Resorts Charging Fees for Palapas?

[~Amy~®]

Originally Posted by sagman17

thats why i love ren island no charges no fees no problem never really mobed like other beaches

We stay at Amsterdam Manor on Eagle Beach and it's the same - no crowds, no fees, and we can get a palapa at any time of day. 10 more days....(not that I'm counting! )

[mjn109]

When we were at the Surf last January, my father had reserved us a palapa if not directly in the front row, just behind it. If I am not mistaken, he did have to pay for it that particular day. When my husband and I were just the last two left at it, the rest of our group had gone up to clean up for happy hour, a member of the staff was taking down the chairs for the night-no biggie as we had removed the chair tags already. Then a strange, and somewhat rough looking man came over, asked the staff member if he could sit at our palapa and he said "sure" ok, no one asked us. My husband and I just looked at each other and were like Ok, who the heck is this guy?? So we stayed for a few more minutes but as the man was kinda dirty and sketchy, we left.
What I am trying to say is, yes it's a public beach, but we had PAID for that spot on it and he shouldn't have been allowed to sit there. At least while we were STILL there anyway.

[hatteras]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I really enjoy reading all of the helpful information. We made our first wonderful trip to Aruba back in February. I have a question about the palapas at Druif Beach at Divi Village. All of the palapas are lined up in two rows adjacent to the road. Its very noisy and distracting back there. Someone told us there used to be a lot more there before a strong storm destroyed a lot of them a while ago. Does anyone know if this is fact or fiction? Also, are they planning to add more palapas on that beach?

[Arubalisa]

Welcome to the forum.

I cannot answer all of your questions, but I can tell you that the palapas have been in their present location since at least late 1997.

[jeffnev]

Originally Posted by Randi

As of March 2010, the SC and OC had half their huts for a fee and the other half were FREE.

Your are correct unless Marriott has made a recent change and not informed the owners. They always keep 50% of the palapas for free, but you need to reserve them the afternoon before to get one. It has been an effective way to keep some order on the beach...and I'm sure to make some extra $$$.