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Occidental Grand Aruba (formely Allegro), July 28, 2002 - August 5, 2002
By Lori
I know there is no way this is going to brief. I will try to give an objective
perspective of the island, our activities and lodging. First of all, I would like to
thank everyone who has posted information
on the BB's.
The help was invaluable. We booked our
all-inclusive vacation to
the Allegro through Apple Vacations.
We departed from Pittsburgh, PA on Sunday, July 28 and returned Monday, August 05, 2002
(We were supposed to arrive Sunday, August 04. Since you are supposed to give positives
before negatives so I will leave the Apple Vacations info for last). Just some background
info of us, my husband and I are in our 40's and we brought our daughter, 22 & son, 16.
This trip report will include information on:
Allegro Resorts, Apple Vacations - Planet Airways, Jeep Rental, Cosmos Day Spa,
Tranquilo, Carlos & Charlie's, Aruba Grand & Hyatt Pool Area, Aruba Kayak Adventures,
Parasailing,
Baby Beach,
Natural Pool,
Natural Bridge,
general observations of the island and anything else I can think of.
The Allegro Resort was very nice.
Because of negative BB postings, I was concerned what we would find. When we checked in,
we were given a room on the pool level that faced the Hyatt. I asked if we could be up
graded to an ocean or pool view (hoping for an even numbered room). We were given
rooms 829 & 833. Both had an ocean view. The view was beautiful but was not conducive
to seeing the sunset, which was fine.
We found a different location each night to view them. The rooms were not huge but
adequate. (If you've ever stayed at the Delta Chealsa in Toronto, these were HUGE!)
They were very clean, no mold, smell, dirt, etc. that has been reported in some postings.
We tipped the maid $1-$2 each day and our rooms were cleaned by the time we returned
from breakfast (same w/ the kid's room).
We never had any needs as far as the room went. There was a hair dryer, refrigerator,
safe, nice size dresser and closet. The bathroom also has good-sized counter space.
Food:
There is a breakfast buffet that is endless. There are made to order omelets, French toast,
pancakes, fresh fruit, cereal, danishes, muffins, bagels, sausage, bacon, potatoes,
….. You name it & it's there. For lunch, there is a buffet in the same place, Papaya's
or a beach hut that has hot dogs. Each day there is a different theme to the buffet
dinners: BBQ, Italian, French, Caribbean, Seafood, and International. There was always
a large salad table, rice, potatoes, carved beef or lamb and pasta. The buffet starts
at 6:30 with the show beginning at 8:30. If we ate early, Edgar would take care of us.
He would seat us up front then put a "reserved" sign on our table. This way we could
leave then come back. If he would see us during the day, he would ask if we were
going to the show. If we told him yes, our sign would be on a table waiting for us.
There is Caruso's which is their
Italian restaurant. We
made reservations for Saturday night and the food was very good. 'Lots of garlic!!!
My husband has linguini & clams, my daughter had spaghetti w/ meat sauce, I had veal
saltimbocca. Everything was delicious. There is also Papaya's, which is an open
restaurant by the pool. In the afternoon they have an ala carte menu and at night
you need reservations. I had the filet mingon there and it was very tasty.
My son had the baked chicken and he didn't care for the seasoning (very picky eater!)
The pizza oven is outside by the pool. It is open from 6pm-1am and has good made to
order personal size pizzas - thin crust.
Pool:
The pool looked to be one of the nicest in the area. We saw the Aruba Grand -
it was an Olympic sized regular old hotel pool. No palm trees, fountains, etc.
It did have a rock formation w/ a small pond & mote. The water was so stagnate
and green, you couldn't see the bottom. The Hyatt had a beautiful free form pool
w/ fountains like the Allegro. They had macaw birds that were beautiful but after a
while drove you crazy from cawing all day. Their pool seemed to have almost all shade
from the palm trees. The Allegro had a large free formed pool with a large rock
island in the middle. There were 2 waterfalls going over the rocks. In this area
there were 3 hot tubs. (Actually, during the day "hot" is translated into
"magma tub".) There was a nice mix of shade & sun for the lounge chairs. We did
not have a problem getting lounge chairs at the pool or beach.
Tranquilo:
On Wed. night we took the sunset cruise with Capt. Anthony at the wheel. What a
wonderful, relaxing trip. We cruised down to
Baby Beach then back up to
the lighthouse. It was a
fairly cloudy night so we didn't have a good sunset but the tranquility of the sea
was still there. I booked this online prior to leaving. When Capt. Anthony picked
us up at the De Palm Pier at the Aruba Grand he greeted me by name, which was very
personable. He does ask you to keep your shoes in the dingy so don't wear
anything special for the ride. The cost was $25 a person plus we tipped him and
Greg his helper. Capt. Anthony does not advertise in Aruba. He only has his
website and by word of mouth. If you would like to do any of his ventures, make
sure you bring his phone number w/ you.
Cosmos Day Spa:
My daughter & I went to Cosmos (which is adjacent to the Flying Fishbone in Savaneta)
for a half-day package ($310 for both). We spent time in the hot tub, a eucalyptus
sauna, total body exfoliation, total body massage, and manicure. We were given a
fruit platter and juice as well. It was very relaxing. Since going to spas is a
frequent venture for us, it was a nice change to have the reality of the ocean &
bird sounds instead of a CD in the background. Make sure you bring you bathing suit.
They will provide a robe, towel, & spa slippers. (This still wasn't as relaxing
as the Tranquilo!)
Natural Bridge:
What a beautiful sight! We drove there on our own. The only thing is get there early.
We got there around noon & it was swarming w/ tourists. Hard to get a good picture w/
everyone else in it.
Carlos & Charlie's:
We are dinner at C & C's one evening. There are no free pop refills in Aruba.
This was a surprise to us - especially w/ a thirsty teenager! We had 2 Mexican
platters, a steak & BBQ shrimp 2 beers & 3 sodas for $94. The food was good.
The waiters are pranksters so beware!!! A fun place.
Kayak Adventures:
While Alyse & I were at the spa, Dan & Nick went kayaking. There is only one
place that will take you kayaking and you can arrange this through De Palm tours.
It was an all day excursion. They kayaked in the ocean and then went to De Palm
Island for great snorkeling. They ate lunch on the island than kayaked back to
their starting point. They really enjoyed this.
Parasailing:
My husband & son went parasailing.
First and foremost - if you get motion sickness, this probably isn't the adventure
for you. The trade winds really knock you around however it is a blast.
We went through Red Sail for this.
$45 each to sail and $10 to ride if you just was to go along.
Banana boat:
I'm not sure of the name of the group we went through but they are located in a
tent in front of the Hyatt/Allegro
Red Sail building.
Look for Trevor! This was a blast. We went from the Allegro to past the airport.
$15 for 30 min. of fun!!!
Natural Pool: Because of
our adventurous side, we saw the small
handmade "natural pool" sign and decided to give it a try. Fortunately we came
across some of the park rangers who said, "Follow us!" Some where along the line
we forgot to leave the breadcrumbs. We made it to the pool, which was absolutely
beautiful. When we tried to get back, it seemed like all trails lead to nowhere.
After our 4th trail we finally made it out. J I think all the goats around us
were laughing! There is no way you can do this trip without a 4X4!!!
Baby Beach: We were a
little disappointed in Baby Beach. I thought this would be a great place to snorkel.
There really was not a lot to see as far as fish in the bay itself. The fish seemed
to congregate at the opening into the Caribbean. There was a current there that kept
pushing you into the bay. It is a picturesque place, except for the oil refinery
in the background.
California Lighthouse:
The landscape around the lighthouse was beautiful. The waves crashing on the rocks
were great. If you go toward the sunset side of the lighthouse, there is a large
divi divi tree w/ a bench under it. This is a great place to watch the sunset.
Iguanas:
I have to put this is for the Jeff Corwin's out there. My son was in his glory w/
these little - and no so little - guys. They are beautiful creatures. They may not
bite but they will beat you up w/ their tails! They are quit harmless and are
interesting to watch. They love fruit - which is also a natural part of their diet.
There was only w/ an amputated arm at the Allegro. We called him Lt. Dann
(from Forest Gump).
Shopping:
We did a fair amount of shopping. Don't plan on going to town after dinner -
everything will be closed. All of the stores were closed by 7:00 p.m. - some at
6:00 p.m. The only ones we found open were across from the Allegro by Salt & Pepper's.
Personally, I didn't think the jewelry prices were that great.
Jeep Rental:
Because of some of the credit card scamming, we decided to go w/ Avis.
We might have paid slightly more for a jeep for the week, but it was w/ a national
company. We paid $325 for 5 days. They were located right in the Allegro.
We thought about getting one at the airport but we wouldn't have had room for
our luggage.
General Info:
We did notice that there was a cruise ship in town on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.
We stayed clear of town & major attractions on these days. EVERYONE on the island
is very friendly. A couple times we were in villages and asked for directions
and the people were great.
One sad note we noticed, there is a major litter issue in Aruba. It was terrible
seeing garbage stuck inside the cactus and divi divi trees. I was concerned
about the wind. There was always a welcomed breeze; a couple times it was windy.
As everyone says, you're glad it's there or you will fry like bacon.
One nice thing about the sun & proximity of the equator, you never need to
constantly turn to face the sun, it's was always right above you.
Which did pose a problem w/ pictures. Since you are to have the sun at your
back, a lot of our pictures w/ us in them came out shadowed. L The only time we saw
stray dogs was when we were in the towns. There were none on the beaches.
Apple Vacations, Immigrations & Customs:
We booked our package through our travel agent. The flight there was uneventful.
The plane was large and they used all possible space for passengers so it was cramped.
The food was less than the average airline food (we thought it looked like
Fischer-Price food!). I think we could have gotten a better price if we went
through Allegro and a commercial airline. All was well until we had to come home.
Coming to find our return flight experience is somewhat common. Our flight was to
leave at 12:15 p.m. so we were being transferred to the airport at 9:30 a.m.
The bus came early so we were at the airport a little before that time.
We waited in line until after 10:00 a.m. Halfway through processing our line,
they started to move lines and we were bumped several people back. They then told
us that the flight was delayed until 3:00 p.m. but we weren't allowed to leave
the airport incase we left earlier. We then went through customs & immigrations,
which took all of 10 minutes at the most. They did not ask anything just took our
return card and pointed the way. (There were some who had their luggage searched.
They were all w/ commercial airlines.) Once we got passed these two check points
we were not allowed to retrace to go outside or anything. We were eventually
given $10 meal vouchers. About two hours before our flight was to leave, the
snack bar quit taking the vouchers because they already took too many!
We finally boarded the plane at 5:00 p.m. and left a little after 5:30 p.m.
We didn't make it back into Pittsburgh until after 11:30 p.m. since we had to
stop for fuel. We were never given the same answer as to why we were delayed.
The pilot even gave a couple different versions. It was a flight that put the
damper on a perfect week.
We will NEVER fly Apple Vacations again.
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