Last month we stayed at the Aruba Riu on Palm Beach. We have been to Aruba several times and each time I am amazed by the amount of construction that has taken place. The last time we stayed on the Island they were building the Riu. Now they have a large shopping Mall across the street from the hotel. A lot of high end retail shops.
They have also replaced the boardwalk between the hotel and the beach. It is now a stone pathway and goes by most of the hotel. This walkway is safe to walk well after day.It is lit by torches and security is present. Enough people use it at night so you are seldom out of sight of someone.
We have stayed at Riu Hotels in Punta Cana and Carbo SanLucas. They are impressive building and the rooms are all similar in design. They have a large bathroom the whirlpool tub with shower has a soap dispenser. Double sinks and enough outlets.
The double beds the room stepped down to a lower level that had couch and table and chair. The couch had a folding bed. On the floor we were on (9) we had a large balcony. With a table and two loungers and plenty more room. Some floors had smaller balconies some with hardly enough room for a couple of chairs.
The room also had a mini Bar with beer,water, and soda. Above the mini bar there was a cabinet with five bottles of liquor. You just put you glass underneath and pushed up to fill the glass with liquor. A nice feature for a drink on the balcony.
The hotel had 4 specialty restaurants Gormet,Italian, Japanese and Steak House. Also a large buffet restaurant and beach restaurant. All were above average for all inclusive hotels.
The beach was wonderful. chair savers made it more crowded than it was as they would go out and grab all the shaded spots and not use them most of the days. The same at the pool.
I found The hotel to be great. I really enjoyed that your could walk the beach of walkway easily. The hotel staff did a great job. They also had a small Casino.
Delray
