This is the second year in a row that our family has stayed at the Renaissance Aruba Hotel, and we absolutely love it. We went last year for Thanksgiving, and returned this year, and were not disappointed. In both 2005 and 2006, we stayed at the Marina Hotel. We are a family of 4 (mom, dad, 2 kids in early 20's), and the hotel perfectly suits our needs.

Service is excellent. Like most people in Aruba, everyone we met at the hotel was friendly and provided great service. Check-in had great service, and the Housekeeping was excellent.

We love the location of this hotel. While it's true that it isn't directly on a beach, the Private Island is more than worth it. The Island was never overly crowded, and we never waited more than 10 minutes or so to get on the boat. The Island had plenty of space, decent food, and lots of cool animals like flamingos and iguanas. Some on this board have discussed airplane noise, but there's maybe 1-2 planes coming in per hour, generally mid-afternnon. The noise didn't bother us at all, and we liked watching them land. We loved going to the beach all morning, and then taking in an hour or so of shopping and/or gambling before heading to dinner. The Casino at the Hotel is relatively fun, and you can literally walk to anything in Oranjestad from the hotel - shopping, casinos, restaurants, you name it. We particularly liked ElGaucho, but also just enjoyed grabbing a quick breakfast at the Gelato/Pastry/Sandwich cafe in the lobby (by the boat pickup). We also liked the Italian restaurant on the waterfront across the street.

A car probably isn't necessary, because you can walk to anything and because of the easy cab and bus pickups nearby. That said, we always rent a car because we like to play golf 2-3 times during the week, and also, because we have 4 people. Tip: don't waste your money on the hotel valet - you can park for free in the lot across the street, and we never had trouble getting a spot (however, November tends to be lower season).

We wouldn't hesistate to return to this hotel in the future. Because of it's excellent location, service, relative affordability, and private island, we probably wouldn't even consider anything else on the Island.

My husband and I have continued to select the Renaissance Aruba as our resort choice on the island of Aruba. It is elegant, comfortable, and centrally located to downtown activities. The 40 acre private island provides a relaxing beach atmosphere without a lot of other tourists with which to compete for sand space! The employees of the Renaissance Aruba are always professional and courteous. These wonderful folks are a part of the reason why we have continued to choose this resort over the last 10 years as our annual vacation destination. The Beach Tower/Ocean Suites is our preference of the two towers. Both are nice, and each has its own ambiance, yet we prefer the tower nearest the ocean.

We stayed for 2 nights at the Marina Towers and had a great time. Checkin was prompt and bell staff were very professional grabbing our bags before we exited our car. We had a corner room facing the mall and the bathroom was clean and large. We were across from the laundry room probably because we had booked from a discount site. The private beach was beautiful and we loved that the boat pulls right into the lobby of the hotel. Boats come every 10-15 minutes and there are 2 so it didn't seem too crowded. Private beach has an adult side and a family side with plenty of chairs and hammocks. There aren't many huts but we got there after 10AM. Food was okay and not too expensive for a resort, 9.95 for a burger 12.95 for chicken ceasar sald, 9.95 for a hotdog, 2.25 for a coke. Remember that 15 percent is added to that and we always gave another 10-15 percent for tip. Flies did seem to be annoying maybe bug spray would help? They really need some citronella candles or something. We brought some small tiny bottles of water and noone bothered us. The room has an empty fridge which was excellent for sodas and leftovers. It was free even better. The is a grocery market right behind the hotel for suntan lotion, fruit etc., cans of coke were 55 cents. The location is awesome for teens with the mall right behind the hotel. There is an internet cafe Planet something which has a coupon in the hotel welcome package for 45 minutes for 3 dollars(It is usally 3 bucks for 30 minutes.) make sure as soon as you request a computer that you tell them that you have it. They also have one phone where you can call the US for 25 cents a minute. We saved a bundle with that. It is right off the lobby of the hotel downstairs before you enter the mall area. We dined at LG Smith steak house and it was not pricier than at home. Sides were 4 dollars each and that seemed good. Our bill came to 115.00 for dinner, appetizer, and 2 desserts with soda only. There is a 20 dollar coupon off a 100 dollar check but it can only be used from 9-11, it is in the welcome package. Maid service was good and room looked very clean. The breakfast buffet had an omlette station that had fresh eggs if you request, was 15.95 and the service was good and friendly. The taxi cab from airport was 9-10 dollars. It cost us 10 dollars to go down by cab to Palm Beach area. We dined at Madame Janette's and advise do not go there on a rainy night. It was a horror show with limited seating and being stuck next to tables of chainsmoking fiends that were loud and obnoxious. I was soaked from a table that was next to the roof ending. Request a quiet table and maybe that would be better. We had dined there before and were happy, this time I feel that I might never go back. Food was plentiful and prices within reason. To sum it up this hotel had some great points and if I got a great price would go back in a heartbeat.

if you've been to aruba, this will be repetitive, if not thought i'd share first-timer experience. very small island, no need for a car except maybe a day of off-roading. much nicer & cleaner than average caribbean island and friendly locals. no really nice hotel options (i.e. four seasons, ritz) and no truly great restaurants. in any case, weather is great, airport is nice and you can clear customs there which saves an hour on the trip back. beaches are very nice but won't blow you away like anguilla or similiar.

the renaissance was a nice blend. private island was nicer than we expected and easy to go back & forth. rooms were great size and well furnished with high speed internet. maid service and food were weak points, and concierge was useless. pool area and small beach by the ocean suites were pretty good. would pay a premium to not stay at the marina towers which feels cheesy, kind of like atlantic city. decent restaurants in shopping center next to ocean suites. would probably do it again because it's the only place on the island you can walk to anything. all the other hotels in the low-rise & high rise sections are kind of self-contained and require cabs to go anywhere.