Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa is an intimate boutique resort in the "low-rise" area on Eagle Beach. The resort has approximately 70 rooms and is two stories high. This is the perfect get away for a romantic and relaxing vacation on one of the most beautiful beaches in Aruba!
Aruba is our favorite vacation destination and in the past have stayed many times in the "high-rise" hotel area. After a conversation with friends who absolutely love Manchebo Beach and continued to rave about how wonderful it is, did the research and decided to try something new and booked our vacation. We love Aruba for the many excellent restaurants on the island so did not choose the all-inclusive option.
Renting a car at the airport is our preference and the resort was a short ten-minute drive. There was ample space for parking and were greeted warmly at the open air lobby for check-in which was very quick and with smiles all around. First, we were given cool hand towels to freshen up after our travel and then presented with a Mojito! While waiting for the room to be available, we enjoyed lunch at the Pega-Pega Beach bar, and met the General Manager, Edgar, who was kind enough to answer questions about the resort while enjoying our lunch together.
From check-in to check-out the entire staff were so friendly and went out of their way to be accommodating to provide excellent customer service! We were notified within 15 minutes that our room was ready and someone was ready to assist with our bags. Our room was on the second level and there are no elevators, so assistance with the luggage was very much welcomed. Our room was spacious with a balcony that had a beautiful view of the ocean. Chilled champagne was the perfect accompaniment to a gorgeous sunset viewed from the room!
This resort has a wide oceanfront with plenty of palapa huts (50) that are spaced out nicely over the beach. The beach assistant was always there to set up the lounge chairs or regular chairs and to make you comfortable. The hotel provides coolers that are perfect for bringing beverages to the beach and ice machines are conveniently located. Alejandra was the best beach waitress and so attentive....stand up the orange flag at your hut and she is there almost immediately to take your order and serve cocktails and food.
The room was clean with a king-size bed, refrigerator, coffeemaker, microwave, flat screen TV and the bathroom had a rainfall shower and nicely tiled, all recently renovated. The grounds are nicely planted with unique accents, even a "wooden chair that makes dreams come true." It was a short walk to the beach, the swimming pool, the yoga pavilion, the restaurants and the front desk. The fresh water swimming pool was never crowded and a nice area to relax. There is a washer and dryer on-site if you choose to do laundry but found the laundry service to work perfect for our needs. The store provided everything you may need.
Spa del Sol is directly on the beach and the treatment rooms open to a view of the ocean. They offer full body massages, facials, eye treatments, body treatments, nail care, waxing and combinations of all. The Swedish massage was one of the best ever, relieving tension and stiffness from the muscles, what an amazing therapist. The Garra Rufa Wellness Footspa was unique with a pedicure by Garra Rufa fish which lasted for 30 minutes while the owner explained this natural treatment and answered all questions, try it!
The beach is beautiful with soft, white sand and is quite large both in width and depth. It was a good distance to the water from the palapa huts and enjoyed being able to walk the beach for miles. The water had more waves than the high-rise area and was clean and refreshing. We enjoyed walking the beach to happy hour a few afternoons at Matthew's Beachside Restaurant which provided music and dancing, it was a fun St. Patrick's day party.
After enjoying morning walks on the road or on the beach, we found "The Marketplace", across the street from the resort, the perfect place for coffee at Juan Valdez Café and a bagel from Dunkin Donuts. The Marketplace has nice shops, a clothing store, beauty parlor, a wine and piano bar and a market with a deli, beer, wine, alcohol, beach accessories, t-shirts and everything Aruba and every convenience item needed. The Alhambra Casino is across the street also.
We enjoyed Pega-Pega Beach Bar for lunch and loved their happy hour with live steel drum music. The bartenders were all excellent and have to mention Fanny and Phoebus, we had so much fun with them! Ike's Restaurant on-site was excellent with romantic dining next to the pool. Our waiter, Shane, was all-around excellent and we loved our meal choices, thanks to his recommendations. The entertainment was very special the evening we dined at Ikes, dancing to the saxophone music by Lucio, was absolutely amazing and it was so enjoyable to meet him.
An exciting event happened on the last day of our vacation. While relaxing on the beach in the afternoon we heard people yelling, to find that a giant Leatherback Sea Turtle was coming ashore to lay her eggs on the beach. The approximate 700 lb. turtle travelled a good distance up the beach and began digging a hole in which she laid about 100 eggs, covered it up and made her way back into the ocean. The local naturalists arrived, (there is a 24 hour Turtle Hotline in Aruba), the TV crew showed up as well as the police to manage the crowd. This was an amazing sight and so lucky to witness this miracle of nature.
The high-rise hotels are close by, 2 1/2 miles up the road if you are seeking nightlife, shopping and restaurants. The Soprano's is a fun piano bar, Gusto is a retro nightclub, and there are many options for entertainment. We enjoyed a stop at the newly opened Ritz for a walk through and to check out the casino which was not crowded, very expensive.
We enjoyed our favorite restaurants on the island which will be reviewed separately. We utilize the rental car to drive to dinner and there is one main road on the island so it is difficult to get lost. Check with the front desk for directions to "Marandi" which is a giant palapa hut over the water near the airport and tricky as it is in a residential area, and "Old Man & the Sea" in Saventa which is an hour drive to an amazing sunset dinner on the beach in the most romantic setting. Drive through the parking lot of "Flying Fishbone", don't stop, go past about 200 yards and you are there!
Sad to have to check-out at the end of the week, computers were available for printing boarding passes. At check-out we were handed a "goodie bag" that included snacks for the flight home.
Manchebo Beach was the perfect vacation and exactly what we were looking for, quiet and relaxing. To all our newly made friends at Manchebo Beach, we are coming back....already booked for 2015! That says it all!
