Ocean Club Report/July 2007

I am at the Ocean Club right now. It is incredibly not crowded. The place looks great. The staff seem to be upgraded and more service oriented than in the past. The shops are all open. The Spa is having lots of discounts for Marriott Owner's and those willing to book appointments at odd times (before 2pm or after 7pm). There are still many $5 and $10 tables in the casino. Many folks are still complaining about the crowds at the Surf Club pool and there is a rumor of another pool, possibly adults only, being built between the OC and SC.

Beware of prices. There seems to have been a lot of inflation taking place on the island. Entrees at the better restaurants are easily in the $30 to $45 range, plus appetizers and desserts in the $9 to $12 range.

The new mall across from the Holiday Inn and Playa Linda is well under construction with a few stores open. The new luxury MOVIE THEATER is now OPEN. We didn't go in, but I hear it is great. The admission prices are around $12 each we hear.

Downtown, the mall is under a lot of construction. It is being redone into a High End Mall to include, Gucci, Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, Polo, Furla, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, LaCoste and more. In addition, there is a new Swarovski and Montblanc store nearby (by the bus terminal). The construction is supposed to be completed by early fall of this year, tentatively September.

If you are a visitor to Baby Beach (highly recommended at the southern part of the island), there is (was during our visit) now a vendor who rents canopies for shade, snorkel equipment, and floats, right on the beach. For some reason, and you could see it, the water depth has receeded. They say it is three feet shallower, I'd say closer to two feet. It's very strange and I heard this has happened on other beaches in Aruba as well. As for Baby Beach, this has the positive effect of getting rid of some of the ocean flora (algae type stuff) that was starting to become too thick.

Back to the Ocean Club...WARNING...there is a lot of construction taking place at the resort right now. They appear to be re-doing all of the rooms (probably to compete with the recent rennovations at the Hyatt and Westin). The noise starts at 8:00am and is loud; hammers, trash dumping, etc.

The furnishings appear to be about half way through their life. I think they are two to three years old now. The new bedding is terrific! The lizard situation seems to be the same as it has been for all the years that I have been coming here.

One complaint that I continue to have is the lack of "healthy" choices for food on-site. It seems that everyone wants to put a "Chicken Caesar Salad" on their menu as the healthy choice. Well, you can only eat this so many times before you're tired of it. A veggie burger or chicken burger would make a whole lot of difference. Even the one burger they have is $12, but it comes loaded with bacon and cheese. I don't know about the rest of you, but age keeps me from burning those types of calories anymore.

Hi - so glad you posted this report! I hope it's still uncrowded when I get there on August 25. Good info on the renovations - I had no idea this was going on. Construction seems to be growing in Aruba everyday. The downtown area was under construction when I was there last September and then again in April. Hope you have a great time! Paula