The St. Regis Aruba Resort

After reading recent reviews and managing/re-adjusting our expectations (because yes we were very worried ahead of our stay) .... our stay at the newly opened St Regis Aruba was surprisingly pleasant! Firstly the biggest pro is that it is a beautiful new hotel and we loved that the perfume smell in the lobby was always so fresh and fragrant. Our room was a generous comfortable size for a family of 2 adults and young child. Our room also had spectacular oceanfront and hotel pool views. Our balcony was also clean, no bird poop unlike another review I read lol. Each day, we received excellent service from the staff during the breakfast buffet and whilst by the pool area. Special shoutouts to the staff at breakfast, to Akeem in the pool area on Wed March 19, concierge Monica for her pizza / food recommendations and to front desk staff Nicole. On the topic of food though I would mention a couple of things 1) breakfast buffet is pretty good but as one would expect for this type of hotel... whereas 2) the food options at the lobby bar and Eskama (by the pool/beach) are not extensive and could get fairly repetitive... so one would hope they expand on the menu; maybe adding additional sushi and pizza options?? For the pool area; granted the hotel was not at full capacity, there was always plenty of lounges and space across 8-9 different pools. Very family friendly with pools with zero entry and not too deep for young kids. Also, though the hotel is next to the RIU (which I was pretty worried about), the sound noise wasn't too bad, and seemed only "energetic" at various points in the late afternoon. Although our stay was from Sun - Thursday, so maybe the situation would have been different on a weekend?   The staff did their best given how new this hotel is. I would encourage more hiring and more training, especially to handle once the hotel reaches full capacity and will become busy with many more guests. Overall, we were happy with our stay. We compared our experience to our stays at Waldorf Astoria / Ritz Carlton / and various luxury hotels in Europe.

Checked in on 3/22 and checking out today. We have 2 rooms. The hotel is at less than 60 percent capacity to make matters worse!!! This experience has been terrible compared to any other St. Regis in the world. When we stay at a St. Regis - we expect great service in exchange for paying more than a regular hotel. The service is subpar at best, even worse than a budget motel. The beach and pool services are poor, there is no butler service (except for me!!!), and our room wasn't cleaned for two consecutive days despite daily complaints. I had to call twice just to get a garbage can in the room—something even the most basic motels provide. Turn-down service was non-existent. Why am I paying three times the cost of a Marriott for such poor service? Remove the St. Regis sign and rebrand as a "crappy Marriott," although even they manage to clean rooms. This is unacceptable, and no one seems to care. I spent too much time trying to educate them on how a St. Regis is supposed to work, the managers dont really care. There is no minibar in your room, no bar snacks —though these are extras, at the very least, clean my room.

Staying here and… whew. This place is a disaster. But honestly? One small change could fix almost everything. I thought a few days in Aruba might be a nice reset. I was wrong. I cannot wait to leave. 🛫 ⸻ Service The staff is mostly enthusiastic—bless them—but wildly undertrained. There’s a lot of smiling, not a lot of execution and follow through. You have to beg and tip multiple times to get the basics! I can’t be bothered. Check-in was a sluggish ordeal. Only two guests were ahead of us, but it somehow took 45 minutes. I was offered welcome champagne by the gentleman in the lobby, which was lovely—until I saw the guests behind us weren’t. Inconsistent much? That said, the representative that checked me in was incredible. A real asset to the property. She did a great job setting the tone and creating that “surprise and delight” feeling… unfortunately, the rest of the stay surprises were all tricks, no treats. Housekeeping and turndown? A disaster. Turndown isn’t even guaranteed. First night: skipped. Second night: requested it… still skipped. They also broke something in the bathroom and just left it—no maintenance call, no note. There was no soap in one bathroom, and not enough in the other. Because turndown never happened, I had to dip into my emergency stash of soap I packed with me. Yes, St. Regis Aruba will have you out here roughing it. But they don’t care. And that’s fine, because I don’t have to come back. ⸻ Room Now this is the one highlight: spacious, modern, and genuinely beautiful. If the rest of the hotel matched the room, we’d be having a different conversation. Still, a luxury hotel room with no soap at check-in? Come on. ⸻ Dining Breakfast is included with my stay, but unlike at other properties, you can’t use the credit for à la carte. Buffet only. This is more obnoxious than I can even verbalize. And the buffet was both bad tasting and dirty. To be fair, part of the problem is the guests—some were reusing plates for refills like it was their cousin’s backyard cookout. Still, it falls on the hotel to manage that, and they didn’t. One incredible staff member did eventually clear the plates from my table, but it took a while. He was a gem in a sea of chaos. As for restaurant options: • A Japanese restaurant (Akira spelling?) on the 12th floor that only opens for dinner. • Salt (spelling?), which handles all other meals. Pro tip: Salt doesn’t allow indoor seating for lunch, which seems to upset many. I personally don’t care, but it’s a weird choice. • A small sushi outpost near the lobby bar By Day 2, the food was repetitive, bland, and uninspired. Other guests I spoke with had the same complaint—so it wasn’t just me being picky. Speaking of the lobby bar, it does not open until AFTER 5:00 p.m. (17:00), which is insane. That should open no later than 2:00 p.m. ⸻ Beach & Drinks Beach service is glacially slow, and the drinks? Suspiciously weak. Rumor has it they’re having trouble getting liquor deliveries, so maybe they’re rati

They dont even have a garbage basket in roll. Checked in today. Called twice about that. No service at beach. I was my own waitress. Awful. We had rooms at marriott but my husband insisted on st Regis experience. A days inn would be better. Horrified.

Brand new hotel still has a way to go before it could remotely be considered close to 5 star. Service is slow and/or nonexistent. The hotel feels like it has the shell/potential of a luxury resort, and some of its staff certainly acts the part, but they don’t come through where it counts. The phone calls don’t get answered, we called and asked for items like pillows and had to call twice to follow up until they stopped answering the phone. In terms of Decor/comfort throughout the property, this property cuts way too many corners making it feel more 3.5-4 star.

We just spent a wonderful week at the St. Regis Aruba and found the property to be beautiful and our suites to be spectacular with wonderful ocean views from both balconies. Staff at the restaurants, front desk, bell staff, pool and beach were top notch and we had no issues at all. I would like to mention many names but in particular Justin at the beach and pool as well as Catherine made us feel so welcome and looked after. The General Manager, Oliver Reschreiter, came by several times to be sure we were well taken care of . I would definitely recommend this hotel and we will return on our next trip to this beautiful island!