Resort Details
Customer Ratings & Reviews
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
8130 reviews
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Mar 12, 2025Nice time in beautiful Aruba
We very much enjoyed our stay. We opted to to do the Tradewinds and we enjoyed the perks that came with that. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. The beach was beautiful and we had no issue getting a palapa the days we were there. We used the Tradewinds lounge for breakfast (mediocre), lunch (some nice offerings - delicious chicken salad sandwich), pre-dinner snacks (nice to be able to get something before our dinner out but nothing extraordinary) and of course adult beverages (great!) Unfortunately on our last day we left a Kindle on a chair at the beach but did not realize that until we returned home. I reached out to the concierge (Jacquleine Chiu) and received no response. My travel agent also reached out and received no response! I did not necessarily expect to get our Kindly back but I certainly expected a response. It's a shame that a wonderful time was tarnished with poor customer service once we were no longer guests.
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Mar 11, 2025You’re better off going to Mexico
This was our first vacation in two years and it was a tremendous letdown. I can confirm what others say about the chair and palapa reservation system, it’s entirely stressful, exactly the opposite of what you want to do on a relaxing vacation. The water and the beach were the highlight, and a bit less crowded and quieter than the pool area…except for jerks who like to smoke their cigars on the beach. The staff were very friendly and helpful, only person who rubbed me the wrong way was the concierge who offered me a “free gift” of a timeshare pitch for a $7 coupon towards aloe. The beachside grill was probably the best place to eat on site as you’ll get what you’re expecting. But know everything is very expensive. Mercat is terrible, just go out to eat dinner. Speaking of $$, if you’re a Marriot Bonvoy member you’re supposed to get 10% off everything. You just have to be aware, they’re not going to tell you. This place was too crowded, they pack it with more guests than they can handle. This gets back to the beach/pool/palapa issue. Rooms were nothing special, sheets and bedding weren’t the best, and tv channels didn’t like up with shows advertised. Mini fridges were entirely too small in case you had snacks or leftovers. For $800+ a night, I expected luxury or something striving for it, instead I got Florida. We actually came back early to cut our losses. This goes beyond this resort, but Aruba is a lot more expensive and more crowded than you’d expect. This place didn’t help. Next time we’re going to Mexico, a better bang for the buck and treatment of guests with open arms rather than their hands in your pockets.
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Mar 09, 2025
Fantastic hotel located on Palm Beach
Wonderful property in Palm Beach section. Hotel is beautifully landscaped and very clean. Location is directly on the beach which boasts white sand and turquoise waters. Pool area has swim up bar and happy hour 2x per day....which is bascially 2 drinks for $22 price, otherwise drinks are expensive $17-20 per. Overall the drinks are not that great for the high price charged. The system for reserving chairs is a bit of a chore everyday. We mostly ate outside of the property at the many restaurants in the vicinity, eating a few lunches at the snack bar on beach which was good. Also got gelato everyday at their Gelato bar. Charge everything to the room Check in was quick and easy as was check out. The room was nice size and very clean with comfy beds, large bathroom and nice balcony with ocean view. Our room was not sold as "ocean view" as room was on the side of property but we did have a view. The lobby and all public areas are well maintained and feels very new. The gym had several cardio machines and good amount of weight machines. The main attraction for us was walk out easy access to beach. Would highly recommend this property.
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Mar 08, 2025Great property! Francos is awesome
Our experience at the Marriott was great. The property was well taken care of. The beach was great. The food was excellent. And Francis working mornings at Mercat made our day! He’s a big reason why I’m writing a review. His care and personality were too awesome that I had to write a review!
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Mar 08, 2025We will not be back.
It was hard to evaluate my stay without taking into the account Marriott palapas reservation system. It is all depends on how you can tolerate the stress on your vacation. If you like the thrill of trying quickly make a reservation for a next day palapas - on your phone precisely at 5PM as waiting extra minute will be too late. So you have to quickly tap the phone hoping the app will not crash on you and you will get your price - a beach chair reservation confirmation! But wait, it is not the end of it. If you are successful (not guarantee), the second round starts the next day - this part is for those who enjoy gambling, The system will decide what palapas you will get. You will find out if you win ocean front palapas or got one in the last row near the stack of the chairs - at the time you will come to the beach the next day. It is similarly to playing roulette in casino hoping to get your number that you just bet all your money, than this place is for you. I can say, that I won 2 days out of 5 (got palapas near the ocean), broke even once (got one in the middle of the beach, and lost twice - got palapas at the very back. For me, I hate all that, since I came on vacation to get a stress free stay on the beach, and I did not get that here at all. I am sure manager of the hotel will respond to my review later with apologies and will say that they are working to improve the process, but the truth is that they can't. It will be always like this. They have about 100 palapas with 400 guests in the hotel. If the hotel is at the capacity, its just not nearly enough palapas for everyone. So the thrill begins... Aside of that, it wasn't the best beach vacation stay I ever had. Rooms are outdated, I heard they will start renovating in May. We got a supposed be premium ocean view, which is the room that is facing the pool. It's nice and all, but be beware if you like to rest in the room at the middle of the day between 2 to 5PM (assuming it was cleaned, which is not guaranteed), you will not be able to , due to very loud music by the pool. I think the better (and cheaper) rooms would be those facing the adult pool ( I think they are called partially ocean view rooms?). You will see as much ocean as the premium once (they are not front facing rooms anyway), but at least they will be much quieter. Towels in the room probably are as old as the hotel and being washed thousand of times. Same for the beach towels. Beach chairs? They look like those at the pool in your condo association with no padding what so ever.. Service is inconsistent at best. Some employees are nice and friendly and some looks like they don't want to be there. When I brought up the first come first serve beach chair reservation process at the nearby Ritz, and why not to use the same at the Marriott, I was told that they are premium luxury hotel, that's why they have more personal service. Really? I guess paying $800 a night does not qualify to be at the premium settings anymore... Beach service was good, but food was mediocre at best. We liked food better at nearby Ritz, where we ordered lunch at their beach café. Few dollars more but much better quality. Even though it is Aruba, tip culture is like in US, it is suggested to be added to every bill, even for the pick ups. Beach itself is nice, but ocean floor is very sticky and very unpleasant - especially the further you go in the ocean from the beach. I am sure my reaction to the resort would of been more positive if not the stress I had with palapas reservation, but it is what it is. That's why we will not be back.