Living thru Hell Week Aruba right now

[SueDonJ]

Before we go off on another wild tangent here - when this conversation starts on other websites TUG is usually mentioned as an info source and links to TUG threads may be included. It's not unusual, not automatically "trollish," for new posters to make their way to these threads.

 

[indyhorizons]

My apologies to the new poster. And welcome to Tug.

 

[TUGBrian]

Since this discussion is also going on in the mods forum to decide on things...ill ask you guys:

How do you know its one particular church/group/whatever that is causing all this trouble?

 

[Ridewithme38]

edited.......

 

[Saintsfanfl]

Since this discussion is also going on in the mods forum to decide on things...ill ask you guys:

How do you know its one particular church/group/whatever that is causing all this trouble?

I am speculating here but I am guessing some of the answers would require a delete. Wouldn't it be obvious though? It is a "together" group and they have planned activities like taking over the gym all during the same hour.

 

[Ridewithme38]

Since this discussion is also going on in the mods forum to decide on things...ill ask you guys:

How do you know its one particular church/group/whatever that is causing all this trouble?

Speculation based mainly on this website:
http://sephardicaruba.com/

It mentions a specific Rabbi to contact to go.

 

[TUGBrian]

Its not obvious to me, up until a few posts ago I thought this was still the NYC regents kids :lol:

 

[TUGBrian]

ok, i see the page...but nothing about them coming on this specific week?

I guess my point was are you guys sure this is one particular group representing said group? if so...I dont see any reason not to mention it if they are making it public anyway.

However, it is a stretch (and a violation of posting guidelines) to criticize an entire religion based on a small section of them being jackasses at a resort 1 week a year.

please keep that in mind.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

Its not obvious to me, up until a few posts ago I thought this was still the NYC regents kids :lol:

I think that was born out of the "group that shall not be named" philosophy. But that is what I thought too since this is new to me. Looking through all the posts on the other sites as well as this group scheduling the week make it obvious. Also the recent mention that they have to post a bond tie up any uncertainty.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

ok, i see the page...but nothing about them coming on this specific week?

I guess my point was are you guys sure this is one particular group representing said group? if so...I dont see any reason not to mention it if they are making it public anyway.

However, it is a stretch (and a violation of posting guidelines) to criticize an entire religion based on a small section of them being jackasses at a resort 1 week a year.

please keep that in mind.

No the specific week is most definitely there. Look at the brochure.

http://sephardicaruba.com/downloads/sephardic_aruba_brochure.pdf

The brochure indicates the enormity of the group especially with scheduled fee camps for kids that are organized at the "Marriott Hotel Beach Area". I don't care who the group would be or how well behaved I would avoid something like this like the plague. Even if this was the most well behaved group on the planet a mass that size moving together would get in the way.

 

[TUGBrian]

well there ya go.

they dont seem to have a problem with it being public...not sure why we would.

Given the fact that this has the potential to get ugly, and I have no desire to overwhelm Sue with extra moderating duties...ill just put this single warning here for all of you.

If you go off tangent in this thread and begin to be a jackass yourself, we will just delete your post and ban you.

no discussion, no argument, no excuses. you are all adults...I expect you to act as such.

 

[SueDonJ]

I guess I didn't realize it was that bad. I did not realize that they have to be bonded for the week. At least Marriott took that step although if a group has to be bonded that should indicate that maybe they shouldn't be allowed at all. Can the board do anything about it?

I believe the resort board members answer any questions with the same canned response, that as owners the group has a right to be there.

I'd love to see the VAC board members book a stay to coincide with this, wonder if as eyewitnesses they'd be more willing to at least consider its impact on other owners/guests onsite, nevermind the overall impact of the resorts gaining more and more a negative reputation.

 

[SueDonJ]

well there ya go.

they dont seem to have a problem with it being public...not sure why we would.

Given the fact that this has the potential to get ugly, and I have no desire to overwhelm Sue with extra moderating duties...ill just put this single warning here for all of you.

If you go off tangent in this thread and begin to be a jackass yourself, we will just delete your post and ban you.

no discussion, no argument, no excuses. you are all adults...I expect you to act as such.

Another post that needs a "Like" button. Thanks, Brian.

 

[Ridewithme38]

Ok, it looks like Be'Er Miriam is a school and The Matan Baseter society is a social aid society. This event is sponsored by those two organizations, from what i can tell.

Its basically a school sponsored camp. We had those for Lacrosse and Baseball when i was in High school. I don't know that it matters what religion the students are from that school.

 

[Fern Modena]

oh blah di oh blah dah...life goes on...

 

[TUGBrian]

Read the stickys at the top of the Marriott forum and you'll see this one.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204519

I'd like to see this expanded to other areas and resorts.

I think that would be a great idea!

 

[SueDonJ]

Now if we can only get rid of the Boston and New England fans.....

:hysterical:

You know Pinky and The Brain? We're The Brain.

 

[LDT]

I have never understood this, or Marriott's defense that as owners the group has every right to be there doing what they're doing. It's preposterous.

Look through the governing docs for your resorts. There are myriad sections detailing what actions Marriott can take if the various common courtesy rules are not followed. There IS language which supports Marriott not allowing owners the use of their ownership if any owners/guests are negatively affected by others. In drastic cases there are allowances for suspending ownership.

I also don't understand minimizing this group's actions to only common courtesy infractions, "unruly children" or "children swimming without supervision." This group is required to put up a surety bond to cover damages, extra security and cleaning personnel, and compensation that Marriott pays out to owners/guests who can legitimately document that their vacations have been ruined. Do we know of any other situation where a surety bond is required?! No! This isn't a matter of a large group being insular and other owners/guests being made to feel they're outsiders. It's much more than that, and the governing docs do give Marriott the power to stop it. Why they don't is a mystery, although probably their financial gain is a factor.

I never thought to look through my documentation. I fought with Marriott for years over this group.
(And before anyone says to just go another week let me explain. After visiting Aruba for many years we finally decided to purchase at the Surf Club. We always went during our anniversary but stayed in hotels, and not the Marriott hotel. Imagine how we felt when our first visit, and anniversary celebration, to the SC was ruined by these people.)

Would there be others willing to stand up to Marriott to see if we can get rid of this group? I tried like hell to do it myself and got nowhere.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

 

[LUVourMarriotts]

There have been several comments asking why people do not post complaints to the Marriott official Surf Club FB page. The answer is, people have done this. But, Marriott doesn't allow those threads to remain on their FB page, they delete them.

I am on the open member group for Surf Club on FB, where this is also being discussed (including me), but the "moderators" over there asked that nobody continue commenting on the subject. That doesn't seem to be working, but whatever.

I have also posted to another Marriott official resort FB page in the past about a complaint and it was deleted and I was contacted directly. So I know they won't keep it there for others to see. They will squash it and continue adding to their bottom line.

NOTE: I am not there now. I am just a concerned owner, and I have a conscience, so I feel bad for the people who are experiencing this.

 

[LUVourMarriotts]

Would there be others willing to stand up to Marriott to see if we can get rid of this group? I tried like hell to do it myself and got nowhere.

Yes! Count me in.

 

[psguru]

Thanks for the welcome. Just to clarify, this isn't a religious issue. The issue is the sense of entitlement, rudeness, and sheer disregard they show for anyone that is not part of their group. I've been to the SC when there was a group that won their trips through sales incentives and it wasn't an issue.

Honestly, the best thing to do if you're planning on a January vacation is to call their schools or look on the internet to see when they come down. You also have to remember that some come early because they can't travel on Saturday or risk traveling on Friday.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

The whole concept of running multiple youth summer camps on hotel, resort, or public beaches for additional fees should raise questions just by itself.

 

[Fairwinds]

Now if we can only get rid of the Boston and New England fans.....

:hysterical:

You see! Some people just can't leave my religion alone.:hysterical:

 

[ilene13]

It could happen any time

The majority of the group are owners at the OC and the SC. Traditionally the management does not go after poorly behaved owners. When we were in Aruba 3 weeks ago an owner had multiple guests that they brought to the OC beach. They set up 24 chairs in front of a palapa and used the watersports lean to as their shade. They were loud, rude, obnoxious, drunk, and playing loud music. There were multiple complaints to the management, they were spoken to--but they did not improve their behavior. Management said 2 of them are owners and we cannot force them to behave well. We have owned at the OC since 2000, it was our 14th consecutive week 51 and 52 at the resort. It was the first time that we ever had a situation like this, and there was no resolution. I can verify that this group of 24 was not remotely related to the poorly behaved guests who are currently there! So, my rambling is just to say it can happen at any time--especially if the resorts do not make rules that are upheld.