Bucuti Beach Resort

Jan 12 - Jan 22, 2005 by Fred

NOTES

This was our 2nd trip to Aruba. Our first was to the Tamarijn, which was all-inclusive, in 2003. All activites, restaurants, etc. were made without my wife's knowledge, as a 25th wedding anniversary surprise. She didnt even know at what hotel we were staying at. The only thing she knew was that we were going to Aruba.

FLIGHTS

Took a Continental direct flight from Newark to Aruba. Left on schedule, arrived on schedule. Went to customs, to the furthest line on the RIGHT as possible & was immediately waved over by the immigration inspector used by flight crews. Total time in C & I was less than 5 minutes. The luggage took about 30 minutes to show up on the carousel.

The Continental flight home was on Saturday, in the middle of the snowstorm. I was sure we would be cancelled or re-directed, but we landed in Newark in blinding snow at about 8:00pm, only about 15 minutes behind schedule. Great!!! But we had to wait an hour for the luggage. I also had a car service scheduled-with no hope that he would be there. But I was wrong again! There he was-patiently waiting. There were no taxis,no hotel rooms available, nothing--so from thinking that we would have to camp out at the airport, we got home about 10:00 pm!!! Super!! The driver was amply rewarded!

CAR RENTAL

Rented a 4 door Yaris with a/c & auto trans from Hans at Tropic Car Rental for 10 days for $271. He met us at the airport at both the beginning and the end of the trip.

BUCUTI HOTEL

This was our 1st stay at the Bucuti. We were in a Tara Suite overlooking the beach- it was a very nice 2 room suite, with a king size bed, a TV in each room (with cable), a small fridge, a coffee maker with free coffee & filters, & microwave.

The Bucuti also left us a gift bag in our suite with a congradulatory 25th anniversary balloon, a bottle of champagne and some chocolate-Nice touch!!

We had a ground floor unit with easy access to the beach. FYI,the ground floor units are numbered 301 thru 309. This was great--we ran back to the unit for drinks, snacks, etc. Ground floor is the way to go! It was very quiet at the Tara suites-at times I thought we were the only ones in the building! The suites also have a seperate check-in and seperate concierge service.

Housekeeping kept the place clean and neat. We left $5.00 per day for the housekeeper. They also left the daily Arubian newspaper at our door every day.

The Bucuti has a business center with 3 PC's with high-speed internet access. Its available 24 hours at no charge. Fax service is also available-I dont know about the fax prices. Internet access is available from your suite at $0.25 per minute.

The Tara Suites have their own all-you-can-eat continental breakfast available for $7.95 + 15%. It has juices, coffee, breads, danishes,etc. The Pirates Nest (thats the onsite restaurant) has a full-blown, all- you-can-eat breakfast for $13.95 + 15%. We tried neither; we just prefer coffee in the morning.

The beach is quite large & the palapas are not cramped together.Getting a palapa was never a problem at any time during the day. Towel service is open from 8:00am til 7:pm. You can also get beach service, for drinks and or lunch. Just stick the red flag in the sand and a server will come right to your chair.

The water is beautiful-but the waves were surprisingly high & rough, so high & rough that for 2 days it was impossible to get out into the water. The only ones using it those 2 days were the locals & their SURFBOARDS and boogie boards. The water never returned to its 'normal' baby waves before we left. I dont know whats causing it, but I prefer the baby waves. The Bucuti also has a typical non-descript,rectangular pool, along with an attached spa.

The Sand Bar at the Bucuti is just that- a bar. You can have drinks and lunch there and they serve liquor until midnight. You can also have lunch at the Pirates Nest, which is right next to the Sand Bar, with either outside or inside seating.

The Bucuti has an on-site mini mart- which is a complete ripoff. Some examples: a toothbrush was $4.75; the USA TODAY newspaper (normally $0.75) was $4.75. I know everything is imported, but this is riduculous.

The Bucuti has an activities desk, where you can rent cars or make arrangements for horseback riding, snorkeling, etc. But if you make your own plans you can save some money. I made some plans before we left the USA, just to make sure I got exactly what I wanted.

The prices for the mini-bar in our room were outrageous-so I went to the Hong King supermarket, which is about 2 miles from the Bucuti, on the main road to and from the airport. They have everything you need-bread, cold cuts, snacks,beer,liquor, etc. Prices are given in Florins,but at the register they convert it to USD and USD are gladly accepted there.

My biggest complaint about the Bucuti: the Tara Suite guests DO NOT have access to the room thermostat. Thats right, Bucuti's management has decided that every visitor will be comfortable if the temperature is set between 75-77 degress F. A few times we woke up during the night 'cause it was too warm in the room. At times it was too cool during the day-- THIS IS B.S!! I paid a lot of money for this room-I expect to change the thermostat if I want to! They should address this issue ASAP.

TOURS

The helicopter tour is a must-do!! Its an awesome experience. They have the Beach Tour, a 15-minute tour for $59/pp. They also have an Island Tour, a 30-minute tour of the island for $99/pp. We did the Island Tour-we both loved it and will do it again on our next visit. They are located Downtown, right across from the Renaissance Hotel, near the Crystal Casino area,not far from the cruise ships. I made reservations before I left the USA. You can save about $10pp if you make your own reservation instead of using the activities desk.

We also did Rhino Riders. It is a 2-person motorized rubber watercraft that you pilot. We had 5 boats in our group plus the 2 guides. You zig-zag along the water, stop for some snorkeling, then head back. Total time was about 2 and a half hours. It was a fun trip and we would do it again. The cost was $128 for 2 people. We made these reservations at the activities desk. If you have a bad back, or pregnant, etc., forget this activity; it can get quite "bouncy". Pickup & dropoff at your hotel is provided.

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

The first surprise for my wife was a Romantic Dinner on the Beach at the Bucuti. You are seated on the beach, under cover,where a 5 course dinner is served. You have a shrimp dish, soup, salad, a selection of entrees, (we had veal), dessert and coffee. It includes a bottle of champange or wine and costs $75.00 + 15%. If you get a chance, try it--your woman will love ya for it! Make advance reservations via their website--thats how I did it.

The 2nd surprise for my honey was a privately chartered dinner cruise aboard the Morningstar. Its a 40' sailboat owned and operated by Marci and Kat. This was AWESOME! Marci and Kat are great hosts and make you feel like part of their family. After a relaxing sail around the area,(with cocktails in hand) we anchored and Kat,in her chef's uniform, prepared a scrumptuous 5 course meal. This leisurely, delicious,candlelight dinner was served by Marciano, under the stars, in his maitre'd uniform. A quiet sail back to their mooring and an end to a perfect night!

At sunset, sitting together, hand in hand, on the water, with your sweety, in Aruba---jeez, how romantic is that?

Thanks Kat & Marci for an unforgettable trip! We'll see you on the next trip!

My wife thought that was soooooooooooo sweet of me. It gave me a lot of brownie points I can use for future screw-ups!!!

They also do afteroon lunch cruises and snorkeling cruises.

Even though the private dinner cruise was a surprise to my wife, I wanted to insure everything went perfectly. I didnt want her to get seasick, so at the last minute I told her that we were going on a dinner cruise with a number of other couples. That was the excuse I used for taking Dramamine before we left. HINT: Dramamine somtimes causes you to get drowsy. To avoid this, take half of the recommended dose about 6-8 hours before your scheduled sailing. Then take the other half about 1 hour before sailing. This prevents both the seasickness and drowsiness. It worked for us-we had cocktails, a great dinner, after dinner drinks-- and we didn't feel any queasiness the entire trip!

DINNERS

These are some of the places we went for dinner-We both highly recommend them-and we will revisit them on our next trip. If possible, make reservations online and they will send you a confirmation. Whenever you receive an e-mail confirmation for any dinner or activity, print it out and take it with you, just in case they say they never received your reservation.

PLACES TO AVOID

The Sunset Beach Bistro at the Aruba Phoenix. Although our hostess was very gracious and explained the menu in detail, our waiter was too busy serving his 'regulars'. Too busy to pay us any mind. If it wasn't for the roaming waitresses, we wouldn't have had any second drink, dessert, or coffee. In addition, my serving of fresh snapper looked more like a childs portion. We both gave this place a 'never again' and when the bill was presented (which included the 15% gratuity), we left the EXACT change, not a penny more. Hope he takes the hint! Do not confuse any other restaurants with a similar sounding name,'cause quite a few places have the name "SUNSET" in them.

COMMENTS

Most places add in the 15% gratuity to your check, but some places DO NOT. The menu will usually specify that. We always left an additional tip (in cash) for those places that included the gratuity and gave us good service. For those places that DID NOT include the 15%, we were sure to add a 15-20% tip to the bill.

The 15% gratuity added to your bill is split between all of the staff, according to a point system. This includes the cooks (I think) waiters, food servers, and bus people, so when I gave an additional tip, I gave it in cash. This insured that my specific waiter/waitress got the extra tip.

WEATHER

For the 10 days we were there, here is a summary:

it rained three times, for about 30 minutes each, so this was not an issue.
temperature was always in the mid 80's vmostly sunny for just about all 10 days. some days were partly cloudy
I considered each day a "beach" day; the weather didnt prevent us from using the beach.
It was very windy for 3 days, but we were still able to use the beach.

RESTAURANT REVIEWS

Flying Fishbone - We had a waters edge table. Sunset had some cloud cover, but the ambience was still there. My wife had safron with shrimp soup, & a combination of sirloin & shrimp as a main course. I had a delicious mussel appetizer, and the fish of the day, Mahi Mahi. Along witha few cocktails, and a few glasses of wine,& coffee, the bill came to $120 including tip. We loved the place and its our list for our next trip! I made reservations via their website before we left the USA.

Texas de Brazil - This all you can eat place was very good. Servers walk around the restaurant with meat on skewers,and you eat til you waddle out fo the place. We ordered a pitcher of Sangria--it was $32.00!!! OUCH! All of the meats were tasty & plentiful. Along with dessert and coffee and tip, the bill came to $132. Yes, we will return here!

Mirandi's - Great food! I had a creamy ??? soup and my wife had the Mirandi salad for appetizers. Main courses were a shrimp in a garlic sauce and Wahoo. Both very good. WIth cocktails, dessert, coffee and a sambuca the bill was $134, including tip.This place is close to downtown, on the beach near the Havana Beach Club. Great view of the sunset. Service was very good; nice and relaxed. Yes, we will return. I made reservations via their website before we left the USA.

The Sunset Beach Bistro at the Aruba Phoenix.- Although our hostess was very gracious and explained the menu in detail, our waiter was too busy serving his 'regulars'. Too busy to pay us any mind. If it wasn't for the roaming waitresses, we wouldn't have had any second drink, dessert, or coffee. In addition, my serving of fresh snapper looked more like a childs portion. We both gave this place a 'never again' and when the bill was presented (which included the 15% gratuity), we left the EXACT change, not a penny more. Hope he takes the hint! Do not confuse any other restaurants with a similar sounding name,'cause quite a few places have the name "SUNSET" in them. FORGET THIS PLACE

El Gaucho - steakhouse. My wife had a shrimp appetizer (3 large shrimp for $9.00) We both had tenderloins ( I think), a few cocktails, desert & coffee. The bill came to $100 including tip. My wife sent her steak back to the kitchen for more cooking time. SHe asked for meduim, and it came back bloody. Although people rave about this place, we found it to be just another steakhouse. Maybe thats because we have so many good steakhouses where we live. Yes, we would return. I made reservations via their website before we left the USA.

Pirates Nest, Romantic Dinner on the Beach - You are seated on the beach, under cover,where a 5 course dinner is served. You have a shrimp dish, soup, salad, a selection of entrees, (we had veal), dessert and coffee. It includes a bottle of champange or wine and costs $75.00 + 15%. If you get a chance, try it--your woman will love ya for it! Make advance reservations via their website--thats how I did it. I cannot vouch for the regular dinners inside the Pirates Nest--just this special dinner.

Well, thats it-if you need some more info on anything I mentioned here, feel free to email me.

Fred