Aruba Surf Club questions

[blahblahblah]

Hi we just traded into a 3 bedroom at the Aruba Surf Club and had some questions before we leave for it:

1) It's a 3 bedroom unit. Is there a lock-off portion to this unit to where I could tell the staff to make separate, private, keys? One for the lock-off and one for the main suite. So that the lock-off guests cannot enter the main suite and vice-versa.

2) This is our first time to the Surf Club, can someone explain the "Palapa" and chair situation? I keep hearing about reservations/rentals. Do you have to pay for these chairs when you get there or what?

3) Are the 3 bedrooms located in one particular building/floor there? Any way for me to find out ahead of arrival where my unit will be located?

4) Does anyone have a floorplan detailing the 3 bedrooms? The only one I found (http://www.marriottvillas.com/common/mvillas/ebrochures/images/floorplans/ac/ac-floorplan-3br.jpg) is very small and blurry so I cant make out the details. I cant figure out where the external entrances would be/lock-offs etc.

5) If there's anything else anyone can advise me on/tell me about before we go (end of July) it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

 

[IslandJoe]

1. It does lockoff into a 2 bedroom and a studio.
3. The location of the 3 bedrooms is at the far end of the second building. There are 2 units on each floor.
4. I don't have a floor plan but the 2 bedroom is essentially the same as the other 2 bedroom units with the important difference that the 2nd bedroom has 2 double beds instead of a couch and bed. The studio side also differs in that the square footage is at least 50% greater in the living area which results in a comfortable rrom. Hope that helps.

 

[m61376]

To add to the above- when you look at the floor plan, the entrance to the suite is at the right angle where the two groups of rooms meet. If you lock the adjoining doors, that becomes the entrance for the two bedroom portion. If you follow the floor plan to the left, along the top of the studio portion, you will see another opening, which represents the entry door for the studio. So, guests can have separate entries, with the ability to keep the interior doors open or locked.

Half the palapas are available for advance reservations, 2 days at a time, for a cost of $15 for the first 2 rows and $10 elsewhere. The other half are available for daily reservations at no cost, but you do have to go down to reserve them early (I believe they open at 7:30, and the line starts beforehand). They have added many bimini chaises (chaises with canopies) and many people just use those. Chaises are abundant and free of charge. I unfortunately had to cancel my trip this year due to my father's death, so I haven't been there in a year and a half, but chaises by the beach were available through late morning, and then hard to find until mid afternoon.

If you prefer to sit by the pool in the morning, then you need to get down early if you want chaises by an umbrella. Unfortunately, like most other resorts, people tend to hog lounges/shade before they are ready to use them.

As for other things: bring down a few of those large inflatable tubes for the Lazy River. There is an air pump there for guest use. They do not supply the tubes and they are more expensive to buy down there.

Other than that- be prepared to have a great time- what a great trade! The 3 BR units are hard to trade into because they are generally locked off before depositing. Sounds like you got a great Flexchange trade.

 

[lll1929]

I have also been lucky to get a trade into a 3bdrm unit and will be staying in September. I emailed the hotel and found out the 3bdrms are partial oceanview. This is what I recieved from Marriott:

"At the Surf club we have 4 buildings. The 3 bedrooms are located in the second building. They start from the 4th floor and go up to the 14th floor. The 3 bedrooms are ocean/pool view and ocean/island view (meaning located on the outside part). "

You may want to place a request as to your preferred view.

 

[blahblahblah]

Thanks so much for both of your posts!

 

[blahblahblah]

I have also been lucky to get a trade into a 3bdrm unit and will be staying in September. I emailed the hotel and found out the 3bdrms are partial oceanview. This is what I recieved from Marriott:

"At the Surf club we have 4 buildings. The 3 bedrooms are located in the second building. They start from the 4th floor and go up to the 14th floor. The 3 bedrooms are ocean/pool view and ocean/island view (meaning located on the outside part). "

You may want to place a request as to your preferred view.

Hi Lora, how would you place a request for a preferred view? Everytime I call the property directly I just get bounced around and end up at someone's voicemail that never calls back.