October 6-13. Was slightly overcast all week, but my husband still got sunburned under the palapa. A rash guard/sun shirt should be used while snorkelling to avoid burning your backside. Eagle beach across the street from PBV was a great beach with about 10 palapas for PBV. The first row was typically reserved before 8am, although they say they don't allow that behaviour. We enjoyed the location, because it was less congested than the high rise zone and even better than the southern end of Eagle Beach. The sand was amazingly clean, white, and cool to the touch during the height of the day. There was a roped off swimming area that was clear of rocks or anything sharp. PBV provides pool/beach towels that are big and fluffy. The pool area did not have much to offer children as far as entertainment, the La Cabana next door had a water slide. This was fine with us, because there were only 2 sets of children there and we went there to get away from it all. Unfortunately, the place (and Aruba in general) was crawling with New Yorkers and Bostonians, which provided some rivalry during the baseball playoffs. The Tiki Bar closes at 7pm, which makes the place extremely quiet. They do have Happy Hour (1/2 price drinks and beer) from 12pm-6pm. We saw a lot of people bringing there own drinks though, because the drinks seemed a little on the weak side at the bar. The Petit Cafe was alright to try once for dinner and breakfast. PBV actually had a better breakfast at the Tiki Bar. The Amsterdam beach dinner was superb (2 doors down), but reservations needed for sunset. they say they open at 6:30pm, but getting there at 6:15pm assures you a spot in front.

The rooms are clean, and the studio that we had was a bit dark, but we did not spend much time in our room. Sound from the neighboring room carried well, we really got to know the temperment of the 18 month old next door. The shower/bath had a jacuzzi tub which we enjoyed. The bathroom was quite big. There was a medium size refrigerator in the room which fit many of our drinks. Some of the other items in the room were a bit rustic (such as the room safe and dark lighting), but we've had worse.

We had mixed information about the bus system, but basically the busses run about 1 every 20-30 minutes along the hotel strip and into Oranjestad. If you go up to the CA lighthouse, we were told that busses only return from there until about 6:30pm. the bus does not go all the way to the lighthouse, but gets you pretty close. Although there was not a bus stop right in front of PBV, we found that if you stand in the area big enough for the bus to pull over, it will stop for you. Roundtrip tickets cost less than two one ways, but we couldn't figure out where or how to buy bus passes. We just paid the driver everytime we got on. The bus will not take you all the way to Baby Beach (excellent snorkelling, some gear availabel there), but you can rent a moped or a car for less than $40/day. The Renaissance downtown had a mall next to it that had several restaurants on the far end. Venturing a bit further to the water revealed tons of iguanas. The park next door had many iguanas as well. By accident we found out that the Paddock downtown had the best mixed grill food (we ate there on a Friday when we got stuck in a torrential downpour, which passed within an hour). If you venture up to the high rise area, there is a boardwalk that takes you by all of the hotels and beach restaurants and you can sign-up for water sports there too.

All in all, we were quite pleased with the location and dealt with our dark room. (We saw that the 1 and 2 bedroom places had views of the pool and beach from balconies which we did not have, so they definately had better rooms.)

Read more about this trip and see pictures at our personal web: www.jndstravelog.com

We just returned from a week at Paradise Villas in Aruba. What a great find. We rented a two bedroom facing the ocean with another couple. We found the rooms to be spacious and clean. The staff at PV is so helpful and friendly. The pool area and small cafe are just right for relaxing and the beach is just breath taking. I would recommend this facility to everyone looking for a peaceful, relaxing vacation.

My husband and I exchanged a time share for a week at PBV. We were pleasantly surprised at how lovely the place is. The staff was wonderful and extremely helpful and friendly. The room was nice and clean, just what we needed for a relaxing vacation. The pool and beach was well maintained and there were plenty of chairs as well as huts. We did have a problem with our room. When we called, maintenance arrived within 5 minutes and they took care of everything immediately.

The environment is relaxing and quiet which was just what we were looking for. We would recommend this hotel to all. We are planning a return visit next May.

Mona, New York City

I just returned from Aruba and first stayed at the Marriott Stellaris Casino/Resort. It was quiet since there were renovations going on.. but no major complaints there.
Then we went to my friend's time share at the Paradise Beach Villas and were VERY dissapointed especially coming from a resort propert like the Marriott.
The staff at the front desk did not give us that warm Aruban charm like they do at the resort hotels. It looked like a rustic place with plaid couches and not a soul around except for the security guard that kept gaping at us. We got to our room after taking the elevator that was hot and looked like a service elevator. My friend kept saying the hallways looked like her college dorm... We were dissapointed since she owns a 2 bedroom and they only offered us a 1 bedroom suite. The size of our suite was fairly big but the decor was very late 80s- hence they opened 17 years ago so it definitely is the same furniture from when they opened. The place wasn't too clean either. The kitchen area smelled like something foul (rotted food) was still stuck in the plumbing and we found a few dead flies in the bathroom. I slept on the pull out bed which took both of us to open it and the mattress was only 3 inches thick and was horrible to sleep on. I kept waking up with aches/pains all over.
We used the toilet and it got clogged so we had to get maintenance. What an embarrasment that was since the toilet was not in working order.
They have 2 large pools but they looked old and there was no atmosphere, just open space and a few sparce small palm trees. The location is good right across from Eagle Beach but I would save my money and invest in staying in an updated resort hotel... There is no luxury here just low-budget.