Divi Village Golf & Beach Resort???

[kool_kat]

Hi all,

I snagged an exchange through RCI for a 3 bedroom here next summer. The problem is I am having trouble finding much info about this resort. Looking at their website they don't even list 3 bedrooms. Has anyone stayed in a 3 bedroom? Is is a 2 bedroom & 1 bedroom combined?

Also, I read the reviews & it seemed like the golf side was very nice, but the beach rooms were dated & tired. Does anyone know if all the rooms have now been renovated? Can I tell if I am going to be in the golf side vs. the beach side based on my exchange?

Any info anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, this will also be my family's first time to Aruba, so I would also love to hear tips for the island in general. I am 30 & taking my brother & his family (they have 2 small children) & my parents (mid-fifties).

Thanks is advance!
Kathryn

 

[Janann]

Just got back

We were at this resort in July. I still haven't posted my review, but hopefully I'll get it done within the next few days.

We were in a 2 br, which was a 1br with a studio unit. I'm a little confused about the 3 br too, as they aren't mentioned on Divi's website. I was never very clear about beach villas vs. golf villas. Maybe it is a reference to the view? There is one main building that faces towards the beach, but it is not beach front as there is a four lane road between the resort and the beach.

This was our second trip to Aruba. Some of the things we did included:

2 short visits to Arashi beach with our own snorkel gear
All day visit to DePalm Island
Afternoon snorkel tour with Jolly Pirates
2 visits to Pizza Bob's for dinner
Dinner at Casa Del Mar timeshare / Matthew's Restaurant for all you can eat ribs
Walked briefly around Oranjestad

We did our primary grocery shopping at Ling & Sons (biggest nearby grocery store) and some later in the week at Super Foods, which is a slightly smaller store and leans more towards Dutch foods.

We rented a car for most of the week from Hertz, which is on-site at Divi.

I'd be happy to answer questions about any of the above.

 

[Pappy Mentos]

Check your reservation

Your confusion is understandable as Divi owns multiple sites in Aruba and has combined newer construction with older sites. For example, in the high rise area, they own the Phoenix, which originally was comprised of a 14 floor tower and a seperate, 2 or 3 story stucture of villas, both buildings being built many years ago. A few years back they built four new 8 floor towers, which they call the Beach Villas at the Divi Aruba Phoenix. Its all one resort so trades in can be confusing.

The Divi Village Golf & Beach Resort also developed the same way. On the beach in the low rise area, Divi owns Divi Dutch Village, the Tamarijin and Divi All-Inclusive. Across the street was Divi Village. Several years back, Divi built The Links, a 9 hole golf course, next to Divi Village. They also constructed a series of buildings around the golf course that they called The Residences. I think they originally intended to sell the units as condos and timeshares. At least that was they way it was presented to us several years ago when we sat for a timeshare presentation. Thereafter, they combined Divi Village with The Residences and started calling these newly constructed buildings the Golf Villas and the entire resort Divi Village Golf & Beach Resort. The Golf Villas consist of one bed room and studio units, which are all lockoffs. Therefore, it is possible to get 3 units together, but it would be two, one-bedroom units and a studio.

If I recall correctly, Divi Vilage does have 3 bedroom units, so you should check with RCI or Divi to see where you are being placed. Divi Village and the Golf Villas are both across the street from the other 3 resorts, and only the other three resorts are directly on the beach. Divi does run shuttles/golf carts to the beach, as it can be a very hot 10-15 minute walk from some of the Golf Villas.

 

[kool_kat]

Thanks for the info - glad to see I'm not the only one confused. There is a separate location in RCI listed as simply "the village". I am wondering if that is to book into the older part & the one I booked into is the golf side.

I searched three bedrooms there & found a post in another forum where someone said their 3 bedroom was really a 1bed, studio, 1bed. That would be awesome to have all that space for the cost of a 3 bedroom.

 

[Janann]

I searched three bedrooms there & found a post in another forum where someone said their 3 bedroom was really a 1bed, studio, 1bed. That would be awesome to have all that space for the cost of a 3 bedroom.

That would be great, but you could lose track of all the bathrooms! The 1 br includes 1-3/4 baths! Also, the studio units are gigantic. One thing I didn't like though about the studio is that there is not a TV at the foot of the bed...the only TV is in the sitting area.

An issue with this room arrangement would be seating a big group, since the 1br and studio units only seat four at the dining table. Maybe one of the tables would fit through an adjoining door so that you could create a big table.

One more good thing: each unit will have a washer and dryer.

 

[lvhmbh]

Find answers to all questions at the forums at www.aruba-bb.com and www.aruba.com. The trip reports should be a big help but you can ask anything you want. They also have trip reports at visitaruba.com I read these boards quite frequently even when I was spending 7 months in Aruba at our timeshare. Someone will always (SanNic for example who is an author who lives in Savanetta near San Nicholas) come up with a new restaurant or little wonderful "dive". Linda