Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

I didn't finish my wedding review yet but I know a lot of people here are interested in or staying at the bucuti so I thought I would post this now.

Bucuti Beach resort, Aruba - A+++
What can I say? Everything about the bucuti was amazing. It was exactly what we were looking for in a HM. I spent SO much time researching our HM my DH wanted to kill me but when we were there I asked him if it was worth it now and he admitted it was b/c everything was perfect. We wanted a beautiful beach that wasn't crowded, quiet, and no kids (ok, there were a FEW kids, and it was fine, but still, why would you bring kids when they "strongly advise against it"?!!).

We could not hear people in other rooms and it was very quiet and private. The beach was awesome. Beautiful, soft sand, the water was amazing and clear and bright turquoise, I could not get over the color!). I am SUCH a baby about going in the ocean at home but DH had to drag me out in Aruba, and not crowded at all. FH wanted to be very close to the beach and not have to walk far, and the Tara suites are very close to the water.

There is also a bar on the beach and restaurant so we didn't have to go far for food/drinks...they will also bring food and drinks to you on the beach, you just have to put a flag up. The service was excellent.

a pic from under our palapa on the beach. If you order 2 or more coronas they will bring them to you in an ice bucket. We felt like we were in that corona commercial. You get a card for towels and go to the towel hut every day to pick them up (where you also get the aforementioned flag)


We usually got on the beach around 9 or 9:30 every morning and had no problem finding a palapa. We tried to get one in front of the water but it semed like people got up super early, left their towels there and then came back when they felt like it It *was* the week after Easter so I know it was more crowded than usual but that was annoying. BUT the palapa we had was GREAT and we decided it was better anyways b/c it was hotter near the water (sun reflected off of it).

Of the (very few) negative reviews I saw online on tripadvisor, they criticized the food at the Pirate's Nest and the service staff for not being friendly. Every single person there was so friendly and always smiling. We had lunch at the Pirate's Nest every day. It wasn't incredible but it was very good. We also had the dinner on the beach and it was delicious and very romantic. We had our free breakfast there every morning and while hot items are extra (omelettes, etc) iot was fine. I had granola and fruit every morning and DH had fruit and a bagel or multi-grain bread. They also had donuts, ham, cheese, and yogurt.

Another thing. Usually when I go to a hotel it feels gross or old or dirty to me in some way (yes, I have issues). But the bucuti was so incredibly clean and nice. I really felt like we were living in our own apartment in Aruba or something, not a hotel room.

You can do a a pre-check-in online so basically it takes less time to check-in when you get there. I mentioned we were on our HM, and so they gave us a cute gift bag with champagne, 2 champagne glases we got engraved w/ our names and kept for free, some crackers and chocolate. My pics of this didn't come out good

We arrived on Easter Sunday and they left this for us in our room!


We stayed in the Tara Penthouse for the 1st 5 nights (it wasn't available for the last 2 nights of our HM) and then switched to a Tara Suite.

Here are some pics of the Penthouse. BTW, when we went I think we paid only $300-$400 more total for the penthouse..def. worth it for a HM

view of the living room


kitchen area. Included oven/stove, fridge, sink, glasses, plates, etc.


bathroom


bathroom also included a tub


separate room for toilet (with phone )


our balconey


another pic of balconey


the Pirate's Nest restaurant and pool


Here is the Tara Suite we switched to. It was also very nice.

view of bedroom. Smaller kitchen area with sink and mini-fridge on left


Tara Suite bathroom with shower/tub


view of living room in Tara Suite. This was sseparated from the bedroom by a closing partition


view from Tara Suite balcony including entrance to Pirate's nest Restaurant


another view from our Tara Suite balcony


I also included a picture that we took from the high-rise section of the beach when we were there. We couldn't believe the difference in how crowded it was. If you stay in a hotel near a dock (where we took this pic from ), there is a tethered area for swimming in and boats come up right near where you swim & the water was more crowded. If you want peace and quiet the low-rise section is definitely for you. There were tons of activities to do by the high-rises, so it's great if you want close access to that.

beach in high-rise area

The concierge service is in the Tara building and they will take care of confirming any reservations for restaurants & excursions for you. They are really helpful and it's convenient to have them right there.
There's also a nice little gift shop with gifts and sunscreen, food, liquor, etc. and a library of books you can take from.

Summary
We walked along the beach and saw all the other hotels between that and our taxi rides we saw I think every hotel on the island. The bucuti was the best one!! I know I am biased but it was perfect for us and for a HM. The beach was bigger and WAY less crowded than near the high-rises. Of the low-rises, the beach was still the nicest (biggest & cleanest) and had the most palapas. A lot of other low-rises had palapas only far from the water or only a few. We wanted to relax on the beach a lot and drink and this was perfect for that. We plan on going back and both highly recommend it, esp. for a HM!!

Message edited 4/29/2006 9:25:23 PM.

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

Thanks for the review!!! Ahhhh I can't wait to go :)

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

thank you thank you!! i was nervous.. im going in august!! cant wait.. thanks for the review..

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

Great review!

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

Great review!!! The pictures were REALLY HELPFUL !!!! I am waitlisted for the penthouse for October!!!!! I'M BEYOND TOTALLY EXCITED!!!

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

---

Posted by mrsbaez2b

Great review!!! The pictures were REALLY HELPFUL !!!! I am waitlisted for the penthouse for October!!!!! I'M BEYOND TOTALLY EXCITED!!!

---

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

If we don't get the penthouse the Tara Suite looks more than comfortable enough...you think LR? Anybody looking at this resort you should try to book as early as possible we were lucky to get a Tara Suite. I called a few travel agents who said the Tara Suite was sold out but Simplicity Travel was the only one who went the extra mile to offer to put me on a waiting list.

LR, thanks for the travel agent recommendation!!

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

yes, if you can't get the Tara Penthouse the Suite will definitely be good. We would stay in a suite again and maybe even a regular (non-Tara) room

btw, my one complaint with Simplicity Travel is that they left their # as a contact number with our airline. I know they left 2 numbers (both theirs)..make sure your phone number is one the contact numbers..our flight was delayed 8 hours and the airline tried to call us but we didn't know until we were halfway to the airport b/c it was Easter Sunday so, duh..Simplicity Travel wasn't open
Otherwise, they were great,

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

great pictures, good to know that you enjoyed the hotel

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

I was wondering if any of you ladies use the Dine Around program for the select group of restaurants where you pay $33 (I think...) for a 3 course dinner? Is it worth it even for a few days?

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

bump!

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

i bought the dine around program for 3 nights.. and we figure we will go to the nice "fancy" places everyone raves about on the other 3..

i hope its worth it - but if you go on the website, you can see the participating rest. and the menus.. im sure it is a set menu too..

Re: Review of the Bucuti in Aruba (long!)

Yeah!!!
Soo excited you loved it.. we have the penthouse for 10 nights!!!! may 07 can't come quick enough!!