# Best and Worst Aruba Timeshare Tours



## Purseval (May 10, 2013)

Since we'll be in Aruba for a week we'll have plenty of free time. In Orlando and Vegas we like to use our down time taking timeshare tours so we can get free meals, gambling money, etc. What are the best timeshare tours in Aruba in terms of offers and what ones should we avoid? We aren't worried about high pressure sales tactics as long as we get something good in return. Thanks.


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## amycurl (May 10, 2013)

Worst--Caribbean Palm Village (avoid like the plague)
Best--Marriott


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## ilene13 (May 10, 2013)

Purseval said:


> Since we'll be in Aruba for a week we'll have plenty of free time. In Orlando and Vegas we like to use our down time taking timeshare tours so we can get free meals, gambling money, etc. What are the best timeshare tours in Aruba in terms of offers and what ones should we avoid? We aren't worried about high pressure sales tactics as long as we get something good in return. Thanks.



What a waste of time.  A week is not that long and there are things to do on the island rather than going on TS tours.  We spend two weeks there and I resent going to my annual update as an OC owner.


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## Larry (May 12, 2013)

The best is Marriott. When you come in from beach at Holiday side and get to Surf Club there is a Kiosk where the timeshare "princess" will make you an offer. Just say no to first offer and she will increase the offer. I was in Aruba for 23 days and really wanted to check out the Marriott. I am glad I did because once I compared the Surf Club to the Ocean Club I preferred the Ocean Club and eventually bought a resale Platinum week for a fraction of the Developer price.

The worst by far is the Occidental. The only reason we went was because the next day was supposed to rain which it did most of the day and I wanted to find out why their AI timeshare deal was so high. The saleslady I had was one of the worst ever and the entire program with their high fees, mediocre food and typical staff produced entertainment was a terrible deal. Don't know why anyone would ever buy there even resale as AI fee was not worth it.


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## Pappy Mentos (May 12, 2013)

Agree as to the Occidental. Breakfast was the buffet that is open to all AI guests, so we had to stand in line for nearly 30 minutes to get omelets. Tour ended with a drill sergeant badgering us for 30 minutes to buy. Gift for touring was a $100 certificate towards a dinner, so it really wasn't worth the 2.5 hours.

Best was LaCabana ten years ago which offered a huge buffet breakfast and a $200 certificate for Kay's. Sadly, when we returned a few years ago, it was coffee in the waiting area followed by $100 certificate for dinner. As for current promotions, I think Divi and Marriott are about the same.


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## falmouth3 (May 12, 2013)

The only one we were approached about was Divi.  The approach was on the street in the high rise area. We were staying at a Divi, which was fantastic, but we declined the sales pitch.


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## Purseval (May 13, 2013)

Sounds like the Marriott and Divi are the ones to go for, thanks for the tips.


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## Purseval (Sep 3, 2013)

As a followup, we ended up going on 2 tours.  The Occidental gave us lunch at their buffet, which was quite nice.  Tour and presentation itself took less than an hour and when we said we weren't interested she didn't even bother to show us a price sheet.  They had a list of gifts you could choose from like a day at their Spa, casino credits, dinners, sunset cruise, a 2-day car rental but we chose the 1 day Jeep rental.  Used it to take a tour of the back side of the island and make a grocery run.  Very nice.  I read in earlier posts that some people had trouble at the Occidental.  It was a slow season so nothing was crowded.  That may have been the difference.

The other tour we took was the Marriott.  Again it was very low pressure.  No meal or snacks, just ice water and coffee.  Their gift was $200 in slot machine play.  My wife used it and ended up with a bit under $100 cash by the time the credits ran out.


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