 PM. Not a big deal, we had a good time, open bar with beer
(10 oz. Cans of Polar) and some snacks. Great view of the whole coast, from the cruise
ship docked downtown all the way back up to the
lighthouse.
We freshened up and took a cab to the Buccaneer ($5). Good meal, good service, reasonably
priced - 2 apps, 2 main courses, 1 glass of wine, $60 with tip. Took a cab back and our
cabbie recommended a great little café for dessert, Amici's, across from the Playa Linda.
This became our favorite place after dinner for ice cream/espresso. Walked along the beach
back to the hotel, very relaxing and peaceful, not many people around at all. We laid in a
hammock back at the Wyndham, not having a care in the world.
Saturday, June 2
Got downstairs a little earlier (9:00 AM) and grabbed one of the last beach huts. Turns
out we really didn't need it because it was mostly cloudy all day. We walked down to Dushi
Bagel and brought back breakfast. After spending a few hours at the beach, we decided to
pick up some things at the supermarket. Took the bus down to the market (King Hong) and
picked up beer (12-pack Coronita's - 7 oz. Corona's, and a few Amstel Bright's), a nice
hunk of Gouda cheese, some crackers and fruit. Took the bus back and threw the stuff in
our room fridge. The bus is a nice deal, runs from the Marriott all the way downtown, $2
pp roundtrip.
I would like to mention that the tranquility of the hotel was upset a bit by the arrival
of 250 women on some sort of convention, booked in for the weekend. The elevator situation
is not great at the Wyndham to begin with (you stand around for quite a while when there's
no one around), let alone when there's 25-30 people lined up. There are 3 elevators, all
of which do not seem to be operating at the same time. It took us 25 minutes to get up to
the room once. Granted, we were on the 17th floor and we had nowhere in particular to be,
it was still quite annoying.
We had a fabulous dinner that night at El Gaucho. I had made reservations online before we
left for Aruba. We took the bus downtown and got there early for our reservation, so they
sent us across the street to the Garufa Cigar Bar with a pager to wait. Guess they own
that place too because there was no one at the bar in El Gaucho. My wife and I both had the best steak
we've had in many years. The meat seemed to fall apart in your mouth like veal,
incredible. After dinner we walked around some downtown and paid a visit to Carlos n
Charlies and Iguana Joe's. Hard to believe we didn't witness an accident while overlooking
the intersection from Iguana Joe's - sheer bedlam down there. Not sure if all the drivers
knew the exact location of the gas and the brake pedals … or maybe most of the
vehicles were piloted by New York City cab drivers, not sure. Took the bus back to the
hotel and made a few donations at the casino.
Sunday, June 3
We were up and out by 9:30 AM and decided to check out the breakfast buffet at Le Petit
Café (by Playa Linda - $6.95/pp). Big mistake - only disappointing meal while on the
island - $6.95 for a reason. Walked back to the hotel to catch some rays. A couple was
kind enough to give us their beach hut when they left early. We thanked them
whole-heartedly because the beach was quite crowded with the convention still in town. We
found some company waiting for us after we took a dip in the pool. A few ladies pushed
aside our things and helped themselves to our hut and beach chairs while we were gone for
15 minutes. Oh well - they didn't stay long. We walked down to the Kokoa Beach Bar for Happy Hour and had a few
cocktails, then up to our balcony to watch an amazing sunset.
We showered and took the bus downtown again, this time having dinner at The Driftwood.
Food was good, small portions for the price though. 2 apps, wife had Mahi Mahi, I had
Shrimp Creole, no dessert, 1 glass of wine - $80 with tip. Took the bus back to Amici's
for dessert/coffee, then took our nightly stroll along the beach. We went all the way down
to the Marriott and were hard-pressed to see anyone around at all, beautiful place though.
Walked all the way back to the Wyndham along the beach.
Monday, June 4
Our busiest day of the vacation - on the move all day. Got up early and took the bus
downtown to do some shopping. No great deals found anywhere and we swore that all our
family/friends are getting squat on our next vacation : ) Took the bus back to the hotel
around 1:00 PM to get changed for the snorkeling trip we had booked with Pelican. Had a
good time, 2-1/2 hours, 2 stops, open bar/snacks. Caught the catamaran from the Pelican
Pier (by the Holiday Inn), first stop was Arashi Reef,
second was the Antilla
shipwreck. Both places had plenty of interesting fish, little choppy out by
the Antilla
(water 40 ft deep).
Back to the hotel to shower and catch our reservation at El Faro Blanco, the Italian
restaurant at the
lighthouse. Made the reservation online before we left because I wanted to
make sure we had a table outside for the sunset. Took a cab - $10. Had a good meal while
watching a beautiful sunset outdoors on the deck. Little pricey, $115 - 2 apps, 2 main
courses, 2 drinks each. Waited a while for a ride and shared a cab back to the hotel with
a nice couple ($6 w/tip), then walked back down to our favorite place, Amici's, for
dessert. Took our nightly walk along the beach in amazement that out last full day would
be tomorrow. I've never been anywhere where the time went by as quickly.
Tuesday, June 5
Got up early to get a hut since we planned on bumming out on the beach all day. Looked
down from the balcony at a line already forming at 7:30 AM … the counter doesn't open
until 8:00 AM. Went down at 8:10 AM, got our hut and walked down to the little Dunkin
Donut stand on the DePalm Pier. Picked up some bagels/donuts and brought them back for
breakfast. Proceeded to do absolutely nothing but relax for the remainder of the day. Of
course, this day passed by faster than any. Went down to Kokoa's
for Happy Hour (4-5 PM), then back to the beach for a last little bit.
We showered and took a cab to Papiamento for our last dinner ($6). I called the night
before and made a reservation ($1 local call from the room). We can't say enough about
this place - we saved the best for last. Everything was absolutely fantastic - from the
ambience (outdoor seating next to a pool, white lights in the trees, candles on the
table), to the very attentive wait staff, to the terrific meal served on a hot stone.
Excellent! Pricey but worth every penny. We tried desperately to avoid the subject and
oncoming depression of our departure the following day. Took a cab back to the Wyndham and
tried to soak up the surroundings one last night.
Wednesday, June 6
Got up early and headed down to the pool to lay out for a few hours before our flight
home. We were both like zombies, not fully comprehending how our great time had come to
such an abrupt end. After checking out we headed down to Gilligan's (in back of the
Radisson) for lunch. Had a couple of great sandwiches and an Amstel Bright for the road
while watching the iguanas chase each other around the patio - pretty cool. We took a cab
back to the airport ($16), checked our bags, breezed through Aruba Customs, picked up our
bags, went through US Customs, checked our bags again, and waited for our flight. We left
way too early because we encountered little resistance once at the airport, arriving 2
hours before take-off. We boarded an A300 airbus, big plane - own private TV screens on
the back of the headrest in front of you. Whole middle section of the plane practically
empty for our non-stop trip home. Flight home was uneventful, arriving back in Hell at
8:15 PM.
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Aruba and plan to return as soon as possible. Would
recommend this island to everyone. The Wyndham is a beautiful hotel with probably the best
room views of any of the high-rises because of its size. Our only complaints were the
previously mentioned elevators and the lack of a cash machine on the premises. The grounds
at some of the other hotels were amazing - Radisson, Hyatt, Playa Linda, Allegro and the
Marriott all looked real nice. We can't wait to return - if by some miracle we come across
hidden wealth, we'll be back in September!
Hope we've helped - feel free to E-mail me with any specific questions: stixman6@yahoo.com.
