SURF CLUB and OC owners- let Marriot know how we feel

I apologize for starting a new thread but I wanted to attract attention to this thread; I am pretty upset and I hope others will join me and let management know that their new palapa policy of morning and afternoon reservations (only half day availability), all made in advance and for a fee, is NOT acceptable to the majority of owners!

It is apparent that many people are VERY upset with the new palapa policy. As per my correspondence with the Vice President of the BOD, the Boards of the OC and the SC have adopted a new palapa policy under the mistaken impression that this works best for most people.

I have been a huge advocate for the Surf Club but I am more than a little upset over this new policy. While the old system wasn't ideal, at least I knew that with a little inconvenience I would have a great vacation.

Here is an excerpt of what I sent to the President and VP of the BOD and the manager:
There are several problems that I see with the new policy:
-instead of lining up before 7:30, people will be standing on line by 8 or so in the hopes of reserving palapas at 10AM. Lines will again form before 1 to reserve for the afternoon's use. So- instead of standing on line once early in the morning, I can look forward to someone having to stand on line for a good part of the day. Alternately, my use of the beach will be limited to half the day, having to leave at 1:00 because we don't like to burn and I have elderly parents. My mother is on medication which makes her sun-sensitive and she must not lie out in the sun.
-as happened last year, when I arrived on Sunday all the palapas were reserved until Wednesday by people who had arrived in advance and/or were there since the previous week. At least I knew with a bit of inconvenience I would be able to get one the next morning. Under this new system, I would not have been able to enjoy the beach any morning for half the week. In fact, I was only able to secure an advance reservation for 3 days when I was there in January. That means, under the new system, I would only have been able to enjoy the beach for 3 days out of a week's stay, and the likelihood is that I would only have been able to enjoy the beach for half a day for each of those 3 days. If I was lucky I would have gotten to again stand in line at 11 or 12 o'oclock to have the "privelege" of my family staying on the beach for the day and, if I was lucky, we would all get to
move our lounges and belongings to a different location.
- I am not even going to address the issue of cost, except in passing to say that we paid a lot of money to buy at the Surf Club and further support the facility with our annual maintenance fees and purchases while we are there, along with compensation (tipping) to the staff for services rendered. Forcing people to pay for palapa use is not fair; the system you are imposing imposes not one, but TWO rental fees per day on anyone "lucky" enough to get one for both the morning and afternoon.

I hope others will join me in letting them know how we feel about this new system. If me stay mute then nothing will change. E-mails for the personnel can be found on: http://www.arubaoceanclub.com/pages/contact.html

Please note- subsequent to this inital post they have put the new policy in writing on the website and, although I was told in an e-mail that the Boards of both the OC and SC had decided it was the best policy, the new policy only applies to the SC. I don't want to mislead anybody.

I have also sent an e-mail to Michael Reilly voicing my extreme displeasure with this new policy. Here's an earlier TUG posting about my displeasure. In re-reading the original post, it appears the new palapa policy only allows you to reserve 1 shift per villa. You have a choice of reserving a.m. or p.m., but not both...totally unacceptable to me. I asked Reilly to send me a copy of the new policy...will see what he says.

Quote:
Originally Posted by irish
from what i understand, this is a trial period for a future implementation. as the surf club comes to completion, the beach area will not be able to hold all the guests requiring palapas. so to accomodate all the requests, they are trying out this system to see if it works. if so, it will become the new way of regulating palapa use.

IngridN posted: Interesting...when we bought in Aruba, that was THE issue of concern for us. Guess what the salesperson repeatedly assured us...yep, we were assured that the beach would have sufficient palapas and could accommodate everyone once the resort was completed and the docks moved!

I realize that this may not be of concern to everyone and some will think I'm over-reacting, but to us it's a huge deal given that we go to Aruba for 2 weeks in early May to regnerate from stressful jobs. The only thing we do is sit under the palapa (on the beach; we're not pool people) all day and catch up on our reading with a couple of snorkeling excursions thrown in. I'm on vacation and don't want to watch the clock and move come 1:00pm. We'll just have to rent out our Aruba unit and find somewhere else to vacation. Fortunately, we do travel "off season" so, hopefully, they will not need to implement this policy except during peak season. I hope this doesn't come to pass as we love Aruba and want to continue to go each year.

What I don't understand is why Marriott thinks this will end the queues...even in May with palapas currently available at any time of the day, folks queued up beginning at 6:00am to get a front row palapa! DH rises before the crack of dawn, so didn't mind queueing up, but was never down early enough to get a front row palapa!

Ingrid

Ingrid,

Lets just assume most people do like the new system. Because you don't, do you think they should change it ? They would be stupid not to do what the masses want but even if they do, probably 1/3 of the people won't be happy.

IngridN said:

I have also sent an e-mail to Michael Reilly voicing my extreme displeasure with this new policy. Here's an earlier TUG posting about my displeasure. In re-reading the original post, it appears the new palapa policy only allows you to reserve 1 shift per villa. You have a choice of reserving a.m. or p.m., but not both...totally unacceptable to me. I asked Reilly to send me a copy of the new policy...will see what he says.

Quote:
Originally Posted by irish
from what i understand, this is a trial period for a future implementation. as the surf club comes to completion, the beach area will not be able to hold all the guests requiring palapas. so to accomodate all the requests, they are trying out this system to see if it works. if so, it will become the new way of regulating palapa use.

IngridN posted: Interesting...when we bought in Aruba, that was THE issue of concern for us. Guess what the salesperson repeatedly assured us...yep, we were assured that the beach would have sufficient palapas and could accommodate everyone once the resort was completed and the docks moved!

I realize that this may not be of concern to everyone and some will think I'm over-reacting, but to us it's a huge deal given that we go to Aruba for 2 weeks in early May to regnerate from stressful jobs. The only thing we do is sit under the palapa (on the beach; we're not pool people) all day and catch up on our reading with a couple of snorkeling excursions thrown in. I'm on vacation and don't want to watch the clock and move come 1:00pm. We'll just have to rent out our Aruba unit and find somewhere else to vacation. Fortunately, we do travel "off season" so, hopefully, they will not need to implement this policy except during peak season. I hope this doesn't come to pass as we love Aruba and want to continue to go each year.

What I don't understand is why Marriott thinks this will end the queues...even in May with palapas currently available at any time of the day, folks queued up beginning at 6:00am to get a front row palapa! DH rises before the crack of dawn, so didn't mind queueing up, but was never down early enough to get a front row palapa!

Ingrid

Click to expand...

IngridN said:

...Quote:
Originally Posted by irish
from what i understand, this is a trial period for a future implementation. as the surf club comes to completion, the beach area will not be able to hold all the guests requiring palapas. so to accomodate all the requests, they are trying out this system to see if it works. if so, it will become the new way of regulating palapa use.

IngridN posted: Interesting...when we bought in Aruba, that was THE issue of concern for us. Guess what the salesperson repeatedly assured us...yep, we were assured that the beach would have sufficient palapas and could accommodate everyone once the resort was completed and the docks moved!
...Ingrid

Click to expand...

Seems like this is the critical issue. If there is insufficient beach space then they overbuilt the resort. Since the physical constraints are a given, then the only real solution is possibly some sort of rotation program so that all villas are given equal opportunity to use the beach.

Eric-
I think a pertinent point is that the owners were not consulted. How can they claim that "the system works very well for the most people" (and I am quoting what was written to me) when they have not polled the owners. If most people were happy with it (which I dount) then, as you implied, the rest of us would have to accept it. BUT this is a huge change on a critical issue and the owners were not consulted as to their preferences.

I am sure there were MANY owner that were onsite before the change, that gave their opinion. I am not sure why you would think they weren't. Marriott and any company is in the buisness to make the masses happy so there would be no advantage to make any changes without having a good amount of feedback that its a better choice. What did you want a letter ? Then when the HOA bill for mailing was $10,000, owners would complain about that.
I am not picking on you but with any timeshare everyone who does n't like something says 'change it". Comapnies will change it if MOST people agree. If you are not th the "most", you need to learn to live with it.

m61376 said:

Eric-
I think a pertinent point is that the owners were not consulted. How can they claim that "the system works very well for the most people" (and I am quoting what was written to me) when they have not polled the owners. If most people were happy with it (which I dount) then, as you implied, the rest of us would have to accept it. BUT this is a huge change on a critical issue and the owners were not consulted as to their preferences.

Click to expand...

This new solution is stupid. We were there just recently and standing on lines twice was a major pain. And I hated to PAY to sit under the Palapas because Marriott made us. Eventually we just snuck onto the hotel property and enjoyed their palapa and drank pina coladas and free of charge. I don't feel badly about doing that either since Marriott's idea to build a gigantic resort, with thousand of people, with a tiny beach, just doesn't make sense.

Thank you, icydog, well said. I'm sure DH would complain if I made him stand in line 2x day :hysterical: !

Eric, Aruba is a beach destination, not a cultural destination. We've explored the island and other than a couple of snorkeling excursions to DePalm, vegging on the beach is my idea of what Aruba is all about. I mean, there's only so much jewelry one can buy...and that only covers one afternoon. Oh, and I was on site before the change and I wasn't asked for my opinion...in fact I'm on site every year and I was never asked for my opinion.

I'll wait this out and if the change is permanent, we bought early enough that dumping it would get our $ back. I love Aruba and if this change is permanent will check out some of the smaller resorts on Eagle Beach and buy there. We all have different criteria for a fabulous vacation experience and in Aruba vegging on the beach without playing musical chairs is ours. To each his own.

In hindsight, we should have insisted on seeing the plans and having DH do the math on beach to guest ratio.

Eric said:

I am sure there were MANY owner that were onsite before the change, that gave their opinion. I am not sure why you would think they weren't. Marriott and any company is in the buisness to make the masses happy so there would be no advantage to make any changes without having a good amount of feedback that its a better choice. What did you want a letter ? Then when the HOA bill for mailing was $10,000, owners would complain about that.
I am not picking on you but with any timeshare everyone who does n't like something says 'change it". Comapnies will change it if MOST people agree. If you are not th the "most", you need to learn to live with it.

Click to expand...

My point is- how do they know that "most" people agree and like this solution. Unless they have actually polled the owners they cannot possibly know what "most" people feel.

I am not saying the old system was ideal, but I really feel this one is much worse. Maybe my opinion is shared by "most"- how do they know if they don't bother to ask?

THE PURPOSE OF MY POST IS TO LET THE MARRIOTT OFFICIALS MAKING THE DECISION REALIZE THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE UNHAPPY WITH THEIR DECISION, and that perhaps their assumption that "most" people were happy with it was wrong. The only way to efectuate a change is to let them know how you feel.

Maybe when they polled "Most People" they were polling their staff and/or Marriott who gets 2x the $ for this improvement.

There are several ways to consider the Boards' (both the AOC and ASC) contention that the management update they received indicated that this system worked well for the most people. One is, as suggested above, that it is purely a money-making decision. The other is that they are under the mistaken assumption after talking with a limited number of owners that this is a good idea.

Whether their motivation was to improve things (which I am hopeful it was) or purely monetary (which others feel it is and, since I don't know, am reserving comment on), the end result is the same. Owners who are unhappy need to let the management know. Either way, if they get enough adverse publicity they will likely reconsider, whether it is in an effort to keep their owners happy (which I would hope is the case) or to avoid adverse publicity and bad-mouthing of the resort, which would affect their bottom line since it is still in active sales.

I know, personally, I loved our visit there so much I was toying with perhaps another purchase. Wouldn't consider it if this policy remains in effect. If others feel as strongly as I do, we need to let them know so they don't remain under the misimpressions that "most" people like the new policy.

If this new solution gives more people with 4 hrs of use, vs. less people of all day use, I would vote for the more people with 4 hr use.

Regards.
Joe

Joe-

I understand your feelings- however, consider an alternate scenario: you arrive on Sunday afternoon for a Sun.-Sun. stay, and all the palapas are already booked until mid-week by people who were there since the previous week, or who booked Fri-Fri or Sat to Sat stays. Since there are no longer unreserved palapas that everyone has an equal chance to get every morning, those booking Sunday to Sunday have no chance of getting a palapa until mid-week at best.

When I arrived in Jan. on Sunday afternoon that was the scenario, but at least I had the option of getting one by going down early. That was when many people also opted to go down early to get one for free. Now that everyone has to pay anyway, people will likely just reserve them since they are no longer free and, in reality, you could get down there and find no or very limited availability all week the day that you arrive.

Given that people can reserve the palapas not only for that week (if they will be there for more than 2 weeks), which made it impossible to reserve a palapa until midweek under the old system, I foresee it being even worse under the new system, which is why I am so upset about it. Those coming down Sunday will likely be out of luck for a good part, and possibly most/all of the week.

What's a palapa, and how does it get everybody so worked up?
Why would somebody line up for one twice a day? Sounds like you might need palapa anonymous. ;-)

I'm new to this controversy, but it would seem to me that the old policy wasn't very good either. I have a problem with being able to reserve for more than a day at a time. Can you do that in the new system?, or is it a day at a time, now in 4 hr increments?

So to try to summerize and help me completely understand is the comparison;

old system - few free available daily, and others reservable for mulitple days/weeks for a fee, whereby freezing out later arriving travelers

new system - no more free ones, reserve daily in 4 hr increments for fee.

If this is correct, I vote for new.

Regards.
Joe

Bring your own

I to am a Surf Club owner who likes to spend a day going from the beach to the pool as well as trying out other beaches. I do not want to spend my vacation standing in line or being angry because I couldn't get a "hut". So, I brought my own. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4664262. This portable shelter was great. I could put it anywhere I wanted, it blocked the wind & sand, and it was easy to set up, take down and carry. I'll never waste my vacation worrying up the hut issue again, and I'll always have the best spot on the beach.

I would love to exchange next year to Aruba, not bothered which and will prob try to stay in Hotel for a week too. Although queueing (standing in line) is the National Sport of the British, I really don't want to spend a holiday waiting in a line or getting up at dawn to bag a place on the beach, so if all the palapas have gone, can you still get a chair round pool, or is it hard to get a seat there too? Would hate to travel all that way and find we can't sit out in sun.

Hope no one takes offence at this post, it just sounds like this may be quite a problem in Aruba, yet it is one of the places within Marriott family that I really would love to visit.

Lynne

Dear m61376,

RE:SURF CLUB and OC owners- let Marriot know how we feel

As of now only the Surf Club owners are affected, the Ocean Club owners are NOT subject to these rules.

If you read the new policy it is stated:
"...a new procedure which will help alleviate the inventory shortage until more Palapas are built..."
On the good side it looks like a temporary solution...

"...The palapas can be reserved for 2 days at a time. On the second day, another 2 days may be reserved if inventory is available..."
So even if you arrive on Sunday you will have a chance to reserve one for Tuesday or Wednesday.

"...Reservations for both shifts begin at 9:00am each morning at the Towel Hut on the beach..."

I'm also against any rental fee for the palapas but if they were to be free everyone would reserve one just in case they would need it...
A solution: I would like to see these fees refunded to the renters if the palapas are really used...:whoopie:

New Surf Club pricing: $5 or $10 (for the first two rows) per 4 hours shift.

At the Ocean Club the rental fees are as follow:
50% of the palapas can be reserve for $10/day or $15/day(for the first 2 rows)
The other 50% of the huts are distributed on a first come first serve basis at no charge.

I really don't think Marriott is doing the two palapas "shift" for greed.
They are just trying to alleviate the palapas burden.
Most of the palapas money goes toward reducing the maintenance fees anyway.

The sad part is that Marriott was very greedy when then decided to build such a BIG Surf Club.
They did it big not for the owners convenience but for the $$$.
Should Marriott have decided to put the owners first in their business vision, the Surf Club would have been five story lower and with only the first two buildings...
I don't think it was business wise for them to do that, because now we all know that they are choosing money over quality...
On the long term I'm not sure that it will be a profitable choice.

The whole palapas thing is just the consequence of their greed.
And I challenge anyone to prove me wrong.

MOXJO7282 said:

I'm new to this controversy, but it would seem to me that the old policy wasn't very good either. I have a problem with being able to reserve for more than a day at a time. Can you do that in the new system?, or is it a day at a time, now in 4 hr increments?

So to try to summerize and help me completely understand is the comparison;

old system - few free available daily, and others reservable for mulitple days/weeks for a fee, whereby freezing out later arriving travelers

new system - no more free ones, reserve daily in 4 hr increments for fee.

If this is correct, I vote for new.

Regards.
Joe

Click to expand...

Joe- if the policies were as you stated I might even agree with you- but that's not the case.

Under the old policy, half were reservable for free daily. Half could be reserved in advance for 2 days at a time. Advance reservations could be made from one week for the next, so that by the time a Sunday arrival came down the reservable units were reserved halfway through the week. However, half the palapas could be reserved, for free, the morning of use. Only half of the palapas were reservable in advance for a fee, so if you really wnated one you could always get up a little early and get one.

Under the new policy, all palapas can be reserved in advance for 2 days at a time for a fee for either the morning or afternoon. Those wishing to continue to use a palapa for the afternoon could stand in line and, beginning at 1 PM, they will let people reserve and pay again to use a different palapa for the afternoon.

Now that there are no free ones you can be sure that people will just reserve them in advance, so people coming down for a single week will be at a disadvantage and by the time Sunday, and likely even Sat. arrivals, come down the beginning of the week will be accounted for and there will be none left to reserve. So the likelihood is that if you come down later in the weekend you will not be able to reserve a palapa until mid-week, at the earliest.

Glaval- I see the new policy has been posted and you are correct in that it does not affect the OC. The reason why I initially included the OC in my post was that a Board member had e-mailed me and stated that the BOD of both the AOC and ASC had decided to change the policy, so I naturally assumed it affected both locations.

However, you are wrong in assuming that "even if you arrive on Sunday you will have a chance to reserve one for Tuesday or Wednesday." Each unit may only reserve a palapa for 2 days at a time, but necessarily only 2 days in advance. What that means is that, for example, you go down with a friend. They can reserve for Monday and Tuesday and you can reserve for Wed. and Thursday. You call could make these reservations on the Friday or Sat. you arrived- or even during the week before. Now- if I came down on Sunday that palapa would be spoken for until Friday...and, yes, there are multiple palapas but lots of owners doing this with their friends, since 2 couples can and do share one.

KatyJ said:

I to am a Surf Club owner who likes to spend a day going from the beach to the pool as well as trying out other beaches. I do not want to spend my vacation standing in line or being angry because I couldn't get a "hut". So, I brought my own. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4664262. This portable shelter was great. I could put it anywhere I wanted, it blocked the wind & sand, and it was easy to set up, take down and carry. I'll never waste my vacation worrying up the hut issue again, and I'll always have the best spot on the beach.

Click to expand...

ah, a portapalapa!

glaval
i agree with you on the point that the surf club was just built way to big. when they first started construction owners of the ocean club were offered preconstruction price. when i saw how many units they intended to build i did not purchase because i knew the property would just not accommodate that many people comfortably. now, as far as i know, this same system DOES NOT APPLY TO THE OCEAN CLUB. 50% free and 50% paid reservation for the whole day of use. if that changes, you can bet i will be one of the first to contact my HOA president, or i will sell my units and purchase on eagle beach. i am not aware of any other TIMESHARE RESORT charging for use of the palapas. yes, the big hotels do charge a fee, but not the t/s resorts. that may change when RUI opens. that is also a VERY LARGE property,but i believe they also have a very large beach area.

as far as income from palapas going to keep m/f's down, my m/f's increased by almost $200.00 this year. i don;t see any savings to me from palapas.

i think you are ABSOLUTELY correct that owners at the surf club should have been asked what they want BEFORE the rule went into effect. i'm not sure this is a MARRIOTT policy. it sounds like something the board members instituted. if they didn't, why the heck aren't the incensed by this action.

it will be interesting to see how this plays out. i do feel your pain and hope the solution you get is the one you are hoping for. i too am a beach person and i get up REALLY REALLY early to reserve my little peace of the beach.
good luck

this is a posting i just copied from one of the aruba boards.







Joined: 24 Jul 2003
Posts: 573
Location: Maryland

New postPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 9:32 am Post subject: Reply with quote
Below is a list of all the email addresses I have and have sent my concerns/complaints to. The last one is not a email address, its the link to the Marriott web site where you fill out a form w/ your comments and then it goes directly to Marriott customer service.

As for the entire party being present at once for wristbands, I read that was newly enacted as well...either on this board or another one. When they gave out the wristbands w/o everyone being present, the thought was that those bands could be used for people not staying at the SC or OC.....GEEZ, next they'll be asking for fingerprints.

Please, I implore everyone who has to be subjected to this BS to email, write, call, do whatever you can do to make them aware of our level of dissatisfaction. If anyone knows of more email addresses we can use, please post them. I have not been able to come up with any others.

Thanks so much.



michael.reilly@vacationclub.com< /a>
dirk.schavemaker@vacationclub. com
jim.shonkwiler@vacationclub.com< /a>
Customer.Relations@vacationc lub.com
orlando.vrolijk@marriotthotel s.com
https://marriott.com/suggest/suggest.mi

here is another:


Freshman


Joined: 08 Dec 2002
Posts: 20
Location: Atlanta, GA

New postPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:36 am Post subject: Reply with quote
OCEAN CLUB
Palapas (beach huts) Reservations
Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club & Aruba Surf Club owners and guests are able to rent or reserve the resort’s palapas. Fifty percent of these huts are available for reservations at a nominal fee; and the remaining 50% of the huts are distributed on a first come first serve basis at no charge. The reservation fee is set at US$15 per day for the first 2 front rows (half of the total front rows) and US$10 per day for the rest of the rows (half of the total). In order to accommodate all owners and give everyone a fair opportunity to use a hut, Ocean Club Owners are welcome to reserve a hut for a maximum of 3 days (of your choice) at a time and Surf Club owners are welcome to reserve a hut for a maximum of 2 days (of your choice). Please note that the reservation system is for guests who are on property - we do not take advance reservations. To distribute the huts on a consistent and fair basis, the odd numbered palapas are for reservation and the even numbered palapas are on a first come first serve basis. Any unreserved huts will be added to the pool and issued as mentioned above. Due to the high demand for palapas, please return your reservation card to the Towel Hut as a courtesy to others when you have finished occupying the palapas for the day. This will give the opportunity to others to enjoy the palapas for a short time.


SURF CLUB
Palapas (beach huts) Reservations
In response to your many comments concerning the Palapas on the beach at the Surf Club, we have implemented a new procedure which will help alleviate the inventory shortage until more Palapas are built. This policy which started on March 16, 2007 will remain in effect until further notice. The procedures for the Palapa reservations will be as follows:
There will be two (2) reservation shifts for the Palapas
a. Shift One * 7:00am to 1:00pmb. Shift Two * 1:00pm to end of day
There will be a charge for all palapas
Rows 1 & 2 - $10.00
All others - $5.00
Only one (1) reservation shift per day per unit will be permitted. However, if at 1:00pm not all the palapas are reserved and your AM shift has ended, you may visit the Towel Hut to reserve a palapa for the PM shift. The Beach Attendants will be glad to assist in moving you to your new palapa.
The palapas can be reserved for 2 days at a time. On the second day, another 2 days may be reserved if inventory is available.
Reservations for both shifts begin at 9:00am each morning at the Towel Hut on the beach.
If the reservation is for the AM shift, the palapa must be vacated at 1pm for the next reservation shift.
The two (2) hour occupancy requirement will be lifted for the palapas during the testing period.

Since there is not a ³First Come * First Served² palapa with this procedure, this eliminates the need for the owners/guests to rise early in the morning to stand in line to reserve a palapa. This also increases the inventory of palapas available for use by a factor of two (2). We would like to re-emphasize that this policy is applicable to Aruba Surf Club only. We would also like to remind you that the B¹Mini¹s also provide shade for your time spent on the beach. Marriott is always trying to find ways of creating a more memorable experience for you while you are at home in Aruba and we hope this policy eliminates some of the stress that you have experienced in the past.



This is the wording on the Ocean Club / Surf Club website regarding the palapa situation. As of now they do not mention the same procedure for guests at the Ocean Club. As we own at the Ocean Club I hope they do not implement the same policy as the Surf Club.

I am going to email our board of directors voicing my concern.

m61376 said:

...Qlaval- I see the new policy has been posted and you are correct in that it does not affect the OC. The reason why I initially included the OC in my post was that a Board member had e-mailed me and stated that the BOD of both the AOC and ASC had decided to change the policy, so I naturally assumed it affected both locations.

However, you are wrong in assuming that "even if you arrive on Sunday you will have a chance to reserve one for Tuesday or Wednesday." Each unit may only reserve a palapa for 2 days at a time, but necessarily only 2 days in advance. ...

Click to expand...

I didn't notice that it wasn't necessarily for two days in advance...
You sure are right to be unsatisfied, have yourself heard loud and clear!
Good luck with your battle and I hope it will bring you satisfaction.

irish said:

"... i will sell my units and purchase on eagle beach.
...as far as income from palapas going to keep m/f's down, my m/f's increased by almost $200.00 this year. i don;t see any savings to me from palapas. ..."

Click to expand...

If they try that at the OC that wouldn't create one seller but two sellers...
I was thinking about buying two more weeks at the OC and finally decide to buy at the Renaissance instead...
Without the palapas the m/f would have increase to $250...

We stayed @ Marriott Aruba 6 years ago. It was obvious then that the place was crowded. Very crowded. Too many people, too little space on the beach and @ the pool. Since that time Marriott, has built another development. Why are you complaining? When you bought, you knew there was only X amount of beach space. Where did you think they were going to put everybody?? If you don't like it, sell.