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Emily09 >
2 contribution(s) United States of America
Jul, 2010 | Leisure | Family
This was our second time ot this resort. We had such a good time the first time, we decided to take our 8 year old this time. He really liked it and had a blast. We had no issues or complaints. The staff is wonderful. We received 3 phone calls through-out the week from the director of the resort to make sure our stay was good and we had everything we needed, Very nice!!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We booked all of our excursions with DePalm tours, they have a rep in the lobby. We went on the baby beach tour, which I would highly recommend especially if you have young kids, our 8 yr old loved it. We went on a 4 hour snorkle trip which was great, food, drink and fun! We also went to DePalm Island which was a blast, we went on the half day, which was perfect, pay the admission and everything is included: drinks, food, water park, snorkle, basketball, volley ball. Very very nice for the price and everything that comes with it.
Arrival
Upon arrival we were welcomed by the staff with a welcom drink. Quick check in, but the room was not ready, she told us to go eat and then come back and the room should be ready, which it was. The lobby was clean and smoking in NOT allowed, outside only, which was great. The front staff was very friendly and effecient.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach is pefect, white sand, clear water and hardly any waves, what more would you want. Shade is hard to come by, as people do wake up at 5am to grab a spot under the shadey area, but grab a spot under a palm tree its nice, provides protection from the sun and plus you didn't have to get up at 5 to get it. Pool chairs are the same, but you wait till 1:30 the chairs are easier to come by. Pool area very clean, and nice.
Other Comments
We went to dinner one night off the resort, We ate at Moby Dick. Which was very very good. The atmosphere was very nice and elegant. Pricey but worth it. The staff was excellent!!!
Restaurants and Bars
We tried 3 out of the 4 reservation restaurants, The Italian, The steakhouse and The Gourmet. The steakhouse and the gourmet were excellent, very very good. The Italian was good also, I just liked the other 2 a little better. Reservationa are required at the 4 Ala carte restaurants, you need to make these between 9-12 every day for that night's seating, 6:30 or 9:00. Its not hard to make reservations, we always got our first choice, one morning we forgot to make reservations and went to the lobby at 1145 and we were given a reservation for the gourmet. The buffet was very good for breakfast every day, we ate dinner a few times also, which was once again very good, something for everyone!! Miss the food already. The pool bar was quick and entertaining, staff wonderful. We went to the outside bar everynight, very nice and laid back, perfect way to end the day. The lobby bar has nightly shows, which were either good or comical, but still stayed to watch.
Rooms
Our room was in building A, right in the center of the resort, great view of the pool and beach, wonderful sun sets from the balcony. Of course our room had the double beds pushed together, which did not bother us, it was ok for a vacation, they are not that hard and we slept fine every night. The bathroom was big with a stand up shower and tub combo, 2 double sinks. The balcony was average size, enough for 2 chairs and a small table, very private. Yes, the TV is outdated, but who comes to a place like this to watch TV???? No musty smell or smoke smell in the rooms. AC was good, kept the room nice and cold. Never heard our neighbors next door or loud noise in the hallway.
We stayed at the Renaissance in downtown Aruba Early June 2005.
Hotel Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino
User Rating:
Fishertwins05 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Jul, 2005
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kids club..
This was great for us The resort offers half or full day care with lunch for $ 35.00 for 2 kids. Our boys had lunch the day they attended at the pool bar and played ping pong and swam at the pool. They also offer a Friday and Saturday night child care program which included dinner at Wendy's and a current movie at the movie theater also $ 35.00 for two kids. The resort is less then a minute away from both so the boys were safe and enjoyed themselves as did Mom and Dad.
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
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)
Old Reviews - Getting married in the Caribbean
Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino
Stephanie & Erik
My daughter was married on August 27, 2005 on the private island at the Marriott Renaissance in Aruba. We had 92 people fly to Aruba so the pressure was on to make sure that everyone had a great time. Angela Hagedoorn was our wedding planner and she did an excellent job. It was a beautiful ceremony and we were very happy with everything!
We first went to Aruba in April 05, to see the island, choose place settings, menus, flowers, arrangements and music. Angela had everything ready for us so that we made all the decisions in one day. We were able to see the different room options at the hotel, so that we could recommend to all of our guests and family members the best place for them to stay.
During the time between April and August 27th Angela worked very hard to make sure that we had everything that we wanted. My husband wanted a special kind of red wine, Cuban cigars, and espresso coffee. Angela was able to fulfill all these requests.
We arrived in Aruba the Wednesday before the wedding. Angela met us at the airport and assured us on the ride to the hotel that everything was on schedule and running smoothly. We had itineraries and different items that needed to be in the rooms as people arrived (since we had so many people coming, they were arriving at all different times). Angela had this all coordinated and everyone had everything that they needed.
On Thursday we met with the band leader from The Party Posse. He assured us that he could play anything that we wanted.
On Friday night we had a buffet dinner on the lawn by the Beach Suites. The tables and chairs were covered in white and there were tropical flowers and colorful overlays on all the buffet tables. There were tikki torches and little white lights everywhere. We had the Caribbean Barbecue, which was amazing. There was a steel band, a limbo show, which everyone loved, and Coconut Charlie who cut open coconuts for kids of all ages. It was a great warm up party and I think we all thought it couldn’t get any better….
On Saturday morning, Angela had all the tuxedos and dresses pressed and in the proper rooms. She had a conference room off of the lobby complete with snacks, drinks, and a room full of hairdressers and make-up artists ready to make the bridal party breathtaking. We had the bride, 5 bridemaids, sister of the bride and mother of the bride to complete and we were all finished in plenty of time. Angela had all the flowers waiting in our room, where the girls all went to get dressed. She took all the favors, the bubbles, reception cameras and the card box with her to have over on the island and ready.
Angela had strict instructions for all of our guests to be in the lobby at the proper time in order to get them all to the island well before my daughter would come down. We had it written on the itinerary and she also made a call to each room to remind everyone not to be late. No one was. She took all the guests in the Sub Seeker, which is covered so that there would be no hair or dress mishaps.
After all the guests left the lobby, Angela called up to the room to have us all come down. We took the small boat over to the island. We all sat up in the front of the boat so that no ones hair would get messed up. There were 7 girls and plenty of room so that we would not get wet.
We had a light string jazz ensemble playing for the ceremony. It was the perfect musical touch. They played light jazz as everyone was getting seated, and then the traditional music as the procession started. It was breathtaking. The blessing was beautiful, with lighting of candles, offerings of flowers to moms, and exchanging of rings.
Everything was timed out perfectly for the pictures in the sunset. The sunset was so beautiful that it looks like a backdrop in the pictures.
Then, THE PARTY. It was great. The band was fabulous, they played Caribbean music and party favorites and everyone was dancing. The trees all had white lights, we chose black tablecloths and chair covers with gold bows. It looked great against the white sand.
We partied late into the night. The older folks were able to go back to the hotel whenever they wanted. Some of the younger ones staying and even went in the water for a swim.
On Sunday, Angela did it again. We had a buffet brunch out by the pools on the beach side. There was an abundance of food and drink for all. The tables and chairs were all covered in white and the chairs had light blue bows, which looked great against the water.
The photographer did an amazing job. When I went home on the following Wednesday, Angela had all the photos already in a beautiful book, and she also gave us a disc with all the pictures on it. This was a great surprise, to have them so soon and be able to get them reprinted for everyone.
The Party Posse was a great band. They had the whole party, no matter the age, up and enjoying the music.
The Renaissance was a great place to have a wedding. We had the whole island to ourselves for the whole night, and did not have to share with other brides or curious outsiders.
Angela was an angel through the whole process. She thought of everything before we did and she made it all happen at the perfect time. She is an A+++ wedding planner. We would recommend her again to everyone we know.
Thank you Angela and the Renaissance for making my daughters wedding a wonderful memory for everyone that was there.
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