Sherrie and Rick are very warm, attentive and welcoming hosts. Staying with the locals instead of the high rise hotels in the touristy spot is definitely our traveling style. What we like best was the large and clean apartment, which offers everything our family needed. The breakfast served each morning was delicious and plentiful. Breakfast time was the time where we got the best tips from Sherrie and Rick on the restaurants and the beaches frequented by the locals, and also get to know the other guests. The yard around the property and the swimming pool is well maintained.
You definitely need to rent a car to visit the island. The dirt roads on the North side of the island lead to rugged beautiful scenery, totally different from the South side. Also It rains quite a bit on the island, not for long though. We especially like the Baby beach and the Arashi beach for snorkeling. For dining, restaurant MADAME JANETTE was simply fabulous. Restaurant Zeerovers offers the fresh catch of the day, it's also the place where the locals hang out.
We will defintely come back to the BUFFAM's tropical Haven when time permits.

I must say that all the reviews are correct when they talk about Rick and Sherrie's hospitality. They certainly made us feel at home in Aruba. When we arrived they were there to greet us and show us around. There were some cool drinks in the fridge and they were able to answer any questions we had and offer some activity/dining suggestions

We had a big room with a kitchen. I don't know that the kitchen is well equipped enough for any gourmet meals, but it was fine for snacks and drinks. Bring your own paper goods and wrapping materials if you need that stuff. Maybe spices too because everything in Aruba is imported and is expensive. No oven and just a small stovetop. Full refrigerator though. Also a cooler to bring to the beach.

In Aruba most homes get their hot water from passive solar heat which means that the pipes are buried very close to the surface and the water in them gets hot. They then don't use water heaters. The water at the Buffman's isn't hot or cold, but tepid. Since Aruba is almost always hot and sunny it usually felt good.
Also, FYI: the water in Aruba is very safe to drink as it all goes through a desalinating filter system.

The yard and pool area is beautiful, clean and relaxing. It is located in a real Arubian neighborhood. It seemed perfectly safe to walk around day or night. Lots of dogs barking occasionally but all were inside their gated yards. Other than that it was very quiet.

The place is about 3/4 of a mile to a very beautiful beach. I would have to say it is not a great walk because you have to cross some busy roads and then walk on a quiet road through a kind of ugly field. Safe but not pretty. The beach has a few nice public shade shelters. There is also a public bus stop. The buses are really quite nice and will take you to the fancy hotel/restaurant area and their public beaches or to the other beautiful, non-built up public beaches. I think the cost is $2.30 one way. When we were there we did rent a car for part of the time. Parking was no problem at beaches, a little challenging at night by the high rises.

One of our nicest memories of Aruba will be sitting around in the mornings or evenings chatting with the other guests or Rick and Sherrie. It was fun to hear the plans and adventures of others.
If you are the luxury hotel type this may not be for you. But for us it was great.

I spent four nights at Tropical Haven. It was such a neat and clean place. Sherrie was away back to the States when I was there, but Rick made everything nice. I enjoyed the beach a lot, which is walkable. I was going through some difficulties in my personal life, it was nice to have someone that looked after you and made you feel like home while traveling.
Susan Sun from Baltimore.

First of all, the Buffam's are great people. They are retirees from Massachusetts who have moved down to Aruba to set up a B&B - living the life! They are incredibly helpful and made us feel comfortable from our first email to our final goodbyes. They set us up with a rental car that was far cheaper than any of the regular chains ($30/day) and helped us set up daily activities and told us exactly where to go and not to go! Their place is very quaint and relaxing...the only SLIGHT downfall is that is located in the middle of a neighborhood of locals, in other words you would have a tough time without a rental car there and you wouldn't want to walk around the area (not pretty). However, their proximity to the beach (a mile or two) is awesome, and everything they do for guests makes this a top place in my book. I will definitely be returning to Buffam's and recommending them to all of my friends!