By jay (32.100.56.105) on Monday, February 12, 2001 - 01:57 pm

jUST GOT BACK FROM THE ABC, first time staying there. First, I must say the resort inside and out is very clean and well maintained. The staff was very nice, very friendly. However-- at least this week most guests seemed to be members who tend to stay several weeks at a time. They were unfriendly, and VERY TERRITORIAL. Everyday, early in the a.m. towels, shoes, books etc. would be placed on the chickees, both on the beach and especially by the pool. It would be the same group of people sitting together everyday, it seemed everyone knew each other, very clicky. Most days by the beach chickees would be empty but "reserved". We felt like we were outsiders all week. No entertainment, no music, nothing all week.
We would not stay there again.
The weather was perfect, just Friday was cloudy and Sat. when we were leaving. Also, Just as we were vacating our unit, a knock on the door, this was 10:00a.m. a member who owned that suite for the next week, wanted to know if we were leaving soon, as his check-in time was 4p.m. and if we could vacate soon, he wanted to get in early, we had till noon, we thought that was rude but typical of what we felt all week. Aside from the resort experience we had a wonderful week--Viva Aruba. Flew with Alegro Airlines, via TNT, tight seats but right on schedule going and coming.Looking forward to going again next year, but not ABC, would like to go back to the Tam. Have asked for feedback on conditions there, hope it has improved as we find it a fun place to stay, only hoping rooms are in better shape and food has gotten better--

By JanGail (207.172.77.149) on Monday, February 12, 2001 - 02:52 pm

Consider staying at the Manchebo-- right next
door to ABC! Great food and extra friendly staff!
It's not a timeshare so no cliques to worry
about. Huge beach, plenty of room and enough
shade huts to spare, plus palm trees! I didn't
see reserving the shade huts to be a problem, but
then didn't pay that much attention. It will be
our third visit to the Manchebo, very satisfied.
Clean rooms, nothing fancy. Well maintained and
clean resort overall. Go to www.manchebo.com for
more information. Manchebo is not an all-inclusive
but does offer a "Beach-Lovers' Inclusive" plan
which includes 7 days accommodations, all meals,
all non-alcoholic drinks, one bottle of wine.
There are other meal plans available- breakfast
plan, MAP, or EP.

JanGail

By ArubaLisa (65.196.160.50) on Monday, February 12, 2001 - 06:03 pm

LOL, we were supposed to stay at the ABC for part of our honeymoon and we lasted an hour before we left. Luckily we were able to find accommodationss elsewhere.

By Suzi (152.163.207.58) on Monday, February 12, 2001 - 08:07 pm

Luckily we haven't encountered the problems of having to reserve shade and chairs at La Cabana. I figure a resort or hotel worth visiting should have enough chairs and towels and whatever for all their guests without all that getting up before the chickens and reserving stuff.

We are glad you otherwise enjoyed your trip. The Arubian people, we have found, are great and courteous and friendly and helpful. It is the rude tourist you have to watch out for!

By Kathy W. (152.163.213.204) on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 12:06 pm

We exchanged our timeshare for a week at ABC in Sept. 2000 and absolutely loved it! We didn't have any of the problems you have described (actually members talked to us and were very friendly). We also did not have any trouble getting a chickee. We liked the place so much we bought a week there and are going shortly (Mar 17-24). I wonder if it was just the week you picked that had a bunch of members who were clicky, but we did not find that to be true in Sept. and hopefully not in March when we go again.

By Donna L (206.157.176.189) on Monday, March 26, 2001 - 09:33 pm

WE are going to ABC in May for our 25th anniversary,really looking forward to it,but a little concerned now that I've read some of the comments,I was under the impression that we can also use the amenities at Casa del Mar,is this true?

By Jane (141.154.88.3) on Tuesday, March 27, 2001 - 08:29 am

I feel really badly that you had this experience. I own at both ABC and CDM. We always have a wonderful time, all of our friends and us greet new comer's with open arms. We are there for the the first two weeks in May 4-28 to 5-12 alot of our friends are ther for 3 and 4 weeks during this time frame. Every year we make more friends and every year we are glad thatr more peolpe like the laid back casual atmosphere of this area(low-rise) as opposed to the busier and fancier high rise area. No offense to anyone ,after all that is why there are 99 flavors of ice cream; because we all have our own preferecnces and are entitled to them. yes people staying here have full use of both resorts facilities. The Seagull at CDM is the best place in the world for breakfast!! Imagine sitting 15 feet fromt eh ocean. overlooking the sand and surf, sipping on coffee making THE BIG big decision of the day do we go to the beach , the pool or expoloring the island for the day??....LIFE JUST DOESNT GET MUCH BETTER!

By Kathy W. (64.12.101.176) on Tuesday, March 27, 2001 - 08:55 am

Just got back from ABC Week #11 and as I previously stated, we had a great time AGAIN. We met lots of people there, even in the water, and people were friendly. There are a lot of people who own there and have been going there for many years and yes, they all know each other. That's not a problem for us. I don't know about you, but when we go on vacation, we aren't there to meet people specifically. If we do, that's an added bonus. There were plenty of chickees, but if you wanted a specific one, you had to reserve it. Not a problem with us. Met lots of nice people staying at ABC at the casinos also. We own 1 week and are trying to buy another week at ABC. I don't think we would do that if it was such a bad place.

By opadaking (24.128.43.172) on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 07:13 pm

WE've been at the sonesta suites for (7) yrs. And yes, I find clicky people. But I've never had one of them get upset when I took a chair by the pool that was among their group with no towel on it. These people don't go to the island and camp out at the pool. We go to the island and come back around (3) and we can always find chairs. I find that a simple hello and nice day isn't it usually ends up with me making a new aquaintence. We have many aquaintences who are there for several weeks and we have become friends with most of them. Make yourself availaable for friendship and you will certainly find one in Aruba. Viva Aruba

By sandinmytoes (205.188.196.31) on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 10:05 pm

We've visited our timeshare at ABC 10 of the last 20 years. We've noticed that more and more people "reserve" spots for extended periods of time- and rarely being there. But we've noticed this rude behavior at other resorts in the Carribean and even in Canada. Some resorts post notices that remind people that "holding" shouldn't be more than an hour in length. Others actually remove towels for you, police-ing the chairs. I think it's worth mentioning to the staff, and especially to the management. ABC prides itself (as does CDM) in trying to always improve itself. We have always found individual people to be VERY friendly and approachable. I hope your next stay is more enjoyable.

By Al (63.21.17.73) on Saturday, September 01, 2001 - 07:30 am

Going to CDM and ABC at the end of September.
Will check on the situation, because both resorts say that they are 'policing' unused shade areas. I think they were mainly referring to the beach.

Maybe September is less crowded. If we come around 9:30-10:00 AM, we can usually get one of the last unoccupied beach chickees over towards the Manchebo. If we decide to retreat to the pool in early afternoon, there is usually an empty spot or two.

We've been going since 1988, people seem to recognize us and say hello, but after all these years, we're not part of a "clique".

A spot is a spot for us. I'm not going to claim a particular one as "my spot" - it's not worth the aggravation while you're on vacation. But I do applaud the resort effort to keep unused spots open.

By Sue (152.163.195.212) on Saturday, September 01, 2001 - 09:27 am

Hi Al, We own at CDM and what they are doing is have security check around the pool and beach for things left for two hours or more. In May a family came down early every morning, took a hut by the pool with four lounges and a chair and then proceeded to the beach for the day. As an early riser and at the pool by seven I saw this every day until they were stopped. They came to the pool at 4 pm everyday until this was stopped by security taking their possessions off the "reserved" area. Another family could have used that spot all day and that is why this new rule was passed about two hours leaving things unattended. We look forward to another three weeks in November and cannot wait. Enjoy your trip.