Casa del Mar & Marriott

August 2 - 14, 2003 by Gail and Darryl

For our 10th (or 11th) trip to the glorious island of Aruba, we brought Gail's mom, Sylvia, who is 83 to enjoy it with us. The two weeks were wonderful and we'd like to share them with all of you.

Our Continental flight from Newark was smooth as glass and we arrived at AUA at about 1:30 PM. First thing was to pick up a bottle of Tanqueray at the duty free kiosk and we continued down to baggage and immigration. No problems! We did notice that a lot more people were lined up at immigration than in previous visits which were usually in July. Hans Dhooge of Tropic Car Rental met us in the airport, as usual, and he escorted us to the parking lot where we loaded the trunk, exchanged paper work and we were on our way. Hans, by the way, has become an "almost" member of the family... we appreciate his courtesy and I'm sure, he appreciates our business.

Hieroglyphics at Casabari The drive toward the Casa del Mar where we spent our first week on the island was exciting...just to be back in Aruba again! I pointed out all the sights along the way to Sylvia as it was her first time to Aruba, other than for a brief stop there many years back when she and her husband visited briefly, during an ocean cruise stopover. First stop for us was at the new Ling's for chips, sodas and of course, tonic water for the Tanqueray!

Check in at Casa del Mar was a little disappointing; the suite reeked of cigar smoke! A new suite was prepared for us in about an hour and we proceeded to unpack and prepare for dinner. Dinner for the first night is usually Tony Roma's. It's casual, no fuss, and the food and service are certainly adequate. Our first visit to the Radisson casino afterwards helped us to maintain our record of total losses.

Local kids at Casabari Rocks During the course of the first week, we paid visits to the Natural Bridge, the Ayo and Casibari rock formations and to the Lighthouse. Gail and I had seen them before, with the exception of the rock formations, but we wanted Sylvia to get to see all the sights as well. At the Ayo formations, we met a group of chaperones and children of employees at one of the local banks. They too, were sightseeing. I wanted some photos of the area and the kids, so I asked the chaperone how to say "smile" in Papiemento. Answer: "smile" !!

Dinners at a couple of new spots for us ranged from wonderful to bad...but again, we realize that restaurants, in general, are very subjective. So, if you don't agree with our 'take' on the various eating spots, please don't take offense!!

The Aqua Grille was very high priced. The menu was interesting, but the wait person was extremely unpleasant and unaccomodating and when he was asked if certain dishes were available without spices or with a different sauce, he maintained that they were served only as described on the menu. The servings were ok in size and a bit on the spicy side. I had the salmon. It was ok, but not as good as I expected, considering the 'rave' reviews this restaurant received in other trip reports on other bb's. French fries were salted and spiced, although we requested no salt, no spice. In fact, we were told that the entrees were served a la carte; no potato or vegetable included. So...we each ordered potato and vegetable, only to find that they were included. When I complained about the fries being salty and too spicy, the waiter removed them from the table, but not from the bill. I had to get the maitre d' to take care of removing them from the bill. Chalk this place off.

Rumba's downtown proved to be a most welcome change of pace for us. A fellow bb'er and frequent Aruba visitor had recommended it to us and she was right on. The friendly service on the part of the owner couple was most pleasant and the food was prepared to our taste. Prices are friendly, too!! We 'shall return'!!

Chalet Suisse was, of course, another winner. Benny was his usual cordial self; he enjoyed chatting with the ladies and showed a genuine interest in how our meal was progressing. Our wait persons all had a pleasant sense of humor. All in all, both visits during the course of our two weeks were most enjoyable.

A breakfast downer!! We read and heard lots about Linda's, on the Palm Beach Road, for pancakes. We stopped by there about 9AM one morning, only to learn that they open for business at 10AM! For breakfast!!! We returned a few mornings later to find that the indoor restaurant area was not very well air conditioned, so we sat outside. The patio was pleasant enough, covered with a roof and the wind had no trouble blowing the napkins, etc. off the table. Our waitress was most pleasant. The 'pancakes' (one large one, the size of a dinner plate) looked great, just brown enough. The syrup was very thick; not quite as tasty as Vermont maple syrup. We asked for coffee...and it was served about 20 minutes after the pancakes! It appeared to be instant coffee, although the waitress insisted it was brewed. (It had coffee 'scum' around the inside rim of the cup and those frothy bubbles like from instant). By the way, she had a terrible cold; sneezing and coughing the whole time. Guess who came down with a cold the next afternoon!! I did!! No refills on the coffee either. Breakfast for three..three orders of pancakes and 6 cups of coffee came to $50.00!!!!! Another 'never to return' eating place for us.

Le Dome was disappointing...we thought we'd give it another chance. Food was just ok; service was very good, prices are out of whack for what they serve. They seem to try to be more than they really are. Not an exciting place to look forward to visiting again. We had been told that they had lowered prices and improved their attitude. I will admit that the attitude here has changed for the better.

The Marriott was one of the hightlights of the week. Check-in; amenities, etc. were all excellent. Room view, although only a so called 'garden view' was beautiful. And..yes, we could see the Caribbean from the balcony. I'm a little concerned about the crowding on the beach there, especially as they continue to sell more and more time shares. We had the feeling that that part of Palm Beach was becoming like Jones Beach.

Tuscany's at the Marriott..an adequate stop for a relaxing dinner. They have a new pianist, who, although seems very talented, isn't quite up to snuff when musical requests are made of him. I approached him, asked him to play our favorite tune as Gail and I were celebrating our 42nd Wedding Anniversary. He smiled, said thank you and, although another 30 minutes or so had passed until we finished dinner, never did play my request. I should have asked for my tip back!! ;)

Other dining experiences:

Sole Mare: Pleasant atmosphere; reasonable pricing; broad menu. Food was acceptable as was service.

Blossom's at the Wyndham: We dined Chinese. Nothing to write home about. Service was adequate; food: so-so.

Palms at the Hyatt: Nicely done burgers and fries for an evening where you prefer not to 'dress up' and expect top quality service. Although, the waitpersons are very friendly and accommodating. See through kitchen here..so it's like eating at Hostaria da Vittorio...but NOT!!!

Want a good BLT?? La Terrazza downtown in the Renaissance mall is the place. They can make a pretty decent ice cream soda, too!!

The weather, for the entire stay, was marvelous. Typical Aruba weather; very warm, breezy and sunny with puffy clouds drifting by. A perfect vacation spot.

Pictures attached may or may not reflect the statments above. I'm not that organized to have put them in proper order. Please enjoy viewing them. I did try to include some shots that are not ordinarily seen here.

Gail and Darryl