Laid back, low key and first rate!
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 6/19/06
Our first trip to Aruba, and we picked the Tam from the reviews and write-ups. It was outstanding in all regards and far exceeded our expectations. First and foremost, the beach is phenominal: long stretches of white-white sand and warm blue and green water. The location was ideal for us, right on the beach, quiet, and a short trip to town. The rooms are small and plain, but sufficient. Every room does open to the beach, with only a few beach huts between your patio and the water. It was very low key and laid back, which is what we wanted. The food and drinks were very good for an inclusive, with good selections of local dishes and standard fare. Strongly recommend trips into town, easily done on public buses which are cheap, safe, and frequent. We hit the following 3 restaurants in town and were told by a cabbie after that those were his top 3 picks: El Gaucho (amazing Argentina steaks), The Driftwood (amazing fish caught that day by the owner), and Madame Jenette's (modern and Dutch traditional Dutch; rack of lamb and shrimp/steak/lobster were simply the best). I spent a little time gambling but nothing special there. I wouldn't spend the extra money on Divi...more people, food is almost the same, the rooms aren't on the beach, and the Tam's beach is better. Also, we saw several other hotels and beaches during our stay but none we liked more. We can't wait to return, and think that the available Divi Resorts time-shares (which we didn't view) might be a (gasp) great idea. We loved it THAT much!