Marriotts Aruba Surf Club, Palm Beach

I am a timeshare holder and exchanged my one bedroom unit for an efficiency in this hotel. They do not give you fresh towels everyday you are expected to use the towels for five days straight or do laundry in there facilities . They will supply fresh towels for a price (13.50). a day. The beds are never made and the room is not tidied up as they call it unless you pay for this service. The pool area and pool itself was dirty with plastic cups straws and food floating in it, the parents don't care and the staff does nothing , also the water was cloudy from lack of the filter running. If you want to swim in a clean area choose the serenity pool no one under age 21 is allowed there. I look forward to going on vacation at this time of year and save my hard earned money so I can have a good vacation. This place is not cheap but the service and overall experience was so disappointing I would never recommend it to anyone. Choose one of the other resorts there are plenty in the area and they treat you much better then this place.

If you are an owner at Marriott's or are thinking about owning consider the new points system they are switching to. Owners are not given enough points to trade for one week. They have to add hundreds of dollars more to their yearly fee and it takes at least 2 years of banking before you can trade. They are trying to get owners to give up their grant deed so that they can keep selling points. This is a really bad offer and is really screwing over the owners. If you are thinking of buying in, you will have nothing but points and they can keep increasing the cost of those points or make you use more to trade in. The quality of these properties has been dropping in the past 10 years and now that they are unable to sell more they have decided on a points basis. We all suspect that in time you will try to use points but find it harder to book into your facility because they can just keep selling points that are not attached to any property. Really think before you buy here. Its a great group but you are about to pay tripple what us owners paid and you will get much less in time to use those points.

Wow...have been twice now and can't wait to go again. We go with friends who are owners. Facilities are great. Staff are friendly. Wilma at the pool bar is Outstanding! You MUST have a Slippery Monkey. The beach has become a little more commercialized, but that's to be expected. The food and drinks are a little high, but again, you're on an island, so thats to be expected. Go to the store and load up, and spend the time making your own Breakfast, lunch and Drinks. You'll come out a lot cheaper. Did the Tattoo boat - not much fun - buffet was not good. The kuKoo KanuKu Party bus was an absolute blast! Also did 2 of the Snorkel Cruises - GREAT TIMES! Diving in Aruba is also good. Going back a 3rd time with the kids. Have been to 3 other islands....Aruba is the best.

We loved the island. It simply is wonderful this time of year. Made for just vegging, reading, quiet vacation, if without kids, and a lot of pools and beach for the kids. The Surf Club is a big Marriott. For those who know the system, it is what you expect at the bigger facilities. Occasionally crowded, nice basic facility, good personnel. The Ocean Club is, in our opinion, the option for adults without children, quieter, smaller. To those who are upset about the concept of not mixing between the two, as a "without kids" couple, we like it the way it is. Plenty to do in the area with some shopping and basic restaurants in the general area. Wacky Wahoo, tiny restaurant, simply had the best grouper dinner I have ever had. Need reservations. If you want action, other islands or Florida or Hawii may be better for you, but if you want great weather, quiet relaxation, Aruba is the place, and the Marriott is a good location, either one. Just figure out in advance what you want.

I loved the marriot aruba surf club because of many reasons. 1st i was amazed with the room we had and the view of the 10th floor. The people in the lobby recomended great resturants and you could get your hair braided on the beach. Our family thought it was a great idea to enjoy the wonderful view of our padio. The birds were an amazement to see them over the balcony. The soft sandy beaches were a sight. We deginalyu

If you are a family with children, you won't be disappointed in the Marriott. The rooms are very spacious and clean. We had requested an ocean view, but initially got a room overlooking the parking lot. When we went to the desk, they promptly moved us to a room on the top floor overlooking the pool and ocean. I would NOT recommend Champions, it took us over an hour to get our order. There are two restaurants on the beach that are great. The pool area is ridiculously crowded- there is very little deck space, so even walking around the pool is a nightmare. We were always able to get chairs (if we woke up at 7:00 a.m. to put tags on them to reserve). The beach is also unbelievably crowded. I would recommend getting a car for a day and going to Baby Beach; it is peaceful and relaxing. There is a cart there where you can actually get good burgers, fries, etc. The water is shallow and is good for snorkeling. You don't have to worry about the kids swimming- the water is calm and very shallow. Much clearer and nicer than at the Marriott! Nobody really told us how run down and desert-like the island is. As you drive south from the Marriott, be prepared to travel through some seedy areas. Most of the homes are one room, many are vacant and vandalized. I was a bit surprised. Going north from the Marriott towards the lighthouse, you will find a number of nice, secluded beaches, and some beautiful homes. There is a restaurant near the lighthouse that is definately worth trying. Also, Madame Jeanette's is a good place to eat, but be prepared to pay a pretty penny wherever you dine! Getting a Coke generally runs you around $5.00. A case of beer at the grocery was almost $50. In terms of the island folk being "friendly", that was not our general experience. Most of the natives seem to have a chip on their shoulder, and seem to resent the tourists, despite the fact that they are the livelihood of most. People seemed much more friendly in Jamaica and other places we have visited. One thing we loved was the Jolly Pirates cruise. You go out from 9-2 to three different snorkeling locations. Lunch is included. The boat has a rope swing, which was a blast for all of us. All in all, the Marriott itself offers nice, spacious, clean rooms. They need to work on the pool space. Don't have expectations that Aruba is a lush, beautiful island. We left a bit disappointed...

-Power went out on 10/20/08 for 6 hours from 6pm to 12am marriott didn't offer explanation or flashlight -Power went out for two hours on 10/22/08 the hallway lights were also out, no help, no expanation and no flash lights. -We were charged an extra 120.98 for no reason we are working on figuring this out -This was our Honeymoon and it was so much work and stress to stay there -The pool is not for couples. This was their off season and it was packed with families. The pool and deck space is not big enough to accomodate the amount of rooms that they have. It is VERY/Impossible difficult to get a lounge chair. -I would just save the hassel and stay somewhere else -We have never had a bad marriott experience until our stay at the Surf Club just avoid it!!!! This is an honest and genuine reveiw.

The worst customer service in my life. Do not waste your money on Marriott Vacation Club.

First off I would like to state that my wife and I love Marriott and have been rewards members for many years. We have been everywhere from Costa Rica to JW in Cairo and never been dissapointed like we were with our trip to the Aruba Surf Club, heck I can't remember ever being dissapointed with Marriott. We have booked a trip down with many friends some of which are time share owners of the hotel who are also unhappy right now. Some friends who like gambling booked the casino hotel, some the surf club some the ocean club. All of which are the same rates. Upon arival we got a notice that "We have temporarily suspended the integration agreement, between the Ocean Club and Surf Club for use of Pool & Pool Deck" and were given wristbands and towels. The first day we grabbed our towels and went off to find our friends and a place by the pool and pool bar, plopped our stuff down and were promply told by a security guard that we had the wrong color wrist band and towel to be at the pool, and were tossed out like we criminally trespassed. My wife who stays at Marriotts over 30 times a year went in and explained to management that we were not told when everyone booked of the new "temporary" policy. We were told we were sorry there was nothing they could do. The funny part is that the whole trip the pool at the ocean club (where we got thrown out of) had maybe 200 open chairs and we couldn't even find 4 together at the surf club. Anyway we all went to the beach a which they had covered with thatched palapas which you could rent for $15 a day which forced everyone who went to the beach up into a crowded 15 foot area on the water. We placed our towels down on the chairs and within 10 minutes security guards told our friends they had the wrong color towels to use the chairs (these are the exact same chairs and the exact same beach all owned by Marriott all placed and seperated by a invisible divider) Our friends plopped their towel on the sand and said the beaches in Aruba are public, this is where I am staying. Ultimately we bypassed the system by having our friends from whichever pool we wanted to stay at grab a bunch of towels but we still felt stupid for having to do that. You will get asked many times including daily phone calls about purchasing a time share. One thing that we did no know when booking was that the Surf Club was a very kid friendly place(there were an awful lot of kids), the Ocean club is more adult oriented. the ocean water was erily calm with the only ripples coming when a boat went by. We also thought the $6.00 for an 8 ounce beer was steap but bypassed that with a trip to the grocery store. This place has left our friends who have never stayed at a Marriott thinking the hotel chain is clueless.

I loved the whole expierience of the surf club. I'm so glad i joined. I'll bring my family back many times for a great vacation. I'm going to suggest the surf club to all my family members