Manchebo Beach Resort

November 1 to 9 2005 by Lee Rouland

Aruba Forum Profile: auntie_mame

Transport

USAirways PHL to AUA. We had the nicest flight crew we've ever encountered. Someone along the way had decided that, since Hank uses a wheelchair in the terminal, we should have buklhead seats (YUK!) instead of our previously selected seats. One of the flight attendants actually got off the plane to see if he could change us back. We ended up with a row all to ourselves. All went well on the return flight where once again we had a row all to ourselves. (It's an occasional benefit of traveling on off days) The ground crew at Philly's domestic arrivals terminal lived up to their reputation of being the worst in the United States. When they were available, they were mostly rude and incompetent. What with waiting first for a wheelchair, then for a tram, then for another wheel chair, It took us nearly two hours to get out of the terminal!

Car Rental

This is our second year using Jansen. We had had to change our arrival date at the last minute but emailing Leo did the trick and Leonard brought our car to the Manchebo on day two at exactly the time requested. He called ahead to make sure we were there. We ended up with a Kia Picanto, which was a bit cheaper than the Rio so we got a refund. The Picanto was in great shape. No problems at all for the duration. We returned the car to the kiosk at the airport. That took about three minutes. We'll use Jansen again.

Manchebo

This was our second year at the Manchebo and we were surprised to find a welcome basket of fruit in our room. Jackie had assigned us room 20, which was great for us as it is out on the beach but near enough to the parking lot. The room was spotless. Everything; shower, TV, airconditioning, fridge, worked perfectly. Beside cleanliness and location the Manchebo can boast of an excellent staff. Louisa from Housekeeping kept our room ship shape. She also provided us a lesson on tucking in the ends of a pillow case to make a neat package. Most mornings Alfredo was our breakfast server. He's such a cheerful guy he makes the morning pleasant. We ate breakfast in the restaurant every day because the Visit Aruba Plus card gets a free breakfast for two if you book directly with the Manchebo.

The arc of our days

Since this is our sixth trip to Aruba (which is our R&R vacation spot as opposed to a travel destination) we have developed some habits. From breakfast I wander out and get a palapa. We get in our suits and fall victim to sand gravity until it's time for lunch. Most lunches are taken in our room as we get cold cuts and fixin's. More beach time which is spent discussing possibiities for dinner. We come in about four, shower, nap. We go to dinner. We may then visit a casino to leave our deposit. We come home and read or watch TV until it's time to repeat the loop. We do take a couple of days for siteseeing. I'm especially fond of the rock formations. Hank likes the pet cenetary by Baby Beach.

Activities

Had it not collapsed, we might not have gone to Natural Bridge this year. But of course we had to check it out. There were more people there than we've ever seen there before. The Banana bus had just unloaded when a caravan of yellow jeeps and some motorcycles pulled up. Although the main bridge isn't one any longer there is a smaller bridge there which is interesting. On Monday we made it to the BB party. There were a couple of folks from NYC. The four of us ate up nearly the whole platter of Marc's munchies - which were delicious. All in all had a great time though we were only four.

We stopped at the Ostrich Farm. This was great fun. I got a "back massage" and fed the birds. The guide, Don, was excellent. By the end of the tour my face hurt from laughing. You don't have to be a kid to have a good time here.

The Donkey Sanctuary was wonderful. Stupidly, I took a package of carrots with me that were not in a bag. I was soon surrounded by donkeys. Luckily they were reasonably polite. Even so, when I was out of carrots I retreated to the rear of the buildings and tried to sneak up the porch stairs. The fellow opened the gate for me but one of the donkeys charged up the stairs and onto the porch. A volunteer tried to stop him but the donkey ran between the volunteer's legs, thus picking him up and giving him a ride - backwards - down to the other end of the porch. We were all in hysterics.

The volunteer finally got everything sorted and the people were on the porch and the donkeys in the yard.
There is no admission fee for the donkey sanctuary but donations are appreciated. They also have a small store with very nice tee shirts.
We'll make the sanctuary a regular stop from now on.

Dining

Eventually we'll put proper reviews in the restaurant section but here's a quick rundown: New to us

• Bingo - This was the 'find' of the week. Great place with excellent food and moderate prices.
• Linda's - had lunch there twice. It deserves its fine reputation
• Crustaceans and Steaks - new kid on the block. Food excellent but pricy.
• Promenade - Lunch was very good and reasonably priced
• Tulip - another great place with reasonable prices

Revisited

• Chalet Suisse - for the supurb rack of lamb
• French Steak House - our favorite steak house on the island