We stayed here, all inclusive; so expected to have a little attention. Ah, no. Only one restaurant open, self service EVERYTHING, the rooms smell musty, dirty. The sliding glass door to our room did not close the bathroom fan did not work, no coffee maker; obviously do not check their rooms as they are supposed to. So the maintenance staff came to fix these; unable to fix either the fan or door. Transferred us to a room that was WORSE. All this while the management really couldnt seem to give a care. The coffee maker they did manage to bring, smelled terribel while it was working. As i investigated it, I found there was MOLD in the coffe maker--I was livid and disgusted. There was nothing the management would do to compensate as they did not have a different room, and would not adjust our bill which was close to 2000.00! I would not recommend this hotel. Aside from the incompetent staff and nonfunctional accomodations, the beach is OK, pretty rocky--bring you sand shoes. You have to get up at 7am to stake your claim to beach chairs which is goofy. but the guy acroos the street at the Crepe stand makes some AWESOME crepes!!! Stay somewhere else, there is better for the money the ask for!!

We cashed in our priority club points for a week stay in Aruba Holiday Inn in Mid-December. Cost us 25,000 points per night using our points. At check-in we received our ocean view room as a free upgrade for being platinum-perfect. Room was a typical holiday inn: Nice bed, flat screen, air, refrigerator, coffee maker, coach, table and chairs. We had a beautiful ocean view with a nice balcony. The beach faces the sunset so every night you get to enjoy the beautiful sun disappearing into the Caribbean ocean. The hotel is nice, not the fancy Westin or Ritz but the location is perfect. Shops across the street like everyone else stated.

A lot of people already covered the basics on here, so here are a couple more thoughts: Aruba is Expensive! Be ready to spend some cash, because everything is shipped into the island. Food/Drink/Shopping all expensive, Example: First night we went across the street to the Mexican restaurant. Taco dinner $20, beer $5 and just OK American style Mexican food. So about double the prices we pay in the US for everything.

The Casio has a poker room and sports betting room, table games open only at night.
Beech is great, the palm huts are needed with how hot it gets in the sun, start lining up about 3:30 for your reservation spot and watch the old people fight – it is great free entertainment.

Take the bus – It picks you up right in front and for $2.30 US one way you can get to downtown, it is the last stop and then the bus heads back towards the hotel. Better shopping downtown.

Free entertainment across the street every night, bands, dancing, etc…

Super Foods – After seeing the prices of everything we decided to go shopping where the locals go, we took the bus towards downtown and walked to Super Foods. Picked up Beer, snacks, etc… Still expensive but not as bad as the hotel and got a taxi back to the hotel. Probably saved a couple $100 on beer alone.

The staff at the hotel was like being back in Mexico, you call the phone – no answer. You get someone on the phone and ask for something – they act like they don’t understand you. Pretty poor service I thought for how high class and high priced everything else is. Coffee maker in your room and you have to beg for coffee from the staff, this should be a norm when cleaning the room everyday like every other Holiday Inn. Other than that we loved Aruba (Especially the wife with all of the shopping on the island)

This hotel was recommended by a friend and after reading some reviews I was slightly worried to be honest. After getting there we enjoyed everything about the place. The location is amazing with all the restaurants and bars within a short walk down the street. Most importantly the beach where you should be for your trip is perfect. The water isn't that deep so if you are tall enough you can walk out 100 yards without a problem.

We had an issue with a smell in our first room and they were kind of enough to switch our room and we somehow got a better room. The smell was something the cleaning crew uses and I suggest whatever it is they should stop using it.

The hotel is a little dated, but it shouldn't matter since you should be outside for the whole day enjoying Aruba. We are planning on going back with the next two years to the hotel.

We are a family of four (H+W+16/20 y.o. children) and stayed here Dec. 29-30, 2012 as we were in transit from Curacao.

The Holiday Inn is on a beautiful beach amid hotel row. We found the staff to be attentive and friendly, the breakfast food excellent and reasonably priced in a pleasant dining hall. The beach area and grounds/pool are well maintained as was the fitness facility. The hotel building common areas and guest rooms are tired-looking and need to be cleaned more frequently.

The hotel is also well situated as it is across the street from restaurants and shops. Parking is free in a nearby parking lot. Get a car so that you can get away from hotel row and see the beauty of the Aruba. Hotel row is indistinguishable from Miami, Cozumel, Honolulu, etc. Very American on hotel row and never heard Dutch spoken and rarely heard Papiamentu spoken. Spanglish 24/7 with at least half of the guests from Venezuela.

If you want a reasonably priced hotel on a beautiful beach with fine service for a sun/sea/sand vacation, then this hotel is a fine candidate. If you want a more enriching cultural experience (architecture/museums/history), with beautiful beaches in coves, then go to Curacao instead of Aruba.