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Kath09 · 07-22-2009, 01:06 PM

We just returned home from our first visit to Aruba (loved it!!) so I will share my Holiday Inn Experience. We stayed on the fifth floor of the Curacao Section in an Oceanfront Standard Room. The room was clean and we had a great view of the beach and ocean from our balcony. We were in an end room, there are five on each floor. When entering the building, the first floor had an unpleasant odor to it, almost like cleanser and mint combined, but it did not filter to the other floors. The building was quiet and the housekeepers were very attentive. All of the staff were polite and helpful, though a language barrier was an issue for some of them.
The food at the Inn was ok, but nothing to brag about. The Service at The Sea Breeze was very slow, it appeared they were always understaffed. We had the buffet breakfast in The Coral Room and that was also ok. Not bad, but not great. We were less than unimpressed with the drinks and service at the Iguana Bar on the property. When I ordered a strawberry daiquiri, I got a pre-made mix with a shot of rum sitting on top of it. For $10 a cup, that was horrible! Luckily, we did not do the inclusive plan, so were found many places to eat and drink off the property that were better in value and quality.
The worst issue we had at the Inn was getting a hut on the beach. They have it set up so you can sign out a hut on the beach for the day (a great way to gaurantee shade) starting at 7:30am on a first come, first served basis. The problem is that people begin getting there early, but becasue there are benches and chairs all around, a real line does not form until 7:30am. Since there are no staff members present until 7:30am, the guests are left to fend for themselves and no one is sure where they should be. We witnessed numerous arguments between guests over who should be infront of who and some of them got quite heated and one actually got security involved. The attendant who was signing out the huts was a young boy who barely spoke English, so he did not have any kind of grip on the situations. We were there to relax, so we avoided the front of the line and were able to get a hut anyway, but witnessing such arguments puts a damper on your morning. They really need to figure out a better system for this.
Once in our hut, which we got at the far end of the beach near our building so it wasn't crowded, we were able to relax on the beach and enjoy ourselves. We fell in love with Aruba and are already talking about going back. Although the Inn was fine for our first visit, after seeing some other resorts in the sam eprice range, I don't think we will stay here again. Hope this helps someone!

07-22-2009, 01:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
Kath09 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1	Holiday Inn Review We just returned home from our first visit to Aruba (loved it!!) so I will share my Holiday Inn Experience. We stayed on the fifth floor of the Curacao Section in an Oceanfront Standard Room. The room was clean and we had a great view of the beach and ocean from our balcony. We were in an end room, there are five on each floor. When entering the building, the first floor had an unpleasant odor to it, almost like cleanser and mint combined, but it did not filter to the other floors. The building was quiet and the housekeepers were very attentive. All of the staff were polite and helpful, though a language barrier was an issue for some of them. The food at the Inn was ok, but nothing to brag about. The Service at The Sea Breeze was very slow, it appeared they were always understaffed. We had the buffet breakfast in The Coral Room and that was also ok. Not bad, but not great. We were less than unimpressed with the drinks and service at the Iguana Bar on the property. When I ordered a strawberry daiquiri, I got a pre-made mix with a shot of rum sitting on top of it. For $10 a cup, that was horrible! Luckily, we did not do the inclusive plan, so were found many places to eat and drink off the property that were better in value and quality. The worst issue we had at the Inn was getting a hut on the beach. They have it set up so you can sign out a hut on the beach for the day (a great way to gaurantee shade) starting at 7:30am on a first come, first served basis. The problem is that people begin getting there early, but becasue there are benches and chairs all around, a real line does not form until 7:30am. Since there are no staff members present until 7:30am, the guests are left to fend for themselves and no one is sure where they should be. We witnessed numerous arguments between guests over who should be infront of who and some of them got quite heated and one actually got security involved. The attendant who was signing out the huts was a young boy who barely spoke English, so he did not have any kind of grip on the situations. We were there to relax, so we avoided the front of the line and were able to get a hut anyway, but witnessing such arguments puts a damper on your morning. They really need to figure out a better system for this. Once in our hut, which we got at the far end of the beach near our building so it wasn't crowded, we were able to relax on the beach and enjoy ourselves. We fell in love with Aruba and are already talking about going back. Although the Inn was fine for our first visit, after seeing some other resorts in the sam eprice range, I don't think we will stay here again. Hope this helps someone!

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