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The Mill Resort, September 2002
By Mr. & Mrs. Davis
My husband and I celebrated our 5th
Wedding Anniversary in Aruba
September 2002. We flew out of Hartsfield Airport, Atlanta, GA. We had
a connecting flight with a 2 hour lay over in Miami. The plane was
full, no room to spread out. I didn't think so many people would be on
the plane. I slept most of the flight and awoke when the pilot
announced we would be arriving soon.
When the island was in view, I really started to get excited seeing the
beautiful blue/green water surrounding the tiny island. Going through
customs was a breeze. Note that I did not have my passport (my husband
had his). I traveled with my drivers license and birth certificate
(with raised seal) and had no problems. We went to the DePalm Tours
desk and got our ticket for the bus to our hotel. We were traveling on
a budget so we stayed at the Mill Resorts. While it did not look as
pretty as the pictures on their website (no where ever does), it was not
bad. We checked in, received our complimentary rum punch and went to
our room. The pool area was beautiful. It has lots of palm trees for
shade. The room was standard, it had a king size bed and a hot tub
(which we loved and used!!!!!!). Our room had a balcony but the view
was not that great. There was nothing for us to look at so we did not
go onto the balcony. But we did not come to Aruba to spend all day in
our room.
That night we had
dinner in the restaurant
at the Mill. The dishes were
good and the prices were not bad. We feel that when we visit a
caribbean island or a foreign country, we like to experience local
dishes which they had. We did not fly thousands of miles to have the
same old burgers and fries or steak and lobster that we could have back
home. Dinner was very romantic. The breeze was blowing, there was
music playing and it was not crowded. Our waitress was very friendly
and helpful to explain some of the dishes for us.
After dinner, we walked over to the
Wyndham.
We thought the hotel was
very beautiful with lots of amenities. Much more upscale than the Mill
Resort. We visited the casino
which was nice. We are not avid gamblers
but we played a couple of the machines. Didn't win anything but enjoyed
ourselves. We discovered the arcade and my husband was in heaven. We
then took a long romantic walk on the beach and passed through the
grounds of several of the other hotels. It is true what they say about
the Wyndham; it is windy. Not as drastic as some people wrote, but I
did notice the difference when we walked back through their grounds.
The next day we got up and got ready early. We had to go over to the
Wyndham because the DePalm representative did not show up at the Mill
Resort. I wanted to do the Aruba island tour with DePalm but missed the
early bus. We then had breakfast at the Wyndham which I found to be a
little expensive but it had a wide variety and was very good. We then
walked out and visited with the beautiful parrots on the grounds. My
husband loves birds and he enjoyed this.
We took the bus into town and walked around and did a little
shopping.
The prices for souvenirs were pretty good. It is always good to go to a
couple stores before making a final purchase. I noticed that each
store's prices varied by a couple dollars. We picked up some supplies
at Hong King???? I'll agree with everyone, the cheese is the bomb. I
wish we bought more! We then took the bus back towards the hotel and
decided to go to the butterfly farm. My husband really enjoyed this.
Butterflies were all over the place. There is a fish pond there where
my hubby spent time looking at all the fishes. We got some great
pictures.
It was then back to the hotel to rest after an exhausting day. I was
very grateful for the constant wind on Aruba. We hit the pool and
enjoyed the festivities at the Mill. Randall is a great DJ and gets
everyone motivated. The happy hour was a lot of fun. There were people
dancing and the drinks were good but a little strong (not much of a
drinker). Friday night at the Mill Resort is very popular with the
locals. There was a live band. We ordered room service that night
because the restaurant was very crowded. We heard about the pumpkin
soup and tried it along with another soup (cannot remember the name), it
had shrimp in it and they were both delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The next day we took the DePalm island tour and Baby Beach snorkeling
trip. We had a great time sightseeing. The
natural bridge
was
beautiful and being on the rocks so close to the coastline of Aruba was
breathtaking (I have that picture as my wallpaper on my computer to
remind me each day). It was VERY windy at the California Light House.
I was glad I had my hair up, I felt sorry for those who didn't.
The best part of the tour was snorkeling at Baby Beach. I cannot swim
but my hubby can and he had a blast. I just enjoyed splashing around in
the water. We purchased an underwater disposable camera before we left
and he got good use out of it. He saw lots of fish (one even bit him on
his finger because he got too close to them). We got some great
pictures.
To sum it up, we had a great time. Aruba's beaches were beautiful. So
for those who love to travel and don't have the big bucks to spend, the
Mill Resort is not a bad choice. In my opinion, it is not as bad as I
heard on some of the boards. It's not the Ritz but it's not a dump.
Also I was worried about what was said about the DePalm bus to and from
the airport, but we had no problems with it. A couple of ladies we made
friends with took a cab to the airport and we still made it there before
they did even with the stops the bus made.
I'm sorry this report is so long. But I found it very helpful when
everyone was very detailed on their trip reports.
If you are looking
for an island to kick back and relax, Aruba is the place to be. We will
visit Aruba again in the future.
Mr. & Mrs. Davis
Covington, GA
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