Location
Aruba - BeachProperty Information
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Resort Details
Hotel Advisories
General Policies & Fine Print
Check-in Policy - Hotel requires a credit/debit card authorization or cash deposit upon check-in for incidentals; this will place a hold on your funds.
Convention Policy : Groups traveling together can book this property for their stay taking advantage of group benefits such as 6th or 11th complimentary guest, Group dinner reservation, One complimentary cocktail hour with a selection of appetizers, One complimentary massage for the group leader, Complimentary room upgrades to the next category, Fruit plate and bottle of wine for the VIP, Private check-in when arriving together, Welcome sign. Applicable with Wedding Collections and Social Packages. Consult terms & conditions.
Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price.
Minimum night stay restrictions may apply.
Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
Customer Ratings & Reviews
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
8520 reviews
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Aug 26, 2023Aruba 2023
Everything was amazing, the food, very clean, courteous, beautiful. Staff was wonderful and polite. Loved the view from our room, will never forget it! We will be returning and bringing more people to stay at your resort.
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Aug 24, 2023NEEDS RENOVATING and BETTER CLEANING OF ROOMS
PROS: The pool area is very nice. Found something every day that I liked from the buffet Staff very friendly. Kudos to Jefferson at dinner time and to Madelyn who was stationed outside at breakfast time enjoyed the nightly entertainment CONS: The smell in the room and dampness of everything was bad. I had to use a hairdryer to dry my clothes before I put them on. Ventilation in the room was not good. THE PLACE NEEDS TO BE RENOVATED,
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Aug 24, 2023Horrible Experience - Definitely will not recommend.
Staff was horrible as far as helping with questions, no one care to help. Worse customer service. I also had a horrifying incident during my stay. I got stuck on the elevator in between floors for over 30 mins. The elevator stopped suddenly and knocked me on the floor. People staying there stated there was other people stuck on the elevator the day before but the ignored the issued and continue to let the elevator run. After reporting this incident, No one did anything or offered anything at all. Very disappointing. One of our friends got hurt on her foot when she opened the dresser and the door fell down on her foot. She was bruised and swollen. Nothing was done about it. Another one of our friends got electrocuted while trying to turn the temperate down on the room. Nothing was done about it. We had no not water, reported it to the front desk but they never came to fix it and again nothing was done about it. The room had a lot of humidity. The beds felt damp and our clothes also felt damp. The rooms smell like mold and 2 of our friends even got sick from this mold issue. We came there with 19 people to celebrate my husbands birthday and they were not accommodating at all. This hotel needs major upgrades and better staff. This was our second visit to this hotel and we will definitely not recommend it again to anyone and will NOT come back to stay there. We will come back to Aruba in the near future but will be looking for a better hotel. We were embarrassed to bring that many people to this hotel and felt we weren't treated right.
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Aug 22, 2023Large resort-maybe not the best however
We stayed at the RIU Palace-Aruba for one week. We stayed at other resorts on the island but this was our first experience here. These are the pros and cons of our visit. First, the hotel sits on top of a small hill. This doesn’t allow you to walk by and get a sense of what the hotel has to offer. The sidewalk up to the main entrance is steep and narrow, not really inviting, especially if you’re just browsing for a future visit. We arrived and were promptly greeted by one of the bellhops. He quickly assisted with getting our bags from our car and taking them inside the hotel lobby. The lobby is very large, bright and has a very pleasant tropical smell. While waiting to check-in, we were served glasses of champagne and welcomed by the staff. Check-in was very fast, and the clerk was very professional and friendly. We were given the key cards for our room and were sent on our way. We stayed in room 1101. Here is the first clue. The elevators only go to the 10th floor. BTW, there are only two elevators for the entire building. They claim to hold 10 people (certainly not 10 well fed Americans). We were also told the elevators broke several times during the week, although we never saw any evidence. We were not aware we would have to climb stairs-not a big deal, but if you have mobility problems, request a room on another floor besides the few rooms (suites) on the 11th. We couldn’t figure out how to get to the 11th floor but finally found housekeeping staff that led us to our room. Being in 1101 was very cool. Of course, you must use the stairs, but it makes it that much more private. There are no other rooms around you. The room was very large and spacious. Since this was a suite, there was a Jacuzzi tub in the room as well as one on the balcony. There was a comfortably sized seating area, large TV, king sized bed, a shower, and a separate toilet closet which includes a bidet. The bathroom area is large and all tiled, so no concerns over spilling water or wet beach/pool clothes. There is also a huge walk-in closet and a safe in the room. Cons for this room: stairs, the handle on the interior tub was broken off. We went to use it and the handle came right off the wall. The power for the outlet next to the sink went out as well as a light in the toilet closet. Staff were called and quickly fixed the power issues. Also, speaking of power, a card must be inserted for all electricity in the room to be on. Each time maintenance came to the room, they would remove the card, cutting all power which included the AC unit. We had it set to 21c (69F). I assure you; the room never got that cool. We slept every night on top of the covers because the room was so hot. In addition, we kept the curtains closed, you could just feel the heat building between the curtains and windows. Unfortunately, housekeeping would open the curtains, causing an already warm room to get that much hotter! We were told at check in, our drinks would be stocked daily. This was not the case. It was more than 24 hours before any drinks were stocked. We had to speak to the desk twice and went down in person before any drinks were brought to the room. I called on day 2 or 3 and asked for 4 Cokes and 4 Sprites, we got a few cokes, but they overloaded us with the local beer. You really need the water, and it just wasn’t kept stocked very well. The beach area is very nice and not a long walk from the hotel itself. The beach does get crowded so if you want a good spot, get outside early (6a.m.). Beach/pool towels are exchanged on a card system. You’re issued the towel card at check in. If you lose the card, it’s a $20 charge per card at checkout. The towels are large, clean and very fresh. The hotel has a couple of pools including a swim-up bar in one of the pools. There is also a small kiddy pool and play area too. There are tons of seats around the outside of the pool. The seating area gets filled fast and can be crowded. We found that walking down the interior hall of one of the buildings made it easier to get to the beach vs wading through the crowds of pool goers. Food: There are several specialty restaurants at the resort. Food is what you make of it. Some of the food was good, some of it was just okay, but I realize everyone has their own taste in food so…. There is a buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. All the buffets are large and seem to have an option for everyone. The meals seem to cater to both Americans and Europeans alike. You’ll find something to fill you. First, let me say, I’m not a huge fan of buffets. I feel like many goers are nasty and I don’t like to follow others through food lines. If you sit close and watch, you’ll understand. I watched a lady eat her breakfast over the buffet line and watched crumbs drop from her mouth into other serving trays. One evening they had a chocolate fountain for dinner. People could dip fruits, pastries etc. into the fountain as a great desert. I watched countless people dip food in chocolate then stand over the fountain to eat it. We watched a small boy, probably about 11 years old, get multiple marshmallows to dip. He dipped the first one and got the chocolate everywhere. When he realized his mouth was covered in chocolate, he put the partially eaten marsh mellow and skewer into the chocolate and left it there while he got something to wipe his mouth. He put at least 3 more partially eaten foods back into the chocolate while he wiped his mouth. All the while, others were coming to dip their food in stuff that had been circulated over his double-dipped desert! We told the staff but left before we saw if they removed the chocolate or not. I saw many guests drop food on the counters, pick it up with their fingers and toss it back into the buffet trays. Not sure if the utensils and things at the buffet were partially to blame, but we both left with COVID and were diagnosed upon our return to the states.
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Aug 21, 2023
Just ok.
Lovely hotel, as said before needs some money spent on it. I see in previous reviews, the lobby staff were unhelpful….totally disagree….very very helpful and always smiling. One thing I noticed, we could never dry anything in your room…. We were in the block nearest the other RIU Hotel, some days the smells in the corridor were terrible. The worst thing about this hotel, is the people staying there, shouting, arguing and slamming doors in the early hours just about every night!!!! If you wanted shade on the beach be prepared to get up early…. By 6am all the front shade nearest the beach were gone.. we saw many beds taken and not being used till the afternoon..