Westin VS Radisson

[Arubalisa]

Originally Posted by hpep

you had to pay for the Palapa's at the Westin.

There are no palapas available free of charge in the morning at all?

Or is there just a fee if you wish to reserve them in advance?

I can imagine all the sunburned people on the beach and all of the empty palapas.

How much is the charge?

[Arubalisa]

Which hotel to stay at Radisson or Westin???

[hpep]

It was $35/day to rent palapa in advance. I think in the mid morning or afternoon if there were available palapa's you could reserve them for that day free of charge.

[Arubalisa]

Wow! No free palapas in the morning. I can see if the palapas are up front or reserved in advance, but just for something anywhere on the beach, Dh likes to go sit out on the beach before breakfast. We would have considered the Westin for next year but I don't think dh will pay that kind of money everyday for shade.

[cpjones]

Hands down the Radisson.... for the bigger beach! Rooms may be a tad smaller, but we go to Aruba for the sun, sand and ocean!

[KATH2ME]

Never been or stayed at Westin, but my vote goes to Radisson, beautiful beach, wonderful pools. Been there Twice already and planning a return in June

[Dean Martin]

What about the (better) casino's between the two? Any thoughts?

[Arubalisa]

I posted the following question on the Westin Aruba Facebook page--

"could my dh walk down and wait in line early for a palapa free of charge or do you charge for all palapas now?"

Their response...

"The Westin Resort, Aruba wrote:
Hi Lisa,

There is a charge for reservations in advance, which also includes bottled water and fresh fruit.

The towel counter opens at 7am daily, and those palapas which have not been rented are available complimentary, first come, first serve. The complimentary palapas do not receive the services of the bottled water or fresh fruit."

Just so everyone is clear on this... unless every single palapa is reserved in advance, there is NO charge for the "UN-reserved" palapas, but they are on a first come first serve basis like most every other resort on the island.

[amarg]

$35 for fruit and a bottle of water? I guess for that price to reserve a palapa they try to make it more palatable and give you a bottle of water to help you swallow it down and fruit to sweeten the bad taste left in the mouth from that cost.

[Dean Martin]

Unfortunately, when a trend like this begins....it usually spreads pretty quickly. Especially if it involves more revenue for the hotel.

We visit Vegas a few times/yr and most of the hotels have gone to renting the prime pool front lounge chairs now. I honestly don't recall which hotel did it first, I think it was the Wynn. It took about 1 yr to spread. The difference (so far) between Vegas and Aruba is they will let the rentable seats sit empty all day if no one rents them in LV.