# Just got another phenomenal trade!



## classiclincoln (Feb 15, 2018)

_Pending confirmation:
_
This afternoon I traded our 1 BR week 49 Renaissance Aruba for a 1 BR week 52 Royal Palm Club at the RIU in Aruba.  I couldn't believe it!!

So, we'll be at the RIU from 12/28 to 1/4 and then shoot over to the condo until the end of March.

What a great use of our Ren week!!


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## Quimby4 (Feb 17, 2018)

Is the Royal Palm  Club All Inclusive since the RIU is AI?
What do you love about the Royal Palm Club?
New Aruba traveler here


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## rboesl (Feb 17, 2018)

I don't get it. What's the attraction of the RIU? The first time we stayed in Aruba we stayed at the RIU. It was nice. Food was good but not special. No kitchen facilities in the room and no laundry facilities at the resort at all. Staff directed us to a laundromat that out of business.


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## ilene13 (Feb 17, 2018)

Our friends have owned at the Royal Palm Club for over 25 years.  When the RIU took over the property they have treated the timeshare owners like stepchildren. IMHO THE units are ok, but not great.  We own at the Marriott and they are ar superior.  You do not have to do AI at the timeshare.


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## classiclincoln (Feb 17, 2018)

Never been to the RIU and the only reason we are staying there is because we were able to grab the exchange.  The fees on my Ren Aruba are  under $750, so it's a great trade.  It will also give us an extra week on the front end of our 3 month stay at the condo.

Also, we don't consider ourselves "tourists" since we're staying for 3 months.  More like part time residents, so I don't really care about how the RIU treats the TS guests....


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## Quimby4 (Feb 18, 2018)

ilene13 said:


> Our friends have owned at the Royal Palm Club for over 25 years.  When the RIU took over the property they have treated the timeshare owners like stepchildren. IMHO THE units are ok, but not great.  We own at the Marriott and they are ar superior.  You do not have to do AI at the timeshare.


 Is there much of a difference between Marriott Surf vs Ocean Club? I own a 2 bedroom Marriott so would like to trade into Aruba soon. Thx


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## ilene13 (Feb 18, 2018)

The Surf Club is larger than the OC.  The SC has the lazy river pool.  The SC has washers and dryers in the units the OC has them on each floor.  We own at the OC and we love it.  We go weeks 51 and 52.  Although it is high season the SC is far more crowded because it’s a much larger property on a proportionally smaller property.  The OC has a larger beach front.  Both are nice and either is a great property.


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## classiclincoln (Feb 18, 2018)

The best advice I can give you if you want to trade to Aruba (or anyplace, really) is to book the highest demand week you can and put your request in early.  I think you can go 18 months in advance for outside the US.   The more resorts on the island you request, the better your chances are of getting an exchange.  

That worked for us for over 10 years.


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## classiclincoln (Dec 28, 2018)

So we checked in today at the RIU and it IS very obvious that the resort treats the timeshare owners like the red headed step child.  The 35 or so timeshares are all ocean front, which is super.  We got a first floor unit (170) which was super; you walk out the door (no slider), down three steps onto a fenced in astroturf lawn, out the gate right onto the beach.  That's nice!  

We walked into the lobby which was very fancy; high ceilings with a stained glass area.  Nice furniture, large, kinda opulent.  Went to the front desk to check in and were told to go to the desk all the way on the other side of the lobby, tucked away in the corner next to the activity and car rental company desks.  Don't get me wrong; they were all friendly, but the time share check in desk was kinda out of sight.  We were offered the AI plan and didn't even ask how much since we had reservations for the entire week.  We did see that we could buy "tickets" for breakfast ($25), lunch ($35), dinner ($55) or for all day ($95) but again, had no interest.  We inquired about drinks at the beach & lobby bar, and were told that we could pre pay $50 and each time we ordered a drink, that would be deducted from the pre payment.  We did that, just in case we wanted drinks while here.  Any unused prepayment money would be credited back to our card.  Actually, the $95 daily meal plan wasn't horrible, but not for us.

To get to the unit, we had to go out of the main building, into one building, out that one, along the pool, then into a second building.  On the way, I noticed many of the room number signs were broken and the hall was scraped up from luggage or luggage carts hitting the walls.  Obviously, minimal maintenance was done.  When we got in the room, we immediately noticed is old, outdated, very dark and stuffy.  Old furniture, and the pull out sofa was worse than anything we have ever seen in all our travels.

Overall, not bad; the proximity to the beach and first floor location makes up for the rest, especially since we don't spend all that much time in the room.  Still a great trade, considering what we gave up.  Next week we head over to the condo until the end of March.  That's when we'll really feel at home!


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## pedro47 (Dec 29, 2018)

Sounds liked someone is going to a fabulous time in Aruba from December 2018 until March 2019. Just enjoy the sun and sand.


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## classiclincoln (Jan 6, 2019)

Made it to the condo and have pretty much unpacked and gotten most of the shopping done.  Posted my review of the RIU on the Marketplace, Redweek and Tripadvisor.


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## MabelP (Jan 6, 2019)

Have a blast on this wonderful vacation! Don't you just love Aruba?!!!


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## classiclincoln (Jan 7, 2019)

MabelP said:


> Have a blast on this wonderful vacation! Don't you just love Aruba?!!!



Thanks, and yes, that's why we bought here!


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## mdurette (Jan 8, 2019)

classiclincoln said:


> Made it to the condo and have pretty much unpacked and gotten most of the shopping done.  Posted my review of the RIU on the Marketplace, Redweek and Tripadvisor.



Could you cut and paste the review into the TUG review section?


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## classiclincoln (Jan 8, 2019)

mdurette said:


> Could you cut and paste the review into the TUG review section?



Posted my review of the RIU on the Marketplace, Redweek and Tripadvisor.


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## mdurette (Jan 9, 2019)

classiclincoln said:


> Posted my review of the RIU on the Marketplace, Redweek and Tripadvisor.



Sorry, my bad....you did say marketplace.   thanks!


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