back from ARUBA w/ review *PICS*
so i haven't been on for over a week cause we've been in aruba but we're back! it was such an amazing trip. i don't have any pics since i'm at work but i will post them tonight.
here goes:
Marriot Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino
the hotel was undergoing renovations at the time but the hotel still looked very nice. although they were having problems with one of the elevators all week which was annoying but we were on the second floor so for us it was fine. last year we stayed at the Radisson which i liked better because the layout of the hotel was nicer. the Radisson is very open so everything is pretty much outdoors which i love. plus there's more landscaping there.
Gianni's Ristorante Italiano
across the street from the Radisson. good food, service isn't the greatest. nice atmosphere outside. there's a pasta dish there which is cooked in a huge parmesan cheese wheel with whiskey and sauce and it's really good. they say it's a 2 person dish but we got it as a starter and shared it between the 6 of us. the price per couple came out to $80.
Madame Janette
amazing food. amazing service. what else can i say? the steak was good and FH liked the surf n turf. our friend had a different steak which was stuffed with cheese and onions....yummy! i don't remember the price per couple cause we left early, i had gotten too much sun that day. the place is outdoors so no ac. it gets very hot cause it's closed off so make sure you go on a chilly night.
Azzurro
the brother of the owner of Gianni's Ristorante Italiano owns Azzurro. the menu is about the same but the food and service are better at Azzurro. and so is the atmosphere. it's located in the back of Playa Linda Beach Resort. they also serve the pasta cooked in cheese and it taste's better here. price per couple about the same as Gianni's.
Sunset Grille
it's a mix of steak & seafood. the food is good, so is the service. it's located at the Radisson hotel. i believe price per couple was around $120 but i could be wrong. FH really likes the tuna steak there. however the chicken was dry and whatever. the steak was decent.
El Gaucho
best steak ever!!!!! a lot of food. the ribs are delish and so are the empanadas (? spelling). it's an argentinia steak house. the price per couple was $100 which was great cause there was about 14 of us and we had loads of food. can't go wrong with this place.
Chef's Tables
dutch food. small little place, close at 10:30 but the food is to die for. everything was so good. i had duck, i never eat duck, and i couldn't get enough. FH had a tuna steak, some people had pork, and other had fish, no one complained once. and that's hard to say when there's 14 people at a table. the white sangria was great and red was ok. the desserts are tappas, $2 each. we all had 2-3. price per couple was $120.
Papiamento Restaurant
not sure what the hype is about with this place. nothing special at all. atmosphere is really nice cause it's aa outside but out of 18 of us no one liked there food. it wasn't bad but it's not a place i'd go back to. it is different cause some of the food on the stone and the stone is your plate. it's a nice experiance but that's about it. price per couple was about $170.
Hostaria Da Vittorio
really good italian food. we were celebrating a 2 year old b-day party there so we didn't order off the menu. we did a sampler of different things. the chocolate cake they made was a taste of heaven, i'm not even kidding. def a place to check out.
we also had 4 jeeps delivered to the hotel and we went off roading. what an experience. we were all covered in mud cause we opened all the windows and started hitting the mud puddles but it was so much fun. we went to the natural bridge site and the natural pool. it's a tough ride to get to and you have to walk a little to the natural pool but it's an amazing experience. the water was so warm but a little rough. gotta climb a few rocks but it's a must and worth it.
FH and the boys went fishing twice. once regular fishing and once shark fishing. didn't catch any shark but caught a 40 lb tuna. good enough.
last year we went to De Palm Island. nothing special. it was really hot there, and food they feed you is hot dogs and burgers. they have a mini water park which is fun. hardly any shade, FH got burned last year. last year is was $68 per head and this year it went up to $98 per head so we didn't think it was worth it and no one went.
last year we also went snorkling which was fun but this year we decided to skip it.
i think i covered everything. i'll post pics tonight. hope this helps anyone who's thinking about going there for your HM. i def recommend it. sorry if things are misspelled, i'm tryin to do this fast at work.
Pics in album.
http://www.liweddings.com/community/album/?ID=22136
here goes:
Marriot Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino
the hotel was undergoing renovations at the time but the hotel still looked very nice. although they were having problems with one of the elevators all week which was annoying but we were on the second floor so for us it was fine. last year we stayed at the Radisson which i liked better because the layout of the hotel was nicer. the Radisson is very open so everything is pretty much outdoors which i love. plus there's more landscaping there.
Gianni's Ristorante Italiano
across the street from the Radisson. good food, service isn't the greatest. nice atmosphere outside. there's a pasta dish there which is cooked in a huge parmesan cheese wheel with whiskey and sauce and it's really good. they say it's a 2 person dish but we got it as a starter and shared it between the 6 of us. the price per couple came out to $80.
Madame Janette
amazing food. amazing service. what else can i say? the steak was good and FH liked the surf n turf. our friend had a different steak which was stuffed with cheese and onions....yummy! i don't remember the price per couple cause we left early, i had gotten too much sun that day. the place is outdoors so no ac. it gets very hot cause it's closed off so make sure you go on a chilly night.
Azzurro
the brother of the owner of Gianni's Ristorante Italiano owns Azzurro. the menu is about the same but the food and service are better at Azzurro. and so is the atmosphere. it's located in the back of Playa Linda Beach Resort. they also serve the pasta cooked in cheese and it taste's better here. price per couple about the same as Gianni's.
Sunset Grille
it's a mix of steak & seafood. the food is good, so is the service. it's located at the Radisson hotel. i believe price per couple was around $120 but i could be wrong. FH really likes the tuna steak there. however the chicken was dry and whatever. the steak was decent.
El Gaucho
best steak ever!!!!! a lot of food. the ribs are delish and so are the empanadas (? spelling). it's an argentinia steak house. the price per couple was $100 which was great cause there was about 14 of us and we had loads of food. can't go wrong with this place.
Chef's Tables
dutch food. small little place, close at 10:30 but the food is to die for. everything was so good. i had duck, i never eat duck, and i couldn't get enough. FH had a tuna steak, some people had pork, and other had fish, no one complained once. and that's hard to say when there's 14 people at a table. the white sangria was great and red was ok. the desserts are tappas, $2 each. we all had 2-3. price per couple was $120.
Papiamento Restaurant
not sure what the hype is about with this place. nothing special at all. atmosphere is really nice cause it's aa outside but out of 18 of us no one liked there food. it wasn't bad but it's not a place i'd go back to. it is different cause some of the food on the stone and the stone is your plate. it's a nice experiance but that's about it. price per couple was about $170.
Hostaria Da Vittorio
really good italian food. we were celebrating a 2 year old b-day party there so we didn't order off the menu. we did a sampler of different things. the chocolate cake they made was a taste of heaven, i'm not even kidding. def a place to check out.
we also had 4 jeeps delivered to the hotel and we went off roading. what an experience. we were all covered in mud cause we opened all the windows and started hitting the mud puddles but it was so much fun. we went to the natural bridge site and the natural pool. it's a tough ride to get to and you have to walk a little to the natural pool but it's an amazing experience. the water was so warm but a little rough. gotta climb a few rocks but it's a must and worth it.
FH and the boys went fishing twice. once regular fishing and once shark fishing. didn't catch any shark but caught a 40 lb tuna. good enough.
last year we went to De Palm Island. nothing special. it was really hot there, and food they feed you is hot dogs and burgers. they have a mini water park which is fun. hardly any shade, FH got burned last year. last year is was $68 per head and this year it went up to $98 per head so we didn't think it was worth it and no one went.
last year we also went snorkling which was fun but this year we decided to skip it.
i think i covered everything. i'll post pics tonight. hope this helps anyone who's thinking about going there for your HM. i def recommend it. sorry if things are misspelled, i'm tryin to do this fast at work.
Pics in album.
http://www.liweddings.com/community/album/?ID=22136
