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10/10 Excellent
Allison B.
22 December 2021
Aruba Surf
Everything was as it was described on the Vacation Candy website. When booking the reservation, all inquiries were responded to with a quick response from the company. We even loved the attention to detail with the "care package" we received right before our trip. It added a bit of excitement to our anticipation of the upcoming trip. It really is the small things that show a company cares! Room was as described. Clean and if you have the full kitchen, they provide laundry detergent and dish soap. As far as the resort, we felt is was the best one for our family. There is a strip of Marriott properties right next to each other and this one had it all and our friends came to visit us because of the "ambiance". Also our pool was open to 10. Some of the other resorts close earlier. The lazy river was wonderful as well as the main pool where every day at 1 they play bingo. $5 for 3 bingo cards. Our last day the prize was $800! Kids loved it! The water by the beach was calm and everyone seemed to have floats. You can purchase the tubes in hotel shop and fill up with air at the towel station for free. I would only buy one tube as people leave tubes at the end of the hallways as they leave the property, We were a family of 6 and only needed to buy one! This is a great location. You can walk to town at night for dinner and shopping. Smoky Joe's was a favorite within walking distance. Pinchot's also had great food, but it is a cab ride. That is no big deal though because you just need to go out front of the hotel and a cab will be there waiting. If you are adventurous, rent a UTV and explore the island on your own. They will deliver to the hotel and pick up at the end of the day. We even took it to the grocery store! They give you a map and it really is a spectacular island to explore, but keep in mind it is off-roading! Make sure you book any activities when you arrive for the week downstairs in the main building. Another tip: rent the beach papulas that are on property in front of resort on the first day you arrive for whatever days you want to have beach chairs and shade. The rental hut is on the beach between Surf and Ocean Club. Its about $10-$20 depending on how close they are to the beach, but they do fill up. If you want to sit at the pool, they give chair tags to "hold" you spot. You will need to be up by 6:30 to tag the chairs if you want any. It wasn't a problem for us as I was always awake, would tag a couple of chairs and go grab coffee on the beach! Everyone doesn't need a chair. Most of the time you will see empty chairs because half of the time you are in the water. BRING SUNSCREEN! Pack a suitcase with your own sunscreen. Yes, you can get it there, but you need to apply every 2 hours minimum and the sunscreen is $15-$25 a bottle there! Trust me, my son was burnt on day one and he had to wear long sleeves the rest of the trip. I even packed what i thought was a good amount, but we burned through that quickly. We had a great time at the resort and a wonderful experience with Vacation Candy!!!!!
