Bucuti Beach Resort

September 19-28, 2003 by Gerry & Sue W

For 2 people who did so little, this is one very long report. It has been categorized to make it easier to skip certain sections. Watch out Greenie and Carol... I think I have a report to rival yours in length.

FLIGHT

This year we flew USAirway Lexington to Charlotte to Aruba on the day after Isabel struck NC and VA. We held our breath for 4 days. At 9 pm the night before we left, the call from USAir arrived. Fortunately they were only delaying our flight ! 1 ½ hrs due to the mandatory rest period for the flight crew. Flight to Charlotte was uneventful and smoother than expected. In Charlotte we met up with Amy, Mike and Melissa, the first of many times we’d be together over the next 9 days. Flight from Charlotte to Aruba was smooth as silk. We arrived a few minutes earlier than scheduled, went thru the necessary desks and picked up our luggage in record time. In fact, we were at the grocery store a mere ½ hr after we landed.

TROPIC CAR RENTAL

As usual, Hans Dhooge was waiting for us in lobby of terminal upon arrival and curbside of departure building at end of our stay. We enjoy doing business with him as he is truly dependable, easy-going and his cars reliable.

GROCERIES

We decided to pick-up a few things before arriving at the hotel. After reading Carol’s comments of Ling and Son’s new store in her trip report last July, we decided to try them. The store is large, clean and their fresh fruit and vegetable dept is impressive. We found some prices lower than what we were use to at another large store nearby. We intentionally did not pick up everything we needed that day thinking we’d return mid-week for fresh stock. That was a mistake. Apparently 'the boat' didn't come in and their dairy stock was rather low. On that second trip we also checked with Hong King and Super Food and they were out of the item(s) we wanted as well. It was evident that Ling and Son’s is now the big daddy of grocery stores. We were the only customers in Super Food and Hong King had only 2 cars in parking lot besides ours.

BUCUTI

Check in: Registration was quick and the luggage attendant not only took our baggage from the car to the room but all our groceries as well. What’s more, he unloaded the pre-stocked refrigerator and mini-bar and replaced it with our groceries including 2 cases of Pepsi, one can at a time. What service! We were also greeted with a 'Happy Anniversary' basket of goodies. Personal touch is the name of the game at Bucuti. Thank you to all!

Pirates Nest Improvements: With much attention going into the new Tara Wing, Bucuti has made some cosmetic changes in their original hotel. Carpets in the hallways have been replaced as well as hallway light fixtures. At Pirates Nest, new wooden dining chairs replace the older deck-type plastic ones. Additional palapas have been added on the Manchebo side of beach for those who want to spend their beach time away from the construction on the other side.

Personnel: We were happy to see and talk to staff and management we’ve come to know thru the years and missed those who were either on vacation (including our beloved housekeeper, Bernice) or who are no longer there. The staff is gracious and friendly and everyone seems to contribute to the relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. A new face on the management team, John Grigg, made several attempts to personally welcome us back. We finally touched basis one evening and had a wonderful visit with him. All the while we talked, it was obvious he was not compromi! sing service to other guests while engaged in a conversation with us.

Tara Wing: It was with much anticipation that we see the progress of the new building live and in living color. It was exciting indeed. Throughout our stay, we watched as the crew finished the third floor of the shell and the 4th floor go up room by room. Noise level? Yes, it’s there but the week of our visit it was at a minimum considering the large number of construction workers, the equipment being used plus the rate of speed that it’s all happening. The new helicopter rides generate 100 times more noise than these men do. One night I was on our balcony in the wee hours and noticed a solo worker on the top floor. There wasn’t a sound that night coming from Tara, just a light on his work area that caught my attention. The management is going to great lengths to ensure as little disruption as possible to their guests. We were on the beach directly in front of the construction all but 1 day of our week and never felt compelled to move.

Sand Bar: Late each afternoon thru sunset we could hear Lee and his steel drum music from our place on the beach. The Happy Hour we decided to spend there, wouldn’t you know it, it was his day off. They had some music from pre-Beatle era playing…possibly Connie Francis? Not quite the same as the perky Caribbean sounds of the steel drums. They have added tapas to their menu but we didn’t try any as we were heading to dinner shortly after sunset.

WEATHER AND BEACH

Glorious as always. Temperatures were in the 90s all week with a cool gentle breeze and evening were very comfortable. Couple days were overcast and we had a couple quick showers lasting no more than 5 minutes. The sea had a different personality each day. Some days were calm, other days the current was more noticeable. A couple days we could even hear the waves from our balcony. Many days there were broken shells/coral washed up on shoreline, other days nothing at all. Jetski activity very much present, many times it was the vendors themselves whizzing by. It is our understanding that they are not suppose to go beyond the rope at Costa Linda, though most do. Only once did we see an employee from the vendor come and turn someone around. The speedboat (the Walter) that picks up the tourists from the Costa Linda booth was a pain in the neck to me (my opinion only!). He would pick up customers from the Bucuti side of the Costa Linda rope and every time I was either going into the water or coming out, he was approaching. One day I had to ask him not to back out until I got around him. Could he not make his pick-ups/drop-offs on the other side of the rope???

DAYTIME ACTIVITIES

By design, we didn’t do a heck of a lot. Most days we were on the beach by 11am and stayed there until after 7pm. Many evenings we were the last 2 on the beach. It’s hard to give up a good thing. Bulletin Board Party: We joined Melvin and Amy’s BB Party early in the week. Happy Hour was at Amsterdam Manor followed by a Red Sail sunset cruise. There we met up with former friends and many new ones. It was great seeing both webmasters, Melvin and Richard together. We had a blast. We also spread the word of Tranquilo’s snorkeling cruise and found many were interest in joining us.

Tranquilo: Prior to leaving I booked a snorkel cruise with Anthony for 5 people (Amy, Mike, Melissa, Gerry and I). Then Doug and Dan from the BB party joined us as well as Mike and Katie, honeymooners from MA whom Melissa recruited. The snorkeling at Spanish Lagoon was awesome and the drift snorkeling truly amazing. Fish were plentiful as were the coral and vegetation. Unfortunately, the underwater cameras do not do it justice. I only wish my prescription mask was not defective…I can only imagine what more I would have seen. Plus, as many of you have already read, we were treated to a special thrill when a couple dolphins followed the Tranquilo on our return sail. Then Amy spotted a ‘triangle’ on the horizon which I first thought was cloud formation but Anthony confirmed it was Santa Ana Mountain with its sharp peak in Venezuela. We’ve always been told on a clear day you can see Venezuela on the horizon when on the south side of island. Indeed we did.

Boat-chasing: We love boats and never miss a chance to get up close and personal as often as possible. One evening we stayed downtown to watch the Adventure of the Seas launch at 1 am. We sat on a bench in front of the Renaissance Beach Tower for nearly an hour. The ship is an incredible sight to see leaving port. Another day we scooted into town to see the Legacy, one of Barefoot Cruises’ sailboats in port. Unfortunately, a port authority building at the water’s edge was completely blocking the view except for its 4 masts. We also tried to get a glimpse of it from the bench where we were a few nights earlier but it just wasn’t meant to be. From there we stopped at Wilhemina Park on the other side of Renaissance. I love visiting this quiet little park with its colorful wooden boats.

Windie’s Watersports: Our only other unplanned activity that took an entire beach day away from us was in search of a dive shop to [what we thought] adjust my new prescription snorkel mask. Starting at 10 am one day we made 5 trips back and forth before we could find the right business and/or person to ‘diagnose’ the problem. At 6:00pm that evening, we finally! met with Rene and Windie, owners/operators of Windie’s Watersports. They, together with their clerk were top-notch. It wasn’t a matter of an adjustment but the fact that the mask, purchased here at home, was defective. Rene and Windie were not only personable but understanding and knowledgeable as well. We can’t thank them enough for their kindness (including follow-up email after our return home) in helping us with a problem that wasn’t theirs to begin with. We highly recommend them. They carry a large inventory of prescription lenses on the premises for those needing such a mask. Had he had mine available, we would have purchased from him. (It’s been 3 week! s since our return and still no resolution from our local dive shop).

EVENING ACTIVITIES

We visited a few casinos but the most fun we had was visiting a bar Doug and Dan suggested U Wanna Beer. It was Melissa’s last night on the island and we wanted to get together with her, Mike & Amy one last time. It is located about 2-3 blocks behind Rumba and we understand it is one of the stops of Kukoo Kunuko bus. The 5 of us were the only Americans there. Initially we were the ONLY ones there. Once the band arrived (at 11:15pm), it so! on filled with middle-aged locals who love to dance. Because of the blacklight situation with some of our clothing, we moved to an outside table and enjoyed the rest of our time together. U Wanna Beer…you gotta love that name!

RESTAURANTS

We visited Buccaneer, Ruinas del Mar, Salt & Pepper, Café Bacci, El Gaucho, Mango’s, Pirates Nest, Rumba’s and Madame Janette. The day of my mask adventure, we stopped at Gilligan’s for lunch to pass the time while waiting for the right people to be at the right place at the right time. Reviews have been posted in the Restaurant section of this bb. Our only regret is we didn’t have enough time to try Marandi’s. Next time for sure.

OBSERVATIONS

Things that caught our attention:
It irritates me to no end when one person is dropping coins into a nickel slot machine to his or his left AND right in addition to the slot in front of them when I’m waiting to spend my $2…lol! Seriously, I think there should be more 5-cent slots in the casinos.

We forgot to buy an underwater camera before we left. Once in Aruba, we priced them at several places…$26, $21 and we finally bought one at Ling & Sons for $15. Could have bought 2 at home for that price. Oh well…we’ll remember next time.

The Wyndham has a huge clock on the beach side of their building. Very convenient for those on Palm Beach during the day.

Mermaid Divers is no longer in the parking lot between Manchebo/Bucuti. We saw their sign on a pink home on the stretch of road beyond Adventure Golf heading toward the highrises.

Black Hog Saloon/Alfredo’s/Adventure Golf…large barriers blocking driveway. I wouldn’t think these would be so permanent-looking if only closed for annual vacation. Perhaps that’s all it was.

There’s a 9-hole golf course near completion at the Divi.

The condo building downtown across from Carlos and Charlie’s isn’t moving very fast. Seems to be at same stage as it was last year at this time, although there were 3 workers there the day we went to see the Legacy.

While walking to/from U Wanna Beer, we noticed another hopping place we had never heard of, La Fiesta. Definitely popular and appears to attract a younger local crowd.

If we lived on the island, there’s a white boat in Wilhemina Park that we’d probably adopt. Year after year we see the "Norma’ sitting there with no apparent activity since previous year and she seems to be in need of TLC.

We drove through the Estates at Tierra del Sol. There’s a couple huge homes nearly finished with breathtaking scenery. Worth the drive there if you have a car just to take in the view.

Fewer iguanas at Bucuti. Usually they are all over the Manchebo side of the hotel in the morning but very few this year.

Fewer stray dogs seen than in previous years. I think we only saw 3 in 10 days.

IN CLOSING

year after year, Aruba with its friendly people and Bucuti with its amazing staff is just what the doctor ordered! Thank you to all the people that make this such a special place to spend our vacation. We can’t wait to return.

Gerry and Sue W