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Aruba Phoenix, August 3 - 10, 2002
By Nora and Louis
This was our first trip to Aruba since 1999 and we were eagerly anticipating going.
We were scheduled to leave from Newark on US Air but Mom Nature had other plans
sending in a huge storm the evening of the 2nd that forced some delays including
ours on the 3rd. US Air / Newark was completely unorganized the morning of the 3rd
as far as getting passengers lined up in queue to wait for check in. Passengers
were milling around literally without US Airs help. Our flight was pushed from
8:00 am departure to 10:00 am departure that meant that we would lose our first
day. My sister in law and her daughter were to be staying with us got out as
scheduled on Continental. We were able to get a 3:00 pm flight to Atlanta with a
flight to Aruba on the
4th via Delta on tickets issued by US Air. The morning
of the 4th we were at the airport bright & early and checked in only to discover
that US Air had issued out tickets incorrectly. Thanks to the ticket agent at
Delta we were able to get things straightened out and on our way.
8/4
The new airport is great! Much easier in getting around. Aruba was the same as I
remembered it. Lots of sun and the ever-present breeze made for great weather
practically the whole time. Got our luggage, grabbed a cab and headed over
to the Phoenix. Grabbed our swimsuits & snorkeling gear and headed down
to the beach. Ahh! The water
was the way I remembered it! Nice and warm. Spent the day just hanging out and
enjoying happy hour. Dinner was in the condo with a walk to
The Wyndham for ice
cream afterwards.
8/5
Breakfast in the condo, took a walk to check out the "nature trail", hit the beach
all day, El Gaucho at night
for dinner. I can't say enough good about El Gaucho.
The meat is unsurpassed by anything I've had in the US taste and texture wise and
their prices are cheap considering the amount of meat they serve you.
8/6
Basically just in the water all day having fun. Much much windier at night, it
really howled!
8/7
Still really windy even by Aruba standards. The Octopus morning snorkel trip was
great! Breakfast and lunch included. Captain Jethro makes two stops the first being
at the Antilla. Did you ever go snorkeling in whitecaps? That's how choppy the water
was due to the wind. The second stop around
Malmok
was much calmer and the snorkeling was really nice. I will go again on the Octopus.
Shopped in Orangestad in afternoon. Dinner that night
in the condo. Dinner that night was at
Salt & Pepper. This is a pretty nice
place across the street from the Hyatt (?). Slow service but
the Tango Restaurant next door has live \
Tango Dancers to watch while you are waiting. Good food, I will go back there.
8/8
Rented a Daihatsu Terios from Economy. Drove out to
Baby Beach. Baby Beach is sort of like a
mostly shallow lagoon. It was more crowded than I thought it would be but still the snorkeling
was fantastic. Out by the breakers where the ocean enters the fish were numerous and huge, big
enough to catch and eat! Dinner that night was
The Flying Fishbone. It was pretty
eating on the
beach. I had shrimp in bleu cheese sauce and it was excellent. Fresh sweet, firm shrimp in a
tangy cheesy sauce. My wife, sister in law and her daughter opted for the surf & turf (beef &
shrimp) that had a okay piece of meat but drenched with a straight out of the can tasting gravy.
The shrimp were good however. As this place is very pricey they should be able to serve food
of a quality that is in line with their pricing. I have to say that overall The Flying Fishbone
was kind of a disappointment and will probably not go back.
8/9
Sadly the last full day. Saw
the Butterfly Farm, my daughter
loved it (so did us adults). Took a drive past the
lighthouse and bounced around to the
natural bridge seeing
the gold smelter ruins and old church
along the way. Seeing the raw untamed shoreline get to be breathtaking in spots. At the gold
smelter ruins now there is a very reasonably priced souvenir van. Prices lower than anything
in Orangestadt. Had our last ocean swims in the afternoon and stayed in the water pretty late.
8/10
I hate leaving Aruba, had the buffet breakfast at Playa Linda, took one last look at the
grounds of The Hyatt and took off for the airport.
From what we were told the Phoenix is sold out except for a week or two in April. That's
good news. Can a expansion onto the land bordering the polis station be in the future? I
hope so. I like the Phoenix and we had a great time but I do have some mixed feelings.
On one hand they have added the souvenir shop, prettied up the ground floor around the
elevators, added three gas grills for outside cooking and added posted daily activities
which is very nice but I saw the beginnings of some maintenance oversights that were
not very reassuring to view. The paint on the front of the tower has come off in several
areas, the drip irrigators were not being used for watering (the watering is being done
by hand), the elevators broke one day, there is rust on the stairs going up the front
of the tower and out of three grills only one was working.
Don't get me wrong, The Phoenix is a great resort and we are happy we bought there but
maintenance is an area that cannot be ignored especially in a saltwater climate.
The grills used are standard Charbroil units, it would be better to have two commercial
grade grills that could stand up to climate / expected heavy use. With the competition
from Marriott at the other end of the beach this will be even more important.
Hope to be in Aruba next year!
E-mail me at noralou1@juno.com
with questions.
Thank you
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