Marriott's Aruba Surf Club

I love my timeshare. Always great weather, friendly folks, activities. I always have things to do, activities to attend. Easy walk to great places to eat. Easy walk to the Marriott or the Ritz. Awesome sushi at Marriott hotel. Great spa at the Ritz.

Another great time at the Marriott SC. Year after year this resort never disappoints. Besides the resort having all amenities you will ever need, it's the workers and staff that make this a "special" place. They are the most gracious people you will ever meet. I would like to give a special "shout out" to a few of the palapa attendants that work so hard and are the best...Benito, Julio, Philip and Jeanrick. They are like family and work so hard to make your beach experience that much enjoyable.

Once again they knocked it out of the park. Props to the following staff members: Yenny - Captains Galley Vener - Captains Galley Jenard - Captains Galley Chichi - Front Desk Louimar - Loss and Prevention Glinnys - Captains Galley Gloria Arrendado - Housekeeping *THE BEST All the staff setting up the Palapas So many more to mention

This was our 6th stay at the Surf Club and it still is one of our favorites. We always get the 2 bedroom and enjoy the space and kitchen/laundry options. There's so many great places to walk to (Nos Clubhuis, Carlitos, Pelican Pier) for happy hours and just tons of food options. I find the palapa rental online to be really easy. Yes its best to get on at the opening times of the reservations window (5:30 pm the day before or 7 am day of) but I consistently got a palapa in the 300s to 500s. And frankly throughout the day we would see people leaving and ask if they are gone for the day and they would offer us their palapa. The pool chairs on the other hand, I don't even try to get anymore. I get out to run at 5 am and people are out there sleeping on them to hold them. So we book palapas and then go to the lazy river as needed. I don't have an answer on a better way except for not allowing folks to 'mark' one until 7 am. But it did not impact our vacay. Staff is great and when I stand at the front desk and listen to what they deal with from other guests I genuinely appreciate what they go through. As a Marriott Elite I was granted a later checkout to noon and that was much appreciated as it gave us those precious extra couple of hours to enjoy the beach and sun before being locked in the airport and plane. I do wish the Marriott would bring back more regular housekeeping (4th day and 7th day). It does come across as substandard when comparing to other accommodations both on Aruba and elsewhere. And we loved the staff who did that work there. So book it, go with an attitude of gratitude and make it a great part of your Aruba experience.

Marriott Surf Club Aruba April 30 - May 6, 2024 Overall: Aruba is a developed island catering to American tourists, largely from the northeast based on our 2 recent visits. Easy cab ride from the airport, safe island with good restaurants and bars that we found reasonably priced. Actually slightly less expensive than the NY/NJ area. Despite the forecast for 50% chance of rain daily, we never had any other than a couple of overnight showers. Nice beach and constant trade winds. Be careful, sun is deceptively dangerous given the breeze. Resort: This is a really big Marriott vacation club, with the surf club (also a VC) next door, the Marriott hotel next door to that, and the Ritz next door to that. Lots of families, but we never had an issue getting a palapa. There is an on line system for the palapa reservations that opens for booking each day at 5:30. Only issue is it’s virtually impossible to be beach front, those are snatched up quick. If you care about being close to the water, then you may be disappointed. Lazy river pool is fun, we did it a couple of days late afternoon after we had HH, bring a couple of inflatable tubes. TBH, lots of people just leave them in the pool area on their last day, so you will surely be able to snag a few if you don’t bring any. There is an air compressor to fill up new tubes by the towel dispenser. Room: We were in a studio, essentially a hotel room with a small kitchen area that had a mini fridge, sink, plates, cutlery, toaster, coffee maker, microwave, etc. Comfortable bed with 48 inch TV, small balcony. Worked fine for us.AC, fan and water pressure in shower were all great. AC goes down to 66. Safe built into closet wall, my wife said the hair dryer was good. We stocked up on 2 bottles of tequila at the airport, and had the cab driver stop at the supermarket on the ride before checking in. It’s an extra $4 per 5 minutes, all you really need is 15-20 mins. We spent $150 on yogurts, fruit, bread, case of beer, case of water, cheese, cold cuts, wine, etc. Lasted us the whole week, we really only ate out dinner time. Saves a lot of $ if you are gonna have HH drinks and more daily. Exercise: There is a gym, but we opted to walk 5-6 miles every morning down the ***** on LG Smith Blvd, which has a nice sidewalk which turns into a bike and walking lanes from the high rise area to the low rise area. Bring your water bottles from home, which you can till up in the lobby of the hotel. Water is filtered and safe. Restaurants: Too many to list here, everyone has their own favorites. We walked to dinner all but 2 nights, Azar and Caya are both about a half mile walk away, out the back of the hotel past the Radisson to the main *****. Both are modern with creative menus. Burrata at Caya and Octopus at Azar were standouts. Madam Jeanette has been there forever, we still like it. Best beer selection on the island with many German beers to choose from, including many on tap. Tips: Drinks are p

First time at the Surf Club and totally enjoyed my stay. I have a two room suite and it was spacious and clean. Convenience of a full kitchen was great although I’m on vacation so did not cook. Getting supplies would make sense at the super food market but if you plan on picking up a few items at the marketplace be prepared for the high price of convenience. Tip. If you want a few beers for the lazy river get a six pack which will give a small discount. Compared to bar prices, the six pack is a bargain. The lazy river is the best feature for me and my wife. Relaxing with a few cold ones. Meeting lazy river travelers and having lazy river conversations is great. The security is also very strict about using floats and loud, splashing kids not allowed which is appreciated. Note that there are tons of iguanas and they are nice to look at but on occasion will jump into the river to cross. Don’t get caught in a jump as they can have sharp claws. All in, it was a nice stay with friendly staff and not overly crowded. I went during off season so not as many families during my visit.

Loved our stay here! We booked a 1 bedroom apt which comes with a full kitchen that had a view of the beach. We stayed a week and really enjoyed the spacious apt. Only downside was that we were with my parents who came 3 days later. Tho I mentioned before arriving , upon arrival and every day before they arrived that we wanted to stay in the same floor so they could help us and could eat with us. They still put them in a different floor and also wished we could’ve stayed poolside instead of towards the other side But other than that everything was good The kids loved the lazy river and the pool area with the slide !

Nice Marriott timeshare resort that’s great for families. My wife and I stayed for 1 week. The three 14 story building are all situated around the really nice large pool area. All the units have balconies and sea views. Even though the resort is very crowded, the architects divided the space up nicely and put palm trees and bushes and it really doesn’t seem like there are too many people. There is a lazy river pool, kids pools, slide, pool bar and restaurant area, volleyball net, music, and bingo. The beach area is right out front and there is a snack bar on the beach. Fernando, our poolside waiter, did an excellent job bringing us food and drinks. We never had any problem finding chairs. Housekeeping was great, Arianna, cleaned our room on Thursday and did an excellent job. There is a nice little market in the lobby. Like many large resorts, checking in was not fun. Long lines at the front desk and lots of people waiting in the lobby. They did hand out water bottles which was nice. The room was dark, musty and mildew smelling. All the guests we met were from the US East Coast, mostly from NY or NJ. Which was fine, but it pretty much felt like we were in Florida. Overall a nice family timeshare resort. Tip- before you buy a float for the river pool, check the trash room on your floor. We were able to find floats and after we left them for the next guest to use.

This high end hotel is very expensive for what you get and the rates they are charging for their bigger rooms are sky high. Don't pay extra for oceanview rooms, as you almost fall of your balcony if you want to catch a glimpse of the ocean. At 7 AM, almost all the chairs around the pool are already reserved with a tag and for good chairs on the beach you have to pay extra.