After a very disorganized arrival, and finally a room in the appropriate category, the beach and weather is so great, that all the hassles disappear.
It bears repeating, as per so many of the previous entries, the staff, is not very helpful. The rooms really need refreshing. and there are not enough huts on the beach and no way of reserving other than to go down before 6am, not very relaxing on a vacation.

After reading MANY mixed reviews we still decided to stay at the Occidental for our friends bachelorette party. Upon arrival we realized that all dinner reservations that were made prior to arrival (due to large group) were not in the system and we had to wait 2 hours for the concierge to adjust. We were even booked for events that weren't happening the nights we were there (talk about poor communication amongst hotel employees),

Hotel Rooms/Housekeeping - Very outdated. When Housekeeping came to clean each day, they didn't even remove the dirty towels from the floor. We had to ASK them to do so and give us new towels!

One day a man knocked on the door with a bottle of our alcohol that we bought off premises and said "housekeeping took it bc it didn't fit in the fridge". But why would they take it from our room?!?! They literally returned an empty bottle to us when the bottle we had, had hardly been touched! After calling and speaking to management they told us a completely different story and had someone else bring us a sealed bottle back. THEY STOLE FROM OUR ROOM!

All-inclusive - food is just "ok". There is nothing open to get a drink, even a water or soda unless you go to the "disco" late night. Who wants to go to the club just to get a regular drink?

The only good things about this hotel are the beach and location, otherwise, I DO NOT RECOMMEND!

We just returned from our first trip to Aruba and my husband and I both agree that we will go back. We loved the island with its varied terrain, the Arubian people, and the beach! The Occidental Grand Resort was an average place to stay with a high price tag. The condition of the property was a little worn. The rooms needed some updating, and the swimming pool needed some repair work along most of the edges. The resort staff was wonderful, but there didn't seem to be enough of them. We are used to being served cocktails and food at the pool and beach areas but this type of service was not offered. The beach, however, was perfect with white sand, calm & warm blue water, and plenty of beach chairs. We spent nearly every day there and just couldn't get enough of it. The restaurants were ok. We didn't go to this resort for world class food. It was good...but nothing exceptional. The drinks were good also but most of the liquor was brands that we didn't recognize. We rented jeeps and toured the island. This was very worthwhile especially because of the land and water differences between the east and west sides. The church, lighthouse, and natural bridge were excellent landmarks to visit while on our off road jeep excursion. We also went on a snorkeling/snuba trip which was great fun. I

Don't make the same mistake I did, and be the dedicated husband who wakes up every morning at 5:30am to reserve a shade on the beach. They will tell you that you have to. They are wrong.

Just find a fat man with a moustache and give him $20. That money will buy you the satisfaction of knowing that you did not wake up an hour early than normal, to do something that everyone else is paying for. And then you can wake up at 10am.

That $20 will also buy you the privilege of not being unbelievably angry when, on the second last day of vacation, you see that man out there with his hamper full of towels and his hotel uniform on. Nor will you be frustrated when the hotel management does absolutely nothing except make you wait and then ignore you. Nor will you be confronted by the fat man himself, when he finds out that you complained about this.

He'll tell you that the sign on the beach that says "absolutely no chair reservation allowed" is not true. He'll tell you that he has no choice. But you won't have to hear any of the lies and pitiful grovelling, because you will have read this review and just PAID the $20 at the beginning of the week.