We had a really nice family vacation at the Westin Aruba 4/15-4/20. We also had the great price of $649 for 6 days & $100 resort credit. We travel quite a bit. We usually do all-inclusive. After much reviews/debates we decided that we would NOT do AI. I'm glad we made this choice. Yes, it is expensive to eat/drink in Aruba. I think if you do research for a vacation in Aruba, you will know this & expect this. With that being, said, I had anticipated spending around $1500 for food/drinks. That amount was pretty accurate. This included going to Ling & Sons for some snacks/drinks & the $100 resort credit off our bill at the end. It also included the 17% service charge & tax plus we gave an additional tip to the server when we felt the service was very good.

I apologize for the lengthy review, I do it every time!

Since this was our first time (besides St. Thomas) not AI, I was leery. We normally vacation at resorts that are not close by, to anything on the island. In Aruba, it was refreshing to just walk out the resort to go have dinner. It was very safe. I was actually surprised with the low taxi prices. In St. Thomas taxis are expensive! If you don’t want to walk, grab a taxi. Which is exactly what we did for places further away.

We found the entire staff at the Westin to be nice & friendly. Patrick (at check in) was very helpful to my requests. I requested a refrigerator & they had it to me within minutes! Concierge was also very helpful. The room is your standard room, recently renovated. No issues with smells. I would have liked to have a separate sink area from the bathroom, but we did fine with their accommodations. We got upgraded to a pool/ocean view, even number room (thanks TA reviews). The view was fantastic. The sunsets were just amazing. I looked forward to them every evening. Truly beautiful. I took pictures to use for our Christmas card. I wrote Merry Christmas in the sand by the girls (see photo). Got that idea from friends who vacationed with us at Beaches Turks & Caicos, she brought Santa hats for her daughters, which they wore in bathing suits, really nice idea!

Beach….one of the nicest we have been to. My all time favorite is St. Johns, loved T&C but Aruba was really a close tie with them except for that wind! While it is nice most of the time, when it picks up & sand belts you in the face, that is another story. Did it ruin my vacation, absolutely not! I would still take that wind, then being home & working! With that wind, Aruba is a great place to buy a sunscreen booth that we are selling! Don’t you think it would be so convenient to step in a booth & get sprayed with 2oz of sunscreen in 10 seconds? I know my daughters dislike having to get sunscreen on but they would enjoy this & save me the hassle. We talked with Mr. Roy & gave him information about it. So hopefully, this could be a new amenity to the Westin & other resorts. We loved the water & jumping off the floating deck. As for the palapas, I totally expected not to have one because of all the reviews. I’m not a person to get up at the crack of dawn to get one. So I was so pleasantly surprised we got one everyday for free. This was after 8am! Maybe it was a total fluke we got one that late, who knows but I can honestly say it was not a problem for us. Girls liked the pool. Again, no problems getting a chair. Rent a blue float chair lounger. I loved floating on that & reading my book. I must say that was a first for me on vacation, not reading a book but reading a book while floating on the beautiful water. They even have cup holders! If you’re a reader, it doesn’t get better than that. We brought rafts from the dollar store & sand toys & just gave them to someone before we left. My husband also rented a jet ski & took the girls. They really liked that! Water was so calm & perfect for that.

We did one excursion, the Atlantis submarine. We enjoyed it & I’m glad we did it. Took Dramamine prior, just in case. Booked online for a better rate. Walked around town a bit & ate at Rumba, great chicken cheese rancher sandwich.

We walked along the beach for breakfast. We ate at Basi Ruti (Play Linda Beach Resort), Moomba & also one day at the buffet at the Westin. They also have a grab & go section, which was convenient too.

For lunch, we enjoyed the convenience of the Terrace at the Westin & also a short walk to Palm Pier to Bugaloe (girls loved the Bugaloe Curly Fries & cheeseburgers) and also Gilligans at the Radisson. They had great salads, pizza & chicken fingers.

For dinner, we ate at Café Baci at the Westin. This is Italian & enjoyed by all. Texas De Brazil was our favorite. My hubby was in heaven! He is a steak man & they had nice selections of any kind of meat you want. The girls really liked it too. Very nice atmosphere & service was amazing! Before you go, register on the website for coupons or deals. Girls were half price & we got $20 gift certificate from the website. We also ate at the Buccaneers. While the service was nice, the food wasn’t. We enjoyed the atmosphere & the girls really like the aquariums & sea life, right at the table. However, they did not eat their chicken nuggets & they are not picky eaters. I also did not like my entrée & did not finish it. My hubby finished his but it was not to his liking either. We still tipped nice because the people were so nice & friendly. We also went to Giann’s (another Italian place), very very good food. Service was slower, but since immigration was there, hauling the staff out of the kitchen, I guess that was to be expected!! Nothing like seeing staff getting lead out the restaurant in hand cuffs. Our waiter said, he didn’t have papers either; I joked with him & said, “could you bring our meal first before you leave”. Girls had something different to right in their journals that night! El Gaucho’s was an experience. Everyone loved their meal but me. I had short ribs & they were returned once for not being done enough & then I kindly asked the server to remove my meal. It was not edible. He was so nice & kept apologizing. Manager (Jose Luis) came over; I explained I could not eat my meal. Without great detail, he was very rude & unprofessional. I brought this to the attention of the owner when we were leaving. She was very nice & professional. She actually had him apologize for his behavior & they gave me credit for my meal. I applaud the way she handled a really bad experience with an employee. So if you go, don’t order the short ribs & you will be fine. Like I said, everyone else really enjoyed what they ordered. I’m not discouraging anyone from going there.

Vacation is what you make it. I embrace the different cultures/language when we vacation. We are always in a hurry or rushing or thinking about what needs to be done at home. Vacation is just the opposite of that. We find it refreshing to go out to eat & not rush. I don’t mind the time it takes for my food to come. It gives you time to relax & enjoy talking to your family! Not rushing through your meal to get them to soccer. Vacation is what you make of it. Take any negative moment & turn it into a positive one.

When we vacation we also like to give back. We actually went to an orphanage in T&C to give them money, gifts & clothing. It was a memorable experience that made us all appreciate what we have. We donate to a local orphanage on every vacation. We want our daughters to understand there is more to a vacation, then just a beautiful resort. To give & make a difference. We also donated to local schools with supplies. In Aruba, we donated to the Casa Cana Orphanage. Mr. Roy was kind enough to make sure they received the check. Just imagine, if every traveler would donate just $1 to a local charity in the area they are vacationing at, what a difference we could make in peoples lives. I encourage if you can, to think about donating to Casa Cana Orphanage or another charity of your choice.

We like to travel to new places each vacation. If I would return to Aruba, I would stay at the Westin again for a good deal. I liked the beach area better than the others. I also thought the pool area had space. The RIU's pool, next door, reminded me of being on a cruise ship deck/pool area. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Have a great vacation!