As you might have noticed, my recent trip to Aruba was sponsored by the Aruba Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino. As such, I thought it only fitting to give you my thoughts and experiences on the resort itself. When I travel, I don't discriminate against any kind of establishment (although admittedly, cost is usually my deciding factor.) Sometimes I stay in a "mom and pop" B&B and sometimes it's the chain hotel. It all depends on my travel needs and desires for the trip. Price might be my deciding vote, but there are many other factors that come into play when choosing a hotel, and as such, I've chosen a few things to discuss about the Aruba Marriott. I'll break it down, as follows: the room (cause you're sleeping there), the amenities (they can often rationalize the added cost), check-in (it's a good barometer for how your stay will be), and problems (problems, always give you insight, on the hotel or the traveler).
My room at the Aruba Marriott, an Ocean/Pool View with a King sized bed, was one of their top of the line rooms, but one I could easily see choosing myself when visiting. You could save a few bucks by going with a partial or garden view, so I should mention that. However, if I'm spending the money to go to the Caribbean, I'd like to be gobsmacked by blue-green waters as often as possible. At the Aruba Marriott, I immediately noticed little touches from the recent renovation that made it feel less like it could be a hotel room anywhere on earth. The dark faux-slatted wooden door gave it an island feel and the basin sinks in the bathroom made it feel instantly luxe. And, let's not forget the huge walk-in closet, which I wish I had more energy at the end of the day to use appropriately. However, it was nice to stash my stuff in there and not have to stare at my bag of clothes when relaxing in the evening. And the most important feature of any hotel room, the bed, was absolutely amazing. Coming from sleepless nights in New York, I crashed comfortably on my cushy bed with ample pillows.
The hotel offered entirely too many amenities for me to try in my few days there, but I did get a chance to sample a few. The obvious choices were the beach and the pool, both of which were full of guests, but never felt too crowded. (Although I did notice on my last day that the beach umbrellas had filled up by noon. Plan ahead.) Being someone who cares about how things look (i.e. design snob), I thought the pool area was super pleasing to the eyes with it's red chairs and umbrellas beautifully contrasting the vibrant blues and greens of the pool. As for food, I had mixed emotions and found myself a bit disappointed, although sometimes from my own choices. There's definitely an attempt to please the masses and being one who doesn't like to eat where the masses eat, it's easy for me to be disappointed. I did, however, have an amazing tropical bouillabaisse that I'm still dreaming about at Simply Fish on the beach. Teeming with seafood, it was a visceral experience picking out the hunks of fish, shellfish and crab claw from the steaming bowl. My main course of salmon was underwhelming, but I blame that on poor last minute decision making. And not surprisingly, Simply Fish was on the pricey side and you'll pay dearly for the opportunity to dig your toes in the sand mid-meal.
The other dining options that I sampled from included the Italian restaurant, La Vista, which was pleasant, but not what I would choose to eat while at the beach. And a relaxed lunch of excellent fish tacos and strong drinks amidst tropical birds and iguanas at the Pavillion Beach Bar and Grill provided ample sustenance and liquid courage for kiteboarding later in the afternoon.
For breakfast, I chose room service and was pleasantly happy with the selections. Perfect poached eggs, crispy bacon and fluffy pancakes enjoyed on the comfort of my oceanfront balcony. Room service is always pricey, but I felt like the Marriott's prices were fair and reasonable. As for snacks, the cafe in the lobby had an overwhelmingly yummy looking selection of baked goods and the strawberry daiquiri at the beachside bar was the perfect mix of frozen, rum and satisfaction.
Another treat to my hotel stay was a visit to the adjacent Mandara Spa for a massage. Can I say anything bad about a massage? It was excellent and I chose the essential oils to help ailing dry skin (quite appropriate given the sunburn that arrived the next day.) I also discovered that I hadn't been too good to myself in the past two weeks, stuffed on airplanes, walking miles in Manhattan in flip flops, but that all got sorted out at Mandara. The only complaint I have is that the changing room was a little cramped, but that allowed a fellow guest to overhear my conversation about local restaurants and prompted her to give us the lowdown on where (and where not to go) if we ventured out later that evening.
What colors the stay of your entire trip? Check-in. It was smooth, efficient and problem-free, even though I had just walked in the door with a carload full of travel bloggers. An added perk, the staff comes around with cold fruity drinks and an aromatic towel. This wasn't just for my group, the travel blogging guests, but I witnessed it time and time again as I crossed through the lobby. I kept thinking how it was such a nice touch for the worn out, airport-weary, cranky traveler. You just cant help but relax and realize that your trip has just begun.
What's the true test of hotel service? What happens when you have a problem, and oh, did I have a few of those. First, when I arrived in my room and plugged in my laptop, I could not get on the internet. I could see that I was connected, but not a darn thing would load. I called down to the front desk, who patiently walked me through the steps and I quickly hung up to try again. No dice. I called back again and she told me she'd have to get a specialist on the phone. Within minutes I had a call from some sort of tech-support who patiently diagnosed that the problem was indeed mine, something about ip addresses and settings. So, while it was a bit odd to not have my Macbook work on a first try, it was a problem solved quickly, efficiently, and most importantly without a huge headache. My second problem, was again my fault. When I first arrived to my room, I could not figure out how to get the key to work. However, the door was slightly ajar, so I gave up fumbling and entered anyways. As I left the room to head to dinner, I had the good sense to check the key again. I put the card in, and, of course, could not re-enter. I stopped by the desk, had my key checked and was told that everything should be fine, and was told some other details that I failed to hear the first time around. A few hours later, I headed back to my room and of course, the key still did not work. I kept sliding the arrow in towards the door and no green light. I trotted right back downstairs and was recognized immediately. "Your key is working, but I'll recode it just in case. You remembered to make sure the arrow was facing towards you, right?" That's when the details sunk in from a few hours earlier, arrow facing towards you, that makes no sense. She was gracious about it, still recoded my key and smiled as I apologized profusely for not hearing her the first time. However, I still hold my ground that it makes absolutely no sense to have the arrow pointed towards you when opening a key card lock. But, the staff at the Marriott, they're pros at helping you, even when the problem is your fault.
One thing that I love about chain hotels is the sense of privacy you retain. I have bouts of anti-social behavior and begin to resent the forced social interaction that sometimes accompanies staying at more "local" establishments. On some trips I want to stay in my own little bubble, and see the hotel as down time. In Aruba, I felt very comfortable disappearing into the background, but when I needed something or wanted some social interaction, I found it easy to find, as well. Would I go to the Aruba Marriott to get a sense of how the locals live, undoubtedly no. But, if I want amenities, relaxation and the ability to access a plethora of activities, then the Aruba Marriott fits the bill.
A big concern for many travelers when traveling to tropical islands is the guilt associated in staying in a "big box" establishment. You may feel as if your money is going to support an offshore CEO's bank account or funding Paris Hilton's newest pet. There's some truth to that, it comes with the territory. But, what I like to think of when visiting a larger hotel chain, is that with big bucks comes big charity. In an age of corporate do-goodedness, you're hard-pressed to find a big company that's not giving back to the community in a variety of ways. I questioned the Aruba Marriott about this and my suspicions proved correct. Not only are they the second largest employer on the island giving 1,100 Arubans jobs at their three properties, but they also run Aruba's Marriott CARE Foundation, as well as participating in Marriott's international program, "Pathways to Independence." CARE gives back to the community through a variety of activities from food drives to beach cleanup, all with the aim of putting employees into and improving the community they exist in. While Pathways to Independence is an educational program for locals on welfare, teaching them life and work skills to allow them to obtain and keep jobs. In 2003, the Aruba Marriott had 86 graduates of the program, 53 of which were offered jobs at the resort. It's not a perfect world, but Marriott is doing it's part in making sure it has a positive impact on the community it relies upon.
Didn't answer everything you wanted to know? Feel free to ask away in the comments.
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