Dutch Village Reviews

This was a good holiday all in all but a long way to travel for a ";good"; holiday, and after reflecting for several weeks I'm still not sure what to make of the place, I'm glad I went but would not go back.
It's marketed as a Dutch Island and although it is, it's really in name only. Over the past 15 years or so this has turned into a pretty souless, ugly American destination. McDonalds, KFC, Wendys, Dunkin Donuts, Burger King you name it. It's not what I wanted from the Caribbean, but if you miss your fast food then it's definately a good place for you.

As for the hotel we were very lucky to be staying where we were, I would have been gutted to stay in the high rise area, as it was like a cross between Las Vegas and Benidorm, Palm Beach was a mess and it all looked big, brash, but a bit tatty.
If you like your tourism to be catered for to the nth degree then you'll probably be really happy at the high-rise area, you can have artificial beaches and all manner of unnatural additions should you wish. One hotel has had some flamingoes shipped in, how nice.

The low-rise by contrast is beautiful and in harmony with the natural environment, which is stunning. Our apartment was fantastic, everything you could want, great aircon (which you really need as the heat is stifling), great bed, really spacious and right by the pool and steps from the sea. The complex was a wonderful low-key, freeform design right on Eagle Beach with lots of bird and reptile life living side by side on the complex. Eagle beach is just wonderful, it's image will be with me forever.

The hotel staff were exceptional and we wrote a letter thanking them for a great stay. The room was thoroughly cleaned everyday with linen/towel change and if you had your do not disturb on they rung you to double-check. YOu could get a lift around the three hotels in golf-carts which was great fun as they drive way too fast!
The hotel also gave us a free late checkout to 6pm so we were able to spend our last day lazing in the pool rather than waiting to go home. Best hotel service we've ever had by far.

The beaches and interior of Aruba are incredible, they, along with the wildlife are what does make Aruba special.
The Capital Oranjestad is pretty awful. In front of what would have been the main shopping area they have built large malls, perporting to be traditional style, but to be honest these pink and blue buildings are just revolting. Behind this lies the remnants of the original city and it's been allowed to get seriously run down.
On the upside it's fun at night and you can have some great meals/drinks but it's fairly quiet if you are used to partying all night long.

To see the real Aruba I would suggest hiring a car and driving around, it's only 16 miles long so you really can explore and it's well worth doing so, you can find your own private beach.
For eating I recommend the Paddock in Oranjestad by the cruiseship dock, and the Plaza at the Seaport Marketplace has gorgeous food just a bit further down. These are both reasonably priced at about £30 for two with wine/beer.
For a more upmarket experience try Madame Janette or Gasparito, about £50-60 but worth the money.

The bus service in Aruba is excellent, cheap, efficient and uncomplicated and runs until midnight. You give then cash Florins or Dollars and you get your tickets. No cards or tokens to obtain.
Taxis are resonable and Lings Supermarket was brilliant, fantastic broad range of products and a 10 minute walk from the hotel.

One (long) word about First Choice, the flights were exceptional, really roomy seats and fantastic service. Rep service in resort was poor, sometimes reps get complacent and really don't seem bothered and this was the case here. We were lucky we had such brilliant hotel staff or we would have stayed for 14 nights in the wrong hotel. They dropped us all off in a sister hotel which was, in a word, a toilet. The rep chose not to tell us it was another hotel as the names are very similar but I knew it was the wrong place, we were the only people who demanded to be moved. When I really lost my temper she told me they'd been doing this all season! We spoke to some of the other poor folks on the way home and they said they didn't think it was very nice but they didn't like to complain, so of course they never got moved.