Originally Posted by BillandJean
This past April, my wife Jean and I spent a lovely time at the Bucuti. We also stayed in The Tara suites.
We have nothing but a positive feeling about our stay at the Bucuti. In our opinion, it is an absolutely wonderful establishment. The beach outside the Bucuti is probably one of the most perfect beaches anywhere on earth. It is stunningly beautiful. There are always palapas available and the restaurant on the premises is good.
The continental breakfast (served right in the first floor of the Tara building) is very nice and fully prepares you for your day. If they still use the same system, when you sit down to eat, you will be given what appears to be a check. We were told this is for accounting purposes only - you just sign it and leave it.
You'll figure out Aruba just fine. Here's some tips for right around the Bucuti.
Priority A#1!!, (no kidding, no fooling arund) Respect the mighty Aruban sun. You will cook to a painful, vacation wrecking crisp very, very quickly.
a.) leave your dehumidifier running in your room - it's there for a reason
b.) be careful and bring your room card the first time you go out onto the patio - the door will automatically lock behind you. This setting cannot be adjusted, or at least couldn't during our stay
c.) if you bring a laptop, buy the block of wi-fi time. Once I figured out how to set up your connection (I'm technically a little challenged) it worked fine our entire stay.
d.) You'll find your own way on fine dining around Aruba - for everyday meals right near the Bucuti, here's some tips - when you leave the main entrance of The Bucuti , heading towards Alhambra Casino, veer left and there is a very nice, very clean Dunkin' Donuts just past Pizza Bob's Restaurant, which is also very nice. We patronized both places several times. If you veer right in the Bucuti parking lot, a little further up the road is a small bagel stand called, I believe, Dushi. The overstuffed bagel sandwiches there made a bring back to the beach meal for us several times. Directly across from the Dushi is a servicable Subway's. So on the days you want to conserve a little, there's plenty of elbow room right around the Bucuti.
We rented a car from Hans at Tropical Car Rental. Great guy, great car - Aruban driving is a little tricky, but not too bad. Snorkelling around The Bucuti is non-existent, so we had to travel a little. The Beaches to the north and all the way to the south provided more than enough off-shore snorkelling enjoyment for us.
Our favorite spot away from The Bucuti was Baby Beach, way in the south. When we got there, there was a handy little beach side business renting sunshades and chairs and snorkelling equipment, etc. There was also a little food hut. We paid $50 for a shade and two chairs for the day (two different times!) While this may seem steep, we needed the shade and it really made our day comfortable at a very beautiful, user-friendly snorkeling beach. All in all, a fair bargain.
We can't say enough positive things about the Bucuti. Wander out in the a.m. around 9, get your webshot taken on the Bucuticam, and all your friends and family can see you back home.
Have a nice time at the Bucuti - we did and can't wait to go back!
check out our Aruba and Bucuti photos here:
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