Just got back from 9 wonderful days in beautiful Aruba....Once again stayed at the Radison, 3rd time, 2x at Wyndam....we stayed in the Conceirge level, which we did enjoy..granted not as upscale as other hotels club level, but take into account that you are at a very laid back island, where at least 95% are there for rest and relaxation, not business....

The girls in the conceirge room..janice, mathilda. and germain were wonderful, allways greeted us by name, remeberd what are likes and dislikes were...even went so far as to go to a Portuguese rest. that i wanted to try to get us the menu on her off time...

very enjoyable room...remeber this is vacation....rest and relax...

we had a dlx ocean view....not too big but again not too small...once i was sitting out on the deck enjoying the sunrise and cofee...and sunset and wine you never gave it another thought....I will say though that the rooms do need updated for the price...but the view of the grounds and water are worth it..

Check in was smooth...got our refridge...got our goodies tonic, beer ect..from conceirge and we were all good to go........

Restaurants......

sunset grille at radisson twice

chefs table.......wonderful

chalet suise....great, normally would not have picke this place but reading other reveiws here diecided to try..glad we did

blossoms

casa tua great pizza

hosteria de vitorria

cafe picillo at hyatt

over all great dinners..

palapas were plentiful....gym looked great...spa was wondrful but a little expensive...

grounds were just as beautiful as i remembered..

I will say we did check out most of the other high risers...but son is getting married next year and we are giving him his honeymoon as a gift....my opinion is that the raddison has the best beach area...and grounds...while i wish the casino would update....loved to relax at a nice bar with plasmas......which they do not have....alltough the lobby bar at wyndham is great...

all in all the balcony makes up all the difference when you are sitting out watching all the beauty below..

I know many like the hyatt better, but it is now worth it to me to give up the balcony...beach lounge chairs have great cushions un like the hyatt... staff was very friendly....

if you eat at sunset grille...get the "martini" salad.

i will write more when i have a chance...any questions.....????just ask..............

thanks, sheri

My boyfriend and I just got back from a 5 night trip to Aruba (a Tues.-Sun.). Aruba was wonderful. The weather is perfect, the beaches are beautiful and the food is excellent.

Check In: Upon hearing that some people had bad check in experiences (not getting a king) we choose to make the reservation by phone and we reserved a partial oceanview king non-smoking room on the conceirge level (which are the top two floors of the main Aruba tower). When we entered our room we were SEVERELY DISAPPOINTED. Our room did have a partial ocean view but it overlooked a parking lot, a roof with air conditioning units on it, and construction on previous tennis courts. We immediately asked them to rectify this problem. It appears that all partial ocean view rooms have this view. THe oceanview rooms look out on the property. We tried to switch to that but they did not ahve any kings available. After about 20 minutes the managers escorted us to a oceanview room with a king on the 6th floor. It was perfect. So after some problems, we got a WONDERFUL ROOM.

Room: I would suggest to stay in the Aruba tower and pay for an oceanview room or even a garden view room that is even numbered because those overlook the lush landscape of the resort. Our room was very spacious and nice and clean. The bathroom ceiling is quite low (esp. when taking a shower) but it was nice marble. The bed was not a sleep number bed but that did not bother me. The balcony was great to watch the sunset.

Hotel Property: The hotel has probably the largest acreage of the high-rise resorts. The pools are very nice and big. The lobby is open air but minimal decor. The casino is right off of the lobby and is nice but very cold (bring a jacket!). GILLIGANS is under CONSTRUCTION. This was definitely a dissapointment becuase we did not stay at the Hyatt because of construction and here we are on the beach of the Radi and all you hear is hammering and jackhammers during the day. That was definitely annoying because either way you sat on the beach you either heard construction from Gilligans or the hotel next to the radi. I also heard that Gilligans had many tvs and was great. For the time being they have a tented make-shift restaurant but the food was just ok. The lobby bar (mira sole) has slightly better food. I believe that if Gilligan's was not under construction, the property would be 5-star. Unfortunately, we did not get compensated in a lower room rate for this inconvenience.

Additionally, we were not made aware beforehand of the problem. Despite, the jackhammering, the grounds are nice and expansive. They recently opened up a brand new gym and spa. The gym overlooks the ocean and is nice. The bathrooms by the spa are new and nice. Drink service on the beach was excellent (although pricey). I would suggest going to the pier for drinks (they are less moeny and stronger!). Overall, I believe the Radi has beautiful grounds. The construction (jackhammering and occasional construction equipment being driven around by the pool) is the only thing that hurt the hotel. Once construction is finished, I am sure everythign will be top notch. However, I do think it is necessary to know that construction is going on. It seems construction is going on everywhere on the island.

Conceirge Level: The conceirge level was definitely well worth it. It offers continental breakfast from 7-11 (with one hot dish), tea from 3-4 (we never went) and open bar and appetizers from 5-7. We defintiely took advantage of the breakfast and 5-7 deal. It was great. Plus, they helped suggest great restaurants and make reservations for you.

Food: The food in Aruba was great. I would have to suggest Madame Janette's. It is supposedly the #! restuarant of the Carribean. It was our favorite-great atmosphere (outside with lights all around), service, and food (surf and turf for $32 including meat, lobster and shrimp). It is an $8 cab ride each way. Next favorite is El Gaucho, an Argentinian steakhouse. The portions are so huge-great food ($10 cab ride). The Sunset Grille in the Radisson is nice but very expensive. Ruines del Mar in the Hyatt has the most romantice atmosphere but food was just ok. For lunch- I would recommend going to Bugalo on the Pier or the Mira Solo Bar.

Activities: We did the Jolly Pirate ship ($30 per person for 3-6pm) Ours included open bar, 3 snorkeling sites and a rope swing. The second snorkeling site is of an old World War II ship but the waters are very choppy for that one and not many people could stay in long. We had a wonderful time though. They also offer one in the morning which includes a BBQ lunch but I heard that the food is not that great (that is $50 pp) and they offer a sunset sail. We also did the waverunners ($60 for one). They were ok-you have small area where you can go.

OVERALL: I love Aruba and would definitely go back. The Radi was very nice. I think the Radi and the Hyatt are very nice along with the Marriott Surf Club. Right now, all three are having some type of construction going on (Hyatt is offering a deep discount though which is nice). The Marriott has a lazy river and the Hyatt has a water slide. I love the conceirge service at the Radi. I will definitely come back but after construction is done with. I would definitely return to the conceirge service at the Radi.

My husband and I just returned from a 5 night stay at the Radisson Aruba. Overall we are very happy with our trip, and hope to return again!

The Radisson Hotel is very nice and overall I would say is average to above average. We booked a garden view room w/king bed/non-smoking. The room size was what I expected, and the balcony was nice. The furniture was nice. I thought they could have taken a little better care of the room itself. It seemed like there was mold growing in certain places. The drop ceiling above the shower was a little weird and like other reviewers have said, there was mold growing there too. On the other hand, the garden view room is not one of the most expensive rooms there, so maybe next time I'd pay a little more money for a little better accomodations.

The grounds are beautiful!! The pool was fabulous, I loved laying by the pool all day sipping tropical (albeit overpriced) drinks. We never had a problem getting a palapa. I've read about people getting up at 7am to get one, believe me, we did not get out of our room until 9-10am each day and it was never a problem. The beach is just gorgeous! It was pretty clean, beautiful warm water, wonderful sunsets! We had a $100 food/beverage credit which was really nice for those tropcial drinks (try a mango cooler!) We only ate at one of the restaurants there, the Laguna, for the breakfast buffet, which was great. very good food, lots to choose from. Was $17/person, a little expensive, but I think worth it. Not just quanity, it was quality.

I like the wildlife at the Radisson, the different birds and iguanas running aroud! Around 11am each day the bird caretaker lets them out of their cages for photo ops in the lobby area. He is very nice. I was standing there snapping photos and he just came up to me and put a bird on my shouler and one on each arm and snapped photos of me.

Walked to some other resorts near ours, the Occidental, Hyatt and Holiday Inn. The Occidental seems to be nearly completely renovated and looks really good! The Hyatt still has a way to go in its renovations and the Holiday Inn looked kinda bad. There is construction going on everywhere in Aruba! I guess it's good for them, but kind of annoying for vacationers! Even at the Rad, they were renovating the beachfront bar, so when we were lying on the beach the construction noise was loud at times so that was a little annoying...but hopefully that would not last too long since it's a bar. They set up a temporary bar/restaurant under a big tent by the beach to make up for it. There is construction going on right beside the Rad and accross the street too. I wouldn't let it stop me from going though, it's not that bad in terms of noise and if you are in the water you do not really hear it at all.

Restaurants - some notables...Tango -- fabulous steaks! The best filet I've had. Very good, fresh food!

La Petite Cafe -- great breakfast - all you can eat for only $7.95!

Bella Luna -- great, cozy little Itailian place. Food was fantastic, people were really nice.

The restaurant at the California Lighthouse - Itailan, we had lunch there one day, it was pretty good. Amazing view!

Salt & Pepper -- Good hamburgers!

Amazonia -- Brazillian Steakhouse....I'd say this is quantity, not qualtiy. But worth the experience if you've never had it before.

We did the Aruba Dine Around Program. It has its pros and cons. The Pros are the dinners are really a good deal (you get an appetizer, entree & dessert) and it kind of 'forces' you to try new places. The cons - breakfast and lunch choices are limited and if you are at the Rad, none of the restuarants in the Rad are part of the Dine Around Program. If you can just by Dinners, I would do that and do breakfast and lunches on my own next time.

We rented a car (Hertz right at the hotel, was very convenient) and drove around the island one day. That was a lot of fun, although sometimes we would get lost because the roads are not exactly clearly marked, but we'd figure it out after a while. I highly recommend doing this. Driving is fairly easy and you get to see a lot of neat stuff on your own for a low price (ours was only $42.)

Balashi Beer, the Aruba Beer - very good!!

Finally, the Aruba water is GREAT! Drink it up!!

We recently returned from a nine night stay at the Radisson, and we have very mixed feelings. We stayed on the Concierge Floor in the main Aruba tower, and our room was fine but certainly nothing special. Although this might be considered as a five-star property by Aruban standards, by American standards and expections, it was no more than a three.

As for the Concierge service, we found it greatly lacking. First, the Concierge staff frequently gave people poor advice, if not information which was flat out wrong. We heard several folks on the floor complaining about the Concierge staff and about information which had been given. For example, the Concierge staff would push folks to rent jeeps through their services, at a cost of over $100 for a day, to visit, for example, Baby Beach (advising that you had to have a four-wheeler to make the trip). In fact, however, a jeep was not required, and it was far cheaper to rent a car (which we did) from the Hertz agent in the Hotel lobby at a cost of only $37.00.

Additionally, the food offerings on the Concierge floor were simply embarrassing. Although the continental breakfast was quite standard, the Concierge Room would then be locked shut until 3 p.m., when it would re-open for one hour when a single plate of cookies would be put on the counter for guests. There was neither water nor any other beverage available, and the cookies seemed closer to Chips Ahoy than to anything which was fresh-baked.
After the one hour, the Concierge Room would then be locked again, only to re-open from 5 to 7 p.m. where a couple of hot offerings would be given, as well as drinks, water and soda (which were always served warm). In short, when comparing this Concierge to other properties where we have stayed in the U.S. as well as internationally, this Concierge Level was just awful.

As for the rest, the location of the Hotel is quite good, and the beach is beautiful. We were surprised, however, that the beach was not cleaned more, meaning that we were constantly faced with seeing trash (plastic cups and the like) strewn on the beach in the morning as well as a massive amount of cigarette butts. It appears that, sadly, people use this beach as a giant ash-tray, and the Radisson staff did not put much effort into keeping the area clean on a daily basis.

The palapas were, however, plentiful, and there was no need to stand in line early to get a great spot by the water. The chairs at the pool were also quite comfortable, and the pool area was nice and family-friendly.

The Hotel restaurants were adequate, but the Front Desk staff was rude and unfriendly. This was another surprise; for the price which we were paying, we would have thought that we would have been treated with some amount of pleasantness. Also, we were surprised that there was no nightly entertainment in the lobby, by the pools or at the beach. There was no music anywhere and nothing festive about the place. Even the drinks offered by the pool were over-priced and terrible. (We recommend, instead, a visit to the outdoor bar and restaurant on the beach at the Divi Phoenix. The bartender, Kerrey, was terrific and served great food and drinks with a smile and possibly with some amusement that people staying at the Radisson felt the need to walk to the Divi to get decent drinks!)

So, overall, we found the Radisson to be no more than average. We wish that we had better things to say, but we definitely would not return.