Well put...Kteacher. Aruba has lost some of it's charm, and lost that when the building got out of control. Years and years ago, as soon as I saw the first Pizza Hut go up, I knew the island would never be the same. but this past week was insane. You'll see...and you will be very sad, I am sure.
Note to Itdpt.....did you have a car? Were you looking out the window? The garbage was VERY obvious along the roadsides this trip. Did you go to BABY BEACH? You would have cried. I did. The empty beer bottles were piled up under the little shelters, and the beach was loaded with cigarette butts and filth. Even some garbage in the water. I was very very very upset to see this.
Did you go downtown and walk around? If you did, then maybe you did not go down mainstreet...that is where the homeless druggies are 24 hours a day. They sit behind the buildings in groups. They take up the entire block....and growing. In the evening, they are in the downtown parking lots begging. AND>>>the empty stores are numerous. That is very disturbing. Downtown needs painting and sprucing up badly.

When we go to Aruba, we have a car and go everywhere all hours of the day and nite. Trust me, we didn't want to see all this, but it is there. it is not one happy island anymore. Aruba has problems.
My son and his finace went to Aruba last month, and the first thing he said to me was "Aruba just isn't the same anymore..." He noticed it right away as well.

That new Riu Hotel is an eyesore....maybe in Dubai it would look good...but it ruins the landscape of Palm Beach. I am shocked they would allow that kind of building. But Aruba obviously has no building controls...just like with the building going on now. TOO TOO TOO much. And, yes that new mall is nice, but...do you really like the big high rise parking garage that it came with????