My family stayed at the Radisson July 5 - July 11 (me, my wife, 2 daughters 3 & 6).

The Radisson was recommended by multiple people that I have spoken to.

We flew Jet Blue out of JFK (New York). Our flight was delayed an hour because the coffee machine was not working. It annoyed many people on the plane. You could hear people shouting, "forget the coffee, lets just go". Other than the delay the flight was fine.

We landed in Aruba on time, and we flew right through to pick up our baggage. I had transfers included in my package but decided not to use them (DePalm Tours). My kids were just on a 5 hour flight and didn't want to have to wait for a bus to fill up and then finally get to the Radisson, I think after like 4-5 stops.

I had arranged for a taxi (prior to going) to pick us up at the airport. I also traveled with another family so there were 8 of us. I contacted "BULLY" a well known taxi driver on the island and he and his brother were waiting promptly at the gate with my name on a piece of paper, as if it was a limo service. It was a $23 charge to the high-rise area, which is a set rate (all of taxi rates in Aruba are set by the government).

We got to the hotel at about 1pm and our room was ready. We were in the Aruba tower (best building of the three). We were in room 1404. I originally had booked a gargen view, but they upgraded us to the partial ocean view. The room was roomy and the bathroom was fairly large. No complaints about the room! They also have free high speed Internet in the room, which was great for me, since I like to travel with my computer and home phone via Vonage!

The beach is totally awesome. Probably the best piece of beach on Palm Beach. The sand was so fine and white it was beautiful.

We did have to wait in line daily for the Palapas on the beach. I got in line at 3:30 daily and reserved 2 of them. One for my room and one for our friends. One of the 2 was usually on the first row near the water. When you reserve a palapa you need to get to them before 10am the next day. If you do not then they become open any anyone from the hotel may use it, and if you leave it unused for more than 2 hours it is also up for grabs. I think that, that arrangement works well.

We played bingo one day and we won a pool cabana. It was very nice, they supply a cooler with water and towels. You normally have to pay for the cabanas. Even if they are not being used you cannot use them without paying, so some days they went empty. The 2 pools are great zero entry and they were not crowded.

I visited the Casino nightly. They have a poker room, but only had cash games (no tournaments, which is what I like to play). They have: couple roulette, a craps, couple three card poker, a four card poker, a texas hold'em, a few blackjack, a caribbean poker, a let it ride... and maybe a few more that I forgot. My games were 3 card poker and craps. I broke even for the week, so that is a win for me. I did play enough to get a $120 comp that we used at Benihana on out last night.

We ate daily at Laguna for breakfast. The food was very good and fresh. Omelet station was very good. Kids under 12 eat free and was $42 with taxes for me and my wife total.

We ate lunch at Gilligans, which was very good, right near the beach, so we left our palapa and went to get lunch. The daily lunch special is worth it. At $8.50 you get lunch with an iced tea. I would recommend it to anyone. Service was slow a couple days, it appeared that they were low on employees, but the manager of the place, was always running around at 100mph.

The water in Aruba is WONDERFUL. Do not waste your money on bottled water. Bring yourself a thermos and fill it up on the beach, they have ice water stations that are free to use. They also have a couple sun screen lotion for use by visitors.

The hotel did have security walking around the grounds. But they did not have like some of the other places, where you could not get into the actual grounds without passing a security guard. On a couple of instances there were locals in the pools. Some of them were very young and annoying the guests. One morning there was a group of older boys in their 20's. It looked like they were going to play water polo or something. The way I look at it, is that I pay to use the pool, and the locals should not be in the pool. They were within 15 feet of my kids playing in the pool. I went to the towel hut and said something to the female working there. She did come out and speak to them, but what I know that she did do, was pointed right at me, and told them who complained. That was not the right thing to do. She motioned to me that they belonged here. About 10 mintues later they finally left running, they saw another employee coming to the pool to chase them.

Overall it was a GREAT stay. The little things that I complained about are only little. Nothing that would stop me from coming back. I am already looking to book next year in Aruba. I might look at an all-inclusive (drinks are very expensive, and kids didn't get to eat anything and everything all day long). But that takes nothing away from the Radisson. If i choose a standard hotel, we will definitely be back!

2nd time back to the Radisson. IMO, the Radisson is the absolute place to go to avoid the big crowds and families at the Marriott, Hyatt, RUI, Holiday Inn. We walked through every resort on Palm Beach and the Radi just seemed less crowded. PLUS...the Radi has the best and widest beach, a ton of palapas on the beach, and awesome pools. The grounds have a very tropical feel. We stayed in the Curacao building and it clearly needs some remodeling, but the rooms were good enough. Supposedly the other 2 buildings are better. Try to get a garden room in the Curacao building as the outer rooms overlook the Rui. Shop around online as you can get a good deal for a room.

The 3 restaurants are all good. However, drinks are very, very expensive. You'd be better off buying an ice cooler and buying your own Balashi, rum/coke, etc. The $8.50 lunch special at Gilligan's is a great deal. The fitness center is also a good bonus at the Radi. It has all you need to stay in shape if you desire.

The Rui, Hyatt, and Marriott may all be "fancier," newer resorts, but they reminded us of overcrowded, Vegas style resorts with a TON of kids running around. The Radisson just has that tropical, less crowded feel that my wife and I are looking for...plus it's a better value. Avoid the Holiday Inn unless you are a budget traveler...it's clearly on the decline.

Great place for lunch. While we have never stayed at the Radisson, we always make it a point to stop at least once for lunch at Gilligan's. This time around, they have a lunch special for $8.50. Each day they have a different special. Today (Friday) it was a garden salad with three nice pieces of tenderloin - quite filling and quite good. Also, comes with an iced tea. You can't go wrong on this deal.

Yesterday's special was a turkey club sandwich and Saturday's and Sunday's specials, we are told, will be a hot dog and prime rib sandwich, respectively. Too bad we won't be around on Sunday.

When you arrive there, you can seat yourself otherwise you could wait awhile. Once seated, the service is excellent. However, stay away from the flies.

This was our second stay at the Radisson (2 years ina row). My wife and I love it. Some of the staff remembered us from last year. They made us feel like family. The food was great and the beach is incredible. We love Aruba and we love staying at the Radisson Aruba Resort.

Efrain & Zulma from Ponce, Puerto Rico