We stayed at the Renaissance in downtown Aruba Early June 2005.

Hotel
The hotel is located in downtown Orangestad. The whole Island is accessible from this location. We stayed in the Ocean suites (versus the Marina Towers located directly on the main street), which have one private bedroom, a small bar area with 2 refrigerators, a bar sink, a micro wave and a stove top. Dishes and utensils are provided. A living area has a fold out sofa where our 2 ten year old sons slept and a table which seated four. Our garden view room over looked the Mall parking lot next door but the ocean was beyond the parking lot. The area was always quiet. The resort and room were always clean and we found the accommodations to be quiet, and very clean. The staff claims all rooms were recently remodeled. The Renaissance is a Marriott property.

Beach & Pool
The hotel has a private Island which is a short 5 minutes boat ride away. The Island is at the end of the airport runway so you know when a plane lands or takes off, we found the island beach water too calm for us. We were at the pool almost every afternoon and it was quiet and enjoyable. Since June is off season there were plenty of chairs to go around. Our kids enjoyed the pool.

Why the Renaissance
We landed up at the Renaissance since 60% of the hotel is a time share and we did it as an exchange (Interval International) . We would recommend Aruba to anyone in June, the weather was good and the crowds were small. We rented a car for the week (Under $200) and then traveled each day to a different beach and to the grocery ( Ling's was a fabulous upscale place to shop) We snorkeled at Malmuk and Baby Beach. We also rented a Jeep one day and went to the Natural Pool and the Natural Bridge) . The concierge was excellent in helping us get around and assisted with restaurants and the Jeep rental. There is no need to do any tours or snorkel trips, just jump in your car and go. (The jeep rental agency also rented snorkel gear)

Dining
We keep costs under control by eating breakfast in our room and doing some picnic lunches. Our family enjoyed Pinchers with its excellent Sunset, Moobaa Beach Bar with live music Sunday night, our 10 year old twin boys liked the pool table and foosball, and our kids ate more then we did at Texas de Brazil steak house.

Our recommendations;
If you choose the Renaissance you will need a car to access the beaches and restaurants. You can also walk to anywhere in town day or night, safety was not an issue. There is a large mall adjacent to the hotel with a variety of fast food restaurant's (Wendy's, Subway, Dunkin Donuts) the Island's Largest movie Theater and other restaurant's and shops. Tuesday night we walked to the Island Culture Festival 2 short blocks form the hotel, Addmission is $ 3.00 per person. The hotel is an excellent time share exchange since it is easier to get then others. I would not pay a premium to stay here due to the lack of beach at your door step however we visited the Marriott resorts and the beaches were packed. Where ever you stay in Aruba we recommend a car to explore and visit beaches, parking was never a problem however the lack of signs in remote areas meant asking lots of locals for directions