Rental huts at the Westin

[mrsvoz20]

Hi all! My husband and I along with another couple will be at te Westin for 11 days.We asked about renting a hut for at least 5days........The price!$57 a day! Or get up at 5am stand in line and was told its cheaper. Help..any feed back will be greatly appreciated.Thanks

[Andrea J.]

the share huts (palapas) in the back row furthest from the water......is there a charge for them too?

if those are free, i would opt for those instead.
the westin or any of the other resorts would not receive ANY money from me for palapa rental=robbery imo.

Originally Posted by mrsvoz20

Hi all! My husband and I along with another couple will be at te Westin for 11 days.We asked about renting a hut for at least 5days........The price!$57 a day! Or get up at 5am stand in line and was told its cheaper. Help..any feed back will be greatly appreciated.Thanks

[Karen Lutzker]

Yes, there is a daily charge for the huts in the front. However, the beach at Westin is not very large and very few huts to begin with and not easy getting a hut in the back earlier in the day. What we do when we stay at Westin is stay on their nice comfortable cushioned chaise lounges by their lovely pool area. When we want to swim in the sea, it is a very short walk from the pool.

[Aruba4ever]

If you MUST have a front row seat, pay the $$$- I would use one of the back rows for FREE- unless I had (and I do) a little one that wants to be as close to the water as possible.....

[dkm619]

Not sure if this info is still needed. We stayed at the Westin last week. I went down to the beach and got in line every morning around 6:15. I was able to get a front row Papala every day except Friday, 2nd row. Not sure if we just got lucky because the hotel was not that crowded. I'm sure it's a different case this week since they are probably booked with the Easter holiday. Supply and Demand, Good Luck!!

[Arubalisa]

Westin Activities

"Front Row: $34.50 per day

Second Row: $27.50 per day

Third Row: $20.50 per day

Pool Hut: $27.50 per day

Azul Palapas (Only available until 4.00 pm) $ 25.50 per day

Prices include 15% Service Charge, bottles of water and fresh fruits and 1.5% tax.
The palapas cannot be occupied without registering for them and not before 7.00 am or after 7.00 pm. One chair per person is provided up to a
maximum of 4 chairs per palapa."

[Andrea J.]

does anyone think the charging for palapas is ROBBERY?

[corona]

Originally Posted by Andrea J.

does anyone think the charging for palapas is ROBBERY?

Actually, I'm glad there's the option for a paid reservation. I enjoy staying on the part of the island that has more action, and consequently more people. I think the way the Marriott Stellaris and the Hyatt handle their palapas (just the two I'm currently familiar with) is as fair as possible. Those who don't mind getting up early, or who are up anyway, can get a free palapa for the day. I did it once or twice, and it's quite the social gathering. It's all very friendly among everyone waiting in line. My husband and I, though, like to go out at night, and not worry about getting up at 7 am (or earlier) to secure a palapa, so we pay to reserve. We've also never had any problem getting a free lounge by the pool, regardless of the time of day, at either resort. Until this year, we've stayed at the Stellaris during Easter week (except once), so it's a very busy time of the year. There's only so much beach, and a finite number of palapas, so it seems mixing the free with the paid is a pretty resonable solution. Also, at the Hyatt, there's a huge communal palapa that lots of people seem to use in the afternoon. There's one, not quite as big, at the Stellaris, but every year we were there, it appeared to be reserved (I didn't ask about it, but it looked like one big group was using it all week).

[Arubalisa]

I am happy that there is an option.

At peak times when a resort is sold out you will be guaranteed to get a palapa.

If you can afford it, you pay it for the convenience. If you cannot afford it and do not like to rise early, you get yourself up and out there anyway to make sure you have one.

When I hear horror stories about people going out at 3 am to stake out their claim or better yet, bringing their own cot and blanket and spending the night...well, WOW

An analogy I use is like the first time we went to Flying Fishbone.

Dh did not want to drink and drive so I told him to figure the the taxi into the cost of the dinner and an expensive meal was just a bit more expensive.

Way back in '99 our dinner cost $169.
$36 was for the taxi ride.
Without the drinks and taxi it would have ran around $90.

It was a choice we made. We did not have to go, nowadays it is much cheaper to rent a car for the day than take a taxi, but if if you HAVE TO go and don't want to drink and drink well then you pay the price. Akin to having to have the palapa and not wanting to get up early.

If I am going to stay at a $300/night resort and pay $45 per day for a palapa. I would just look at the per day cost of staying at the resort as $345.

Now what I DO have a hard time swallowing is paying $300+ a night and the resort selling day passes for $10 - $20 per person per day for the use of the shade palapas, swimming pool(s) and facilities. But that is just me.

I keep telling dh we should stay somewhere that is <$100 a night inland and then buy a $10 day pass each day. $120 per night is a lot cheaper than staying on Palm beach at $300/night.

[Andrea J.]

my problem is i just don't get it.
when we go to aruba we usually stay at lacabana and although we typically spend most of our time at the pool we do occasionally grab a palapa at the beach.
we have never had an issue getting a palapa, but it has not ever been a front row.

so, i truly do not get it, as i never experienced the problem, and although i do not get it, i do feel not great about the tourists being asked for yet more $$ .

this is an old issue and only my opinion.