Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club Hotel

, Palm Beach, Aruba
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Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club Hotel

, Palm Beach
99 Lg Smith Blvd - Palm Beach - Aruba Hotel Website | 304-295-5501
334 Traveller

Reviews - Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club Hotel

Went here for our honeymoon ... it was amazing

from A TripAdvisor Member
We just came back from a week in Aruba. We already have a time share with Marriott, but we came down one day into our time share, so had to stay 6 nights at the Ocean Club and one nigt at the Surf Club. We didn't know it at the time, but evidentally we went right after the high-season, so the resort was not at all crowded. We found our accomodations to be excellent. We stayed in a one-bedroom place, went to the grocery store the first day and got food for breakfast and lunch, and drinks for happy hour. The hotel bars and restaurants are extremely overpriced. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. We typically went down to the beach at around 11 and had no trouble renting a palapa each day. The pool looked crowded, but we could have easily found two chairs. Our dinner favorites - Papiamento, El Gaucho and Flying Fishbone (the most romantic restaurant I have ever been to -- ask to be seated during sunset). For bars, my favorite were the drinks at Smokey Joes or Iguana Joes (same owners). We went on a snorkeling trip with the Jolly Pirate - we heard they were the most friendly tour - we had a great time. We also rented a car for 24 hours and drove to Flying Fish Bone (it's about 20 minutes away from the Marriott and $25 by cab each way. It was $30 to rent a car), then the next day we drove to the Natural Bridge and Baby Beach. The island is so easy to get around - the streets are well marked!

The only not perfect part of our trip was the last night. We had to stay at the Surf Club. It is no where near as nice as the Ocean Club, at least not now! Compared to the Ocean Club, we felt like second class citizens - the room smelled, there is no lobby and the beach palapas are the worst locations. We were either next to a restaurant and sitting in glass from the night before or in the shade next to construction. We ended up sitting in our bad location for half of the day and then moving over to a palapa at the Ocean Club for the rest of the day (they are up for grab if no one uses them after two hours).

We could highly recommed Aruba as well as the Ocean Club (NOT the Surf Club) - the island is amazing, the water the clearest we have ever seen, friendly peope, the best food -- overall a great honeymoon!!!

Thefts common in Aruba hotels (Marriott Resort)

from avikas
This was our first time to Aruba- we stayed at the Marriott Ocean Club.

Within 2 hours of checking in, someone had broken into our room from the rear window (between 7-9pm, which was still daylight), and stolen my laptop, video camera, and other items. The path behind the window was certainly not "lonely", so how could someone know which room to break into and walk out with the stuff raises serious doubts about the hotel staff.

When the front desk was alerted about this, it seemed like this was a common occurrence- they took their time calling security, very casual about the incident, and we never saw the hotel manager at all.

Later on, we learnt that several of my friends had their cars broken into in Aruba, and hotel staff said that thefts were common in Aruba.

I decided to write about my incident when I also read in the news about the missing American teenager in Aruba this week.

So, please be VERY careful about your belongings. It is safer to be on the higher floors of the hotel and not the ground floor to avoid people breaking into your room from the window or balcony (if they can break into Marriott hotels in broad daylight, what is to prevent them from coming in with a knife later in the night)?

A bit about the hotel (Marriott Ocean Club):

The hotel is nice, but the hotel staff needs a serious lesson in manners. They are rude beginning from the people at the entrance to the people at the front desk. Their attitude is one of arrogance, and I suspect they know that once a tourist comes there, they really have no option but to finish their stay there.

All/most rooms are "ocean view", and there is a big difference in "ocean view" and "ocean front". If you can lean out of your room and see the ocean, well, that is "ocean view". So it would be wise to drop your expectations of "facing the ocean" from an "ocean view" room.

ve reserved one!

from A TripAdvisor Member
My sisters and I just returned from a week at the Marriott Ocean Club. Our stay began on a disappointing note. My sister had reserved - and paid for- a two-bedroom, ocean-view suite through a well-known internet provider. We were given a two-bedroom, pool view unit on the very first floor. When we protested to the manager, we were told that the timeshare owners were given priority on ocean-view rooms and that those units were full all week. He then insisted that our unit, while not ocean view, was at least ocean front. I don't know how he came to that conclusion, since our balconies directly faced the pool patio and the other wing. Over the course of the week, I witnessed several guests having the exact same dispute with the manager, to no avail.

The unit itself was clean and spacious, and the furnishings were decent, but not anything luxurious. Be prepared to pay 30-45 dollars / day for maid service.

The staff was friendly enough, but unreliable. We ordered room service from the sports bar Champions one evening, and it took them three trips to our room to get the order right (and after three trips, we didn't even get dressing for our salads). We did reserve the huts in advance and found that one of us tended to get better service from the "hut guy", while another had better luck with the towel exchange lady, so we divided our roles.

We had one spa afternoon late in the week, and honestly went into it with pretty low expectations. The spa itself is small and pretty basic. We each had massages, which turned out to be excellent. My masseuse was Ingrid, who did an outstanding job.

Be prepared for a barrage of phone calls inviting you to buy into the Surf Club. We told them that when they moved us to the ocean-view suite we'd paid for, we'd come. It never happened.

If I were to visit Aruba again, I would probably stay at the Hyatt or the Radisson. Those seemed to have the best word-of-mouth on the island.

A Great week overall!!

from A TripAdvisor Member
Just returned as well from Presidents week. The resort was crowded but we never felt on top of anyone except on the pool deck. The two bedroom is more than adequate for a family and the furnishings were all in great shape. The drinks are expensive at the bar and there is no real happy hour like a 2 for 1, just a dollar off most drinks. There is music everyday outside which is nice.The kids club is excellent and my 5 year old used it a few times. He would have used it more but for 20 dollars for 3 hours I did not sign him up if he was on the fence. It is not a drop in club. REservations are needed there 24 hours in advance. The snack bar was good, just hard to get a seat at lunchtime so we ate most lunches in the room. The only complaints are these-- many mosquitoes everywhere!! in the halls, rooms . kids clubs etc which is surprising since there is so much wind. There is a charge for maid service which is disgraceful at the price they charge to both timeshare owners and their guests. (30 dollars per day for "tidy service" and 45 for linen change)Achange of bath towels is not free either as we learned the hard way. Who wants to go on vacation and wash towels? I have never even at a holiday inn! The huts are a problem unless you enjoy standing in the dark waiting for the stand to open and again to reserve is 10-15 dollars per day and you can only reserve for 3 days before they are full for the week. NOt my idea of a fun time on vacation. Overall , i would return but if you can avoid a holiday week do so.

crowded but nice

from houltongirl
My husband, daughter (age 5), and I returned yesterday from a week at the Ocean Club. We had a wonderful time in Aruba and were very comfortable in our 1 bedroom "villa" at the Ocean Club. We had plenty of space, and used the kitchen for breakfast and an occasional lunch of leftovers from dinners out. The entire resort (hotel, Ocean Club, and Surf Club) was very, very crowded because it is school vacation week. The crowds at the beach and pool were exacerbated by the continuing construction at the Surf Club which drove those guests to the Ocean Club pool and beach. As a result, there were arguments, some very loud and aggressive, over "saving" pool chairs. The voices seemed to be mostly those of some very rude New Yorkers who seemed to be used to bullying their way through crowds. It was really the only unpleasant note of the week. It's possible (difficult, though) to reserve beach huts, but the pool chair system is a free-for-all that starts at about 6 in the morning. People throw towels over groups of chairs and then leave for the morning, or the day, to go to the beach or town or whatever. Meanwhile, whole families are roaming around trying to find a place for their things even though there are lots of empty chairs with towels on them. The experience would be better if the Ocean Club established clear guidelines about this practice during busy weeks. Otherwise, we had a wonderful time and tried not to let the pool behavior bother us. We met some very lovely families we hope to see again. The service was fine, the people are very, very nice and try their best to be helpful. We had a little rain, but generally the weather was great. My husband went windsurfing on five mornings and had a great time. My daughter tried the Kids Club on the last day and enjoyed it. We had wonderful dinners at Marandi, Flying Fishbone, and at Que Pasa. We tried the Italian restaurant at the lighthouse, Trattoria al Faro Blanca. It is a very beautiful place with a spectacular view of the sunset, but the food is not that special and it is very expensive. Overall we had a great week. We ended up buying a timeshare at the Surf Club, so we'll definitely return.

Week in Aruba........

from graymar6
We have just returned from Presidents' Day week at the Ocean Club. Our one bedroom villa was outstanding; king sized bed, living room, and full kitchen, all tastefully and comfortably decorated. The resort was packed because of the holiday - lots of kids :-(. The grounds and facilities were well landscaped and equipped. Water in the pools was cold and the Caribbean wasn't much warmer. We had no trouble getting a free palapa everyday - of course, we were in line at 7:30 AM. Beach was very crowded. Property is being over built with the new Surf Club adjacent. You will be pressured to visit - Don't do it!! Food and drink are very EXPENSIVE on the property and not outstanding to justify the cost. There are several other restaurants within walking distance of the resort that offer a variety of food at more reasonable prices. Take the bus to town for $2 roundtrip. It's very clean and safe. All in all, we had a good week but will go to another island next year since we were like sardines in a can at the pools and beach.

STILL Under Construction

from selfant
The stay in Aruba was great, as usual; however, this time we went on a time-share vacation to this brand new Marriott property. We came there on the first day that it opened to the public and stayed there for 7 days. First, to let you know, we are a young couple, without children, in our twenties ( just to have the perspective.) Below, listed are some minuses(-) and pluses(+) of this property.

Minuses

1.) The hotel was still Under Construction, and as far as I know, will be under construction untill 2007.
2.) The whole scenery on the photo that shows the hotel, is actually a picture and describes what the hotel will look like in the future. All of the "lazy river", extra swimming pools and jacuzzis are not built yet.
3.) Half of the time the hot tub was not operational.
4.) Our room was tiny. Later it turned out that our room was actually part of a suite that they devided because they overbooked themselves.

Pluses

1.) It is a new property, and everything looks new, smells new, and is new.
2.) The staff is super friendly and helped us to book all of our tours in an efficient manner.
3.) There is a small kitchen inside each room, so we did not have to go out every night. That saved us some money. We ate most lunches in our room. There was a refrigirator.
4.) The location is at the very end of the strip of the high rise hotels, and is near the beach. Great Beach. Nice weather! Its Aruba!

Great Hotel! Kid-Friendly!

from A TripAdvisor Member
We enjoyed our stay in a two-bedroom unit with a kitchen and living room area. The hotel was clean and the room was spacious. The pool was very crowded and full of kids, so if you don't have one, you may want to stay elsewhere. We have a 2 year old so it was okay with us! The beach is absolutely gorgeous despite the rocks! I recommend renting a raft and floating in the ocean all day! The Marriott next door has a casino which is never too crowded. Great restaurants on the island - especially Madame Janette which was one of the best meals we've had and has great live music. El Gaucho has great steaks. The hotel food was overpriced and not very good unless you go to Champions Sports Bar. Drinks were very expensive at the hotel so we just bought drinks at the local grocery store and brought them to the pool. Overall, this was an amazing vacation! We'd go back in a heartbeat.

Flawless luxury

from Khonsu
Just come back from 2 weeks in Aruba after a dual location holiday. 1st week was in the palacial surroundings of the Aruba Ocean Club.

The one bed suite we occupied was delightful, immaculate in all areas. Television in lounge and bedroom, two seater jacuzzi in the bedroom was strange to see but great fun. Dual balconies weren't sea facing although some are but the view was fine.

Maid service is only once a week which seemed a little short - you can pay $20 to have an additional service.

The Aruba Surf club was in construction next door but nothing at all was effected by this.

The restaurants are lovely, I recommend booking - usually within a couple of hours is fine though. Simply Fish is picture perfect for dining actually on the beach.

Champions Bar is good for typical bar type foods.

The beach wasn't too busy and we were able to get a beach hut everyday without reservation. Reservations can be done in advance for $15 - this is not necessary. We weren't bothered by hawkers of any description try to sell things.

The Stellaris Casino is good and if you are not used to Casinos you feel very comfortable in there.

If we are to return to Aruba, which we certainly hope to, then the Marriott is where we would stay. In comparison to our 2nd week - there is no comparison.

Hope this helps.

deteriorating all around

from NJ2NC
My husband, myself and a friend of mine returned on October 3 after a one week stay at the Ocean Club. My husband and I have been owners at the resort since 1999 and my friend came with us last Sept. and even she could see how much the resort has changed in one year. My husband and I vacation in Aruba at the Ocean Club every May and Sept. and the change in service was quite noticeable even from 4 months ago. We had requested an extra blanket and 2 additional pillows and had received none. I made a 2nd call the following day. Towards the end of the week, we'd run out of toilet tissue and made a request for same and again, no response. The members of the Surf Club had taken over the Ocean Club, and it was told to the owners of the Ocean Club that the Surf Club would be a seperate entity. The pool towels are part of the room inventory and you are only allowed to exchange them for dry towels once per day. We'd gone to the beach and exchanged them for fresh towels for the pool, then when I went back to exchange them again so we'd have clean towels for the following day, I was told, "sorry, you've already exchanged them once today." The happy hour is now just that, one hour, from 4-5p.m. and there are no longer 2 for 1 drinks. That has been changed to $2.00 off the price of whatever drink they select for the day. Drinks have gone up in price to an average of $8.00. If it weren't for the friendly people of Aruba, I would no longer return. The palm beach area is just to overbuilt with the addition of the Surf Club and there is little room in the beach anymore. If you haven't been there in recent months, you're in for a disappointment.

Top Local Tips for Palm Beach

eating in aruba Madame Jenette, modiartly priced in a very romantic atmosphere.Best meal of tripSmokey Joe's for Ribs. $16 three slabs of ome of the best ribs I ever had. Romantic Beach eating Sunset Bistro(divi phonex) $30 prix-fix not to be missed. tables in sand by water or on a platform. food was above average, but very romantic. Similar is moomba next to marriott surf club. Not as romantic but very nice setting. stay late for bar scene.French Steakhouse. $30 5 course at manchebo Beach. best Fillet mingoin I've had. Rivals those in NY without the pricey atmospher. Skip the side orders and eat in the garden. Similar savings $22 early bird before 7pm.Gaspatio has a great outdoor garden. Moderate prices, Local style food. Breakfast at le Petit cafe $8 all you can eat. Not buffett, but table service. The first plate was all I can eat, but they offer you more. otherwise go to moomba for $10 buffett on beach.

The water/food and weater Aruba has the best drinking water, no need to purchase bottled water. The food there is very good you shouldn't worry about getting any stomach virus. The weather is perfect almost everyday. I can be a bit windy but nothing to write home about.

Take the Bus! Take the bus into Oranjestad instead of a cab. It is much cheaper, and easy to access.

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Other names for Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club Hotel

  • palm/eagle beach marriott
  • marriotts palm eagle beach
  • marriotts aruba ocean hotel
  • marriotts aruba ocean club
  • marriott palm/eagle beach
  • marriott aruba
  • Address: 99 Lg Smith Blvd - Palm Beach - Aruba
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