Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino - European Plan

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8140 reviews

• 

  Aruba Marriot Resort and Stellaris Casino repeat visit in March 2025

  We enjoyed our week in March 2025, in a Tradewinds room which included breakfast, lunch, snacks and cocktails at certain times in the Tradewinds adult only lounge. Our service was great and we want to say a special thanks to Ludwig Croes, a marketing executive at Marriot, as well as staff members including Naila, Yokasta, Eve, Sylvia, Alix, and Romeo. One downside was that reserving pool and beach side lounge chairs was a process which required signing up for them the day before. Still will be a return visitor to beautiful Aruba, just hope the Marriot will have a better system to provide a spot for all the beach and pool goers in order to enjoy the beautiful pools and beach at The Marriot Stellaris Resort .

  Apr 12, 2025
• 

  Really amazing stay! Tradewinds was worth it to us by YMMV.

  Overall we really enjoyed our stay. We booked a discounted (through GovX) Club Suite - Limited View which is Tradewinds level. After reading some of the reviews here about Tradewinds I was expecting it to be a waste of money, but we were pleasantly surprised. The food was mostly very high quality. It comes from the restaurant - the Tradewinds doesn't have its own kitchen. There was good variety and it was consistently excellent. The only thing I tried I did not like was the scrambled eggs, which you can tell by looking at them they're your cafeteria-style, somehow cheapened type. Otherwise the breakfast menu is outstanding daily. Lunch and the evening appetizers were always great. If you like seafood, they will often have red snapper or other fish and it's outstanding. That said, if you don't drink alcohol then I'd say the Tradewinds is not worth the upgrade. If you do drink alcohol then it is definitely worth the upgrade. They have a draft beer system in the Tradewinds. The Chill, which is good when it is ice cold, always tasted slightly warm and off to me from that tap. The Balashi (pilsner) was consistently outstanding. In the refrigerator they offer cans of Miller Lite which was a bummer. I like Miller Lite but would have preferred cans of Balashi or Chill while in Aruba : ) You can take cans to the beach with you, as well as water and assorted soft drinks. A major negative that wasn't a huge deal for us but I can see others would be - if you purchase a discounted room like we did through GovX or Costco etc then you might get the "Limited View" version. We had room 848, which faced the Ritz Carlton, but still had a great wide view of the ocean. But I would say any room on floors 3 and up that are located on the inside of the U-shaped hotel are better. My point: just because you're on the TW 8th floor doesn't mean you get the best view. Elevators - this was something else I recall reading something negative about in a recent review but we never waited more than 10 or 15 seconds for an elevator, which is pretty amazing. Not waiting for minutes for crowded elevators is a big deal over many days. The lady that sings on Tuesday nights in the lobby? She seems to have a cult following. I don't get it. Not my taste. The main pool is nice but if course a lot of kids. We went over to the adult pool for a short visit once and it was the exact opposite - quiet and...to me...boring. : ) Happy hour at the main pool is fun - the one DJ is really fun and clearly enjoys doing it and spins some great tunes. There is another DJ who has a sour puss on his face the entire time and basically just hits play on his macbook and then walks over to the bar and talks to the bartenders lol. The big problem with the pool is that at least 70% of the chairs are consistently unused but people will insist on putting their towels on them anyway. We always went to the beach until ~3 or 4pm we would go to the pool. We always found a couple of chairs but it's slim pickings. I don't understand why people can't simply take their towels with them after they leave so that the chairs are made available to others. Had we wanted to use the pool during the day the lack of consideration from the majority of people there would have been an issue. I did notice if you want to get up by 8AM or so there were chairs available. But please, don't be the people who wrap towels around 4+ chairs and then not use them until noon or later, if at all. Many clearly went unused all day, with untouched towels on them, which is a shame. Now for the big reveal....the palapa situation. Yes, it's very annoying to me that you have to reserve a palapa at 8AM. Fortunately we were up around that time and my wife is an early riser and she reserved one every day. The first day it seemed to error out but when we went down to the TW section and asked, the guy said we did have one reserved and brought us to it. All other days she was able to reserve without issue. I will warn you that you likely won't have much if any view of the ocean from your palapa. We were mostly in the back or middle until the last day we got one of the 2nd row palapas. We didn't reserve one that day - we showed up late after an excursion. We never had an issue getting a palapa, but you do need to reserve and if you don't get one then just ask - the staff are consistently super nice and helpful. Housekeeping was consistently excellent. Turndown service was a nice surprise. Overall we had an awesome time. Did a couple of excursions: Delphi snorkel catamaran - we took a recommendation to use Delphi for this, which is all the way down by the Hyatt so a ~15 minute or so walk. They were great and we had a great time but if did it again would just use the operator right at the Marriott who coordinates them (he's located right next to the TW palapas). One minor thing to me but my wife found to be a big positive - the sand in the ocean in front of the Marriott is very fine after about 3ft. It feels like you're walking on sea moss or mud, which grossed my wife out a bit. The beach in front of the Ritz Carlton is just a short walk over and it doesn't have this issue. Not sure how that is. Otherwise the Ritz Carlton looked to be a pretty boring place to stay - very quiet and in chatting and overhearing many staying there it is mainly a place for business travelers to use up points. We almost chose staying at the Ritz ourselves in a standard room, as it would have been same price as the one we got with the TW upgrade. Definitely glad we went with the Marriott and TW. The staff at the Marriott and really all over Aruba were great - nice and helpful. We didn't run into anyone who was grumpy. We did a couple of excursions and went out to dinner at a few places and the staff everywhere in Aruba is just top-notch. Even at the airport. Of course, as is the case now at all US airports unfortunately, once you clear Aruba customs and security and then go through the US security, the smiles and friendliness turns to frowns and anger as is typical for TSA. Amazing contrast. Speaking of that - we heard horror stories about getting through the security/customs and to the gate. Our taxi driver told us that Saturdays are a problem but otherwise no problem. It took us 1 hour to get through security/customs and to our gate. We filled out the MPC form via the app but never saw an MPC line so not sure if that saved us time but it seemed everyone was just in the same line. Maybe on a Saturday/busy time that would be helpful. All in all, while I made sure to point out the negatives, we loved our stay at the Marriott Stellaris. Would we stay there again? No. Because we're not the type to go back to the same place twice - we like to try new places. And if we were to go back to Aruba, we felt that the walk to the 'downtown' was a bit far. It's only 15 minutes but the sidewalk ends and we kept getting sand in our shoes : ) We would stay at a more central hotel for easier access to all of Palm beach.

  Apr 10, 2025
• 

  Worst Run Marriott in the World!

  As a lifetime titanium and ambassador members, we would expect better service from this Hotel. They have absolutely no understanding of the commitment that people make achieving these status….again total amateur hour and reflects leadership of a discount hotel! We typically stay 30-40 consecutive nights each year (last 5 years) at this property. Based on the outright amateur hour of the management team, we will be checking out two weeks early, again this management team is the worst l've ever seen in my life. As with most Marriott global hotels this property is independently own but run by Marriott management. Getting hold of the GM took days, I guess because so many other guests are complaining so the call back list is long!. The GM thinks he is so important running a 400 room property that he can’t speak with guest! Totally unacceptable! We are going to try the Radisson hotel which will accept, titanium and ambassador status. I don’t believe any other hotel in the world could have worse service than this property! Find another hotel property! PC USA Rating: F

  Apr 09, 2025
• 

  Ignore the bad reviews and enjoy!

  Enjoyed our first visit to Aruba at the Marriott Stellaris. Was a bit concerned with many of the negative reviews about the property honouring status, being dated and securing a spot on the beach or at the pool. Waited on friends to return from the same property before maintaining our reservations. They had only good things to say and very pleased we stayed. Status was honoured* with complimentary daily continental breakfast which was great. Only complaint is that the coffee could have been hotter (minor point, and they offered a take away each morning to enjoy while starting the day at the beach or pool). *no room upgrades were available but didn’t expect it and the room was very well appointed, not dated, clean, roomy, and very comfortable. Turn down service was a nice touch and towel replacement was key after a long day at the beach. Rooms and common areas are nice. Not quite sure what others are experiencing, but the North side was great. Only negative is a strong musty odor by the elevators in front of Ruth’s Chris. With the humidity being so high on the beach, this is minor and easily dealt with. The hotel communicated that they will be renovating from May through November, so deals are likely to be had, and you’re unlikely to be disappointed. Beach and pool spots are a bit of a game, but if you listen to instructions, download the app, and simply ask for assistance, it’s not that big a deal. For such a large property, it’s understandable that choice spots go quickly. A couple of times, we got less desirable spots and simply went to the towel hut at 10:00 am to ask if anyone had not shown for their reserved spot. Worked out each time. Large pool definitely gets lovely in the afternoon. So, if it is not your scene, the adult pool is very nice. Staff are all very pleasant and accommodating. Met several people that are habitual visitors to Aruba and all chose the Marriott as their go too. We hope to be back for another visit soon.

  Apr 08, 2025
• 

  Phenomenal week! Another amazing experience!

  As always, phenomenal! Thank you to Nik, Ella, Claudia for an incredible stay! Check in was seamless and easy. Room was clean and bright. Front desk staff were always helpful and friendly! We had a few unexpected goodies waiting for is in our room- so greatly appreciated. The entire staff was incredible the entire time. Pool staff was accommodating and welcoming. The Mercat breakfast team was attentive and quite fun- especially Francis, aka the Pope😊. We loved the music from 3-5 and the fun vibe at the pool. Happy hour at the pool was always a good time for all ages. The food was great at the pool and sushi bar- and of course the gelato was the star of the show! The location is great and the beach was spectacular! There were 6 of us traveling together and we all had a phenomenal time! Thank you to the entire staff for another special week! ❤️D & R Edelman

  Apr 07, 2025