Wyndham Beach Resort (now Westin)

March 2004 by Lynn & Don

My boyfriend and I decided on a vacation and what a choice Aruba was! Our trip was fantastic. We had a great time and the service at the Wyndham was great. The tours desk was very helpful and friendly. Honorable mention at this desk would be: Iris, she was very helpful and went out of her way to make our stay even more pleasant than it already was.

Dining

Pago Pago was excellent as well as Blossoms, both located in the Hotel.
Gilligan's located at the Radisson, offered a good grouper sandwich and tasty faijitas. They also had a nice variety of mixed drinks.
El Gaucho is a must....great Argentian steaks. Go with an empty belly because it is sure to be filled after your meal.

Shopping

Great variety of jewelry to choose from! For trinkets and little souviners, the small stands on the opposite side of the Seaport Mall is recommended for better prices. Shop around for the best price. It was convenient to drive to from the Hotel. Note: if you rent a car/Jeep, do NOT leave anything in your vehicle..we had the unfortunate experience of our bag being stolen out of our Jeep. Of course we did not leave any valuables in it (thinking suntan oils/lotions would be OK in the Jeep), but it was a bit of disapppointment with it being "one happy island" and everyone telling you, "don't worry, this is not New York, everything is happy and safe here". Still doesn't change our opinion of Aruba, there are bad apples no matter where you go but to be safe, just take everything with you when you leave your car in a parking lot.

Fishing

My boyfriend happens to love fishing and he had a wonderful experience fishing with Captain Gregory from the Lucky Star boat. He had a good day, pulling in 10 fish of different varities. He went on an 8 hour fishing trip (note: bring your sunblock) and Captain Gregory is highly recommened to anyone who enjoys fishing.

Activities

So much to choose from here....parasailing, jet skiing, scuba diving, the list goes on and on Pelican tours offers a Scuba diving course for beginners....starts off with a run down of the the equipment, then they take you in a pool to learn the ropes, then it's out to sea. Great staff there, very friendly and they made it a very pleasant experience. The pool is always a nice choice if it gets too windy on the beach.

Overall, our stay at the Wyndham was great. One small negative, in our opinion, their rooms need a bit of a touch up. Their grounds were very nice with the exotic birds greeting you as you walk by. At night, it was peaceful and relaxing. We are counting the days until our next trip and we just got back!

Lynn & Don