Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort

Aug 26 - Sept 3, 2005 by ~Amy~® and Mike

Aruba Forum Profile: ~Amy~®

Could not ask for a better vacation than to spend 16 days in Aruba!

Jansen Rent A Car: We rent from Leo every year. No hidden costs, nice cars, and wonderful people (family owned business). We were in and out of the rental office within minutes with a 5-door Kia Rio and on our way to check in at the hotel. I did make one startling discovery though when renting the car - I pulled out what I thought was my credit card and, much to my dismay, in my haste of packing I brought along my debit card by accident. First time, and last time, I'll ever make that mistake (just used my husband's card instead for the rental so maybe it really did work out in my favor.)

Amsterdam Manor: No need to check in since we were sharing a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with another couple (Stacy and Chris) and they checked in 2 days before us. Knew where the room was located so just hauled the luggage into the room as Stacy (bless her!) handed us two cold Amstel Brights to officially begin our vacation! Since we didn't "officially" check-in, I missed seeing some of the staff at the front desk. By about the third day, Illis saw me headed toward the car and he had to come running out of the lobby to say hi (can't say enough great things about the staff and the fact that they remember you every year.)

Our room was set up the same as we've rented before - full kitchen, dining room, living room, 2 bedrooms, and 2 baths (one bath with a jacuzzi tub.) But this time we had a HUGE balcony - large enough for 2 lounge chairs, 6 regular chairs, 2 small tables, and an umbrella. Spent a lot of time on the balcony and it always seemed like someone was dropping by for drinks so we always had plenty of room and chairs. They also now have voicemail which was very much needed - it only took us 3 days to figure out how to access our messages - in the meantime, we had a very nice nightlight (flashing red) in all of the rooms.

Happy hour is still the same - both the pool and beach bar from 5pm-6pm every day and again from 9pm-10pm at the pool bar - and still as lively as ever! Seemed like we always met interesting people from other countries at happy hour. Received the fresh fruit kabobs and cool towels for your face almost every day while on the beach. New this year is a coffee and ice cream (Ben & Jerry's) bar right on the beach. Lots of comfortable chairs and tables in the shade near the coffee bar, too.

Mango's at Amsterdam Manor is now offering a special dinner on the beach - Friday nights only right now but should be extended soon to 6 nights a week (the beach dinner will then have a new name: Passions.) The menu is a little more limited but fantastic food and wonderful ambiance - tables in the sand by the water, tiki torches, music, etc. It really is very nice!

First night - Headed to the Manager's Cocktail Party right away - was great to see everyone again! Dinner at Mango's and then off to Bingo (the restaurant, not the game) to meet some friends. Was finally able to meet owners, Mike and Frans, after many months of emails back and forth. I definitely made my mark that first night as I proceeded to break my first wine glass in Aruba (I swear it just SLID off of the bar!) But, as everyone told me, it's not a party until someone breaks something so…

Balashi Brewery Tour: After all of these years, we FINALLY made reservations for this. Reservations are a definite must since the tour is only once a day at 10am and they take a limited number of people. Closed-toed shoes are required but you can wear shorts (but no tank tops). The tour was very interesting but also very warm (hot) during some portions - well worth it though. The tour was an hour long, cost was $6/person which included one free Balashi on tap at the end of the tour. Their beer garden is open until 2pm and they serve very cheap Balashi there - we may stop back to the beer garden on the next trip for a bite to eat and a few beers if we happen to be in the area.

WEB Plant Tour: Another tour we've had on our list of things to do for quite a few years. Definitely need to make reservations since the tour is only on Thursdays at 9:30am and they take a maximum of 8 people. This tour was incredibly fascinating - can't believe how the water from the Caribbean can be made into such wonderful drinking water. Also was impressed with the control room and the computer monitors that showed where the water was in the process, the different areas on the island where it was being sent to and the water pressure in each area - amazing! The cost is free and our guide refused a tip. You need to wear closed-toed shoes, long pants, and no tank tops - and you will look gorgeous in your hard hat!

Ostrich Farm: After the Balashi Tour, we headed over to see what was left of the Natural Bridge. Took a few photos and then stopped at the Ostrich Farm since our friend, Stacy, had never been there. Took the tour and fed the ostriches again (still fun.) The tour is actually very informative but once you've done it, you don't really need to do it again. The first time we did the tour they didn't have the restaurant or gift shops open yet so this time we were able to have a nice lunch of Polars and ostrich burgers.

Donkey Sanctuary: Thanks to my husband's wrong turn (I would like to point out that both Stacy and I knew which direction we were headed!), we ended up driving by the donkey sanctuary. It was closed (they're only open until noon during the week) but we saw a couple of donkeys standing by the fence near the road so we pulled in. The two that were standing by the fence were very attentive and one decided to let out the loudest, longest, ear-splitting braying I have ever heard. We soon realized that this was the "people are here with food" alarm as all of the donkeys suddenly appeared out of nowhere and headed toward the fence. We had a full audience but, unfortunately, since we had not planned on stopping, no carrots to give them. Only were able to give them a lot of nose scratches, a promise to bring carrots on the next trip, and another promise to post their photos on the Aruba bulletin board.

KuKoo Kunucu Bus: Haven't done this in years, but after Stacy's boyfriend and my husband left the island, we were talked into it by Sue and her two 20-something daughters. I have to admit that the dinner has improved since the last time I did the tour (2000) but the champagne (Asti) at sunset has not! LOL! Went to the same bars as before and had a fun time. I purposely wore all black on the bus because last time I had many drinks spilled on me - but now you can buy spill-proof sippy cups and get drinks at a discounted price which is much better for taking your drink on the bus with you. However, I was lucky enough to sit next to the guy who had obviously been drinking BEFORE the bus and by the last stop looked like he was going to throw up all over my lap (I just can't win!) He did make it off the bus at the last bar and did his "thing" in the street. All in all, it was a fun girls night out but I think it's safe to say that I don't need to do this again for at least another 5 years. And talk about outlasting Sue's daughters - dropped them off at the Bucuti and off Sue, Stacy, and I went at around midnight to Bingo (the restaurant, not the game!) for drinks (luckily, Mike and Frans still welcomed me after I promised not to break any more glasses!)

Restaurants/Bars: Went to a few new places this year and some old favorites.

Old favorites:

• Rumba - wonderful as always and always a pleasure to see Stefan and Milca every year; had both lunch and dinner here
• Marandi - another one of my favorites - fantastic food and ambiance - great ahi tuna!
• Kokoa Pier Bar - they changed their pizza ….I knew we were in trouble when we ordered the sausage pizza and it looked liked they were slicing up a large hot dog to put on the pizza. My advice, stick with the pepperoni!
• Salt & Pepper - had the BEST Wahoo here!
• Tomato Charlie's - pizza delivered right to the hotel
• Mango's - good as always
• Chalet Suisse - finally had the Toblerone chocolate fondue for dessert - menu said it was for 2 people but the 4 of us could barely finish it
• El Gaucho - El Gaucho steak never disappoints and was great as leftovers in the morning (steak and eggs with Mimosas on the balcony!)
• Tulip - had a great lunch here and very, very inexpensive (they also have a nice Sangria)
• Iguana Joe's - nice relaxed place for lunch downtown
• Gasparito - had our usual favorites, the seafood Keshi Yena; Wahoo, and the Keri Keri
• La Dolce Vita - good Italian food

New:

• Chez Mathilde - Been talking about going here for years and finally splurged for a post-anniversary dinner. Food was outstanding. Started with amouz-bouche (pre-appetizer), followed by soup, then a sorbet with champagne poured over it to cleanse the palate, and a main entrée (I had fish, husband had quail), followed by a shared chocolate soufflé. All of this, plus a bottle of wine with tip was about $150. I would definitely go here again! They also have a late night happy hour on Wednesday nights (the night we were there) - the bar area was hopping with very nice looking people - definitely a place to see and be seen.
• Bingo! (the restaurant, not the game - every time I said I was going to Bingo, people always asked me which casino I was going to! LOL!) - had the best French Onion Soup here (served in a bread bowl with goat cheese), can't wait to got back again next year to try more things on the menu (other than drinks!)
• Pizza Bob's - great pizza and salads and….they have Balashi on tap (yum!)
• Caffé Baci (Wyndham) - our one disappointment; food was okay, but just okay. Didn't seem to have a lot of flavor. For Italian food, we prefer La Dolce Vita.

Also stopped at Soprano's Piano Bar a few times - Mark, didn't get to see enough of you and Marlene this year….next year, party at our place (but we'll still let you make the drinks!)

Drove to the Barcadera one day for fresh shrimp ($15/kilo with heads on). Made some shrimp cocktail along with cheese, crackers, fruit, and champagne - watched the sunset and then just relaxed with food and drinks on the balcony for the evening.

Bulletin Board Part(ies): 2 BB Parties at Amsterdam Manor. The first was about 12 people along with a gorgeous sunset. It was nice to sit back, relax, and visit with old friends. The second one was about 30 people (27 of which stayed for the dinner on the beach courtesy of Mango's). Met a lot of new, wonderful people who I hope to see again in the near future and saw a lot of old friends (including both webmasters, Melvin and Richard - it's not a BB party without Melvin and Richard!) The dinner on the beach was amazing - food was great, ambiance was great, and I was in the company of good friends. Couldn't have asked for a better evening. Many thanks to Chef Marc for working with me on this and also for not making me walk the beach with flyers! :)

Special Note: A HUGE THANK YOU to Janine at Amsterdam Manor! I must be suffering from forgetfulness on this trip. Started with my credit card and ended with me leaving my bathrobe hanging on the back of the bathroom door in the room. Didn't realize I left it there until I was in the air headed for home. Contacted Amsterdam Manor the next day and Janine (love her!) had it shipped almost immediately right to my house (just arrived today in fact!) I could've told them to just hold onto it for me since I'll be back again but…..hard to live without both Aruba AND your favorite bathrobe for 6 months!

Once again, can't say enough about the entire staff at Amsterdam Manor (but please call me Amy next time - can't stand the "Mrs" title. LOL!) Also special thanks to Stacy & Chris, Sue & the girls, Leo (Jansen's), Stefan (Rumba), Mike and Frans (Bingo!), Mark & Marlene, Marc (Mango's/Amsterdam Manor), and, of course, Melvin & Maria, for your friendship!

Amy and Mike