Tamarijn Aruba All Inclusive

We have now been twice and are heading back in November.

Checking in: Is always fast and courteous thanks to their wonderful staff.
You are given each a water bottle to fill at the many water
stations and a bag for the beach.
Rooms: We had a Premium Double. Which in essence is one of the
newly renovated rooms. The beauty of this resort is all
rooms are ocean view
Restaurants: We enjoyed all restaurants. We always felt the service was
good . When they were busy you wait no different then
restaurants here in Canada.
Bars : Bartenders always smiling and ready to make you a great
drink. Since Crown Royale is a scarcity recently in Aruba
we bought a bottle at the duty free before flying in.
Pool: Yes there is only one but it is a good size and the
entertainment crew makes it fun
Beach: Bring water shoes as there are rocky areas. We did notice
that the beach had eroded in some areas.
Entertainment: Always great fun during the day or evening. [Details]

Those looking for an intimate and relaxing all-inclusive resort for a honeymoon in Aruba would be happy to select this resort. [Details]

Not a great place overall. Just about the worst customer service I've ever experienced. You felt like a burden overall. Only one pool, and it's surrounded by very slippery tile that I fell on the first day and watched at least one person slipping everyday. Food was ok, but not great. Not the cleanest place I've been either. And the activities? Not much of them and when you actually get to use a hobycat no one helps you. Actually, they yell at you for being inexperienced. Never going back or recommending to anyone. Oh, and wifi sucks. [Details]

I love staying at this resort. I enjoy it so much this was my 4th vacation there. The staff are very courteous and helpful. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. Whether you choose to spend your time on the beach or by the pool, you will be comfortable either way. The food choices are always varied enough to suit any taste. The bar tenders are friendly and outgoing, with a smile on their face. I find I am really relaxed while I am there. [Details]

This was my 3rd time at this property and my boyfriend's 1st. I hadn't been back since before the renovation. It's beautiful and updated. We will be back hopefully in November. The staff is always friendly, the property is very clean and the food is good. [Details]

This resort's strongest point is how close the rooms are to the beach, that is why I go to the tropics! You can hear the waves from your pillow at night. Even better is that fact that it respects the environment; they use eco-friendly cups, have disposal units for these everywhere, you get a water bottle when you check in which is refillable at various points in the resort. As well I saw solar panels above balconies! Free internet everywhere!!! [Details]

Spent a wonderful week. Food, service, weather, beach and location were excellent. Every room is on the beach. Fully renovated. [Details]

had a great time [Details]

Lovely hotel. Not extravagent but laid back and relaxing. If you prefer something more upscale, stay at the Divi. I wish we would have but it was all booked. The Divi has a higher class of sophistication.
Beach was absolutely stunning. I didn't enjoy our room location. I believe we were in block 23 something...the beach was not nice here and it had a sewage smell. We did book only a month in advance so maybe that is why.
I should also mention and this is not the hotels fault but the location of the hotel is right on the main drag street, every morning (like 6am every morning), afternoon and night there were police sirens. Mind you, we weren't in our room all the time but if you are sitting out on your deck or patio it gets annoying. You can also hear the traffic. I live on a busy street at home and I felt like I never left. Again if you stay at the Divi the hotel is located farther away from the street and you are less likely to hear the noise.
There is a mini fridge in your room but it's not stocked with anything. I suggest they at least supply you with water. We had to buy an insulated bottle and go down to the bar and fill it up a few times a day.
I should also mention that you have to pay $50 for the week to have wifi. A bit ridiculous but we paid it and it worked fine.
There is a Hertz Rental Agency on site at the Tamarijn which was wonderful! Andrew working at the desk was very nice and eased our fears of driving around the island. I highly suggest a rental car to get a good feel of what the island has to offer.
All in all our vacation was wonderful but I would return to the Divi, not the Tamarijn. It's worth the extra money. [Details]

We loved the hotel, beach and all the activities definitely a great choice!! [Details]

First impressions are deceiving, from arrival the Tamarijn had my husband worried. It is a simple decor but very welcoming staff. Our initial room had issues first with the key card then with the door to the balcony, which wouldn't open, but when did wouldn't then close. The railing on the balcony needed repair. Some would now say why stay? But let me finish. We changed rooms. All was good with new room. The beach was at our door. You walked out of your room balcony and right on the uncrowded beach! Everyone of the staff were pleasant and helpful. The resteraunts were lovely. With the access to the Divi this just adds to your all inclusive selection. With the Red Parrot and Paparazzi being our favourites. The lower number of rooms means no overcrowding and an opportunity to get to know many of your fellow travellers. While our experience may not have started out perfect, after seeing other resorts and speaking with many return guests we wouldn't stay anywhere else. Can't wait to return to Aruba and the Tamarijn. [Details]

Check in is quick and easy, friendly smiling staff always. Food in buffet is good, Ala carts are amazing. Rooms are basic but alway clean, 10 star property, every room is ocean front. Never crowded on beach or restaurants. International alcohol is alway available, coffee is great and alway available. Only draw back for us, no coffee maker in room and fridge is not stocked [Details]

This was our second time here. Again, a fabulous, relaxing week with good food and friendly staff. We will return again. [Details]

The hotel was great with no complaints. The food was awesome. I was a little disappointed that the wifi was very expensive but we just went into town and found free wifi a few days. The beach is clean and not busy. I would have no 2nd thoughts about coming here again. [Details]

ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT THERE. 12TH VISIT [Details]

Excellent stay. Ocean is crystal clear with white sand beach. Very relaxing stay. [Details]

4th time. Like huge beach, no crowds, staff, meals = One Happy Island.

Flight timing this year: very poor. Flight time: 5 hours time to airport and to hotel= 9 hours. Flights previous 3 times left at 6-7 a.m; this year at 9-did not arrive at hotel till 5 pm Aruba time. Got home on return after 11 p.m. [Details]

excellent beach and resort. Perfect for a relaxing and quiet vacation. Only thing missing was a coffee maker in the room. [Details]

Most of the Rooms are located right in front of ocean and it is amazing, staffs are great, management needs improvement, front desk need improvement for checking in and out, very very slow, it took us about 1 hour to check in and we were the lucky one arrive on the first buss.
My other concern was if two staffs are chatting and you to speak with them, you have to wait until they are done talking and it could take a while.
Overal It was a bit lower standard of we normaly travel but the view made up for it, food was Ok but I would like to see the name signs of the food more clearly , my kids are allergic to peanuts and one night they ate a chicken with peanut sauce, overal the foods are taged poorly.
This is what I mean by management improvement small things but it could have significant impact on guests, some people don't eat pork or beef for what ever reason and it should be marked clearly and individual, not just a big list on top and leave it guests to figure out which one is what , and what kind meat also if there special sauce like peanuts mustarked, thank god my wife was equipped with all kind of antihistamines, and my kids notice the strange tast of the food very early and stopped eating and brought it to our attention.
Overal is a good hotel to go and I recommend, I don't think we go back there but only because of lower standard. [Details]

My wife and I have travel to Aruba 17 times staying at the Tamarijn 13 of those times it is by far the best place from food, shopping to nightly entertainment and the staff are just the best. [Details]

This is our second time to this all-inclusive resort and we loved it again! The staff are extremely friendly and there is very little we would change. The only thing we would change are the showers (the glass doesn't extend far enough and you soak the bathroom floor each time you shower since it is open).

This is by far the best place to go! We met lots of other couples there who had been previously as well. One couple even said they had been going there since 1989!

We definitely hope to go back again one day in the future :)! [Details]

This wasn't our first trip to Aruba but it was our first to the Tamarijn all inclusive. It wouldn't be our first choice for our next trip but it did exceed our expectations in a lot of ways and was a great trip, especially for crossing "Christmas in the Caribbean" off the bucket list.

First off, I want to say that many of the things people hated here in other reviews are really non issues, and many of the praises people have are the issues. Strange that that was the case for us but allow me to be more specific.

First off people praise the staff, and for the most part they are awesome. The bar staff, the pool/beach staff and the guest services people were all fantastic as were the people running the shops based in the resort. Our issue was the front desk staff. It wasn't that they were unpleasant because they weren't but every time we tried calling the desk for something there was no answer and we needed to visit in person to interact with them. A small thing, but an annoyance still the same. Also housekeeping will put stuff away. If you think your missing something, check the drawers its likely been folded and put away neatly.

One thing that really irked me, and this may seem like a small thing, was the room safe. First of all you had to pay a daily fee for it, this bought you a lock that you put on the safe and a key chain on a strap that had to be carried around for the week. Firstly I hated paying for the safe, but I really hated carrying that key around even more. In a day in age when every place you go has a complimentary in room combination safe, I found this point to be cheep and a "nickle and dime" thing at best that was inconvenient. Heaven forbid that you loose your key off their cheep strap because the charges for getting the locksmith in to drill out the lock are extreme. Please Tamarijn loose the 14 bucks a week and install some real safes for your guests, its a small thing but an amenity that should be standard in this day in age, especially for a higher star rated resort on Aruba. Maybe in a 3 star in Cuba or Mexico that would be acceptable but it doesn't cut it for Aruba.

For us, its not about problems on vacation, its about how the staff fix the issue that happen so that everyone can go on happy. Our only issue with the room was no hot water. None, zip zilch. After visiting the desk, they had it fixed for us within a couple hours, while we chilled on the beach so no points against the resort for this since they solved the issue quickly.

Let me address a lot of the complaints that the resort is too spread out, and that you have to walk too far to get a drink or food or whatever. I paced it out, and no matter where we planted ourselves on the beach, we were never more then 200 feet from a place to get drinks or snacks. One of the best things about the setup they have, is that when your between meals and want a snack there are pizza and burgers available at the beach bars.

Being a LARGE all inclusive resort it was very busy but never felt crowded with the exception of the check in. We had 2 buses full from our flight all checking in with only 2 desk clerks and the process was extremely long. My recommendation, get to the front of the line, take the first bus or invest in the 10-20 bucks to cab to the hotel to beat the crowed.

There are lots of restaurant options a-la-cart and the food is 3-4 star tops but well cooked and presented at all of them. The buffets tended to echo the menus of the different a-la-cart restaurants on alternating nights and it wasn't as varied as we thought it would be based on people's reviews here, but the food was good enough that it wouldn't stop us from going back to the resort especially with the bars offering excellent comfort food snacks, you would never go hungry on this trip. Our Christmas eve dinner at the buffet included Turkey, fillet minion and a fairly well done Wellington and it was by far the best meal we had on the trip. The breakfast buffet was absolutely fantastic every day. There were key drinks missing from their selection I found, and the house champagne was bottom shelf in my opinion. My only other complaint about the drinks would be that beer was draft only and that was limited to Miller light and the local beer Balashi (which is excellent by the way). Others here have already recommended bringing your own glass/cup as the ones provided are a bit small, so I will echo that as something you can do, but it didn't bother me one way or the other though my wife brought one and was happier for it.

People also complain that they get there at 1pm and cant access their rooms until 4. We didn't have this issue as our room was ready when we arrived, as were everyone we talked too from our flight. One complaint that we validated from others was the sound proofing of the rooms I'm not sure how it could be made better but it wasn't a huge issue, just one to be aware of, your neighbors can hear you if your voice is raised a bit and it can affect your sleep if someones knocking on a door nearby or whatever.

Now for the main reasons to use this resort over others. If your in Aruba for the beaches, it cant be beat. Your room, no matter what room you have will be steps from the beach, with a great view of the sea. Its close enough that you hear it over the room's A/C and it puts you to sleep like nothing else. Being able to take a dip, and take 30 steps to your room for a shower or whatever makes this worth the trip alone. Being away from the high rise section of the island, this resort and the Divi have a long section of beach pretty much to themselves and even though it was busy, the beach was never crowded nor was the water.

The resort is also within walking distance to the City which surprised us as we thought it was farther away. We know because we did it twice, we also bussed for a buck and change. Its not a fast walk, takes about 15-20 mins but your not "Locked" to the resort at all and there are shops to stop at on the way if you want to cool off on your hike.

As for the recent renovations. Many of the complaints on this site are being addressed. They are installing new sewage facilities at the resort and the rooms are being updated and ours was fantastic. We specifically asked for a centralized room that had been refitted and we got a wonderful walk in shower with room for 2, very nice fixtures and it was clean. It was however a bit damp, but it rained heavily on our trip so that shouldn't come as a surprise when your 30 feet from the sea shore. The A/C had a dehumidifier and it worked hard to counter this if you let it run so it wasn't a big deal for us. Our room was also second floor which we recommend for 2 important reasons. 1. because the view is better duh. 2. in the night security will knock and test every lower floor sliding door for security and people found it annoying though in fairness I watched them on their rounds and the process went like this.

1. door test, 2 if it opened they would try to find the guests if they weren't there to ensure their security, if it was locked they would move on. They were as unobtrusive as they could be with the job they had to do. They only checked the rooms by the way that didn't have the safety lock bar installed so if you want a good night sleep on the lower floor, put your bar up and problem solved.

I'll kick myself if I go back and cant get this room, but we had 1216 and it was one of only 4 or 5 semi private top floor balconies in the resort just because of the way the buildings are constructed. There is a short railing between rooms only on the top floor and our room was set back enough that the wall of the rooms to either side gave us a secluded spot without having to look left or right at our neighbor's balconies so I would highly recommend requesting this room.

We are a bit biased to our previous destination in Aruba simply because it was a better fit for us, food and pace wise, but nothing can touch the location of this place for its access to the beach and its service oriented facility/staff to guest # ratios and what not. Its also the perfect spot for kids, with a TON of stuff for them to do as well as in house daycare and what not. Being Christmas there were many families there with children from infant to teen. If your looking for a quiet no kid spot, its not for you, but if you have a family it would really be a fantastic place to take them and have them entertained the entire trip.

Lastly I have to give a plug to Sunquest and Thomas Cook travel. They are everything Air Canada wasn't for us and reminded us why we loved our last flight in and out of Aruba with them so much. Free food that was pretty good, a complimentary beverage and really friendly crew from Captain all the way down made it a good way to start and end the trip. The Sunquest reps (Props to Rosita) , though we didn't need them on this trip, are really good as well and can often price out things like rental cars and what not at the "local price" instead of the tourist price you pay at the hotel desk agency.

All in all the resort is a great place to go and enjoy Aruba and tends to be priced more reasonably then many other resorts on the island. You do get what you pay for to a certain extent, but the resort offers great value for the money. Id have given a 5/5 on value if not for the in room safe so don't let the 4/5 scare you away.

On a side note, Aruba is AWESOME for Christmas as the entire island is decorated and the holiday is celebrated in ways Ontario just doesn't do anymore.

I hope this review proves as helpful to people as our last ones have, if you have questions don't hesitate to drop a line, we will be happy to answer them [Details]

first time in aruba/tamarijn.the resort was well maintained however, the rooms could use some updating, also the food needs some variety/change. [Details]

Although this is the older section of the resort, this is the best beach area. Ginger was a great restaurant however you have to book reservations two days in advance this forces you to have to eat at the buffet for the first few nights. Was very disappointed that even though the Ginger restaurant was not full to capacity they would not accept new reservations - made me wonder if this wasn't again to make you eat at the buffet. Buffet wasn't bad but was a bit repetitive after awhile. Italian restaurant was average, I would recommend it. The pool side pizza & chicken finger as well as the frozen drinks were great. [Details]

We had a great time at the Tamarijn. I don't know how you can beat walking out to the ocean in front of you? The food and drinks were top notch and everything around the resort was very clean. We were in a room with a remodeled bathroom. They are currently doing upgrades, which is good to see. The beach here is huge and sandy. It is an excellent place to visit. [Details]

Overall a good experience, but felt we overpaid for what we got. Could have gone somewhere more modern for less money. Staff were friendly, but hotel lacked some of the basics - food presentation, soap replacement in bathroom, no lotion or conditioner provided to guests. Internet/business services were spotty at best and very expensive considering what we were already paying. Overall a pleasant experience because of the beach. [Details]

Relaxing quiet beach veacation. Rooms at Tam are good but facilities and food at Divi much better. [Details]

Amazing location right on the beach. Rooms are a bit small, but very clean, and you absolutely cannot beat the view. Food was quite good, especially at the a la carte restaurants. We went on a tour, and from what I saw, I much preferred this resort to the other high rise ones with more limited beach space. Pool is small and simple, though. This place is for people who love the beach. [Details]

it was a nice hotel.... very friendly staff.... nice if you like very quiet and relaxing atmosphire.... can't say I'll stay there again... I like to be down by the highrises ... but otherwise... very nice hotel...super clean... [Details]

Excellent vacaton in the sun, Tamarijn to me is the best location on the island, excellent food, room was also very clean,comfortable, right on the beach, very quiet.That's what we are looking when we travel. [Details]