I have been a timeshare owner for some time now and have made many exchanges in that period of time. You expect a certain caliber of resort when you make an exchange. This being said, when I walked in to my 1 bedroom unit I was enormously disappointed.

The bedroom was big enough to fit the bed and a desk with a 19" tv with about 12 sq/ft of room to move around and change. Basically, it looks like a hotel room that was converted into a 1 bedroom. There are also no windows in there. That's okay, though, because you have a balcony with a view of... nothing [you thought I was going to say the ocean, didn't you?] The beach is across the street, but you can't see it from your room.

If you want to know about activities on the island, you're on your own - there is no activities desk or concierge service. They actually hire the coordinator from a real resort to spend an hour of her time at La Quinta on Sunday morning. Of course, if you want to book anything, you need to call her resort or one of the activities places directly. Obviously, this means that there are no negotiated deals or discounts for La Quinta residents. By the middle of the week, you will actually be embarrassed to tell anyone that you’re from La Quinta.

Do yourself a favor and stay at one of the high rises or either La Cabana or Playa Linda. La Cabana and Playa Linda are about two blocks a way in either direction, on the same beach, but a world apart.

Also, don’t be surprised when you see a timeshare tax of $12 per night. They don’t tell you that up front. Oh, and you get to pay a 4% “convenience” charge if you want to settle your final bill with a credit card. They will also force you to make a nonrefundable deposit that forces you to spend at least $20 at their pool bar. It says they have a restaurant in their description, but that is completely false. The pool bar is their “restaurant” and serves breakfast and lunch until about 3pm.

The two good things about La Quinta?

1. Their proximity to La Dome. No matter where you stay on the island make sure you reserve a night at this fantastic restaurant! Bar none, the best food on the island. The staff is wonderful and the food is AMAZING!

2. The room is so bad, you don’t want to spend any time in it, so you have a great excuse to always be out and about!

By the way - a quick tip on getting around in Aruba:
If you see a bus stop, wait in it. If the bus doesn't see you, they wont stop!