When we booked our vacation last year for this coming April I could not have been more excited. After reading review on this website I was going into this vacation with an open mind. Yes, the hotel is under construction, and has been for a few years. The biggest hassel by far was the elevators. In our tower only one of the 2 were working, and sometimes none of them were working.
The food was not as great as other resorts, but it was not the worst food ever. The service was okay, nothing amazing, but it was not bad service. The Itilian Restuarant is AMAZING. Make sure to make reservations for that place!
The bar service is great, but so not that us you order a bottle of beer, or some different liquors (such as baileys) you have to pay for them.
Nightly entertainiment was okay a few nights, most nights we went to the market across the street and watched their entertainment.
De Palm Tours is great, highly recommend them! The price is great, we did the full day jeep off roading tour and snorkling at de Palm Island. not very expensive at all.
Shopping downown is great, things are not overaly cheap.... most places you can barder the price though, which is always nice!

We stayed for one wk. & found it to be what we expected. Lovely beach & most meals were very good. We were on an all inclusive plan thru Sunquest tours. Check-in was very long & disorganized. Waiting in line for a beach hut in the early morning was ridiculous (there has to be a better way to allocate huts or get more of them or perhaps umbrellas as the sun is very intense). Also, having to wait in line to make a dinner reservation was also not to our liking (again in the morning). And, having to sign chits for everything we ordered was extremely annoying. This is a great resort for families (lots of activities by the pool area). However, because we were just a couple, we would probably not return only because of the kids in the pool & the associated noise that goes with it. BUT, if you are a couple looking not to spend a ton of money, this is a good place to stay.

my friends and I stayed here and loved it. it was amazing and totally more than we expected. the breakfast @ corals was filling and the service was great. the only issue was waking up early to line up for a "chickie" hut in the am. it did not rain once so the weather was amazing. The hotel was @ full capacity and we had a blast. I recommend the lamb and escargot @ da vinches. A hint.....try killing me slowly or the ariba aruba beverages!!!! they are a must :-)

Our room was beautiful, overlooking the pool area and with a great view of the beach & sunset. Staff were professional and friendly. Location was excellent, too. Highly recommended for couples and/or families...I hope to be able to return someday!