Renaissance Aruba Reviews

Choosing this hotel was a great idea. The hotel has 2 sites walking distance from each other, one being family oriented. I traveled by myself, so I was interested to have a peaceful hotel and safe, easy to reach dinning options. The hotel has a private island were you can find 2 beautiful beaches, one is adults only. A boat comes and goes every 15 min between the hotels and the island. On the island you can go just with the room key and pay for the food and for the sports and sctivities with it. They have a little paradise, with clear turquoise waters and white sand beaches, flamingos and little iguanas which are friendly and always looking to share your lunch with you. The sunsets are gorgeous, a paradise in which you can relax and soak up the sun. The weather was perfect, with a breeze, the water is warm like a soup and very, very clean. There is much to do on the island if you are into activities. The area for the nightlife is 10 min cab ride, people are very friendly. The casino it is much fun, the bar( very friendly bar tenders and waiters), pool and restaurants are good, but food can be expensive. There are many excellent restaurants in walking distance, if you do not choose all inclusive you will have many options to delight your taste. I discovered a little dutch restaurant that is a gem(Que Pasa is 5 min from the hotel). About the hotel: rooms are spacious and clean with very comfy beds, the bathrooms are not updated, so they feel less then 4 star hotel, but they are clean. The service is very good, they will go out of their way to make you feel good. You will not go wrong with this hotel. At the ground level they have an exquisite selection of high end stores, good even for window shopping if not more, ladies you have to try the spa. It was one of the most relaxing vacations and I will return.

Well I'll begin with the fact that our room was not ready when we arrived. We waited for our room about 1hr 45 min +, the concierge was hesitant in giving us complimentary beverages for our wait. The room were adequate, the shower walls had mildew stains that grossed us out, be we prevailed. The worst part was the private beaches. Extremely difficult to enjoy yourself in the water when you simply cannot get pass the boulders/ rocks very sharp ones in the water. Those rocks caused way too much damage in the 30 minutes it took before we all Said " that was enough ". We headed back to the resort to venture out to the other side of town to the playalinda resort. Beautiful beach.

My wife and I had a fabulous vacation in Aruba! Thanks to CheapCaribean.com for all of their assistance in planning and preparing our trip. Also their trip value price was excellent.

The Rennaisance is a great spot that is not too pricey. You can walk to some of the most recommended restaurants (Yemanja, Cuba's Cooking, Que Pasa) and it is pretty central to get to some of the other restaurants and locations on the island. The private beach was a great little boatride from inside the hotel (we stayed at the Marina). I would't recommend doing an all-inclusive here. We didn't eat at the hotel restaurants, but they looked a little depressing if you ask me. We ordered food once or twice by the pool and it was not great at all - and nothing very healthy to choose from. The rooms were decent -- nothing special, but they were clean and comfortable. We switched rooms while we were there because we wanted a window that opened to the outside. The basic rooms at the Marina face the inside of the hotel (and there is a roof over the top of the hotel -- so you are not looking outside). We switched to one that had a partial ocean view and it was a little more refreshing. Although, we could hear cars and at night it was very windy and blew through the glass kind of loud. Taxi from the airport waws $18 each way, so the shuttle is about the same price.

We had a great experience. Good area. The private beach was the best part of our vacation, those Flamingos,beautiful.. There was one thing I did not like it; at the front desk : there is Bryan at the cheking, I asked him for guidance and all the information he provided me was wrong. This man should'nt be working in that possition, greeting all the guest. Over all we had a great time, you can take the tour around the island with Rambo as your guide He know everything about and around the island. Great food at La Iguana, go to the Hights.

This is for the Adults Only Marina Hotel, maybe they have a different experience at the Suites. First there are no pictures of the Marina Hotel on the website, like that first picture you see when you go on the Renaissance website. The Marina Hotel is down and across the street from the property that's shown in that initial picture. There is no beach access at the hotel, except by taking a boat to the private island. The lagoon in that picture of the Suites hotel (you have access to both properties) is not that beautiful. It's pretty shallow, so probably good for kids and the water isn't as blue as the Caribbean Sea although that's where the water comes from (very strange). Let's get down to the details. I found mold in my room and the woman who answered the phone, she did not put me through to a manager when I initially asked. I found mold on a lamp and all she suggested was that they change the lamp. She then proceeded to give me attitude. I was then transferred to a manager at my request. To make a long story short the manager switched rooms but had no intention of giving me something in return for my troubles. When i asked she suggested a free breakfast! I told her what would satisfy me and she agreed. Bathrooms - Notice there are no pics of bathrooms on the website, it must be because they are super dreary. It's very dark, even with 3 lights. Taking a shower is like showering in a cave. The tubs porcelain is scratched away in many places, so the tub is the color of a mustard brown. Two out of the three rooms we saw had peeling wallpaper. Very small bathroom. Your knees hit the door when it's open and i'm only 5'3". On one day I was asking about going to other hotels to access their beaches. I also received attitude from the woman answering that question. The person to whom i complained gave the excuse that she's new. Beach - It is their own private beach which you take a boat to. The first day we got their they had no floaties and no towels. So what am i supposed to do? Take 45 minutes to go back to my hotel to get my bath towels? Ridiculous. They don't suggest that you get to the beach early because they run out of towels and floaties. It is a nice island - bring your insect repellent (they do have a store, but it ran out)! I had mosquito bites all up and down my arms and back. The water is beautiful and cool and clear. I was able to get towels and a floaty the next day and had a great time. You can snorkel also, even outside the barrier. They have flamingos and lizards which are fun to be around. The flamingos come right up to you, which is pretty cool. Also there are other big birds like cranes. The boat only runs from 7am - 7pm, so if you want to be on the beach in the evening forget it. You'll have to take a cab or rental car to other properties/beaches. The Blue Lounge was nice, that's also where there pool is. Smokers are allowed there, so as an asthmatic i couldn't use the pool the way i would have liked. The bartenders and waitstaff were wonderful and friendly. They come and take your order and deliver to you while you're lounging at the pool. The food is pretty good, beef with chimichurri sauce was always tender, the fried wings were delicious and a few of the other items were tasty. Stay away from the sushi (we had some tuna dish), it's not very fresh. Construction - They were working on the elevator and i could smell it in my room all day and into the evening. The final room i was in had an a/c unit that didn't work as well as previous rooms. We left it on 60 and that was just enough to be semi-comfortable (lowest temp setting available is 60). I was sick of switching rooms, so put up with it. Mattresses are hard and pillows are super soft. The pillows basically flatten out like a pancake. Not a problem for me because that's kinda how i have it home, but my sister woke up sore every morning and would keep waking up during the night to try to get comfortable. The Satellite TV resets itself every night around 3am. The woman lied (or didn't know) the first night we complained and said something is wrong when we saw it was out. Well, it actually resets itself daily! It makes more sense to reset in the afternoon, since you figure most people are out. If you're an insomniac who needs the tv to fall asleep to i hope you don't wake up around that time! It's not a quick reset, because i woke up at 2am with it out and it didn't come back on until after 3am. We only ate at the Aquarius restaurant and Blue, which is reviewed above. Aquarius brkfst buffet is a good bargain especially if you're hungry. They do have an a la carte menu. Aquarius dinner buffet is hit or miss at the cook station, where they have fresh fish, king crab legs, lobster, scallops, etc. cooked to order. The first night the cooked to order food was great (although he didn't understand the concept of just a little butter). The second time we went everything, except the lobster, was overcooked. The tuna was so overcooked it looked like a piece of land meat. So be sure to watch the food and tell him when to remove the food if it looks like it's going to long. I didn't get a new bowl because the wait is so long at certain times. The bell hops, boat driver and golf cart driver were all great. Waitstaff everywhere was great. So my lesson to you is-find out if hotel is under construction. Even if you get a recommendation ask if it's a beach front property. Bring your laptop so you can watch TV on that. Check for mold as soon as you get into your room. If they don't have pics of the bathroom on website beware! And if they have 2 properties make sure both properties are shown in a picture. We hadn't gone on a vacation in 5 years and i must say i would have rather stayed home then have gone to this hotel.

Hotel room was nothing special. Was disappointed at quality of room as you could see it needed repairs. Had poor bar service as I had to remind the wait staff over and over again to get my drinks and very long waits for food. While the ammenities at the hotel were convenient the spa service was not that good. I had 2 massages from 2 therapists both were mediocre at best. Buffett style restaraunt was dirty. Floor had food and trash strewn about at times and no one from the staff attempted to clean up. The food was cold both times I went there to eat and it was expensive.

Have been to Aruba many time but first time at Renaissance. Marina hotel needs some room updates but provides a good value. I think we would prefer to stay at the Ocean Suites side instead. Simply because of room amenities and closer to water. Better views. Private island is the reason to stay at Renaissance. Short boat ride and a whole different world. Plenty of chairs snorkeling great and good drinks. Ready to go back

We have been to the Renaissance several times before. The main reason we come to Aruba is the Renaissance private island. No one distrubes you there, no vendors, no pan handlers, and you can relax! The beach is great and you can snorkel as much as you want. All kinds of fish to see. Great place to wade if you are not a swimmer. A great place for kids but if you want to be more alone you can go to the adult beach - Flamingo beach. You can scuba just off the island at a dive spot a hundred feet or so off the rock jetti. The Renaissance Marina is in the center of town so we walk. We eat at the local places soaking up the local music and color. We avoid the high rise area which has gotten very congested. We prefer to relax and enjoy the warm breezes and friendly locals.

Very good value for our vacation dollar! Everything went off without a hitch, no unwelcome surprises or hidden fees. We appreciate the staff helping us with all our questions up front which made for a wonderful time, without additional worries! Aruba is a great island where folks are friendly and made us feel welcomed, which is why we are considering going back again!