The first thing I must comment about is how amazingly friendly the staff was.
No matter what question you had, they were more than happy to make you happy. The fact that they have the only private island alone was a huge plus. You have to take the water taxi from the Marketplace. Our son was thrilled at how it resembled a Batman-like experience leaving that way. The fact that Papagallos had such great food made our days on the island complete. The lizards being everywhere was thrilling. Catch the sight of all the hermit crabs that also reside on the island. The main hotel was tops also, with the swim up bar, pools and lagoon. Just wish the rooms were larger and also the kitchen "area" was tiny.

Renaissance Aruba Ocean Suite. We arrived there at around 1:30pm and there was one room that was ready, since it is partially ocean view, I opted to wait for a full ocean view. We waited until the room was cleaned at exactly 4pm. There were also people waiting to be checked in. They appeared to be upset for waiting for so long. We had to ask several times if the room was ready. I have heard that checking- in was a problem. They offered us drinks while waiting for the room to clean which was nice. From our balcony, we can see the pool, lagoon and the ocean. I would say- It was worth the wait. The private island is good, there are plenty of hammocks. No offense but the clear ocean water in Boracay, Philippines is better than/ compared to private island in Renaissance. Some bugs in the island because it has mangroves beside it. The Ocean villa needs to be updated, TV’s are not flat screens - most channels are blurry, some water leaks under the sink but it got fixed temporarily. Location is a plus, if you want to eat some comfort foods, they are only walking distance from this place, they have pizza hut, KFC, Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Wendy’s and Cinnabon. Wendy’s is a quite far to walk. There is daily charge of $10++ per day to stay in Renaissance Ocean Suite.
Atlantis Submarine- We rode this submarine and will not ever do it again. I don’t think it is worth to pay that much. We have to re-book our first ride because the a/c of the submarine was not working. If you want to “feel” the submarine, it is okay. It went down to as deep of 140 feet based on the digital screen in front of the submarine. Don’t ride on submarine if it has a strong ocean waves. We felt dizzy getting in and coming out of the submarine because at that time ocean waves were quite strong. On both sides of submarine have glass round windows. We did not have much luck in seeing more marine animals on our sides.
De Palm Island- Great place to go. We went snorkeling which was really good. We fed the fishes. Fish food was around $10.30. Be careful feeding the fishes because they can get excited when you feed them. Don’t put the food under water because they will attack the food. I was bitten by a fish on my forearm when put the fish food underwater. Don’t buy Kodak disposable waterproof camera to take pictures of the fishes because it will come out blurry. I wasted my time and money on 2 kodak disposable waterproof cameras. My favorite thing in De Palm Island was Sea Trek – You will be able to touch the fishes-awesome!!! People wearing eyeglasses?- no problem because the diving helmet has enough space to fit the head with eyeglasses. I was wearing one because I forgot my contacts. We also did the banana boat-it was fun. The waterpark was good too. I was not impressed by the food that they served for breakfast and lunch. The breakfast omelet was sooo thin that I was afraid it might get blown away by the wind (forgot to take pictures). You stack 10 omelets from this restaurant and that is what you will get an omelet from Bon Bini restaurant. Aside from buffet breakfast and lunch, they also have an open bar. They have hotdogs, hamburgers and etc. Well the whole day in the island still not enough for us.

Tips: Free wi-fi in lobby and on restaurant in the private island, Bring bug spray AND anti-itch cream once you get bitten by mosquito. I got several mosquito bites when we left Aruba.

We just returned from a trip to Aruba in November 2012. We stayed at the Marriott Stellaris for most of our trip but switched to the Renaissance so we could see the private island and see downtown.

We stayed at the Ocean Suites side. We did not have kids with us but I would still recommend staying at the Ocean suites hotel vs the Marina hotel. We visited the Marina hotel and so glad we did not stay there. The lobby is very nice but I am not impressed with lobbies and I read the reviews on the rooms there. The rooms there are very small with only a French balcony and the pool at the Marina side is well … a joke to be honest.

The Ocean Suites were great. Granted, it was certainly a step down from the Marriott Stellaris and rooms at the Ocean Suites definitely need updating but we the rooms are large. The balcony was great. We were upgraded to a Ocean View suite and the view was fantastic! Keep in mind that all rooms above the second floor are reserved for the timeshare owners ( or renters) so we were on the second floor but no complaints at all. I do have to say that I find the bedroom location bazar because there are no windows. The only windows are in the living room area but still, how much time do you spend in the room anyway.

I will say the room service was slow. We ordered breakfast one morning and It took almost an hour to get it and by the time it arrived everything was cold. Better to just go to the restaurant or one the of many restaurants that are nearby.

The pools at the Ocean Suites are great! Plenty of room and chairs. There are numerous pools including a pool with a swim up bar. The whole pool area is very impressive. The lagoon is much smaller than I expected but with the private island only a boat ride a way, I wouldn’t spend any time at the lagoon.

The private island was great. We had a great time there. Granted, it is still not the ocean resort feel but there is plenty of room and you can float in the water just like a normal ocean beach. The water still had some waves like you would on a regular beach. The wildlife is amazing to see. The pink flamingos on the beach and yes.. .lots and lots of iguanas. They don’t bother you at all and it was neat to see them in the beach area. Some people fed them so they would come right up the chair. I petted one. They really don’t bother you but definitely provided entertainment.
The island has a bar/restaurant , bathrooms, towels, floaties for rent and plenty of chairs. Never a problem getting a chair. We hung out on the adult side for most of our stay on the island. The other side was a little too crowded for us. We did eat in the restaurant which is on the family side of the island. The food was good. Not great but good. Not as good as the Marriott Stellaris.
The drinks are expensive on the island. More than at the Marriott Stellaris but not unexpected. Other people have commented that the island is to close to the airport but it never bothered us at all. In fact, you really only hear the planes in the late afternoon on the weekends for a period of about an hour.

As many people have said, the private island is what makes the Renaissance. If it wasn’t for the island, I would not stay there.

The Renaissance mall / plaza right across from the Ocean Suites hotel is great. It has a Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and a few different restaurants and bars which we enjoyed. A few places had some live music which we really enjoyed. The mall attached to the Marina hotel was closed by 6 or so and there really is not much there anyway.

A little walk down the road to the downtown area and you will find some other choices for bars and restaurants. We stopped a few different bars to get the “local” feel and enjoyed each one of them. Always felt safe. No problem at all.

Bottom line, we enjoyed the Renaissance Ocean Suite because we wanted to see the private island. There is no question that I would not make my whole stay in Aruba at this hotel. You would really miss the Aruba experience if you didn’t stay on an actual beach somewhere. The Marriott Stellaris on the beach was fantastic. The stay at the Renaissance was also great but only for a couple of days. I would not hesitate to come back to this hotel but only if I stayed at the Ocean Suites hotel and not the Marina hotel and only for a couple of days to experience the island. The rest of my stay would have to be on the beach at the Marriott Stellaris or similar hotel.

Second time at resort--excellent once again.....all inclusive is the only way to go if available for your package...Ate all dinners at LG Steak House as we enjoy being served and menu has large variety --- staff are also excellent, always wanting to help you out. Stayed at the Adults only Marina tower.