I traded in a week in Cabo San Lucas through RCI to enjoy a week in Aruba at Costa Linda. The two-bedroom room was not as luxurious as one in a new Mexican resort, but it had all of the amenities we needed and the best location in Aruba. My husband and I enjoyed a week of relaxing on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, under the shade of a chickee. Eagle Beach has incredibly soft, white sand and the ocean is perfect for swimming and cooling off in the heat of the day. There is a constant trade wind blowing but it is always warm.

Most of the rooms at the resort look onto the pool area but our room was on a side wing and the windows looked to an area of a parking lot lined with dense tropical trees and lots of birds, with a slight view of the beach and ocean. We ate lunch and breakfast every day outside on the porch. The kitchen is fully equipped with everything including an oven, stove, microwave, and blender. The living room had plastic-covered chairs and a hard couch, but we didn't spend much time there. The master bedroom was spacious with an adjoining (no door) vanity and jetted tub, and an enclosed room with a walk-in shower for two and toilet. The second bedroom had two twin beds and the window faced the outdoor walkway so the windows were frosted.

All of the staff at Costa Linda speaks multiple languages and all were incredibly friendly and helpful. Actually, everone on the island was friendly and we never felt like we were unsafe or being taken advantage of. The service there was just incredible and the staff was eager to please.

We were greeted in the lobby at check-in by a steel drum band which instantly put us into paradise. The car rental representative and activities planner were both convenient to have on site. The store had a variety of tourist items, nice womens clothing, and some food and drinks. We did not eat at the restaurant but enjoyed happy hour drinks at the pool.

On the trip we only rented a car for one day to explore the island, and relyed on cabs for the rest of the time. Cabs were never more than $8-$10 with tthe exception of the airport.

We would recommend Costa Linda to anyone looking for a trip away from the huge crowds at the beaches in the high-rise area of Aruba. There were always plenty of lounge chairs on the beach under the chickees; the earlier you arrived the closer to the ocean your seat coudl be, but they never ran out. Next to the resort is a public beach that just has a parking lot and few locals so it is wide open and nice to walk all along the beach in both directions. We enjoyed walking down the beach to the beach-side resturant Matthews for dinner and lunch. Incredible appetizers. There is the main pool winding through the trees and also a shallow kids pool. On the beach is a playground for kids, as well as a basketball hoop and shuffleboard. There is plenty to do at Costa Linda for people of all ages.

We just returned from Aruba having stayed at Costa Linda. We travelled with our children ages 2 and 4 as well as our parents in their 60's. Bottom line is everyone loved it!

This is not the most elegant hotel we have stayed at but overall we were very pleased with our stay. We had a 2 bedroom/ 2 bath with a small kitchen which is great to have if you have young kids. Yes, the decor could use some updating, but overall, we found the room and the property well kept and clean.

This hotel is located right on Eagle Beach, which is one of the nicest beached we have ever been to. This is a much quieter location than the "high rise section" in Palm Beaches which is much more our speed with young kids. Its a short 5 minute cab ride if you want to take a trip up there with all the shopping and hotels.

My only negative is that the onsite restaurants are limited and more bar food, but there are a ton of great restaurants on the island, and a few within walking distance. The onsite Turtle's Nest has a decent happy hour deal on drinks.

Overall we had a very good vacation at Costa Linda. Great for families, yound and old, although if you are young and single you may find this place a little dead at night. The place is literally asleep by 9:00PM

I was fortunate to be invited to stay at a time share with my aunt and uncle. The Costa Linda Resort is centrally located to restaurants, grocery stores and island attractions. The rooms were quite nice, clean and easily available to the pool area and beach. Staff were very helpful and always and always greeted you with a smile. Even though this resort is not one of the newer ones and not part of the "high rise area", it is lovely and you will not be disappointed. I would highly recommend this resort.

I have been a timeshare owner at Costa Linda since its opening 18 years ago and that is when we fell in love with Aruba. Aruba offers great restaurants, nightlife, terrific shopping, beautiful beaches, nice people (not overly friendly as they advertise) but nice. It’s safe (really) and very low key as are most islands. We happen to love the constant breeze but some understandably do not. The weather is always sunny with rare rainstorms that tend to be very short lived.

Costa Linda in my opinion has one of the best resort beaches on the island. That was my first attraction to the resort and the 2nd was their beautiful pool area. Over the years Costa Linda has had many management issues which have kept it from realizing its real potential. Their restaurants (now down to 1 – I don’t count the breakfast place) have always been mediocre at best and entertainment/activities have always been lacking in both experience and creativity. Their upper management has always been stand-offish and therefore that attitude has affected some of the people that work there. The majority of staff however, are lovely. Housekeeping especially has always been very friendly. The minimal maintenance of the units and grounds is now quite visible and saddens me greatly. There is hope that a new management will bring Costa Linda back to life.

Having said all that - I could go on forever about Aruba and Costa Linda - there still isn’t a place we have found (we travel quite a bit) that we love more nor have we found a place that makes us feel at home like Aruba and Costa Linda. If you are looking for perfection and 5 stars this is not the place for you. The Marriott and Hyatt or further up on the island and can offer you drinks by the sardine like environments both on the beach and by the pool. I’ll take the clean room, gorgeous, spacious pool and the most beautiful beach on the island – pretty much to myself. Thank you Aruba for all the beautiful memories.