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Bucuti Beach Resort, September 16-24, 2000
By Gerry & Sue
Words and pictures alone will not be able to capture what this trip meant to
us. It was a magical and fairytale time as we dropped out of life for 9
days. Below we will share our experiences and hope it sheds some light on
future first-time travellers or brings back some nostalgic moments to the
more seasoned visitor.
Travel arrangements:
We booked through our local AAA travel office. Our
agent had offered us the best deal yet through Delta Dream Vacations. The
package not only included the flight and resort price, but all the hidden
charges as well, including airport to hotel transfers. Plus Delta also gave
vouchers for a snorkeling trip and sunset cruise with Red Sail. Everything
ran smoothly from beginning to end.
Flight:
We left promptly at 8am on a small commuter flight to Atlanta.
Beautiful weather, great flight. In Atlanta we met up with ArubaLisa and
Jerry from the bulletin boards. They were easy to spot as they were wearing
matching yellow Arubabound.com polo shirts. We spoke with them until time
to board. By now I was getting a little jittery as I do not like to fly.
But the flight was smooth and uneventful. Wonderful landing. We did not
have to wait for baggage as we each brought 2 carry-ons, one being my camera
case which never left my side. A DePalm Tour bus was waiting for us and we
were on our way to our resort within 10 minutes. There were several buses
waiting so we did not have to wait until our bus was full. The return trip
was just as smooth in every respect. But don't get me wrong, that doesn't
mean I like flying any better!
Bucuti Beach Resort:
Wow! What can be said of this resort that hasn't
already been said? Bucuti Beach Resort is a small, intimate, secluded
hideaway with a warm and genuine atmosphere. It is geared for honeymooners
and hopeless romantic couples rather than the active thrill-seekers. The
resort is laid back and begs you to relax and enjoy. Our entire week
there, the staff treated us with utmost respect and made us feel like we
were the only couple there and very much part of their family. They were
there when we needed them, otherwise they left us alone. Check in is quite
different than from US hotels, it's more of an orientation. But that was
fine, it left no questions. The view from our room was breathtaking! What
you see in the Aruba webcam is exactly what we were seeing. The webcam was
right above our balcony. And talk about a balcony! Aside from the great
view, it was huge. When all is said and done, Bucuti is a great value for a
romantic getaway vacation from the hectic ratrace we escaped from.
Eagle Beach:
Whoaa! It's exactly as you dream a tropical beach would look
like.. Wide, uncrowded and pure white sand, this is where we parked
ourselves most of the week. Yes, the sun is very strong. Gerry burns very
easily, but he covered himself from head to toe in SPF50 down to SPF30 and
turned a golden bronze color. One day he forgot to do his ears and feet and
sure enough he burned. As for me, I mostly used SPF30 & 15 and was rather
dark by the end of the week. One day I forgot to cover the area above my
lip and I did burn there. But that's it. We heard over and over again
about the tradewinds. To be honest, the winds aren't an issue, just very
much welcomed. I can't imagine what it would be like without them.
Toplessness? Sure, it's there but no big deal. Americans seemed rather
discreet while Europeans and/or South Americans appeared to be more
comfortable. Again, it wasn't a big deal.
Activities:
The Balcony and the Beach: We basically did exactly what we set out
to do…rest and relax. Each morning we'd spend a couple hours on the balcony
drinking endless pots of coffee, reading the paper and just taking in the
view. By late morning we'd head to the beach and stayed there until late
afternoon. We'd come in to clean up and again retreat to the balcony for
sunset. We truly believe we had the best room at Bucuti.
Car rental:
Gerry really didn't want to bother with buses or taxis.
He just wanted the convenience of a car so we could go where we wanted to
when we wanted to. We rented a Toyota Tercel via the internet through
Economy. They were running a September Super Special plus we were able to
use the Visit Aruba card on top of that. So the card paid for itself with
that first transaction. They replied to all emails immediately and said
they'd bring us the car at Bucuti on Sunday. Indeed they were timely, but
we ran into some miscommunication. Some on our part, some on theirs, but it
all worked itself out. Next time we'd probably only rent for 3 days.
Sightseeing:
On Monday we set out to see the high rise hotels,
especially since one of our daughters works for the Radisson here. Well, we
drove by one of them, then two or three and the next thing we knew we were
at the Lighthouse without having stopped at any of them. As we got out of
car, we were greeted by a pleasant lady who gave us a history of the north
coast and the lighthouse. Nice touch, we thought. Then came her pitch…she
was pushing timeshares on the island. She raised the ante to $190 cash and
casino chips if we would just sit through one of them. But we declined and
she remained pleasant and gave us directions for the smoothest ride to the
landmarks. We took it slow and easy and did do the touristy thing Tierra del Sol
, the Alto Vista Chapel, the Gold Mill Ruins, Natural Bridge. At
this point, we found the best road back to town as our vehicle insurance
with Economy clearly stated it would not cover any off road driving. We
were in a foreign country and didn't want to take any chances. On the
return trip we saw many of the homes with the 'picket' cactus fences and
wild goats along the way. We also discovered how the roads are not marked,
the road signs are bizarre, and how few traffic lights there were, and even
fewer of them were working.
Snorkeling:
Through our Delta travel package we had a voucher for a ½
day snorkeling trip with Red Sail Sport. We did this on Thursday and as
luck would have it, we woke up to the only cloudy, windless day of our
entire stay. According to the experts, this is the best time to snorkel.
We made 3 stops. The first two I had trouble with the breathing process but
finally caught on on the 3rd stop. We saw lots of fish, but were unable to
get any decent pictures. Crew was fantastic, open bar, lunch and munchies
provided. Although we never got rain while on the boat, the high rise
section did get a brief shower. By the time we returned to shore, it was
over.
Sunset Cruise:
We enjoyed the snorkeling trip and crew of the Balia
so much that when we returned to shore we used our second voucher from Delta
and booked a sunset cruise for our last night on the island. Less crowded
than the snorkeling trip, yet still a fair amount of people. A guest
brought his guitar and there was a sing-a-long most of the trip. It was a
beautiful evening for sailing and a gorgeous sunset. It was beautiful
seeing the resorts lit up at night from the ocean side.
Casino:
We had never set foot in a casino in our lives, so here was
another first for us. We each brought a roll of quarters. After visiting
the Crystal Casino, the Hyatt Casino and the Marriott Casino Gerry no
longer had any quarters left including some of my winning stash. I came out
with $18.
Shopping/Oranjestad:
We had planned our souvenir shopping on the
day the cruise ship Destiny was docked. Now here is a huge ship! We bought
several embroidered T-shirts from the vendors at reasonable prices for the
family and friends back home. Downtown certainly has a wide variety of
souvenir-type shops and boutiques. Although there were about 3300
additional visitors to the island that day, we didn't find it that
noticeable. Definitely fewer than you'd find at a crowded mall at
Christmas. We decided to eat dinner downtown that evening and basically we
just walked right on without reservations. Because this was the inaugural
voyage of the Destiny to Aruba, there was a fireworks display that evening.
Not as big as any I've seen in the US, but definitely a nice touch to add to
the festive celebration. As we returned to our car, a gentleman approached
us and began chitchatting while cleaning our windshield. We said nothing
and handed him a dollar. He smiled, thanked us and was on his way. We felt
this was the best way to handle the situation. Although we didn't stop
here, we must add that Carlos and Charlie's was rocking on this night.
People were out the door. We could hear music from other clubs in the area,
but C & C was definitely the happening place. Once back to our room, we
decided we wanted to return and see the Destiny launch. So off we go again.
Watching the send-off was definitely worth returning to see. Then we
rushed back to Bucuti to see it pass in front of the resort. Truly a sight
to see. I guess you could say the car came in handy on this evening.
Restaurants:
After having followed the Bulletin Boards for several
months, I had fairly good idea of where we would eat. In fact, I had made a
few reservations to some of the more popular restaurants from home before
leaving just to be sure we'd get in. Here goes:
Pirates Nest: Our first night on the island we decided to just stay
close by. Excellent decision. We ate on the open terrace taking in the
sights and sounds of our first evening in paradise. Though we had not heard
much about this restaurant, we were definitely pleased with the food. Gerry
had the Caribbean pork loin 5-course special of the evening while I had the
Captain Kidd Shrimp Treasure. Oh my goodness…I've never seen shrimp this
big in my life and we're from Maine. Cooked in a cognac sauce, I've been
raving about it ever since. I hope it's still on menu next time we go.
Dinner for 2, including 1 drink (1/2 carafe wine came compliments of the
resort), 1 dessert, 2 coffees, SC came to $60
French Steakhouse: After reading all the publicity on the bbs and
being right next door to Bucuti, we made this a 'must' stop. We had
reservations for 8 but there were only 2 other tables filled. We both had
the Churrasco steak special. Loved the seafood crepes. I could have made a
meal from this alone. The steak was hefty indeed (I was only able to eat ½
of it), tender, well seasoned, but I was disappointed in the cut of meat. I
was expecting steak, but this was more like a hunk of roast beef. It was
still good, I just wasn't expecting roast beef. The apple strudel was
excellent. Great Service. Again, $60
Madame Janette: If we hadn't heard of this restaurant through the
bbs, we would have never known it existed. No advertising whatsoever
anywhere, although the staff at the resort was able to dial their # to
confirm our reservations without looking it up, so someone knows about them.
Directions to get there were another thing, but after asking 2 or 3
people, we figured it out. Anyway, this was a real treat and everything
that it's built up to be. I was impressed when we ordered salads that our
waiter suggested we split one as it was large enough for 2 and indeed it
was. Large and impressive menu to choose from. Gerry had prime tenderloin
with béarnaise sauce while I had shrimp casserole du chef. Both were served
with a large portion of vegetables of your choice. Both entrees were of
generous portions. The entire meal, including 2 drinks, 1 glass wine, 1
salad, 2 entrees, 2 desserts (chocolate mousse, yum!) 2 coffees, no SC came
to $52.
Ventanas del Mer:This is at the Tierra del Sol Country Club. We
had seen the golf course and restaurant while on our sightseeing trip the
day before and even though it was on our list of restaurants to try, we
couldn't wait to get here. Iv at the activities desk at Bucuti called to
arrange reservations telling them we were on the island for our anniversary.
Little did we know what surprise we had ahead of us. They gave us a great
table poolside. Our waiter was one of the best we've ever encountered. (Of
course, telling us he follows the Kentucky Wildcat Basketball team helped).
Gerry had filet mignon with portabella mushroom and I had ginger shrimp
tempura in teriyaki sauce. Both very good. Then the Kodak moments began.
The entire staff brought out a candle-lit piece of mango-raspberry
cheesecake. As they joined us tableside, the saxophonist came right to the
table and played the anniversary waltz. By now I was in tears. After they
all left, the waiter brought us each a glass of champagne, compliments of
the couple at the next table. We don't know who you are, but if you're
reading this, thank you for adding to this special and romantic evening.
You are what Aruba is all about! 2 glass wine, 1 drink, 2 salads, 2
entrees, 1 dessert, SC came to $105.
*Note*…shortly after we were seated, the general manager welcomed us and
apologize for the number of stray cats on the patio. He said he had been
trying his best to keep them away but it seemed to be a loosing battle.
Throughout the evening we could see he was visibly upset by their presence
and indeed it was annoying to have them hang around your table and feet.
However, we knew he was doing what he could to keep them away.
Flying Fishbone: This was the actual night of our 25th anniversary
and reservations had been made a month before. We arrived a half-hour
before our reservations as we weren't sure we'd be able to find it easily
nor were we sure of the time it took to get there. No problem with being
seated early. This was truly another dining experience. Our table was by
the water (love those racks for sandals and purse!) and sunset breathtaking.
It is small and cozy and was filled with hopeless romantics. I believe we
ran into a language problem. I ordered the lobster salad with greens to
split between us but we ended up getting 2 of them. The chunks of lobster
were tough and chewy, but lobster nonetheless. I had saved lobster for the
anniversary meal but soon had regrets. I ordered the Caribbean lobster tail
in cognac sauce and Gerry had the sliced sirloin. Both were attractively
presented on the plate and the sirloin was fantastic. However, again the
lobster was tough, chewy and what I would definitely call overcooked. I
only ate 3 bites and left the rest. The waitress noticed this and kindly
told us she'd remove it from the bill. We told her it wasn't necessary,
that that's not we had set out to do, yet she still did. For dessert she
brought us a tray of bon-bon type cookies plus a sample plate of all their
desserts. The check amounted to $93 for 1 glass wine, 1 drink (2 glasses
champagne was on the house), 2 salads, 1 entrée and the dessert plate. We
left a hefty tip as the lobster entree had been removed from the bill. The
ambiance was priceless. Felt like we were in a MasterCard commercial.
*Note*…again there were stray cats hanging around the restaurant and our
feet, plus we found it strange that at such a fine and romantic restaurant
the nearby fishermen come off their boat and walk right between you and the
next table to get to the other side of the property.
Café Baci: The island has many italian restaurants and choosing
which one to go to was indeed mind-boggling. We finally decided on this one
in the Wyndham Resort. Why? Probably because we were adventuresome to some
degree, as neither of us had heard a word about it. Without reservations,
we were seated within minutes. This was our first indoor dinner and it just
happened to be on the day without wind, so the air-conditioning was
welcomed. Of interest, this was the only restaurant that the salad was
included with the meal. The food was good and relatively inexpensive.
Dinner for 2, 2 glasses wine, 1 drink (awesome Lady in Red), and 2 coffees
came to $41 including SC. Rather impressive, I'd say.
Iguana Joe's: This was on the evening we spent downtown.
Originally we had planned to go to the Driftwood, but we were enjoying
ourselves downtown so much that we just decided to stay there. (We'll
definitely go to Driftwood on our next visit). We thoroughly enjoyed this
place. Again, we were without reservations and were seated almost
immediately on the newly expanded balcony overlooking the main street.
Great atmosphere, attentive waiter and great food and drinks. Gerry stuck
with sirloin steak while I had the best citrus glazed pork tenderloin on the
planet. Tab for 2 dinners including 2 drinks, 2 pepsi, 1 (giant) ice tea, 2
desserts, no SC and tip was $57. As we finished dinner, there was a
fireworks display that we watched right from their balcony. A mix of music
could be heard from all the surrounding nightclubs.
Madame Janette's Again: This was our last evening in Aruba and we
had left the restaurant option open. It came down to a toss-up between
Pirates Nest and Madame Janette. We all but flipped a coin. On an hour's
notice we were able to get a reservation. We also asked to be seated in the
same section as the first time and asked for Chris as our waiter. Rather
impressive that he remembered us including the fact that we didn't need a
taxi. On our first visit, the cashier came to our table and introduced
himself as a former employee of Bucuti/Pirates Nest. Once again, he
returned to say hello. The restaurant itself is beautiful and romantic with
a pebbly open courtyard setting with tiny white lights but somehow the
breeze is blocked, so it is rather warm. On the first visit we were seated
near a large fan, but that table was not available this second time so it
was a bit uncomfortable. We both ordered the beef tenderloin this time.
Wonderful…melt-in-your mouth tenderness. No dessert on this visit but the
check came to exactly $52 again. Love this place. Just wish it were a
little cooler.
Breakfasts and lunches: We aren't big breakfast eaters and only ate
breakfast twice. One morning we grabbed donuts and coffee from Dunkin Donuts
and ate on the beach. Standard fare for Dunkin Donuts. One other morning
we ate at the French Steakhouse Garden Terrance where they honored our
discount Visit Aruba card. We returned to the French Steakhouse for lunch
the day we left but they weren't doing lunch yet so we ate from the
breakfast menu again. This time they did not take the Visit Aruba card. We
only ate lunch two other times during our stay. Once we got Subways and ate
right on the beach and the other time we ate at Pirates Nest when we
returned from our sightseeing trip. Their club sandwich and chicken pita
sandwich were served with french fries. The platters were huge and neither
of us could finish. We spent a total of $66 for breakfasts and lunches
which includes SC and tips.
Miscellaneous: Here's a few things we noticed while dining that we
find worth mentioning,. We finally figured out by our 3rd night on the
island that we have to ask for the check. We truly appreciate this as it is
our vacation and we have no reason to rush. Service everywhere we ate was
impeccable and presentation of food like none we'd ever seen and for that
reason we didn't have a problem leaving an additional tip whether or not the
restaurant added a service charge. I believe a baked potato must be an
American thing. Nobody offered it, although one restaurant (Iguana Joe's, I
think) had it on the menu but it turned out to be sliced potatoes baked in
the oven. Also, other than the 2 times we ate breakfast at the French
Steakhouse, nobody refills your coffee cup. Some restaurants give you
espresso instead of good old coffee. And what is that stuff they use as
cream or half & half?????? We bought some half & half at the grocery store
when we arrived so I know it's available. Also, Caribbean lobster is
definitely not Maine lobster. I'll definitely keep that in mind next time I
order lobster. Overall, we spent $603 for dinner and additional tips for 8
evenings. For the quality of food we ate, (plus the wine and drinks) and
the magnificent service received, we found the final tally a pleasant
surprise.
In closing:
I'm not going to describe what the final day was like. I
think you can all imagine what that was like. Aruba is easy to fall in love
with and gets into your blood! Thank you to all who contributed to the
bulletin boards with your suggestions and knowledge of the island. It was a
tremendous help planning.
Any questions/comments regarding any of the above, please feel free to email
me
Gerry & Sue W
swingate@hotmail.com
Our Aruba Photo Album:
http://home.earthlink.net/~gwingate/arubaphotoalbum.htm
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