Manchebo Beach Resort - First Trip to Aruba!

November 12 - 19, 2005 by Leigh

Aruba Forum Profile: xcptnl

Before I begin I want to thank everyone on this board for all the help they gave to help me plan our first trip to Aruba. So I won’t forget anything I will do the report day by day and I apologize in advance if this gets long and boring!! Just as an FYI we are an unmarried couple in our early 40s (Susan & Brian) that travel annually to an island in the Caribbean.

11/12/05

Up at 1:50 am (we decided not to do the parknfly – for one thing it was too last minute for planning on my end and there were no rooms at the hotel we really wanted to stay at – will plan better next time). We have a two hour drive from our home to Logan Airport in Boston – so on the road around 2:30 so we would be at the airport 2 hours before our flight left – 7 am AA flight. We got to the airport with no issues – parked in long term parking and got one of the shuttles immediately – thank goodness – it was chilly out and Brian is bound and determined to wear shorts every year on our way to the chosen island!! Check-in went smoothly and off we went to find our gate and settle in for about an 1 ½ hour wait. On to the plane we go and we are ready for our vacation to begin in about 5 hours – NOT!! It was not a good sign when the captain came on and said ‘hydraulic’ issue. Brian was by the window and said – this is not good – lots of mechanics not looking positive and a puddle of fluid on the tarmac. Around 7:45 the bad news came – flight is cancelled. Basically they said – your luggage will be offloaded and you are on own to make new arrangements (as I type this I realize I need to contact my travel agent and see if we can get any type of compensation – we did have travel insurance). I ran to the ticket counter while Brian dragged our carry on stuff – we decided we would worry about our luggage after! We were one of the first in line and were able to get rebooked on a 9:30 flight to San Juan with a layover getting into Aruba about 9ish…we took it – they had USAir flights but at that point we decided not deal with a terminal change at that point – might have gotten in earlier but oh well - we had to make a decision! So, off to get luggage and wait a bit more. Others on our flight were rebooked and that flight was delayed also – I would have cried if I were them! We got to San Juan with no issues but with a 4 hour layover – we had a bad lunch and a couple of beers. Other people from our flight straggled in later and we all took off on a 50 seater to Aruba!! We got in around 9ish – got our luggage and headed through customs. DePalm tours was right there waiting for us and got us and another couple loaded up quickly and off we went. One bit of karma – a very annoying man on the 2nd flight from San Juan – well, his luggage didn’t show up – goes to show what goes around comes around J We couldn’t see much of the town but the driver was very nice in pointing things out as we drove through town – just the beginning of us learning how friendly and helpful the people of Aruba are/were! Finally – there is the Manchebo!! We go in and there is Sandy at the desk – smiling and joking how she has been waiting for us ALL day! She advised us our travel agent had called her and let her know we would be late so she was all set for us. At this point is close to 10:00 – Sandy checked us in quickly – asked if we would be wanting anything to eat – YES we said! She told us to bring our stuff up to our room – the restaurant was open to 10:30 – no problem! Off we went to our room – we basically dropped our stuff and ran back to the restaurant. As I noted before – we opted for the AI option at the Manchebo which included the French Steakhouse menu! That night we both had the delmonico steak – I had rice, Brian had a baked potato and a salad. It tasted wonderful – we also both had a beer. At that point – we ate and went to our room and collapsed. A 4 ½ hour flight turned into a 14 hour trip – what a start!!!

11/13/05

AHHHHHH – we are now on vacation! I jump up – run to the window – whip open the curtain – immediately close it again and turn to Brian – ITS RAINING!!!!! After my first moment of stress – I take a deep breath – it’s the Caribbean – it does this. Ok…shower, off to breakfast!! Breakfast is in the open dining room and poolside at the Manchebo – of course not today though – it’s raining L We both order the American Breakfast – eggs, dutch potatoes, choice of meat, toast, juice, and coffee!! YUMMMM. Very good! Oh, and a small dish of baked beans – not sure why but oh well! I love that you get 2 Aruban (is that right??) papers with your breakfast. Ok, so the weather is still not good so we decide to check out town so off we go to the desk to get directions to the closest bus stop – which we found is almost in front of Pizza Bobs – so very convenient. We were waiting there with another couple and up drives a guy in a pickup truck – he jumps and begins to try and convince us to go a time share breakfast. He advises us that nothing is going on in town and it will only take about an hour – we decline and he very politely thanks us for our time and off he goes. Along comes the bus and we head off. It was nice to see the area in daylight so the ride was enjoyable. I had happened to have packed one of those rain ponchos that are clear (mine was yellow) and there were a lot jealous people over that poncho!! Of course, I really didn’t expect to use it so I never packed a 2nd one for Brian (OOOPS). Well, we get to town and darnit if that timeshare guy wasn’t right – town is closed up tight! Even the timeshare people in Aruba tell the truth – how about THAT!!! We assumed he was just giving us a line to try and get us to go the presentation! At that point, we did wander around bit – checking out what we would like to see again when things were open. In about an hour we jumped back on the bus and headed back to the Manchebo. We got back and it was still raining! And as anyone knows, when you are in the Caribbean and it rains there are two things you can do – go the bar and I will leave the 2nd option open for interpretation J So, of course, off to the bar we go! Thank goodness for the AI plan!! $200 later and all we had to do was sign! WHEW! But we had a blast! We met some great guests (Dave and Kathy) of the resort, some great bartenders (John) and had some (OK lots) great drinks and food! Bar food, wings, burgers, etc! After what seems hours (it was) we head up the room and I proceed to nap (yah right – more like pass out!!) We wake up about 8ish, shower and head to dinner. Well, Brian ate well – he got the ribs, baked potato and salad I think. I ordered chicken cordon bleu and mashed potato but because of the earlier activity – really didn’t each much!! Back to the room and back to bed J

11/14/05

The day you have all been waiting for – WEBCAM DAY!! Woke up today – opened up the curtains – thank goodness – I see blue sky!! Off to breakfast – I am now fully recovered from the day before! I get english muffins, coffee, and the biggest fruit plate ever! Brian decides he is going to share with me – jeeez, get your own!! No, I shared! It was very good! Every morning we get a big smile and wave from Allen (host/morning manager – not sure, but a very nice man). We get our palapa on the beach – front row no issue! And off we head to the Bucuti beach cam. We had our signs ready – mine was ‘keep laptop – send Casey (my puppy) and Brian’s was 8:30 Eng’g meeting cancelled and send laptop (men!!) and another sign that was for a guy at work that they all joke with about his size (men!! Women spend their lifes telling each other how great we look and men are the opposite but that’s another trip report). As we walk up to the cam area there is another gentleman there opening up a bag – he looks up and apologizes but says I have to do this – I was bet $100 I wouldn’t dare – and out comes the ‘doll’. He then proceeds to blow her up!! It was quite funny- he even lit up a cigar and said if I am doing this I am at least going to enjoy a cigar too! He was the gentleman laying on the ground in the first pic and holding on to her chest J in the 2nd photo. I think everyone else didn’t think it was quite as funny as we did along with the older gentleman in the photo. Last I knew the white haired man was getting the doll when the photo shoot was over!! I had made an appointment the day before a manicure at the spa for 9 so I was off to that. The spa is beautiful. They do the manicures in room near the back – very air conditioned but it was a great manicure. The rest of the day was beach beach beach!!! I loved that area! We walked almost to the Amsterdam manor in the morning along the beach and up to the Tamarijn in the afternoon. Tonight was BB Party night so off to shower and grab the bus to the Amsterdam Manor. This began the daily routine of having to get our room card rekeyed. Apparently they didn’t like going to the beach or didn’t like going back to the room – we never did figure it out. The only thing we know is that we could do anything and the room keys worked but the minute we went to the beach and came back to the room- they had to be recoded. It became the joke every afternoon as I showed up at the front desk with the evil room keys! It was nice to head down that way to check out the sites. We got there about 4:45 and waited for more people! Fisherlady (Kathleen) showed up soon after and it was so nice to meet her! She bought us some beers – how nice! We then sat and chatted about Aruba, etc! Along came Sandrakazoo (Sandy) and her husband Paul. Again, it was so nice to meet them! We got our bar snacks – everything was good except those ball things – what the heck are they???? BLECH! We had reservations for El Gauchos and Sandy and Paul wanted to go to a casino so Kathleen nicely gave us both rides to town. We got dropped off right at the restaurant and said goodbye! We were early so off to the Cigar bar across the street. What a nice atmosphere but I am not real good with smoke so I was glad our wait was not too long. At El Gauchos I had the small filet and Brian had the El Gaucho?? It was very very good! Both steaks were cooked perfectly. I got the tiramisu to go and I think our total bill was around $70 – we didn’t have any drinks. We walk out and the doorman got us a cab immediately and back to the Manchebo we go! After all the webcam excitement – we were exhausted so off to bed we went!

11/15/05

Goodness – this report is long! I did apologize up front!

Tuesday – Beach day again! Brian got the palapa, then we headed to breakfast and then off to the beach! At some point, grabbed some lunch at the bar – I absolutely love their club sandwiches – they put a fried egg in it---YUMM! This was the day we met Fanny at the bar – what a nice lady. Brian was drinking frozen margaritas and Fanny decided it would be in his best interest if she made him a double batch each time so he didn’t have to walk alllll they way to the bar for more. How nice is THAT?? The bartenders were also very good about leaving our tab open so we didn’t have to sign each time – that was very convenient as well. I think the Manchebo beach was/is perfect! No issues with being too close to anyone else and no issues with getting shade if you needed it! We stopped at the front desk at some point and made a reservation for La Dolce Vita – this was included in our AI plan. So after being beach slugs all day off to shower and head out for dinner. Of course, I had to go down and get our keys reswiped J We stopped down at the beach before heading out as there was a good sunset – Brian took lots of pictures!! Off to dinner – we got a cab – it was about a 2 minute drive – I didn’t realize how close it was but I don’t think I would have wanted to walk because it was so warm. We both enjoyed our dinner. I got Veal Marsala which I was a bit concerned about because veal can be tricky but it was very good – not tough! The side of pasta with red sauce came along with it and a salad. Brian got chicken parmigiana and enjoyed it as well. No take out dessert this time. With two beers the bill came to around $60 but we only had to pay for the two beers! The restaurant called a cab for us and off we went. Again, off to bed – this is tough ya know!

11/16/05

Woke up today to overcast weather but only scattered showers but very very humid! Because there were no cruise ships in town and the weather was not the greatest we decided to do the town trip today! I am pretty sure they will be open this time! Breakfast – eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, same for Brian! I love breakfast! Then off to catch the bus. I have to say this bus thing is the best thing! Very easy to catch and so reasonable. We saw a $1 bus get told by the police not to pick up a guy at our bus stop because their van was at capacity – lots of yelling and hand waving – but it all worked out! Off to town we go! We had a great morning hitting all the shops (Brian found a watch he liked so I got him an early birthday present-his birthday is the 22nd). We decided to head to Carlos and Charlies for lunch. I should have gotten tacos but I decided upon nachos and they were not all that great. Brian got the wings and thought they were very good! We both had margaritas – they were just fine J We then headed back to the Manchebo to get ready for the KK bus!!!! No room key issue this day because we had not gone to the beach! We had some other people from the various message boards that were going as well so we were really looking forward to it and we were not disappointed! This was really fun! I am not sure if I would do this annually but it would be fun to do every now and again! It would be very difficult to have a bad time on this bus! The only other couple that ended up showing up was Sandrakazzoo (Sandy) and her husband Paul. Off we went to the California lighthouse! We did think that maybe the other people had ended up on the other bus so Sandy and I proceeded to yell our screen names just to make sure we didn’t miss them – at that point they probably chose to ignore us! The four of us jumped back on the bus and took the seat in the back – Sandy & Paul had gotten on latter in the pickup so they joined us in the back – well, this apparently made another group upset and there were unhappy faces (they raced out after our stop for dinner to reclaim the back seat but I don’t think our group was as upset as they hoped – it just got us closer to the front of the bus and the action!!). The dinner was fine – we all got our CDs, our sippy cups and Tshirts and off we went. Sandy and I decided it would be great fun before we took off for our 2nd stop to steal the other busses maracas – so we snuck out – took their maracas from their holding spots and put them on our bus-little did we know that our driver was in our bus---oops! He said that was the first time that ever happened, but let us continue on our way – so we snuck back into the bar. Then it was time to head to our 2nd stop. Everyone on our bus had two maracas at least!!! It was very noisy but fun! The 2nd stop – well things went downhill from there – lets just say there was dancing on the bar done by some of us (me and Brian), shirt ripping off by others (Brian), and threatened shirt ripping off by another (me)!! Then off to the last stop – Grammas – more hooting and hollering, drinking, dancing, etc etc!! The night went by very fast and it was a blast. No one got sick (I was thinking of you though Amy and keeping my eye out for ‘the look’). Back to the Manchebo and we were one of the first to be dropped off so the bus was still rocking – I don’t think a lot of Manchebo guests go on the KK bus because the night manager was trying to shush us – good luck with THAT with that group!! Off to bed we go!

11/17/05

Today was beautiful! Up – got the palapa and off to breakfast! Yes, the piggies had eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, juice AGAIN! Today is also our day for photos with Sandra & Eric! So off to the beach we go! After some reading/resting we decided to walk towards the high rise section. After about 10 minutes Brian decides to jump on the ocean to cool off and proceeds to get wiped out by a wave. The ocean was a bit rough everyday except Thursday and you had to be careful with the drop off right at the edge. We continued our walk down the beach – to about the Costa Linda. We then headed back. More laying around the beach – more drinks from the bar and I discovered they had fried shrimp – Yum to those too! Brian has been living on the chicken wings for lunch. Neither of us are big lunch eaters – must having something to do with those breakfasts we have been eating! Our appointment with Sandra was for 4:45 so we headed back (of course – back to the front desk for the room key fix) and it was time for me to figure out what to wear. I am still not that happy with my choice – but oh well! Sandra and Eric were right on time and off we went. They brought us to Malmok beach for our first group of pictures. It was so bright it was hard at times not to be squinting but they worked through my issues! Then we were off to the lighthouse. Then we went down to the Arashi beach area in time for sunset. Both Sandra and Eric made us feel very comfortable and we love our photos! Brian asked about the Divi Divi tree because we spaced checking it out when we were there on Monday and Eric drove us up and stopped so we could check it out. Sandra was patient with all our questions about the island and was very informative. They are both the nicest people! We got back to the hotel and had dinner. It totally cracked me up that on prior trips Brian always wanted a steak and we never had any beef on other trips that was really any good – will in Aruba he found his island! He is such a meat and potato guy by today he was actually not wanting anymore steak!! Go figure! I had beef tenderloin a la stroganoff – Brian had a ribeye. I also had the apple strudel which came out with fancy writing in a chocolate sauce that read Not 2 Share!! Everything was good as usual! We then decided to head to the Alhambra Casino. We were not there long but helped out the local economy! Off to bed!

11/18/05

Our last full day LLLLL The weather was wonderful. We had checked at the front desk about a jeep rental the day before and they told us to just stop down in the morning and they would take care of it for us. We had breakfast (yep-piggies again today!) and then stopped at the desk. They called and said Royal would be there around 9:15. Off to the room to get our stuff and back down to the lobby – the gentleman from Royal was there right on time. We took care of the paperwork and off we went. To Baby Beach we go! We had the map from the Aruba book that we got in the lobby, our towels, sunscreen, camera – we were good to go. We got a bit confused in San Nicholas but a very nice lady helped us out and got us back on track. Baby Beach was great. The only bad thing was that we had brought the ‘good’ camera and had an open jeep Suzuki so could not really leave the camera so I swam a bit – Brian did his photo thing and we then walked out the end – took some more photos and decided to head to the Natural Bridge area. We didn’t get lost at all! We saw some donkeys J along our way as well. We checked out the fallen Natural Bridge – checked out the smaller one next to it. I stopped in the gift shop – got myself a beer, Brian a Coke and some chips. We sat and enjoyed our snack/drinks and the view! It was time to head to the other end of the island – the California Lighthouse! Back to the jeep and off we go. On our way back the donkeys were still there and I wanted photos so we stopped – one of the male donkeys was very happy to see us if you know what I mean (wink, wink)!! Then back on the road again! This is where our travels took a wrong turn, literally! We got lost. Ended up driving around that area for about 30 minutes and finally just started taking roads that headed us toward Hooiberg as we knew we should be on the other side! We finally ended up getting back on track and found our way to the Lighthouse. First we had to stop at the Tierra del Sol golf course so Brian could pick up a golf shirts. Then off to the lighthouse. What a beautiful view up there! At this point, after all our adventures and only have chips so far we decided to have lunch at La Trattoria el Faro Blanco. We ate on the terrace but under cover. I got their tomato salad and we shared a margherita pizza. It was very good. We also both had a beer. I think lunch came to $25 but it was more than worth it for the view. It was time to head back to the Manchebo after a stop at the Divi Links for two more golf shirts. We got back to the hotel around 3:30ish so we dropped some stuff off at the room (room key worked) and then headed to the beach. Of course a quick stop at the bar for a drink and to say Hi to John and Fanny – also wanted to see when they were leaving so we would not miss saying goodbye to them then to the beach! It looked like it was going to be a good sunset so Brian started taking some pictures. I hung around for that for a while and then left him at the beach and headed to the bar. That was the best thing about this resort – it was small enough so you got to know some people – share some laughs and just have fun. Brian got done with the sun’s photo shoot and joined me at the bar. They had a DJ there (like they did other afternoons) and some of the guests there have going to the Manchebo for many years so they have some songs that are regulars and one is called Alice – who the f**k is Alice which seems to be a great hit and of course we all had to sing the chorus loud! All in good fun! It was the end of Fanny’s shift so I had to have photos so they let us down in the bar area and we had our pictures taken with Fanny and John. We both gave Fanny a hug goodbye and thanked her for taking care of us so well the past week! We hung around a bit longer then up to the room to change for dinner – oh yea, the room key didn’t work – we had been to the beach, remember?? We had made reservations to have dinner in the air conditioned section of the French Steakhouse that night and wished had eaten in there more – it was just nice in there! I had the filet mignon and Brian had ribs, we both had baked potato. I also had the chocolate mousse for dessert. Everything was excellent per usual! Up to the room to start organizing our return trip L We stopped at the desk and confirmed our transfers on Depalm for tomorrow morning – everything was all set.

11/19/05

Up at 7 – we both got packed and then down for the ‘piggy’ breakfast again!! It was overcast again today and a bit showery. I wanted to walk over to Dunkin Donuts to get some travel mugs as gifts – Dunkins is huge in New England so I knew they would be a hit! We did that and then made sure to say good bye to Allen, Angelo, Sandra, and others! We checked out – paid our bill of $5.75. Yep, that AI plan worked out very well for us! Too quickly, Depalm was there and off we went to the airport. No issues with checkin – customs or immigrations. There is a little bar called One Happy Bar that actually had some good sandwiches – ham or turkey – kinda grilled. Anyways, one of those and a couple of Amstel Brights and I was dealing with going home! The plane was packed but the flight went well – no issues going home and we were back to Boston at 5:45 or so. We were on the road back to New Hampshire by 6:30. The trip home involved watching the thermometer go down, down, down to 33 degrees. Woke up the next day to 21 degrees…yep we are home!

I apologize again for the length of this report. What I really want to come through is that we had a full vacation yet a very relaxing one. We loved meeting the others from the boards! We made some new friends that way, also on the KK Bus and at our resort and what more can you ask for in a vacation? The Manchebo was a perfect resort for us! The management at the resort should be very very proud of their staff. Our only recommendation would be is to keep the bar open a bit longer but they probably don’t want crazy people like us singing "alice?, who the f**k is alice?" while people are trying to dine at the French Steakhouse so not sure I blame them J We actually did hear they are looking into that. We do not have enough kind words to say to about everyone who worked at the resorts, worked in the stores in town, worked on the KK bus, Sandra and Erik, and the nice lady who got us back on track when we were lost. This island is right up there with other favorite – Turks & Caicos. They are different in their own ways but we enjoyed them both immensely! So far, Aruba and Turks/Caicos are the only two islands we have on our ‘return to’ list! We will definitely be back and I have no doubt the 2nd trip will be as good as the first, if not better!