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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.
El Gaucho
Flying Fishbone
Texas de Brazil
Marandi's
Smokin' Joes - BBQ chicken/ribs/beef. Located in
the high rise section. Good food, nothing fancy, good
prices.
Although my wife liked the ribs from Kings Ribs, she
didnt think the place was very sanitary, so the next
time it will be Tony Roma's.
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
- mostly 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
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