A great family vacation! We'll be back!
Friendly staff, very clean rooms, refrigerator upon request. Excellent for families with kids. Never had a problem getting a shady spot on the beach or by the pool. We loved the calm, shallow water; you can relax and watch the kids from your lounge chair whiile they swim and dig in the sand. The lizards are harmless, the exotic birds beautiful (make sure you get a family picture posing with the birds on your shoulders..check activities calendar for bird interaction times) and rooms above average and clean. The kids a lot of fun watching the lizards..one even swam in the pool with them. We were there in July, and the resort was not crowded at all. The weekends seem a bit busier on the beach, and the only solicitors were women asking if my daughters wanted their hair braided. No one was threatening or shady.
We ate at Gilligan's for breakfast; excellent food, but like all restaurants on the island, a bit expensive. Expect to pay $50 for breakfast and lunch unless you want to walk to McDonald's, Wendy's, etc...both affordable and close by. We had no problems with panhandlers, time-share salesmen, etc. The streets are VERY safe and you are able to walk around at night. Most dinners in the area will run a family of four about $100. Some a bit cheaper, like Salt and Pepper, across the street from the Radisson and a nice place with good burgers.
If you want a relaxing vacation directly on a clean, safe beach, this is the place! The island of Aruba is a desert island, and not very pretty, but this area has been designed as a tourist attraction and is definitely a tropical escape!