Just Back From Aruba

[Stoney01]

Just back from a week at the OC in Aruba. Weather was good. A little rainy, but that was mostly in the morning and had no effect on the day. Thanks to all Tuggers that have posted recently about their Aruba trips. We used a lot of advise on our trip and things went very smooth. Next trip we will definitely rent a vehicle earlier in the week. We waited until Friday and used if for the day and then to go to the airport on Sat. Would have liked to have had it for longer, but it did make for a lazy day milling about downtown before heading to the airport.

This was actually our second trip to Aruba and we made a return trip to El Gaucho and couldn't have been happier. That is one great steak! Other suggestions from Tuggers lead us to Madame Jeanettes and "WOW"! Excellent! Swiss Chalet was good but not as good as the two above. So many good places to go, so little time.

I realize that SC is newer than OC, but OC looks really dated. Rooms are nice but the hallways are awful. SC was really crowded, and although we were not using the pool area, I did wonder over to check it out during the day. OC was much less crowded during the day and that we enjoyed. The boom, boom, boom from Mamba(sp) beach club was annoying late into the night. Not sure if a problem at SC, but since it is closer, I would have to think so.

Jolly Pirate's crew did a great job on our snorkeling trip. Entertaining the kids was not a problem on that trip and I recommend it highly. Antilla Shipwreck is really amazing. Pretty darn good lunch too if you like ribs and chicken.

All in all a good trip and looking forward to exchanging in again in the future. We used our one bedroom lock-off from Harbor Lake and the exchange went through much quicker than I anticipated.

Thanks again to all Tuggers for tips and will be happy to answer any questions.

 

[mcm21078]

I don't think the Mamba beach music goes much past 11 at night???

Its never bothered us before.

 

[mish]

Aruba vacation

We stayed last month at the SC, and yes it was much more crowded than the OC. We were told that this was low season, I can't imagine how crowded it is during high season. Another great local place is the Pelican Bar which is on the pier to the left of the OC and SC. BEST ceviche I've ever had! The rest of their dinners were just as awesome, and the owner is very hands on/active with the customers.
We also decided that we should have rented a car earlier in the week. We did take a trip down to Baby Beach and other beaches at one end of the island, they were worth the drive. Some of the currents are pretty strong, so be careful with snorkeling and kids.
Dinner's were more expensive that what I anticipated, even though we were told prices were high. But the food was great wherever we ate. Can't wait to go back!

 

[Smooth Air]

Hi, Stoney,
I am glad that you enjoyed Aruba but am sorry to hear about the Moomba noise. The last time we stayed @ Marriott Ocean Club, the extremely loud music from Moomba continued until 1:00-1:30AM on Friday & Saturday and at least until midnight during the week. We arrived on a Sunday night & that night it also went until 1:00-1:30 AM. Marriott Ocean Club front desk told us there was some kind of an "event" being held that particular Sunday & that it is not always that noisy, that late, on Sunday. We were in a 2BR Oceanfront unit at Marriott Ocean Club located on the Southwest corner of the property...so, just about as close as you can get to Moomba from Marriott Ocean Club. From our balcony, we looked south down the beach to Moomba and Marriott Surf Club.The music blasted right into our villa & it was especially loud in the master bedroom portion of the villa. During the day, there was also very loud music from Moomba. It rained a couple of times when we were there & we wanted to sit on our covered balcony but could not b/c of the constant noise. It was also very noisy in the morning with music coming from the OC pool aerobics. All of the noise from Moomba & the OC pool blasted right onto our balcony.
The noise was intolerable.
This was in February, 2011.

During a prior visit to Marriott Ocean Club (2009) we stayed in a 2BR Oceanside (not Oceanfront) unit and it was nice & quiet. We enjoyed sitting on our balcony in the morning over coffer & in the evening for drinks. Because of the constantly loud music, we could not do that in the 2BR Oceanfront villa we had in February, 2011. We even wore earplugs but that did not solve the problem!! Marriott should replace all of the windows in the affected areas with sound proof glass such as what they have in airport hotels that are located very close to airport runways.

I would very much like to hear from others who stay, or have stayed, at Marriott Ocean Club regarding the Moomba noise issue and the OC pool aorobics loud music. In which part of the property do you stay? Can you hear the Moomba... Boom! Boom! Boom!.....& the loud OC pool music from your villa and balcony?

Looking forward to going back to Aruba and to Marriott Ocean Club but not if it is intolerably noisy.
Stoney. where was your villa located?