Welcome to the Aruba Forum

[acmom]

My husband and I are in our early 40's and had our honeymoon in Aruba at La Cabana. I can remember lying on the beach and promising each other that we would come back for our 5 year anniversary. Well ... 16 years (and 2 kids, 3 dogs, 2 guinea pigs, dozens of fish, yada, yada, yada...), we are finally doing it!! We think that we'd like to stay all inclusive this time around for a few reasons. First ... money. We are planning on having this trip paid for before we go and this is the only way we will truly be able to do that without guessing how much we'll be spending. Second ... as the working parents of two kids, what we really want to do most is relax. We will be renting a jeep and touring the island. We plan on doing lots of exploring on our own, and LOTS of soaking up the sun. Our thoughts are that by going all inclusive, knowing where we will be eating/drinking will just make the trip that much more relaxing. Having said all this ... we have never traveled all-inclusive before and would love to have the advice of some seasoned travelers. Some advice from seasoned Aruba travelers would be even better...especially on which resorts would be the best. We are not looking to go the cheapest route, but want to make this trip as enjoyable as possible. Thank you for any input you can give us!!

[~Amy~®]

The good news/bad news is that there are not alot of AI resorts in Aruba to choose from. So it's good news that you won't be looking at a ton of them and have a hard time deciding....bad news is that there are not alot to choose from. Let's go with the glass is half full option.

I would say my two favorites that I would look at would be the Riu and the Divi. Both are two different types of AI resorts. Riu is on Palm Beach, large, alot of restaurants, large pool with swim-up bar, etc. Divi has more of a Caribbean feel and is smaller with the buildings being no more than 2-3 stories each. Some of the rooms are oceanfront depending on which one you book. The food is not going to be high end but it'll be good for the price you pay. So I guess I'd look at those two first.

A couple of other places offer an AI "option" as an add-on at their hotels. Manchebo and Amsterdam Manor both offer the AI option so you could look at those two as well.

Personally, we have never done AI in Aruba so I cannot give you any first hand experience. Hopefully others can.

[ArubaLisa]

I completely understand your reason for wishing to go on vacation "all inclusive". Go and enjoy one another and do not nickel and dime yourselves while lounging on the beach!

We just returned from our 1st stay at the Amsterdam Manor and chose to go all inclusive. We have been to Aruba numerous times, but 5 times we have stayed all inclusive at the Divi's sister resort the Tamarijn. Hands down the Amsterdam Manor beats the Divi in not only all inclusive but most all other amenities as well.

If budget is an issue, I would choose the Divi as second best. The Riu is more plush, but also a lot more money.

[acmom]

Thank you both so much for your input. I am so excited about this trip and want to make it a great one! Thanks again!