Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club

Aruba is always great to go to. It truly is one happy place. We stayed at this resort and we were very pleased. The suites are super big and we were lucky enough to get an ocean front view. Super family friendly and my young daughter was able to make many friends poolside and on the beach. My only minor complaint was the lack of sufficiently hot water in the shower particularly after 5 pm. Great location and super comfortable with access to other neighboring Marriott properties for lunch and dinner. Can’t wait to come back.

The ocean club is like our second home after going there for many years. The rooms are extremely clean and comfortable as the photos will show. There is a very functional kitchen that allows eating in rather than going out every night. The bed was a king and very comfortable, and any issues with being provided towels or linens and some time ago. This was a pandemic issue. Housekeeping comes twice per week and you have the option to pay for it if you want more. There is a laundry room on each floor with no charge. There are Keurig coffee makers in the suites. The grounds are beautiful with many species of plants and the other present iguanas that just wanna be left alone and show off for you. The birds are spectacular as well, look for the Aruin ring eyed pigeons. That is the name of the species and you should be able to find one. There is a selection of restaurants on premises, the main one being Malmok which has outdoor dining as well as bar seating and pool bar seating, which is our favorite. The menu is extensive for non-vegetarians, vegetarians and vegans. The bartenders and wait staff have been there for years and greet us warmly. Our favorite are the fish tacos, but please ask for some papaya hot sauce on the side. The other restaurant on site is Campeones (cleverly renamed from champions when it was a sports bar). All you can eat chips and salsa and margaritas that are not all you can drink! The lobby and public areas are also extremely clean and well kept. There are a number of stores with some grocery items, alcohol, souvenirs, and the ocean Café gelato in particular is not to be missed. The pool is lovely, but will be closing for renovations this fall so please check. There are fitness classes and pool classes. Getting chairs at the pool can be difficult depending on the time of year. In April, it was much easier than it had been earlier in the winter on prior years. In general and the busier times you do need to get up early and claim your chairs. The Palapas on the beach are reserved via a webpage and that is fairly easy. There is a charge for the Palapas. What else can I tell you except to go and enjoy.

This property is on what I call the "Marriot *****." It's nestled between the Marriot Surf Club and Marriot Stellaris. The Ritz Carlton is at the end of the *****, next to the Stellaris. This is the smallest property on the ***** and the quietest along w/ the Ritz. The pool is great. It's large w/ a swim up bar, pool bridge and numerous waterfalls and hot tubs. There are sufficient pool loungers and umbrellas. The outdoor lunch restaurants are very good. The outdoor area is well maintained. The beach has palapas, which need to be rented at 7 am for $10 each online. You can also pre-rent a day in advance at the towel desk for $25. The beach is nice with lots of palm trees. Lots of floaties available for use. My only complaint was that they did not clean up the seaweed every day from the beach. It was only cleaned up once during our one week stay. They really need to dig it all up from under the water and clean up the beach like the Ritz Carlton. Their towel policy is also restrictive - you are only given 4 towels for the one bedroom units. You can refresh them once a day, but you must hand in your wet towels. So, you can either cover the back of your chaise lounger or the bottom, not both. On the plus side, the chaise loungers are lightly padded and comfortable! There were blue lizards and iguanas roaming around by the pool area, which the kids loved of course. We had a one bedroom apartment which was very spacious. The unit had a nice view and was all updated and modern, except for the bathroom which needed some TLC. My only complaint about the unit was the bathroom. The building has some gift shops, a convenience store, a Mexican restaurant and an ice cream shop. Service was adequate but not consistent. The property is a short walk from the restaurant/shopping ***** that is bustling at night. All in all, it is a good Timeshare if you are looking for something that is quieter, and not too busy like the Surf Club or Stellaris.

The check in experience is an absolute nightmare. Check-in starts at 4 PM so we made sure to book our flight based on this information of course we arrived slightly after 4 PM our room wasn’t available so we simply asked for a window of time and they couldn’t provide this information. So if you’re trying to plan a trip and a flight based on what time you’ll be able to check into your resort don’t count on 4 PM. Other than that, this day was very enjoyable.

This was our first stay at the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club. We have stayed at the Surf Club many times. We chose to stay at the Ocean because it seemed a 'step up' from the Surf, and has less kids. The location is wonderful. Close to everything and very walkable and safe. Unfortunately we had some bad experiences with this resort. Starting with the checkin at 4pm. Our room wasn't ready until after 6pm (they did offer a $50 credit for this, which I appreciated. It did go downhill from there. We got to our 2Br Lockoff 'oceanview' unit (on the 1st floor).. which faced some tall bushes, trees, and the other side of the hotel. Zero waterview. When I voiced my concern to the front desk- they told me that WAS in-fact an ocean view - behind the bushes somewhere? Not good. We requested a move. They moved us the next day to a 3rd floor unit, which was MUCH better. (and we could actually see the ocean). The 3rd floor room was very nice, spacious, and clean. But the very next day we had a note slipped under our door that the water for the resort would be turned off from 11pm-7am for a repair. Then, the very next day ,we received another note slipped under our door that the AC would be off from 11am-7pm ('the latest'), for some type of air leak/repair. It did, thankfully, come back on by 8pm, after I called to ask what was happening because it still wasn't on my 7:30pm.. They told me they 'were turning it on slowly starting w the first floor and going up'.. As if all these significant issues weren't enough, we were told housekeeping would be cleaning our room on Wednesday. We came back to our room on Tuesday afternoon and it was clean. Which was nice, but we would have preferred to put our things away and been prepared. Also, 1 of the 2 elevators was out of service, and being worked on one day also. On a positive note, the pool, hot tub and restaurants were wonderful and delicious. I work in the customer service industry, and know that little things can make a BIG impact. If the staff at the front desk smiled and greeted guests when they walked in from the pool, or from out to dinner - it would go a long way. They would look at you, and look back down at their computer.. not even being with a customer. (We travel often, and have experienced great service at other resorts, and it was wonderful). I did voice my concern over all the hotel issues, and I was told they are offering no credit, points, nothing to anyone. (We are also an owner). It was 'normal maintenance'. Again, terrible service. They didn't care. Needless to say - we will NOT be staying at the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club again.

0 - Avoid FYI, included bedding doesn’t include comforters (duvet) because “they don’t have enough” I guess if you like being cold at night, consider staying here. Behind that it’s typical abysmal level of help. “I’ll put the request in for you” but “I won’t actually follow up and help you”