Tamarijn Beach Resort

January 25 - February 1, 2006 by Shelley and Denny

My wife and I stayed at the Tamarijn (all inclusive) with 3 other couples from 1-25-06 through 2-1-06.

Shelley and I (Denny) flew from Cleveland to Philadelphia to meet up with our long-time friends Dave and Terri, Jim and Chris, John and Dorothea. Being somewhat anal, my greatest fear was the US Airways flight 3830 from Cleveland to Philadelphia. I had been tracking this flight for the previous 10 days and it's on time rate to Philadelphia was about 70%.

After meeting our friends at the Philadelphia terminal, we departed Philadelphia for Aruba. Our flight was great and we arrived on time at about 3:30 pm Aruba time. Getting to the Tamarijn was a quick De Palm Tours bus trip through Oranjestad. The first impression was "wow, it's warm here". Having come from dismal and cold Ohio, it was nice to experience warmth again. As we arrived at the Tamarijn we were greeted and the check-in was quick and efficient. Our "all inclusive" wrist bands were bright pink and meant we had the run of the place for food and drink.

We were given a shuttle ride to the rooms so dragging our luggage was eliminated; a nice touch. Our rooms were on the first floor in building 23. The buildings were 2 story and having a first floor room with a patio right on the beach was really a nice feature. Our room could use a little paint but what the heck, did we come here for the room or the beach? After a quick change to our summer clothes we went to the open air buffet for dinner. There was a nice selection.

The first beer we had was an Aruba brewed Balashi. Three of the guys rated it a 7 while Jim, the beer connoisseur, rated it a 6. Knowing Jim, he probably had about a six pack on the plane so his taste buds were probably wasted by now.

Our routine through most of the week quickly became: meet for breakfast at about 9:00 am, then soak up the rays till about noon and then go to the Bunker Bar for afternoon "refreshments". This usually consisted of Balashi, Miller Lite, Vodka or Gin and Tonics.

We enjoyed dinner several times at the Paparazzi, a nice indoor restaurant with great selections and the Palm Grill where you prepare your own food fried in the center of the tables. The food at the Palm Grill included stir fry vegetables, meats, chicken, etc. Both restaurants are adjacent to the "open air" buffet, Coconuts Bar and pool. Each evening there was live entertainment adjacent to the buffet and Coconuts Bar so the after dinner drinks were easily accessible.

On Sunday Shelley and I walked to the Alhambra Casino. Being a Sunday, early afternoon, it was pretty vacant and the shops nearby were closed. We played video poker for awhile (won a few bucks) and returned to the Tamarijn for the afternoon "refreshments".

Our group soon realized the Bunker Bar was a favorite hang out. The "free" and unlimited drinks were a great feature. Harold was one of the best bartenders and was very fast so we never went dry.

One afternoon we all took the bus to town (Oranjestad) for shopping. The guys really liked the shopping part (wink, wink). The bus cost $2 for the round trip and was very reasonable.

The weather was mid 80's each day and mid to upper 70's at night. Lots of mixed clouds and sun. It rained about each day, mostly a 10 second spritz or so. With an annual rain fall at about 20 inches we were confident we would not have a rain out. But, 2 night it must have rained 10 inches each night. Then by 9:30 am the sun was out and all was well. What a paradise!

The trip finally came to an end. We checked out and took the De Palm Tours bus to the airport. The trip through customs was uneventful and rather quick.

It was great to see our old friends again and we look forward to another return trip soon to the Tamarijn.