As Told by Ali

Last year, I made a decision to celebrate my birthday in a new country each year. This year, my choice was Aruba! I’ll be sharing more about this and the activities I did, but first, let’s get into where I stayed. Choosing where to stay in Aruba was by far the most difficult decision I ever made when it came to booking accommodations. Aruba has a wide variety of hotels, villas, apartments etc which all looked super inviting! Ultimately the decision all came down to cost, location, amenities and of course the views. With this in mind, my top pick turned out to be Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort and Casino.

Length of Stay: 2 Nights

LOCATION

Hilton Aruba is located among the high-rise hotels right on the Palm Beach strip, one of the most popular tourist hubs in Aruba. It is about 20 minutes from the Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) depending on traffic. The location was a top factor in our decision to stay here as it was conveniently located across the street from a range of dining establishments and vibrant nightlife spots. Whether it’s quaint cafes or trendy eateries, there’s a wide selection of local and international cuisines in this area.

If you choose to venture outside of the Palm Beach strip, there is a bus stop right at the entrance of the hotel. This gives you easy access for traversing the island at your own pace of exploring the vibrant landmarks and natural wonders of Aruba. It is a 10-15 minute bus ride to Oranjestad, Aruba’s capital, which features various well-known stores and a shopping mall within the Renaissance Hotel. There’s also multiple souvenir spots as the cruise port is also within the area.

CHECKING IN/OUT

We stayed at an apartment/villa for our first two nights and given we had to check out by 11:00 a.m. that day, we were early for our check in at the Hilton. Upon checking in, we were told we got an upgrade to a partial ocean view room so we didn’t mind the room not being ready yet, as we also had an excursion to get to. The check in process was seamless whereby I only had to show a photo ID and my credit card. The representative also alerted me that there will be a charge held on my card in the event of any damages. She then gave us a card with the wifi information and a map of the hotel property pointing out various locations.

Although the check out time was 12:00 p.m., we got to check out an hour later complimentary. Any later and there would have been a charge of US $50 per hour. Check out was fairly simple whereby we returned the room keys and received a printed copy of our bill.

ROOM TOUR

The hotel comprises of three towers, named after the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao). Our room was in the Aruba tower on the fourth floor with a partial ocean view. We got a room with two twin queen beds because at the time of booking, this was the most economical option. The room was quite spacious featuring a large closet, tea/coffee station, couch, desk and chair, flatscreen TV, small refrigerator, floor-length mirror, bathroom, and balcony with outdoor seating.

The design of the room threw me off a bit, in terms of using the space especially in the bathroom. I thought the shower area was tiny in comparison and there was lots of unused space in the room. In addition to cleaning the room daily, we got in-room bottled water as well.

Hotel Amenities/Services

DINING & DRINKS

There are five restaurants or places you can grab a bite to eat located on the property. Luckily, I got to check out majority of them with the exception of Laguna Restaurant and Castaways Bar. Breakfast is normally served at Laguna however, they’re currently undergoing a transformation. As for Castaways bar, we never made it during their opening hours.

Sunset Grille

I chose this restaurant for my birthday dinner as opposed to another restaurant in the Palm Beach area after having a look at the menu. Given it was also located on the property was a plus. It’s a modern steakhouse which also offered a variety of fish and seafood. We decided to dine outside and was surrounded by waterfalls and garden views. We could also witness the entertainment and the neighbouring bar/lounge.

Although I knew it was a steakhouse I forgot how the portion sizes are, so we ordered way more sides than we needed with our mains. To start, I ordered a tasting plate which came with a selection of their signature appetizer items – shrimp cocktail, seared sesame Ahi tuna, crab cakes, burrata and prosciutto. The crab cakes were my favourite with the burrata being my least favourite. For the main course, I had the Petit Filet Mignon with a side of sautéed asparagus and lobster mac and cheese. I had my steak cooked medium and it melted in my mouth. Unfortunately I couldn’t finish it all when I saw how pink the insides were the further in I got. The asparagus were also delicious, however the mac & cheese was a bit too cheesy for me and I hardly got the lobster taste. My boyfriend would have had the salmon and mashed potatoes. The potatoes were so good and had a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg which added to the flavour.

Given the closing of Laguna, breakfast was being served at Sunset Grille. They had options for buffet or a la carte. We did the buffet because based on the prices it worked out better for us. The buffet had a wide array of options from waffles, pancakes, french toast, different versions of eggs, fruits, cereals, bacon, sausages etc. It was pretty extensive and delicious.

Mira Solo

An open-air bar and lounge with views of the sunset. We stopped here for a quick bite to eat after an excursion. We both had beers and I had the shrimp and fish tacos. They weren’t the best tacos as there was too much cabbage slaw for my liking. However, the atmosphere was super chill at this spot and had potential for being a good drinks spot if we were up to it.

Gilligan’s Seafood Shack

From watching a few vlogs and posts, this was one of the restaurants I was most excited to try. It’s located beachside and has an open atmosphere. Although I expected majority of the menu items to be some form of seafood I still ended up ordering a grilled chicken wrap. It was probable one of the best wraps I ever had, but I also ordered fried calamari to test out the seafood. The calamari rings were larger than back home and I enjoyed these as well. I didn’t particularly drink as much on this trip so I didn’t try any of their cocktails. From the menu, most of them seemed to be vodka or tequila based.

Oscars Market

This isn’t a restaurant but rather a place to grab some coffee or a quick bite to eat. They’re located in the main lobby and offer a variety of sandwiches, fruit bowls, pastries, cookies and other grab and go items. Their favourite feature for me was the gelato which I grabbed on our last day after checking out.

RATES

The earlier you book, the better rate you receive. I kept contemplating my decision on which hotel to book, so with each day there was a different rate for booking. Also note that the hotel is not all-inclusive, but they do have options to include breakfast. The property also offers a variety of room options from garden view to ocean view, whether partial of full-scale and this would affect the rate.

When booking hotels, I normally use booking.com for their no prepayment feature. However, this time around I remembered I could also book hotels using my AAdavantage miles. Therefore, this was my choice in order to reduce the overall cost of the hotel booking which came up to 27, 300 miles and USD $842.69.

HOTEL EXPERIENCE

The hotel’s property is extremely gorgeous and offers the perfect island escape. It’s adorned with palm trees on the beachfront and has numerous private seating areas for guests to enjoy some privacy. The beauty of the grounds attracted me to the hotel as well as the proximity to the Palm Beach strip. There’s also a small bird garden on the property where you can view a variety of tropical birds.

One thing which stood out to me the most was the customer service, not only on the property, but also around the island. Aruba depends on mainly tourism for their economy and their slogan is One Happy Island, so it makes sense why the people always seem so happy and friendly. Most of the workers would inquire as to how our trip was going and invited us back to the island to experience other attractions.

Given the hotel wasn’t all-inclusive, it’s pretty easy for things to add up, so we had to be mindful of how often we were dining within the resort. Overall, it was a pretty enjoyable stay, the rooms were clean and comfortable, and I enjoyed the range of amenities offered. Besides to catch the sunset, we never made it onto the beach or into the water. One of the tour guides were telling us how Aruba is a repeat island for visitors and I definitely see why.

To note, they are currently doing a resort expansion so some parts of the hotel were unaccessible, for example one of the restaurants where they normally serve breakfast. However, we knew this beforehand and the construction didn’t pose much of an issue to us.

Located Nearby

• Giannis Restaurant (popular Italian restaurant)
• Fat Tuesday
• Bicycles/Scooters to rent
• South Beach Aruba
• De Palm Pier
• The Butterfly Farm
• I love Aruba sign (they have multiple)
• Palm Beach Plaza Mall
• Benihana

Hotel website: www.hilton.com