I dont know where other people stayed who've written such lousy reviews. It cant be the same hotel. We were a little worried until we got there. Of course, its not perfect, but we had a wonderful anniversary vacation. It's not a quiet place, so if you want quiet dont stay here, but we love to party and socialize so we loved it.

Take the taxi from the airport, miss everyone trying to check in at the same time. When we checked in they said they were over-booked and asked if we would mind staying at the Radisson (right next door) for one night. Mind you, they asked, we didnt have to do it. But we did, partially because we were curious to see what the rooms at the radisson were like, and partially because they offered us a free Sunset Sail (I believe that this would have cost approx $100) plus 2 nights free next time we stayed. It was no big deal. They drove us over with our luggage and picked us up the next morning and took us back to the Occidental. After we got our room in the Radisson, we walked along the beach a couple of hundred feet back to the Occidental and used their facilities for the rest of the day and night, only returning to the Radisson to go to bed. BTW, the Radisson had beautiful rooms and the grounds were very nice, but we liked the Occidental better.

When we agreed to the Radisson, I told them since I was doing them a favor, I expected them to give me a beautiful room, and they did. We were on the 5th floor with great views of the pool and the ocean. The room itself was very nice with all new furniture and marble bathroom although a bit chilly, we took to calling it the "meatlocker". However, since it was very hot, the room was a welcome oasis.

We booked our excursions with De Palm and our dinners at the hotel when we checked in. It was cool not having to worry about it later. The food at the buffets was good, especially lunch at the Palm. Italian restaurant was ok, Caribbean and Mexican were good. Never got to Zen. The bartenders were all great, Johnny, Angela, Maureen, and others whose names I've forgotten. The drinks were strong. As for the Balashi beer which was all they served, not my favorite but it was okay and grew on us as the week went on.

The pool and beach were fabulous. We did a lot of chatting with guests at the hotel (many, many on their honeymoon) and there were people we'd see every day and meet at the pool or beach or the casino at night. The lobby bar was a great meeting spot too. The casino was fun, we played BINGO every night and never won but it was fun, and we learned to play roulette and won a nice bit of money there.

We checked out some of the other hotels nearby, the Hyatt's pool area and restaurant are stunningly gorgeous, but they are expensive, same price I paid for the Occidental but no food or booze, and the guests seemed a little more upper-crusty. Other than that, we though the Occidental had the nicest pool area and beach.

The island is great, we did some exploring by Jeep, snorkling at De Palm island, shopping downtown, had an excellent anniversary dinner downtown at EL Gauchos and then went across the street to the cigar bar which had a wonderful atmosphere and great music. I could go on and on but this is a review of the Occidental, and my final word is -- we're going back next year!

Luxurious property beyond compare.

We recently got back from our Honeymoon at the Occidental. I was a little worried with some of the negative reviews, but our trip was really lovely.

We were booked in the Royal Club which I would 100% recommend. It is located on the top floors of the hotel (7/8/9) and does come with great perks. In the Royal Club you have your own restaurant (breakfast, lunch & dinner), along with your own bar in the lounge, Room Service and your own Business Center with free internet access. The bar in the Royal Club has Bud Light, Bud, Heineken, Corona & the Aruba Beer. All of the other hotel bars only have the Aruba Beer, which we didn't really care for. You also have your own check in & check out, so no long lines. We also found it easier to make reservations at restaurants. We were able to get a seat at the Hibachi Table by making reservations the day before, when people not in the Royal Club had to make them almost 5 days in advance. The Royal Club made us feel like we were on our honeymoon and in luxury!

We felt the food was fine. The buffets (breakfast, lunch and dinner) all offered plenty of selections, we were always able to find something to eat. The Hibachi Table was by far our favorite (Zen), they also have tables where you can order Sushi, but we didn't do that. The Italian place was horrible for us, a mix of horrible service and bland food, but it got better reviews by some of the people we met there. We think they may have just been short staffed when we went. Mexican was also tasty - who doesn't like chips & salsa? We aren't fancy food people though, if you want to spend your vacation eating fancy food, don't stay at an all-inclusive.

We do plan to go back in a couple of years, I would definitely recommend the hotel. We took a walk on the beach and checked out some of the other resorts. We feel the Occidental had the best pool area, etc and felt more like a "resort vacation" than the others would have (Holiday Inn, Riu, Raddison & Mariott).

I'm not sure where some of these other people stayed, but this place was absolutely gorgeous!!! We have no complaints. The people were so nice and always willing to help out with anything to make our stay more enjoyable. Always asking how our week was going! We were on our honeymoon so when we got off the bus we had special check-in options, we got there and there was a large line and we got to by pass it all straight up to floor 6 and we had our own personal check in "grand concerige" Adriana was there waiting for us. She was AWESOME!! Our room was perfect and ready to go when we got there. They brought our bags no less than 10 minutes after we got there to us in our room. The "stock bar" in the room, only stocks 2 of everything and they don't return for two days. We had to call and ask sometimes, but they were always there in 10 minutes or less. So we checked things out and headed out to downtown, which is only 2 blocks to the left. Not as much to look at there as there is further down town that you to take by the taxi but its worth checking out. As for the Taxi's there's fun ones and boring ones that don't say much. Normal price to go downtown was $11.00, but worth it. Nice things to check out. And there isn't any harassment there either, everyone stays to themselves. Nice shops down there also. Hint: Before you leave to go out make your dinner reservations for dinner when you ARRIVE, if you wait till later in the day, you only slim picking when dinner comes around sometimes there around 9pm, and that was to late for us. They usually had shows going on every night that started at 9pm. There okay, not the best but worth watching. Our favorite restaurant was the ZEN. GREAT FOOD!!!!! The morning buffet was also very good. I didn't care to much for the dinner buffet, but it worth trying for one laid back night. Not having to worry about getting dressed up. They say they are strict about the dress code in the restaurants BUT, I don't believe it. There were people there with jeans on. But we don't get dressed up alot so it was nice. Another HINT: if you want good chairs around the pool you have to get out there by 8:30-9am to do so. We were lazy and never got out there till around 10am and there were slim pickings. Nice spots but shaded. We wanted sun!!! The pool bar was amazing and very convenient. There all so friendly and willing to make anything, if they don't know what your asking for just tell them and they will mix it up. A popular drink there was MIAMI VICE, very good but be careful!! We also played the BINGO everyday, that was always fun and gave you something to do while your chilling out by the pool. They do aerobics and volleyball, and ring toss, always something going on! Casino was also great, all the dealers we helpful and friendly too. If you aren't sure what you are doing just ask, they were always willing to explain, which makes it nice for people that have never played like me!! I did good the first night, but lost it the second night:( That's the breaks on gambling!!!! If you should have nay questions please feel to contact me, I have pictures and will load them as soon as I can!!! Good luck everyone!!! WONDERFUL PLACE WE WILL BE BACK!!