Aruba

Hi all,
Just found out I get a bonus week of vacation time this year so we are trying to plan a mini-vacation (about 4 or 5 days) for our anniversary in September. Any recommendations for hotels in Aruba? We don't want to go crazy expensive but we still want to stay in a nice hotel. I know there are some big Aruba fans on here so I figured I'd give it a shot. Any other suggestions for a short, affordable, Caribbean vacation would be appreciated too.
Thanks!

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My favorite, and IMO the nicest there is the Radisson

I loved it.

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Thanks Jen - You're quick!

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I have been there a few times & i love it thats why
take my aruba book with you

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Hyatt Regency Hotel in Aruba. We booked there for our H.M. I did a survey on this site and found that the Hyatt was more favorable just because of its beauty, customer service, entertainment and reputation. I would visit their site.

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curly 3 of my friends stayed there & although it is beautiful, they said it wasn't worth the $ and the balconies were very small. I never stayed though so I can't say.

But yes it is a beautiful hotel.

The Rdisson is gorgeous too!

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We stayed at the Hyatt and it was nice, but there are many other nice hotels. For instance, I hear the Marriot is nice as well as the Wyndham.

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We stayed at and bought a timeshare at La Cabana. We are going to be there in November, I cannot wait!!

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I was there a few years back. I stayed at the Hyatt. It is rated by Fodors as the #1 carribean hotel. We couldnt decide between the Hyatt and Marriott, but decided on the Hyatt and were real happy we did.

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I don't know which hotel, but our travel agent offered a great price for a 6 nights stay in Aruba in September. Something like $1100 pp for flight and all inclusive.
Our travel agent is here in Buffalo, but it's Liberty Travel. You might want to check it out!

We decided to go to Playa de Carmen ourselves

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Dont stone me...but Im not an Aruba fan. Its beautiful of course but not a great choice if you are budget conscious. Everything is so expensive there! Even if you get a great hotel rate, the cost of meals and entertainment totally sunk our budget.

If you are a little more cost conscious, Puerta Vallarta is great. Relatively cheap, beautiful pacific scenary, etc..

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Oh and I am an owner too at The Allegro (now Occidental) very nice but the price was good/hotel nice so we bought, if the Radisson had I would have bought there).

The Wyndham's rooms smelled musty

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I agree with Stef that it is expensive. Not so much the hotels, but meals were unbelievable. A decent dinner was 150 dollars plus. One night we tried to have a casual dinner, but it was way up there too. Some of the restaurants were memorable though. I have been to several carribean islands though and Aruba was my favorite in spite of what we spent on meals.

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Thanks for all the info guys!!
Jenn - Thanks for telling me about the musty rooms at the Wyndam - The price of those rooms was under $150/night for a waterview so we were considering it but not anymore -
Stef - Any recommendations on a hotel I should look into in Puerta Vallarta?
Thanks!!

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We stayed in a pretty crappy hotel when we went to PV so I wont recommend it. But there were some gorgeous hotels overlooking the pacific on a cliff...I think that area is known as Mesmoloya (sp). Its a bit out of town but cabs are really cheap and the hotels are beautiful.

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Why am I the only one who don't think Aruba is that expensive?

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We went to Aruba on our honeymoon and we stayed at the Marriott. The resort was beautiful and the staff was great. I agree that Aruba can be expensive (tourist stuff, shopping, etc) but I thought the restaurant prices were comparable to Manhattan. The food was great. My favorite restaurant was Simply Fish. It happens to be at the Marriott but the tables are right on the beach and the food was fantastic!

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I am with you Jenn with not thinking Aruba was expensive...we never paid $150 a meal and we ate great food.

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Never thought Aruba was overly expensive. I thought dinner prices were comparable to a night out in this area. You won't be able to eat dinner for as cheap as say, TGI Friday's, or something. If you don't drink with dinner you can get away under $100 for 2 people.

I also think the Radisson is the nicest hotel on the island. Hyatt has great ambience, great lobby, great restaurants. Pool area is small and cramped, has a pool water slide (attracting kids), step out balconies, not full. The rooms at the Radisson are beautifully decorated and I just think for your money the Radisson is nicer. Also rated one of the Best hotels on Aruba.

JMO, though. I have been there many times (6 or 7, including honeymoon), like Jennbaby. Usually spend time at my mom's timeshare. Aruba is like a second home to me.

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I dont know why I thought meals were expensive. We are used to dining at fine restaurants on LI. Maybe it is because me and my husband overdue it on the appetizers and then a couple of drinks....