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Manchebo Beach Resort, May 1 - May 8, 2004
By Daphne
My husband and I traveled to Aruba for the first time May 1 of this year
for one week. We flew United Airlines from Detroit to Chicago then on
to Aruba, no problems, smooth flights and on time in both directions.
We had chosen the Manchebo because we couldn'f find a negative trip
report on any Aruba website and wanted a quiet, relaxing place to stay
and de-stress. We definitely chose the right place. We arrived at
Manchebo and check in was about 5 minutes and we were in our room.
Although I was a little disappointed in the view from my room, it was
suppose to be ocean view and was more like a view of the Pega Pega Bar,
it was nice and it was clean, which is all we really cared about. It
had a nice grassy area off our patio with table and chairs and were also
table and chairs on the patio. We put our swimsuits on and hit the
beach running! The beach in the low rise area is so much wider than
anywhere else we went on the island, all white sand and soft and the
water was breathtaking. Good swimming right off the beach. Lots of
palapas and never had to get up early to get one, we found we could get
one anytime of the day when we wanted. Unlike what I have read about
the high-rise hotel area and saw when visiting up there. It was very
quiet at the resort with very few children, mostly couples in their 30's
and up. The Pega Pega beach bar is nice, the bartenders there are fun
and make good tropical frozen drinks, Happy Hour brought out the people
in the resort.
Saturday night dinner we walked next door the the Tortuga at the ABC
around 7, after watching our first Aruba sunset, and we were seated
immediately, they weren't very busy. This place had a nice atmosphere
and good food and service. We both had dinner and a couple of beers for
my husband and I think it was around $40.
Sunday, we picked up our
rental car from Jansen, they have a desk at the Manchebo, we had
reserved on line before arrival, we got a Kia sportage and it had a
couple problems but was drivable. We do think we could have gotten a
better deal elsewhere now that we have talked and looked around. We set
out to get to know the area a bit and see some sites.
We headed out to
the California Lighthouse and what a great view! Headed into town and
had lunch at a familiar place-Hooters, picked up some tshirts for the 20
something sons at home. Headed downtown and walked around a bit, but
most stores were closed on Sundays. Only went down a one-way the wrong
way once! We got the hang of the international road signs pretty quickly
and found it easy to get around. Headed back to the hotel to get
cleaned up and went to Pega Pega for HH. Next door, on the other side,
Sunday night to the Pirate's Nest. Not busy, but took awhile to be
seated. Service was extremely poor, very slow. Many tables
complaining. Maybe it was a bad night for them, we had read good
reviews and wanted to try this place and were very disappointed in
service. Sunset was good from their outdoor deck area.
Monday, husband
played golf and I sunbathed, had lunch at Pega Pega, was ok, nothing
great, but convenient since my husband had taken the car to the golf
course. Monday evening we went downtown again and did some shopping
before the stores closed and hit Iguana Joe's for dinner. It was
excellent. Good view of the streets below and good food and service and
reasonable, we liked the casual atmosphere, it was more our style.
Tuesday, we left out early to find the sights on our own with map in
hand. We found the Casabiri rock formations, walked around a bit and
took pics, drove to the natural bridge and gold mine ruins. Followed a
4-wheeler tour to the natural pool-do not attempt this in a car! It was
scarry! Very rocky, not really road, it's a path! We were encouraged by
the 4 wheeler guides that we could make it or we wouldn't have tried it
on our own, we did make it, but I am sure our rental car has more
problems because of it! Headed back into town, picked up a subway
sandwich and headed the other direction and found baby beach for some
snorkeling. Very busy, crowded beach, everyone goes there we found, but
it was good for kids because it is shallow so far out and kids can get a
chance to snorkel in shallow water. Tues night dinner was at Flying
Fishbone in Savaneta. This was the only dinner reservation we made for
the week, we wanted a 6 pm dinner so we could watch the sunset. We were
seated in the front row by the water and it was awesome. The food, the
service, the atmosphere, sunset...couldn't have been better. Very
romantic! Most expensive dinner we had $115 for dinners, 4 tropical
drinks and 2 desserts, but it was worth it.
The map in the Aruba
magazine that is free is really good and you can get around the island
easily with it. The rest of the week we spent some time snorkeling at
Malmok and Arashi, both very nice, I think our fave places, less
crowded. We hung out some at the high rise beach, nice to visit but I
liked where we stayed better, could go back to peace and quiet at night.
Husband golfed again and went wind surfing.
Wed. night dinner was at
Don Carlo's on the water in downtown, next to Marina. Very nice view of
marina and good italian and very reasonable. Another couple at our
hotel had recommended them to us. Thursday dinner we went to Moomba's
Beach Bar, we had been there on Sunday night after the Pirate's Nest and
listened to live reggae music and had drinks and went back for dinner.
Again, wonderful service, good food and reasonable. I know this place
got mixed reviews, but we had a good dining experience there. We also
left our digital camera in the chair my husband was sitting in and went
back Fri. morning and they were holding it for us! Thank God! We were
sick thinking we had lost all our pictures. A bit THANKYOU to the
hostess, I don't remember her name.
Friday night we went back to one of
our fave places, Iguana Joe's down town, again a nice meal and service
and reasonable. We were happy we didn't do AI, too many restaurants to
go to and we weren't always at our hotel when we were hungry. Oh, we
also got take out from King Ribs one day for lunch-EXCELLENT! $18 for
two dinners, couldn't beat it, it was good too!
Will return to Aruba next year, already planning it! More restaurants
we want to try and will probably visit a few faves. Will definitely
consider the Manchebo for accomodations again too, very nice people,
Angelo at the front desk always has a smile no matter how much you
bother him with questions!
Daphne Hoffman
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