Travelled June 30-July 5 to the Divi. First trip to Aruba and will not be the last. Staff at the Divi was suberb. Friendly, helpful, always smiling, really made you feel comfortable. The resort is an older, low rise building but comfortable. There were 5 of us in 3 rooms in Vista I, garden view. We don't go on vacation to spend our time in the room. This was the first trip where my wife was satisfied with the room a/c. Hallelujah!

Check in was very smooth. The staff took time with each party explaining about the resort and the accommodations. Beach was incredible. We never had a problem getting one of the palapas even though there were the usual early morning "reserved seats" with no one anywhere near. For hours.

Food. Buffet was good as was the Red Parrot and Italian restaurant. We did Red Parrot twice an Italian once. Service very good but second trip to Red Parrot the waiter was simply outstanding. I wish I had his name to recognize his great service. Breakfast really good as it's our favorite meal. Eggs to order, pancakes, french toast, fruit, dutch fried potatoes (very good), bacon, link sausage, and baked beans each morning (never seen those at breakfast before). Your choice of inside or outside dining. Birds are there moreso breakfast and lunch but not too bad as compared to other resorts outside dining.

They do not have coffemakers in the rooms so I brought one but what they do have is a self service coffee machine with your choice of regular, decaf, extra strong, etc. Getting up and walking over to the coffee machine first thing in the morning in Aruba is something I could do forever. Yep!

Overall, this is the only resort we've visited where we would really like to return. Other places we've been are Dominican. Paradise Island, St. Maarten, Cozumel, Caymans. Naturally everyone has their favorites and for us, so far, this is it.

My family of 19, ages 6 to 73 spent a week at the Divi. As so many before me have said, the rooms could use an upgrade. But that is the only minor negative comment I can make. The staff were all great, from check in to check out. All the bartenders were great to the kids and Natalie (concierge) was super.

We stayed in the Lanai building where the rooms are smaller than the Vista but the access to the beach more than made up for the lack of space. But since no room is any distance from the beach, if we go back to Aruba, we will stay at the Divi and opt for the Vista rooms.

We have stayed at several all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and Beaches in Turks and Caicos and the DIVI had the best food by far. If anyone cannot find a good meal at the buffets or the sevral ala cart restaurants, then they have control issues. Gingers was a little exotic for the younger children but with pizza available until 1 am, that was not a problem. Also, the ala cart restaurants, with the exception of Windows, provided one table for 19. This was never considered at Beaches where the request was usually met with less than a pleasant attitude.

We liked the fact that there was a lot of room on the beach. Unlike Mexico and Turks, we were never elbow-to-elbow and always found chairs. With 19 of us, we took up a lot of room.

While this was the first trip to Aruba for half the family, it was the third for several of us. The one thing that caught us off guard was the weather. We had rain for a day and half. I have never seen a cloud before much less horizontal rain with wind and one day of very little sun. I was following the weather for a month prior to our trip and continue to watch out of curiosity. "Partly to mostly cloudy" seems to be becoming the norm. Climate shifts?

My wife and I have just got back from a 2 week holiday at the Divi Aruba. We spent many minutes checking reviews and got mixed messages so we were a little unsure of what we would find when we got there , anyway be assured the truth about the place can be summarised as follows:-

Its not busy in June, ideal for couples who want a relaxing holiday especially if you like the beach.
The beach is one of the best we have seen, white sand, shallow water and reasonably clear of pebbles. The water is as blue as you could imagine and gin clear. There are the odd pebble as you go into the surf but nothing to worry about, its warm when you are in the water and there is nothing in the sand except Palm leaves and the odd tree root.
The beach at the Divi is much nicer than at the Tam thats only a 5 minute walk away.
June is off peak so there was never a problem getting chairs or shades, some reserving of the best locations after say 7.30 but still plenty to go round especially beds which are still stacked in the afternoon.
Its also a good time to see Turtles coming onto the beach to lay eggs and to see baby turtles going back. we were lucky enough to see both.

The Divi has a much nicer, more relaxed atmosphere than the Tam, nothing to put your finger on just a nicer place to be.
The Vista II building at the divi is the newest. I asked for room 7212 after reading a good report of it. The hotel gave me 7210 at no extra cost and it was fine. The bathroom had a high bath (jaccuzi if you wanted to use it) with the shower in, it wasnt the Ritz but quite nice and cleaned every day.

The meals were all good, there are 3 resteraunts plus Buffet at the Tam and 1 resteraunt plus Buffet at the Divi. We liked them all but if I had to choose then probably I would go to the Red Parrot at the Divi first.

We got on with all the staff, its just not true that they are miserable or rude, the reception perople at the Divi were always there, ready to help and quite happy.

The Casino is stumbling distance from the Divi and provides a nice environment at a reasonable cost.

I hared a car for a week to go fishing in. It cost me $197 for the week, fuel is £3 a gallon

If your a fisherman then there are plenty of fish to catch from the sea or the beach. Some Bonefish but if its fishing yur after then go to Cuba or Mexico.

I hope that helps, but if you are thinking of going to Aruba, go to the Divi and enjoy it.

My wife and I stayed at the Divi from June 8-16 on our honeymoon. We had a fantastic time relaxing on the beach. The earlier reviews accurately describe the Divi.

We stayed in Vista I room 217. It was a "Garden View", but we had a fantastic view of the ocean, pool, garden and main bar. I would suggest a room on the second floor of Vista I (rooms 210 through 221) as you get a great view of the ocean, but pay "Garden View" rates. Room was clean and well maintained throughout the week. Air conditioning worked great and no mold smell at all as I had feared from earlier reviews.

Beach was great. White sand beaches, crystal clear water, no crowds, and no one trying to sell junk. Be forewarned, the sun is very intense. We typically slept late and didn't get to the beach until lunch time. We usually got a palapa (hut to sit under) and when we didn't get one, one usually opened up within an hour. I can see getting a palapa during busy season being a real problem. The steady wind made siting on the beach relaxing.

Food and drink were above average. The food at the buffet style restaurant was pretty good. We ate breakfast and most dinners there. Breakfast is the same every morning, but there is enough variety to change it up everyday. Dinner is themed each night and I enjoyed the variety. We had one meal at the Red Parrot, which is a more gourmet style restaurant. Food was fantastic. We also had a honeymoon dinner at the Divi Phoenix (sister resort). We really enjoyed the food. However, they forgot to send a ride back to get us and we ended up taking a cab back. The front desk then reimbursed us.

The best food is the pizza and grilled Italian sandwiches at the snack bar. Out of this world. Made a great late night snack!

Drinks were always easy to get and they have a long drink of the day and frozen drink of the day. We usually tried both and then switched to margaritas.

We would tip occasionally, but never really felt the need to. Staff was always professional, but became more friendly if you tipped. Either way you typically got prompt service.

I recommend the Divi Aruba for anyone you enjoys just relaxing on the beach and letting the day waste away.