Let me start off with saying these apartments are probably the best deal you will find in Aruba.... In general, accomodations in Aruba are pricey, but Aruba Reef provides you with large apartments, privacy, and use of their kayaks for a much lower price than most of the hotels in Aruba charge you for just a room - you can't beat it. In addition, you get a discount at their spa which is amazing, you have to go, my husband is uncomfortable with the idea of massages but I convinced him to go and he was SO happy we went. In addition, the location is directly next door to the Flying Fishbone, the best restaurant in Aruba, hands down! Overall, this was the perfect place for my husband & I to stay during our honeymoon.

So why did I say I'm unsure if we'd return to Aruba Reef?
- Aruba Reef is in Saventa, a fishing town, no where near the high rise / low rise hotels so you have to rent a car to get around which can get pricey (about $40 / day). Most of the tours that say they'll pick you up from your hotel mean they'll pick you up from the high rise / low rise area, none of them will go to Saventa
- Saventa is a fishing town so naturally there are lots of nats there and we'd wake up with a ton of bug bites. Clearly that is no fault of the hotel but it's not comfortable
- The owner and his daughter are extremely friendly, awesome people, who overall we really enjoyed, but they did 3 things that bugged us that you don't get with larger hotels:
1. The first day we were there he complained to us about gasoline prices and told us that instead of using the A/C a lot we should try to open the side door and the patio door to let the breeze cool the room. Which was great during the day when we were in the apartment, but it was August in the Carribean, so it got very hot at night. We would turn on the A/C over night and some mornings we'd find it off. At first we thought it was a faulty A/C system and then we realized someone manually turned off our A/C controller from outside the room. My husband turned it back on, and the next day Fred complained to us again about A/C prices, and later on in the week he turned it off again without telling us, so we woke up very hot. I don't see a larger hotel chain doing that.
2. They have 2 dogs, a huskie and an Aruban street fighter dog. We both love dogs so we were fine with that, but one night we got in late and the Aruban street fighter dog went crazy, it barked at us like crazy, and even showed us it's teeth (in dog world that means ready to attack). We called out for Fred but he wasn't home. We left the property and came back in 10 minutes later from the main entrance and ran over to our room. The next night the owner told us that if you come in from the side the dog freaks out, you have to come in from the front - that would've been nice to know before your dog almost attacked us.
3. In the reservation form you give your credit card information. I was under the assumption that they were going to charge our card for our stay. The morning we left Fred asked us for cash. Apparently it costs a lot less to pay in cash because the Aruban credit card fees. It was nice of him to help us avoid those fees but it would've been nice if he told us in advance because we did not have that much cash on us, and the ATM nearby was out of money. He felt bad so he split the fee with us, but I think it would've been nice to give us a heads up before we went.

Overall we enjoyed it, and we LOVED Aruba, but the next time we go we'll probably go to the high rise area.

A peaceful, relaxing spot to enjoy a do-it-yourself holiday. Freddie makes sure you have everything you need and 2 dogs provide endless entertainment. A small beach with lounges, a couple more teak lounges on the yoga deck and 2 kayaks to explore from a sea perspective. Well sized bedroom and functional bathroom, well equipped kitchen and living area, but you won't likely need it much. There's a big spacious patio for dining, hammocking, and big comfy sofas for snoozing. It is refreshing to be out of the tourist district and Oranjestad, but only a 15 minute drive to town. If you feel like a treat for dinner one night, go next door to the Flying Fishbone (one of the island's top restaurants), or go where the locals go, a 5 minute walk down the road to Zee Rovers. Head over to the national park for some nice hiking, or the Aruba Golf Club - only a $10 fee - if you don't take your golf game too seriously. The course comes with goats, donkeys, sheep and assorted cactus. This is as far from the all inclusive, high end hotels at the other end of the island as you could hope for, but if you want a taste of what real Arubans are like, this is the place to come. It feels like Arizona in Costa Rica - a Latin flare with desert flora and fauna.

We were first time travelers to Aruba and when we first drove up to the place were a little concerned. It's out of tourist area and there was construction going on on the road out front and finding our way around was a little intimidating at first. But once we walked through the front entrance and were greeted by our incredibly acccomadating host Freddie, we started to feel very comfortable. The units have everything you need including full kitchens and they open out to a deck which puts you right on a small private beach. Right away Freddie offered to take us out to the grocery store to stock up on anything we might need for our stay. He also was a wealth of knowledge on where to go and what to do during our trip. It's about 20 minutes away from the tourist beach areas, but we didn't really find it inconvienent heading that way if we wanted to just hang out on some of the better known beaches. We also spent some time just getting out and exploring the island. The last day when we were getting ready to leave we just hung out on our own beach. This is a great place to stay if you want good value and aren't really crazy about staying in the crowded resort area. I would definitely go back there again.

I would recommend this place to anyone who wants to stay away from the crowds. It is located almost on the water, a perfect beach location. The place was well kept and tastefully designed. There was enough room for the kids and us without feeling cramped. In all an A+ value.