First and foremost, congrats on being close to ownership! Rooting for the sale to go well for you!
If you’ve been to the Ocean Club, then you should love the Surf Club. I think it has the best pool complex on the island. The beach can feel crowded, but we always use one of the palapas furthest from the water and haven't had any issues. Something almost nobody mentions is that the split-building design of the SC allows the wind to blow through the pool area so it doesn’t get so stinking hot. Another thing we found reassuring is that over the nine years we've been visiting the SC, we have seen improvements in activities, hard goods, HVAC, and grounds. The money we pay into the operational and reserve funds is being reinvested in the facilities and experience. Also, the walk to the restaurants takes all of about four minutes.
Not sure about occupancy being six. The lockoff has a queen and a sleeper sofa, and the 1BR has a king and a sleeper sofa in the living room.
If you’re buying a Gold week, my understanding — based on what I’ve heard from others and what I see on the MVC calendar — is that July and early August are the busiest. Also, “Jersey Week,” in early November. Schools are closed for four days, so everyone visits Aruba. We were there once that week, and it was very busy. Even the chairs in the shade were tagged every morning by 7 a.m.
I can tell you from our experience this year that October was pretty easy to book. We split our week and let friends use the lockoff. They didn’t pick a week until about five months out, and there were still options.
Here’s what the calendar looked like on April 1, and
here’s what it looked like on April 30. (Gold dates are available for check-in.)
The lockoff is how we were introduced to Aruba. Our friends who own invited us down to stay with them. We were hooked from Day One. We rented a Garden View lockoff three times and stayed with them one more time before buying. This year, to rent a GV lockoff was at least $600 more than the MF for an OV 2BR. That’s when I decided to buy, and I’m so glad I did.
I can’t begin to tell you how much better it was to have a full kitchen instead of just a mini-fridge, microwave, and bar sink. I prefer to have breakfast and lunch in the room, so the kitchen made it a million times easier. (The SC also has a bunch of gas grills around the property, so that’s an option as well. We grilled a few years ago, and there were some master grillers working their magic last week when we were there.) There is just so much more room with the 1BR, not to mention that we could pack a little less since we had the in-room washer and dryer. I couldn’t believe how much easier it was to be on vacation with added amenities and so much room to spread out and relax.
Anyway, I hope your purchase goes smoothly and you can join the SC family!