Marriott Aruba Surf Club

andrea t · Apr 15, 2014

Bought pre sale, but still have never been there! That will change in 2015. We head down next February for the first time!

m61376 · Apr 15, 2014

andrea t said:
Bought pre sale, but still have never been there! That will change in 2015. We head down next February for the first time!

You may find t becoming a yearly trip

. It is our favorite place to just go and veg out, for all the reasons already mentioned- great facilities, easy access both to and on the island, safe and friendly people. And those 3 bedrooms are amazing units!

suzannesimon · Apr 15, 2014

We went to Madame Janette's tonight for dinner. It was even better than El Gaucho. It was much closer.

We had a fun time last night at Kukukunuku. Lots of fun but don't go for the food. As another guest said at dinner it tastes like hospital food , but the evening was a touristy good time.

suzannesimon · Apr 16, 2014

Had a great massage and facial at Mandara Spa this afternoon. Only one problem - it is sitting next to Champions. My appointnent was at 3:00 and there was a big soccer game at the same time. It was so noisy, I couldn't hear the spa music. It was like getting a massage on the bar so go early before Champions opens or go to a different spa.

They should really move Mandara to another location in the Marriott complex. . I'm
surprised Mandara hasn't demanded it.

Weimaraner · Apr 16, 2014

suzannesimon said:
We went to Madame Janette's tonight for dinner. It was even better than El Gaucho. It was much closer.

We had a fun time last night at Kukukunuku. Lots of fun but don't go for the food. As another guest said at dinner it tastes like hospital food , but the evening was a touristy good time.

Haha! That's the only bad meal we've ever had in Aruba in six trips. Maybe they think guests will forget the rubber chicken meal after a few drinks? Still worth it though! Sorry to hear about the noise at Mandara. Never had that problem with a noisy crowd. Reminds me of my gym where they do massages next to the basketball court and it's a distraction when you try to relax. Keep the trip updates coming!

ArubaMon · Apr 17, 2014

Suzanne, thanks for sharing your experiences and nice pictures. Surf is our favorite place on our favorite island. Suggest you try Papiamento's for dinner one night. . .ask for a poolside table and enjoy. The food's great, and it's only a five minute drive (or cab ride) toward Noord from Surf. Wish we were there!

suzannesimon · Apr 17, 2014

Thanks for the suggestion. We'll try to make it there. Sadly, only 2 more nights

m61376 · Apr 18, 2014

ArubaMon said:
Suzanne, thanks for sharing your experiences and nice pictures. Surf is our favorite place on our favorite island. Suggest you try Papiamento's for dinner one night. . .ask for a poolside table and enjoy. The food's great, and it's only a five minute drive (or cab ride) toward Noord from Surf. Wish we were there!

We had a lousy experience there; first and last time we'll ever go. I had made reservations there for Valentine's day, reserving a poolside table. They sat us on the side with the bar, and clearly someone was smoking pot. The odor was acrid, and we politely asked to be seated on the other side, where half the tables were still empty, since it was only 6:30. Anyway, they refused to change our table to another one poolside, and would only seat us indoors. Since it was V-day and probably it would be difficult to go elsewhere without a reservation we stayed.

Clearly they got off to a lousy start, and didn't make any attempt to rectify the situation. Service was ok, certainly nothing outstanding, and the food was mediocre at best. Overall, a very disappointing dinner, about the worst we've ever had in Aruba.

Sorry to diss a favorite place of yours, but we had such a negative experience there I couldn't ignore the post.

Like you, Aruba is our favorite spot and we, too, love the SC.

Suzanne- glad you're having a great trip! If you haven't tried Barefoot you might watto give it a try. It's one of our many favorites.

ilene13 · Apr 18, 2014

Personally I do not like Papiamento or Barefoot. The food at both we feel is very bland and tasteless. We all have different tastes when it comes to food. As I said before try the Yemanja Grill we think it is exceptional. After 28 consecutive years going to Aruba, we have specific restaurants that we always return to.

suzannesimon · Apr 18, 2014

We did the Red Sails sunset cruise last night and it was lovely - our second time. I found a 3BR gold resale to buy. Does Gold include Thanksgiving here?

Weimaraner · Apr 18, 2014

suzannesimon said:
We did the Red Sails sunset cruise last night and it was lovely - our second time. I found a 3BR gold resale to buy. Does Gold include Thanksgiving here?

Yes. Gold is 18-50. Then Christmas/New year's is platinum plus. January starts platinum season (only exceptions are week 7 and 14 plat plus.)

suzannesimon · Apr 18, 2014

Where is the ROFR chart on TUG? I want to check to see the odds of this passing.

m61376 · Apr 18, 2014

Aruba weeks are not in the Trust, so from what has been reported here ROFR is less of an issue.

suzannesimon · Apr 18, 2014

Marriott can't buy the weeks and put them in the trust?

dioxide45 · Apr 18, 2014

suzannesimon said:
Where is the ROFR chart on TUG? I want to check to see the odds of this passing.

The link is in my signature. There hasn't been an exercised ROFR at the Surf Club since Marriott went to DC points. As pointed out MVCI can't add these weeks to the MVC Trust. For that reason, I think Marriott is laying off ROFR at this resort. They can't easily turn around and sell the week since they now sell DC points in Aruba even though weeks at the resorts can't be added to the trust.

So you should be okay at just about any price point. You sure you don't need that 12 step program though?

Luvtoride · Apr 19, 2014

Suzanne, quick question. Is there wifi in the rooms at the Surf club yet? Last time there it was wired Ethernet connection that we turned into our own wifi network with an Apple Airport.
Thanks.
Brian

suzannesimon · Apr 19, 2014

It worked pretty good. It seemed to be down for about 30 minutes every morning but was otherwise very fast. It was also good by the pool.

joewillie12 · Apr 19, 2014

suzannesimon said:
It worked pretty good. It seemed to be down for about 30 minutes every morning but was otherwise very fast. It was also good by the pool.

Did you rent a car while you were there? I reserved one for the week I'll be there. I reserved through Royal Cars for $371 for seven days. Its suppose to be a brand new Suzuki XL7 suv. That seems very reasonable. Maybe someone else has experience with this company? Thanks

suzannesimon · Apr 19, 2014

We've never rented a car there. We just cab wherever we want to go.

ilene13 · Apr 20, 2014

joewillie12 said:
Did you rent a car while you were there? I reserved one for the week I'll be there. I reserved through Royal Cars for $371 for seven days. Its suppose to be a brand new Suzuki XL7 suv. That seems very reasonable. Maybe someone else has experience with this company? Thanks

We always rent a car in Aruba. We use Top Drive. Deepak the owner is terrific. We pay $500 for 15 days at Christmas /New Years. It is for a Hyundai Accent, which is fine for the two or three of us.

Wally3433 · Apr 20, 2014

Royal is hit or miss. They have a ton of cars and they try to give you the crappiest car. We rented a jeep from them once, and I had them bring up 4 different jeeps to the front of the lot - they were all pretty rough.

If they claim the Suzuki is new, have them email you a picture of the actual car you will be renting, so you can pull that picture out when you arrive at the rental office.

joewillie12 · Apr 20, 2014

Thanks Ilene & Wally. Great idea to ask for the exact pic of the car I will be getting. Will definately do that. Happy Easter!

joewillie12 · Apr 20, 2014

suzannesimon said:
We've never rented a car there. We just cab wherever we want to go.

Me too but figured I would splurge this year. Big crew with us this year will make the car handy I'm guessing. Hope you had a great trip! Thanks for answering our questions while on vacay.

suzannesimon · Apr 20, 2014

We arrived back in DC at midnight. It was a tough travel day. Immigration, Security, and US Customs lines in Aruba were 2.5 hours long! Add to that a 3 year old having a non-stop tantrum for 2.5 hours in line. I felt sorry for the parents but we were all praying he wouldn't 'to be on our plane. Luckily we missed that bullet! This was spring break week for NY, DC, Md, and VA public schools so it was a mob scene at the airport. When they say to arrive 3 hours early, believe them during the holidays.

Friday night dinner was at Mexicado. Excellent, expensive food in a beautiful setting with the pond and black swans. All in all, a fabulous trip and I can't wait to return. Perfect weather every day.

ilene13 · Apr 20, 2014

suzannesimon said:
We arrived back in DC at midnight. It was a tough travel day. Immigration, Security, and US Customs lines in Aruba were 2.5 hours long! Add to that a 3 year old having a non-stop tantrum for 2.5 hours in line. I felt sorry for the parents but we were all praying he wouldn't 'to be on our plane. Luckily we missed that bullet! This was spring break week for NY, DC, Md, and VA public schools so it was a mob scene at the airport. When they say to arrive 3 hours early, believe them during the holidays.

Friday night dinner was at Mexicado. Excellent, expensive food in a beautiful setting with the pond and black swans. All in all, a fabulous trip and I can't wait to return. Perfect weather every day.

NY schools still have 1-2 days left. As I am saying this from Mexico. We start school on Tuesday! :cheer:

Marriott Aruba Surf Club

andrea t

m61376

Tug Review Crew

suzannesimon

suzannesimon

Weimaraner

ArubaMon

suzannesimon

m61376

Tug Review Crew

ilene13

suzannesimon

Weimaraner

suzannesimon

m61376

Tug Review Crew

suzannesimon

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert

Luvtoride

TUG Review Crew

suzannesimon

joewillie12

suzannesimon

ilene13

Wally3433

joewillie12

joewillie12

suzannesimon

ilene13