# Aruba week @ Costa Linda BR



## jaym (Apr 16, 2013)

My wife and I just returned from a great week in Aruba. We spent our first week at Costa Linda on beautiful Eagle Beach and several days at the Marriott Surf Club on Palm Beach.
As many already know, there is a vast difference between these resorts, each having its own pros and cons.
We really enjoyed the location of CLBR and they do a great job maintaining the pool area and resort grounds. Most of the staff was fantastic, many great people there that work diligently to maintain the property. Often, as I sat by the pool area, I watched the groundkeepers and maintenance crews and they were quite thorough.
One complaint, and I still am puzzled by this is the check-out process they have at CLBR. I feel we had a problem that could have been avoided.
Check-out is Friday at noon. We packed our car early, leaving a few personal items, eyeglasses, souveniers, books and went to breakfast on Friday morning, returning about 10AM to collect our remaining belongings to checkout. When we got to our room the door was opened, towels stacked on the floor, bags of trash in the kitchen and most of our stuff on the kitchen table. We had to go in the trash to find some magazines my wife had for the plan ride and a souvenier in a brown bag!? Why did they do this, I still don't have an answer. 
All they told us was they intend to get a jump on the housekeeping and often open rooms to clear. Huh? we had two hours and all they had to do was inquire at the front desk and ask if our keys were turned in to desk, checked out....


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## Larry (Apr 16, 2013)

jaym said:


> My wife and I just returned from a great week in Aruba. We spent our first week at Costa Linda on beautiful Eagle Beach and several days at the Marriott Surf Club on Palm Beach.
> As many already know, there is a vast difference between these resorts, each having its own pros and cons.
> We really enjoyed the location of CLBR and they do a great job maintaining the pool area and resort grounds. Most of the staff was fantastic, many great people there that work diligently to maintain the property. Often, as I sat by the pool area, I watched the groundkeepers and maintenance crews and they were quite thorough.
> One complaint, and I still am puzzled by this is the check-out process they have at CLBR. I feel we had a problem that could have been avoided.
> ...



Sorry for what happened but it appears to be a problem with housekeeping for your unit as I have several friends who own there and never heard of this happening.

At least they let you check out at 12:00 noon as do most timeshares in Aruba. I own at several timeshares in Aruba including Marriott. One of my complaints about Marriott is there check out is 10:00 AM and not any later.


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## jaym (Apr 17, 2013)

Larry said:


> Sorry for what happened but it appears to be a problem with housekeeping for your unit as I have several friends who own there and never heard of this happening.
> 
> At least they let you check out at 12:00 noon as do most timeshares in Aruba. I own at several timeshares in Aruba including Marriott. One of my complaints about Marriott is there check out is 10:00 AM and not any later.



Larry-
 For the most part, we did enjoy our week at CLBR and certainly would consider a return visit again sometime. There seem to be a couple of minor and needless issues, in addition to the aggressive check-out policy. 
As you can imagine, it is unsettling to find your unit door open a full two hours before the the designated 12:00pm check-out time for guests.
All we got was a defensive explanation and grudging apology ("sorry but we need to clean the rooms on Friday"....and "guests leave items all the time") from the Housekeeping Supervisor. 
Front Desk staff seemed indifferent to my concerns about a possible loss of my eyeglasses, wife's sneakers, souvenirs, small tote bag, books, etc. At least we got our luggage out of there earlier, before breakfast..... 

Also, early in the week we ran out of paper towels and I requested a replacement roll. I was admonished by the maid that knocked on the door and told that guests get one roll per week, per unit! 
Like all guests, I would hope that paying an Occupancy room tax of almost $25.00 per day would cover not just the energy surcharge, but also minor incidentals such as paper goods, i.e., toilet paper, tissues, soaps.
Marriott charges us about $11.00 per day surcharge at MSU and you can request more room supplies to be comfortable during your stay, no problem, no admonishment added....I felt like this was a small request to make, perhaps some cost related concern about paper towels or other problem that they have with certain supplies.

Another issue we encountered was the crazy chair grab that commences shortly after 6:00AM?! Some guests dominated their "designated" spot by the pool all week, holding court in exactly the same poolside location everyday we were there....seemed a little unfair and possessive. 
We got there after 8:00AM or so one morning and had few choices, ended up on the pool periphery in chairs behind the Waters Edge restaurant until afternoon.
Can't help but wonder if these minor issues couldn't be reviewed by Board or resort managers to improve the overall guest experience....might be wishful thinking on my part. We were cooperative and considerate of others while there and just wanted to enjoy ourselves....


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## lvhmbh (Apr 17, 2013)

What was your unit number?  I am a regular on the Costa Linda owner's forums and I'd like to address this OR send an e-mail privately to management.  This should NOT have happened.  Thanks, Linda


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## jaym (Apr 17, 2013)

lvhmbh said:


> What was your unit number?  I am a regular on the Costa Linda owner's forums and I'd like to address this OR send an e-mail privately to management.  This should NOT have happened.  Thanks, Linda



Rented my week from Board member, Keith Hendrickson. Although I have not contacted him at this time with feedback pertaining to our stay in #4005.

As you share our feelings, things like this should not occur to owners or their guest rentals. 

But we felt limited in ways to try to convince the resort staff/management that their policies should be reviewed. At the very least, they made a mistake with us by not verifying the unit was no longer occupied.


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## ilene13 (Apr 17, 2013)

Larry said:


> Sorry for what happened but it appears to be a problem with housekeeping for your unit as I have several friends who own there and never heard of this happening.
> 
> At least they let you check out at 12:00 noon as do most timeshares in Aruba. I own at several timeshares in Aruba including Marriott. One of my complaints about Marriott is there check out is 10:00 AM and not any later.



Marriott will give you a late check out if it is requested.  We usually get until noon.


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## sun&fun (Apr 17, 2013)

I agree with Linda that CLBR management should be told that housekeeping staff made an error in starting to clean your room before you had checked out. We own at the resort and have never had that happen. On occasion I have told housekeeping that they could begin working on the room early and our things were never disturbed. But that option should be at the invitation of the guest not the staff. I don't recall ever being chastised when we asked for basic supplies to be replenished either. Someone needs some customer service training. 

Keith is a very responsive board member and I think you should let him know about  your experience.


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## GregT (Apr 19, 2013)

I am glad that you enjoyed both properties.  Can I ask you to provide a little more comparison on the experience at the two properties, as Costa Linda has also caught my eye as a property of interest, and I am thinking about Costa Linda, Playa Linda or Aruba Surf Club on my next trip. 

Thanks very much!

Greg


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## cushetunk (Apr 20, 2013)

*Checkout issue*

To Jaym,

I am truly sorry you had a problem while staying at the Costa Linda.  I was told by another member who read it on the bb about your issue. I wish you had contacted me upon your return.  
After I found out about your issue during checkout, I contacted the GM at the resort and explained it to him.  I told him there was a slip up regarding the House Keeping process. 
He said he would investigate and talk to the HK people involved to reaffirm the procedures for entering a room on Fridays to start cleaning before the guest has checked out at the front desk. 

Later that day he contacted me via Email and said he covered the process for Friday cleaning for guests checking out. He said it should not have happened, apologized and said the issue has been corrected.

I hope you will return to our resort in the near future. It is one of the best properties on the Island.


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## jaym (Apr 22, 2013)

cushetunk said:


> To Jaym,
> 
> I am truly sorry you had a problem while staying at the Costa Linda.  I was told by another member who read it on the bb about your issue. I wish you had contacted me upon your return.
> After I found out about your issue during checkout, I contacted the GM at the resort and explained it to him.  I told him there was a slip up regarding the House Keeping process.
> ...



Keith-
 Thank you for contacting me here. I know that TUG has a great number of CLBR owners and wanted to get their opinion and comments on this issue. 

Sounds like most others here have not experienced what we did regarding checkout. Very unsettling to find the room door opened upon our return at 10AM!?
I had planned on sending you a separate email to your Yahoo! address. I will do so soon....thanks.


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## jaym (Apr 22, 2013)

GregT said:


> I am glad that you enjoyed both properties.  Can I ask you to provide a little more comparison on the experience at the two properties, as Costa Linda has also caught my eye as a property of interest, and I am thinking about Costa Linda, Playa Linda or Aruba Surf Club on my next trip.
> 
> Thanks very much!
> 
> Greg



Greg-
 I can tell you that both resorts are great in their own way, mostly pros and a few cons to each resort. We do like both, and despite the issues at CLBR, we would return there sometime.

Costa Linda Beach Resort (CLBR):
 Excellent location on Eagle Beach, well-kept property, very nicely equipped 2 BD units, recently renovated and comfortable units
 Our location was quiet at night, for the most part, just a little internal noise like toilet flush at 3AM or occasional odd hour neighbor noises 
 Mostly older crowd, a few families there during our week but I would assume many more during summer period
 Lots of activities for guests (if you like that), decent gym. We didn't eat at the resort so cannot comment on food quality or experience. There are quite a few nearby restaurant options
however.....
 High daily occupancy fees of almost $25 per day with only paid room wifi, limited free central lobby station for access (15 min.) but cost to print boarding passes
 Strange domination of poolside chairs by guests, chair grab begins around 6AM and as I mentioned above, many of the same folks occupied the exact same spot around the pool all week, seemed possessive and unfair to others.
 Paid washer/dryer on floor, not in room
 Bad checkout experience for us

Marriott Surf Club:
 Beautiful resort, expansive (OK, massive) great location, nice amenities, near many restaurants and shops at Palm Beach
 Free internet access, able to print boarding passes free, resort converting to wifi now so limitations in rooms unless using ethernet cable
 Lower surcharge, energy, about $11 per day
 Washer and dryers in 1 or 2 BD unit
 Adults only pool area > 21 yrs. (security monitored)
but....
 Really large resort, seems too big, and always a crowd....everywhere
 A lot of noise, it seemed at all hours, people talking loud (drinking) on balconies at night, around huge pool
 Chair grab here as well, there are just more to select, but you may be limited the later in the AM you arrive
 Hope this helps......


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## lvhmbh (Apr 22, 2013)

Well I used to be one of the people that had "my" space around the pool.  You cannot leave towels on seats until 8 a.m. BUT you can occupy the space as early as you want.   Some weeks (I was living at the resort) I would get specific palapas as I knew who would be down there.  There is no "fair" was to do it and we certainly don't want to sign up for space like some of the resorts.


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## Pappy Mentos (Apr 22, 2013)

Sorry to hear about your experience at Costa Linda. We just stayed there for the first time and enjoyed it immensely compared to the Divi locations where we stayed previously. As for the chair grab, its everywhere in Aruba, especially during high season. We watched people at CL put out their towels at 6 a.m., which is consistent with other resorts. Security is supposed to keep a schedule of who is using which palapa and remove items if unused for 2 hours, but it wasn't enforced to our knowledge. Only once during the week did security ask for our room number.


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## gnipgnop (May 2, 2013)

We just returned from CL on April 26 and I must say security was at our hut every day asking for our room #.  They were visible all day long.  I respect that in a resort.  never saw any towels removed but they were watching.  We also had an incident at check out.  On Friday, our check out day we had a cab coming to pick us up at 11:30 a.m.   When we got up we finished packing our bags and ate breakfast.  We placed the 'DO NOT DISTURB" sign on our door and at 10 a.m. housekeeping unlocked our door and walked right in.  We were shocked to see someone standing in our room.  What if we were doing something personal   that would really have been embarrassing.  She said she was just checking to see what time we were leaving.  Really felt like the "bum's rush".  But we did love the resort and hopefully we will return.


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