14th Trip to Aruba - Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort

September 14-30, 2006 by ~Amy~® and Mike

Aruba Forum Profile: ~Amy~®

This was 2 trips in one - I spent the first 9 days in Aruba with my husband, Mike, and then the remaining 7 days with two girlfriends from NY (Stacy and Kimmy.)

Flight down on Delta (MSP-ATL-AUA) was uneventful which is exactly the way I prefer my flights. Met up with SueW from the bulletin board at our connecting flight to Aruba just like in years past (it’s getting to be an annual ritual.)

Picked up our rental car at Jansen’s (good price, nice car, and on our way in minutes just like always) and we were on our way to the hotel – or so we thought. Just before the grocery stores on the main road I noticed everyone turning right and wondered where everyone was going. No sooner did those words come out of my mouth, we came upon the closed road for construction and, we too, were turning right. Apparently, the road was just closed a day or two before our arrival so the detour was new, the signs were not quite right, and the traffic was backed up. After making a wrong turn or two, we finally arrived at Amsterdam Manor.

Amsterdam Manor

We walked into the lobby and were immediately greeted by Julio who was happy to welcome us "back home" again.

We had the same 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit on the 2nd floor that we’ve had on previous trips. There were some nice new additions to the hotel during our stay – new pool furniture and umbrellas and new chairs and tables at the pool bar. All of the chairs have nice, thick cushions on them now. We spent some time at the pool this year (more than usual) because the lounge chairs were so incredibly comfortable (falling asleep took no time at all!)

Love the beach and the beach bar at Amsterdam Manor – never crowded and easy to get a palapa at any time during the day. Only day I noticed more people than usual is on Fridays when a few of the cruise ship people are there (you knew who they were by the Carnival beach towels.) I took a look at the infamous "tree" at the end of Amsterdam Manor’s beach - the branch that had been cut and is supported by a beam is definitely dead and should probably be cut off. The other main branch is nice and green and is doing great! The water was nice and clear most days and we could see small schools of silver fish swimming around our legs. I decided to play with them one day by tapping my fingers on top of the water... they determined that I was food and proceeded to nibble on my fingers (lesson learned!) Spent a lot of days just lounging on the beach, swimming and using the free floats every day that Amsterdam Manor offers to their guests. Other amenities that were a big plus: free internet/computers, room service, the newspaper being delivered to our room every night so that you had a copy in the morning, the large kitchen, and being able to get fresh beach towels at any time, day or night.

Had one minor incident in the water one day at the beach. I swam out to the buoys (my daily exercise) and was just about ready to swim back when I noticed a boy and a girl (around the ages of 6 and 8) with their floats. The boy had lost his float and was swimming to get it but the wind was taking it just as fast as he was swimming. The float finally crossed the roped off swimming area and he turned around to swim back to his sister. He wasn’t making any ground against the waves (the waves were small but it was very windy that day and he was swimming against the current) and I saw his head go under twice. I never swam so fast in my life (I did look around and no one was even paying attention to what was going on). By the time I got to him his sister had reached him with the float. I asked if they were ok but they only spoke Dutch – he did understand the words "ok" and gave me the thumbs up sign. I swam along side their float as they paddled back. Just goes to show you what can happen so quickly in the water. He seemed a little shaken but was fine otherwise.

Octopus Snorkel Cruise: My husband and I did the morning snorkel cruise with the Octopus which had 2 snorkel stops – one at the Antilla wreck and one at Boca Catalina. Went to the wreck first and I had a hard time snorkeling here because the water was very choppy. Did see the wreck but didn’t see too many interesting fish – I think this is a better dive spot (although my husband enjoyed the snorkeling there.) We’ve snorkeled at Boca Catalina many times in the past but this was the first time I’ve seen so many fish and so many different kinds. The weather was perfect (hardly a cloud in the sky) and the water was so clear – had to be the best snorkel experience I’ve ever had in Aruba. Might have helped that we were there early and the only boat there. After snorkeling, we sat on the boat and enjoyed some drinks and lunch while other boats pulled up to snorkel. I was facing the Jolly Pirates and watching all of the people jump in the water (too many people for me – we only had 8 people on the Octopus which was great), eating my salad, when I noticed a guy at the back of the Jolly Pirates lean over the side. I asked my husband if he just saw the same thing I did and he replied "Maybe he was just spitting"...uh, no…I don’t think I could’ve seen spit (and a lot of it) that far away. Poor guy was either seasick or had too much to drink the night before!

Spa del Sol

We did the couples massage at Spa del Sol - very relaxing. Afterwards we were able to sit in the lounge chairs at the spa and enjoy the view while sipping on some juice.

Morning Star

This was a special event for us and it was worth every penny! We booked a private sunset dinner cruise. Kat and Marciano (your hosts – and also your chef and waiter) are the nicest people. We spent the first part of the cruise drinking champagne and eating fruit, cheese, bread, enjoying the sunset and the company of Kat and Marciano. After the sunset, we anchored and they prepared a table for a 4 course dinner which was fabulous! I think we ate and drank (and drank!) for about 6 hours. It really was a special evening! A couple days later, they dropped off a special gift for us at the hotel that they knew we would like! We had the BEST evening and also made new friends with Kat and Marciano (they are the best!) – hope to see them again next year!

Weather

had beautiful weather (sunny and windy) for almost all 16 days. Only had one morning of rain where it poured at 8am for about 20 minutes. Kind of overcast for the rest of the day with a few sprinkles here and there but it turned out to be in our favor because this was the day we booked our massages and then went to the Bugaloe Bar for a late lunch (by the way, the Bugaloe Bar makes an excellent Mojito!)

Island Tour

a friend of ours from the Dutch Marines gave us our own private island tour. Stopped at the donkey sanctuary in the morning (the donkeys loved us since we brought 3 bags of carrots) and then off to the other end of the island via Frenchman’s Pass. Saw some new and interesting views that I have never seen before (including another small Natural Bridge that I could see as I looked down from the cliff I was standing on.) Ended our day at Charlie’s Bar for a late lunch and a lot of Balashi on tap (thank you to the gentlemen who kept ringing the bell and buying us more free rounds of drinks!)

Restaurants / Bars

as usual, spent a lot of time at Amsterdam Manor’s beach and pool bars! Always good service and good company (enjoyed meeting people from England, Germany, and the Netherlands.) Love being able to order lunch right from the beach bar, too, during the day.

Tried the new Bugaloe Bar (the old Kokoa) one afternoon – great service and great Mojitos. Went back a few times. Mira Solo (martini bar at the Radisson) – great martinis (they have an entire menu to choose from) but it was really busy the night we were there due to the annual Ultimate Bet Poker Tournament going on. The martini bar was filled with tons of drunken, American boys in their 20’s who thought they were high rollers (and who didn’t have a chance with us! It was actually pretty humorous! LOL!)

Went to some of our favorite restaurants which included: Tulip (dinner and lunch), Pizza Bob’s, Bingo (several times), Madame Janette’s, Que Pasa, El Gaucho, Tomato Charlie’s (had a pizza delivered to the hotel), Charlie’s Bar, Passions (Amsterdam Manor), Sunset Grille (Radisson). Tried a few new ones this year: Aruba Destiny (we were going to go to Eleanora’s but didn’t like the menu) – Destiny was just ok but doubt that we’ll go back only because there are so many better places on the island, Chef’s Table (this place just opened the week before and was great!), Fishes & More (good service and food), and the New Wei Tai (Chinese).

Also spent a lovely dinner at Tom & Karen’s new home (thank you both for the wonderful dinner and welcoming us into your new Aruba house!)

Bulletin Board Parties

Went to two bulletin board parties at Amsterdam Manor’s beach bar. Had a wonderful dinner at Passions on the beach at Amsterdam Manor after one of the parties – beautiful setting, good food, and great company. Loved seeing some of the same people we see every year and also met a lot of new friends that we hope to see again (special thanks to Sharon, aka "livetopaint" on the bulletin board, for her beautiful painting of Aruba that I now get to look at every day!)
Things we broke (or were blamed for breaking): A trip to Aruba is never complete without a few incidents..........

Balcony Umbrella

Sitting on the beach one day, a friend informed us that our umbrella on our balcony was hanging over the side. We look up from our beach chairs and, sure enough, there is our umbrella in two pieces with one piece hanging over the side of our balcony! Apparently, it became unthreaded in the middle of the pole because of the wind (our fault, should’ve put the umbrella down when we weren’t using it). Maintenance had it fixed the following morning. The next week it started doing the same thing but the three of us girls were able to fix it before it came apart again (score one for the girls!)

Silverware drawer in the kitchen

Don’t know how but it came off of the track and would fall backwards every time you pushed the drawer in (not the nicest thing to see or hear in the morning after being out drinking the night before.) After a day I couldn’t stand it anymore and crawled inside the cupboard below and fixed it (score two for the girls!)

Ashtray

There was a glass ashtray on our balcony table. We don’t smoke but used it every day as a paperweight for the newspaper. One morning we were all in the kitchen fixing breakfast (patio doors open) and heard a huge crash outside – yep, wind was too strong and lifted the paper up from under the ashtray which sent the ashtray flying and breaking into a million (okay, maybe 9) pieces. Couldn’t fix it.... next time we’ll bring duct tape! (We did pick up all of the glass pieces and cleaned up the mess – score a half of point for the girls!)

Beer bottle

During happy hour at the pool bar, Stacy had a Bright in her hand (as usual!), I went to reach for something and hit her arm in the process, she dropped the bottle and it crashed. Of course, all conversation stops and everyone looks at you like you’re a leper (and a drunk!) By that time though it was just par for the course and we were getting used to breaking things!

Departure

I saw my friends, Stacy and Kimmy, board their Jet Blue flight and then had an hour to kill before my flight. Sat at the new little bar at the airport, ordered a Bright and started talking to a couple next to me. Then some guy comes to the bar and orders 3 pina coladas. Just as he says "I hope I don't spill these" (trying to carry all 3), he dumps one right down the side of my silk jogging shorts - yep, pina colada soaked shorts for me! The bartenders (fun guys) took pity on me so whenever they made someone a fun drink with the shaker or blender, they gave me the extras from the drink. Then another couple recognized me from the bulletin board and bought me a drink.....I was getting quite drunk all within an hours time. One of the bartenders gave me the tip jar full of ones and wanted me to put dollar bills down his pants.......it was like the party just kept going at the airport bar (and I miraculously forgot all about my wet shorts!) That was probably the best time I had ever spent while waiting for my flight to leave Aruba.

Of course.....

it goes without saying (but I have to say it anyway) that the staff at Amsterdam Manor (Marc, Sasha, Illis, Christy, Julio, Janine, Mario) are the best – they are always there wishing you a pleasant day and seem to really enjoy their jobs! Love coming back and seeing the same faces on every trip – makes you feel like you’re part of one happy family as well as One Happy Island! I’m already looking forward to trip #15.