Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino

The hotel was very nice and clean, but we were surprised to find that it was in the downtown area ;very close to the airport, and away from the other resorts. The complex has two buildings, and offers a nice variety of pools, restaurants and a casino. Personally, I enjoyed the fact that we could walk to all of the shops and boutiques. The private island was awesome, and was a short boat ride leaving from our hotel lobby. The island offers plenty wildlife iguanas, flamingos, etc and a nature walk.

The hotel and staff were exceptional. The all inclusive is less desirable since restaurants had special menus which had lesser quality food and smaller portions than the standard menu. The all inclusive package in my opinion should have included anything from the standard menu and include all drinks from the bar not certain name brand products that did not include top shelf. The all inclusive package should also include room service at least for breakfast and lunch. The private beach was perfect.

The best parts of my trip were due to the staff at Blue, the main lobby lounge. They made me feel very welcome, remembered my name right from the start, gave great advise as to things to do, and made some killer drinks which is what vacation is all about. I did the all inclusive deal, which was fine except for the steak place. I had read some great reviews, but when I got there, they provided me with a very limited option menu of choices. The food was good, but I had to order something other then my original plan. I did not see any reviews on Aquaris, which to me had the best dinner food of the entire trip. I did not get to enjoy the private island as much as I had hoped to due to a mosquito problem, and had issues with the casino, no not because I lost, but we had a total of 3 $5 free play cards and none of them would work, and could not find anyone willing to help. I liked the location of the hotel as there were many shops, outdoor flea markets and entertainment within walking distance, we were not locked into a resort property. This was my first experience at a hotel where you had a choice of all inclusive or room only, so it was frustrating when I came across things that were "not" included. Even though I did enjoy myself, I would not rate this in my top 5 vacations. But again, thanx to the staff at Blue, it was well worth the cost...

My husband and I stayed at the Marina for our honeymoon. We were very disappointed to learn that children have access to all the different resturants and can roam around the hotel and the beach as they please. They have specific areas that are supposed to be adults only but the children still go there to look around. The standard room is much smaller than one is posted on the website. When a hotel claims that they are adults only they should not have children in the hotel at all. There was also a power outage on the island and it took them 9 hours to restore the power back.

At first sight the Rennisance is amazing. There the lobby is equipped with a bar and nice pool.. and the boat that brings you to their island is a nice touch. There is a very high end shopping mall fully equiped with great ""knock off"" stores. And a full Casino.. But the rooms are basic at best. The bathtubs are narrow and hard to shower in..(I fell flat on my rear because the bottoms arent flat.. they are curved- and quite slippery.) The walls are paper thin- and the ""balcony"" overlooking an ally way didnt seal so we could constatnly hear the wind whistling through the doors. The 1st night we were awoken by a car alarm in the parking lot which went off for more than an hour and even after complaining went off until apparantly the battery died. (Note: they have no noise ordanance laws- so if there is a problem.. dont expect much help.) The food-- even at the highly recommended ""Chops"" was not worth the money. Hint: They apparantly give out $20 off cards for Chops regularly- so if you want to eat there.. Ask the hotel manager for a coupon. We ended up staying an additional night in Aruba and when we asked if we could keep our room they wanted to charge $***. We drove around and found a nicer resort- Aruba Beach Club for $*** a night. Our room had a back door directly on the beach. The pool was bigger and nicer- the pool bar had live music.. There is everything you need right in the hotel. WAY CHEAPER! Check around.. you can find a much better deal than Rennasance.

Type:Area Attractions Distance: Requires transportation

Jeep Tour!

Well worth it.. Do the Safari Jeep Tour.. Best tour hands down. Well worth the money.. and they pick you up from the hotel.