Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club

This is a typical Marriott Vacation Club Condo Resort setting. Rooms are typical of Marriott. Good sized, well appointed with amenities and cookware. Everything you need to stay in a condo with a washer and dryer, dishwasher. Plus the setting of a resort with restaurant, bar, activity center, gym and concierge desk, pool table, pools. Lazy River. I cannot emphasized how much time I spent in the lazy river. Go when it's quiet and you can fall asleep floating around. So cool. Did a drink class with the Activity Center and learned the Aruba Ariba and got to drink a few. Staff are great and drinks are good. Bar food during the day was good a as well. The Iguanas are so cool. You can go next-door to the Marriott Sands and watch staff feeding them. There were SO many Iguanas of colors and sizes. No problems during our stay and would gladly return.

The ocean club is like our second home after going there for many years. The rooms are extremely clean and comfortable as the photos will show. There is a very functional kitchen that allows eating in rather than going out every night. The bed was a king and very comfortable, and any issues with being provided towels or linens and some time ago. This was a pandemic issue. Housekeeping comes twice per week and you have the option to pay for it if you want more. There is a laundry room on each floor with no charge. There are Keurig coffee makers in the suites. The grounds are beautiful with many species of plants and the other present iguanas that just wanna be left alone and show off for you. The birds are spectacular as well, look for the Aruin ring eyed pigeons. That is the name of the species and you should be able to find one. There is a selection of restaurants on premises, the main one being Malmok which has outdoor dining as well as bar seating and pool bar seating, which is our favorite. The menu is extensive for non-vegetarians, vegetarians and vegans. The bartenders and wait staff have been there for years and greet us warmly. Our favorite are the fish tacos, but please ask for some papaya hot sauce on the side. The other restaurant on site is Campeones (cleverly renamed from champions when it was a sports bar). All you can eat chips and salsa and margaritas that are not all you can drink! The lobby and public areas are also extremely clean and well kept. There are a number of stores with some grocery items, alcohol, souvenirs, and the ocean Café gelato in particular is not to be missed. The pool is lovely, but will be closing for renovations this fall so please check. There are fitness classes and pool classes. Getting chairs at the pool can be difficult depending on the time of year. In April, it was much easier than it had been earlier in the winter on prior years. In general and the busier times you do need to get up early and claim your chairs. The Palapas on the beach are reserved via a webpage and that is fairly easy. There is a charge for the Palapas. What else can I tell you except to go and enjoy.

Our premier vacation experience planner, Ludwig Croes, was simply the most friendly and helpful person during our entire week in Aruba. He remembered our names and had an infectious smile and warm personality. He booked all our dinner reservations and even told everyone it was our 40th Anniversary so each restaurant did something special for us. Claudia Simmons, Master Sales Executive with the Marriott Aruba Vacation Club did our presentation and she was fabulous as well! Knowledgeable, warm, caring and not pushy. We loved her presentation!