Aruba Review of the Radisson, Restaurants and Bars
For anyone who is interested in Aruba for their honeymoon.. here is my review
Overall, Aruba is great. There are so many places to eat and things to do at night! The weather was always perfect, sunny and hot!!!! We also felt pretty safe going into town and hanging out at the bars. Unlike a lot of the islands we have been to, Aruba offered the most in terms of night time entertainment/ things to do. We found that at most of the places we have been to (St. Lucia, Bahamas, St. Thomas, PR) they lacked night time entertainment. FH and I aren’t big partiers or the type of people who make friends on vacation so we often find ourselves bored when nighttime hits, in Aruba, we were pretty entertained. There is also a pretty nice town to go shopping in. Most of the stuff I found was typical sovenier shops or higher end stores.. like Lacoste, TH, guess Louis Vuitton, etc...
We stayed at the Radisson. At the Radisson, you walk out the front and you are right across the street from the great restaurants.. an Italian rest, Steak house, hooters, benihanas, and others. The grounds were very nice, everything was clean, there were several cages of African grays, Macaws, and one cockatoo.
Pepe... my favorite!!
The staff was all friendly and helpful! The one thing I can complain about were that the elevators were NOT air conditioned, they were hot and stuffy. The beach was very nice, you reserve huts at night for the next day, so you can be in and out of the sun.
The pools were also really nice.
The other hotels in this area were very nice. The Hyatt had beautiful grounds but had a lot more children then the Radisson (I think because they had a kids club and a water slide) The Marriott was also very nice, however, its all the way at the other end of all the hotels and not as close to the restaurants.
While there, they were working Day and Night on the RIU.
It opened on Fri or Sat, but it was still not done. FMIL went over there (since she is a TA and said that her boss had a couple going on there honeymoon there next week). She said was very nice though, just needed to be done. She said there was an infinity pool and it’s all inclusive. But with so many places to eat All-inclusive seems like it would only be good for drinking in Aruba.
All the hotels had casinos, so that also gave us something to do at night.
Recommendations – Go to the supermarket and buy some bottles of soda and your snacks. It was soooo much cheaper!!
Travel :
There are taxis everywhere. It was $10 to go into town and $10 to come back (and we had 5 people, its $10 a taxi, not by the person)
Restaurants:
Gianni’s – Italian. A+ the food was great, they has so much on the menu and the restaurant was beautiful. It was located directly across the street from the Radisson.
El Gouchos –Argentinean A+
the food was amazing. I am picky but ordered a chicken dish that was very good! It’s a little pricey but the they give you a lot of food and 3 choices of side dishes. We had to wait a little while before our table was ready, so they sent us across the street to a cigar bar for some drinks. It was a nice little place to sit and have a drink and wait.
The Lighthouse – Italian – A+ The restaurant is GORGEOUS located right next to the light house, People say that eating their at sun set is amazing, we happen to find out about it later in the week and missed the sunset, but still beautiful. The food was Very good as well
Madaam Janetees – I think its french/german (not sure) B+ A lot of the food had sauces and its just not what I like, but I don’t like French. But the restaurant was nice. I’m sure the food was good, just not what I like.
Daniels – Steak house (attacked to Gianni’s – I believe same owner) very good food and very pretty inside. I liked Gianni’s better.
Salt and Pepper – A really cute like spot, good for lunch. They have a collection of salt and pepper shakers around the room – def a different kind of place. The food was good and not too expensive.
Hooters – also good for lunch
Bars –
Mambo Jambos – A I really nice bar in town. A good place to have a few drinks. As the night progressed some local people who are in a latino dance club or something came in and were dancing…they were amazing, we stayed and watched them fro over an hour.
Carlos and Charlies – A++
we had SOOOO Much fun here. We arrived about 930 just as things were getting started, We loved how the people who worked there (or owned it) got everyone up and parting. They started off by offering free Tequila shots to everyone. We formed a huge conga line and an employee was standing on a chair. As we passed he squirted tequila in our mouths… this really got everyone up and ready to dance.
The music was great and throughout the night they stopped the music and offered free shots and beers to girls having them repeat lines in Spanish, or chug a beer the fastest. One guy was mopping and he handed me the mop so I mopped for him and he gave me a free shot.. it was a great time. FMIL and FFIL were there… they had so much fun as well!! Its more for a younger crowd though.
Overall, Aruba is great. There are so many places to eat and things to do at night! The weather was always perfect, sunny and hot!!!! We also felt pretty safe going into town and hanging out at the bars. Unlike a lot of the islands we have been to, Aruba offered the most in terms of night time entertainment/ things to do. We found that at most of the places we have been to (St. Lucia, Bahamas, St. Thomas, PR) they lacked night time entertainment. FH and I aren’t big partiers or the type of people who make friends on vacation so we often find ourselves bored when nighttime hits, in Aruba, we were pretty entertained. There is also a pretty nice town to go shopping in. Most of the stuff I found was typical sovenier shops or higher end stores.. like Lacoste, TH, guess Louis Vuitton, etc...
We stayed at the Radisson. At the Radisson, you walk out the front and you are right across the street from the great restaurants.. an Italian rest, Steak house, hooters, benihanas, and others. The grounds were very nice, everything was clean, there were several cages of African grays, Macaws, and one cockatoo.
Pepe... my favorite!!
The staff was all friendly and helpful! The one thing I can complain about were that the elevators were NOT air conditioned, they were hot and stuffy. The beach was very nice, you reserve huts at night for the next day, so you can be in and out of the sun.
The pools were also really nice.
The other hotels in this area were very nice. The Hyatt had beautiful grounds but had a lot more children then the Radisson (I think because they had a kids club and a water slide) The Marriott was also very nice, however, its all the way at the other end of all the hotels and not as close to the restaurants.
While there, they were working Day and Night on the RIU.
It opened on Fri or Sat, but it was still not done. FMIL went over there (since she is a TA and said that her boss had a couple going on there honeymoon there next week). She said was very nice though, just needed to be done. She said there was an infinity pool and it’s all inclusive. But with so many places to eat All-inclusive seems like it would only be good for drinking in Aruba.
All the hotels had casinos, so that also gave us something to do at night.
Recommendations – Go to the supermarket and buy some bottles of soda and your snacks. It was soooo much cheaper!!
Travel :
There are taxis everywhere. It was $10 to go into town and $10 to come back (and we had 5 people, its $10 a taxi, not by the person)
Restaurants:
Gianni’s – Italian. A+ the food was great, they has so much on the menu and the restaurant was beautiful. It was located directly across the street from the Radisson.
El Gouchos –Argentinean A+
the food was amazing. I am picky but ordered a chicken dish that was very good! It’s a little pricey but the they give you a lot of food and 3 choices of side dishes. We had to wait a little while before our table was ready, so they sent us across the street to a cigar bar for some drinks. It was a nice little place to sit and have a drink and wait.
The Lighthouse – Italian – A+ The restaurant is GORGEOUS located right next to the light house, People say that eating their at sun set is amazing, we happen to find out about it later in the week and missed the sunset, but still beautiful. The food was Very good as well
Madaam Janetees – I think its french/german (not sure) B+ A lot of the food had sauces and its just not what I like, but I don’t like French. But the restaurant was nice. I’m sure the food was good, just not what I like.
Daniels – Steak house (attacked to Gianni’s – I believe same owner) very good food and very pretty inside. I liked Gianni’s better.
Salt and Pepper – A really cute like spot, good for lunch. They have a collection of salt and pepper shakers around the room – def a different kind of place. The food was good and not too expensive.
Hooters – also good for lunch
Bars –
Mambo Jambos – A I really nice bar in town. A good place to have a few drinks. As the night progressed some local people who are in a latino dance club or something came in and were dancing…they were amazing, we stayed and watched them fro over an hour.
Carlos and Charlies – A++
we had SOOOO Much fun here. We arrived about 930 just as things were getting started, We loved how the people who worked there (or owned it) got everyone up and parting. They started off by offering free Tequila shots to everyone. We formed a huge conga line and an employee was standing on a chair. As we passed he squirted tequila in our mouths… this really got everyone up and ready to dance.
The music was great and throughout the night they stopped the music and offered free shots and beers to girls having them repeat lines in Spanish, or chug a beer the fastest. One guy was mopping and he handed me the mop so I mopped for him and he gave me a free shot.. it was a great time. FMIL and FFIL were there… they had so much fun as well!! Its more for a younger crowd though.
