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Ritz Carlton Aruba

SpikeMauler

SpikeMauler

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The Ritz Carlton Aruba is supposed to be open for business today. Wondering if any tuggers currently staying at the Surf club or Ocean club walked over to take a look around. Would love to read about or see some pics of the grounds, beach, casino etc...
 
We were at the Surf Club last week and were told it wasn't opening until December. From the looks of it last week, I don't think it was opening today.
 
mrmarty91 said:
We were at the Surf Club last week and were told it wasn't opening until December. From the looks of it last week, I don't think it was opening today.
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Just received an e-mail a few minutes ago announcing the property opening today.
 
Can you imagine the crowd that will flock to this place? I suspect that the rates here will separate the men from the boys. It will be interesting to see if the Diamond District crew moves over to the Ritz in January.
 
I wonder if the casino will be exclusive for their guests? I imagine most of the guests that stay there will stay on the property most of the time. I don't image they will be combing the beach for shells or going to Claudia's for Happy Hour.
 
Sunbum said:
I wonder if the casino will be exclusive for their guests? I imagine most of the guests that stay there will stay on the property most of the time. I don't image they will be combing the beach for shells or going to Claudia's for Happy Hour.
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I couldn't see any casino restricting themselves to that hotels guests only. My guess is that the clientele they will attract probably won't be in to spending a lot of money in the casino, so they will have to open it up to everyone. People that can afford to stay there don't have that kind of money because they gamble it away in the casino.
 
Looking forward to visiting the resort over the holidays. I was in Aruba in the fall and it was a beautiful property. I am sure it will not disappoint.
 
Thanks for sharing video. At least they were honest about not being excited about Marriotts building there. Looks similar to the Grand Cayman Ritz which was one of my all time favorite vacations with the Cayman Cookout. They treated us like such VIPs when we arrived that I was looking for the celebrity they were talking about. They made us feel pretty special even though we were using our points for the stay. Only negative was the soundproofing which I hope they've learned from and make improvements with on this property. The walls were so thin that the guy in the room next to us had an early morning phone call and it sounded like he was in the bed next to me. Everything else was phenomenal so I'm hoping we can spend a few nights at the Aruba property someday too.
 
Marriott Visa at Ritz

Remind me. Do we get multiple points for using the Marriott Visa at a Ritz restaurant?
 
You get the points ( I think 2 per $1) for dollars spent just like any restaurant. But incidentals at Ritz Carltons do not get the full bonus even when you charge it to the room (e.g. you do not get base 10 points and 5 points on the card). At least that is my experience and have been told after I questioned it on prior stays.
 
I just returned from Surf Club on Friday. Yes, the Ritz also opened on Friday. The King and Queen of Holland were there for the 2 days leading up to Friday. I didn't walk over to see it, as I assume they would not have let me walk in anyway. But, I can provide 2 pieces of info.

1. There were so many cars parked all over the street around the front of the Ritz that it was unappealing to go near it. We stayed at the Marriott Resort for a few days before going to the Surf Club and the cars were literally all over the place. That would be a turn-off for me if I were arriving at the Ritz to see all that.
2. The beach area still needs serious work. There were huge/thick shrubs creating a barrier between the ocean and the Ritz. There was a big bulldozer working on it last week, but there is no chance they were going to finish that before Friday. I assume the place will still be under pseudo-construction for another month or so.
 
Another video inside the Ritz I found the host/hostess annoying so I kind of skimmed it but it seems like the pools are kind of on the small side.
 
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The beach in front of the Ritz is a VERY rocky section. When I was at Surf Club in May, I was thinking that it would be a major project to make that part of the beach enjoyable (bulldozers, grinding down submerged rocks, etc.) and that, when they did start construction, it would severely impact Marriott beach-goers. From what I'm reading, it doesn't seem like they've even started that yet. Wouldn't want to be there when they do.
 
infamazz said:
The beach in front of the Ritz is a VERY rocky section. When I was at Surf Club in May, I was thinking that it would be a major project to make that part of the beach enjoyable (bulldozers, grinding down submerged rocks, etc.) and that, when they did start construction, it would severely impact Marriott beach-goers. From what I'm reading, it doesn't seem like they've even started that yet. Wouldn't want to be there when they do.
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The beach is done. They brought in hundreds of truckloads of sand. They built the beach up about 3 feet. from what it was. It is awesome!
 
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