Hello! My husband, myself and another
couple just returned from five days at the Divi from June 30-July 5. I'll start at the beginning, with
our flights.
They were on American and pretty uneventful. We didn't take the advice of the BBers out there and we rode the DePalm bus. It wasn't
nearly as bad as we'd heard, a 15 minute wait at the airport and a 10 minute ride to the Divi. We arrived at exactly 3 p.m. for check in. I
must admit I was disappointed at the rudeness of the clerks there, and at the lack of a
rum punch to greet us, but when I saw the beach I forgot all about it. Our room was #407
in the Vista II building, which I think is the best at the resort. I wouldn't have wanted
to stay anywhere else. We were literally 8 steps to the sand -- amazing! The Divi is very clean and comfortable. It is not
luxurious, but I don't care about that because the beaches are the best on the island, in
my opinion.
The drinks were good, but the service at the bar was never very friendly. Most of the
bartenders wouldn't even make eye contact with you, and yes, we were tipping! The food was
pretty good, especially at the Red Parrot. We didn't like the Tam
much, although their nightly entertainment was a lot livelier than at the Divi. We rented a car for three days to see the
island, and had a blast! We managed to locate the Natural
Pool, or Conchi by ourselves, but what a harrowing ride to get there!
The shopping in Oranjestad isn't that great, mostly the same souvenir stuff you find
everywhere, but the Belgian chocolate is great and cheap. The men golfed at Tierra Del Sol
and had a wonderful time, despite sacrificing quite a few balls to the wind gods.
I am happy to report very few bugs, and perfect weather. I don't know what people were
complaining about with the flies. We hardly saw any. The birds were worse, but they left
you alone if you shooed them a few times. The tradewinds were really strong when we were
there, and do blow sand into your face at times. But without them it would've been really
hot, and you can always hang out by the pool if they bother you too much, I guess.
My only complaint with the Divi, besides the aloof staff, is that on our last
day, they shut off the water without any warning. We had to take a dip in the pool as a
"shower" before our flight. That was really annoying, and the front desk staff
pretty much just pooh poohed us and didn't even apologize. We couldn't even flush our
toilets!! Yuck. But other than that, the Divi is a nice place, I definitely think it's
better than the high rises. We had a great
time and would definitely return!!
Any questions, email me at koriemw@yahoo.com
