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Re: divi dutch village any info please
Specific to your questions.
Hi have you stayed at the divi dutch village?
No, have walked through. First visit was at the Tamarjin. Bought at Divi Village in 1996. Fortunate enough to now have
3 weeks there and eventually will pick up at least one more.
How is the beach?
All beaches in Aruba are "public" so you can use the small beach sections in front to the Tamarijn. Some posts to the net
indicate that the Tam boardwalk was torn up some by the brush with Ivan. That'll be fixed well before your arrival.
Walk up to Druif beach. Wide beach, white sand. Sand gets hot mid-day.
*Use* lots of sun screen. Do *before* spending anytime in the sun.
You will be about 12 degrees north of the equator. The UV is strong. Alot of clouds are always up in the sky. They are
move right along by the tradewinds. This can mislead you into thinking sunburn won't be a problem. Not so.
We are traveling in April with two teenagers.
They and you will have a good time. Many things to do.
Jeep trips, ATV trips, horseback trips, bus tours, cinema in Orjestad (recent releases). Shopping in Oranjestad.
Jet ski, banana boat ride ...
Would you recommend this resort.
Yes.
Did you purchase the all inclusive or meal package?
First visit (at Tam) did the AI. Now as then, a large spread.
Certainly can fill up.
If you do AI I suggest you do so at the Tam. Close by.
BUT, you will have a kitchen in the unit
at Dutch Village. Go to Ling and Sons or Hong King. Get breakfast items,
coffee, milk, snacks, soda, "kid food", etc.
Regardless, many good places to eat. Dutch Pancake House at Sea Port Mall,
Iguana Joes, Smokey Joes, King's Ribs, etc.
Can you use the other Divi facilities.
Generally, but not in all cases. So, ask at both the
Tamarjin and Divi Village front desks (Dutch has not front desk).
Get keycard to Divi Winds gym at the Divi village front desk.
As a guest at Dutch Village you (your teens) can use the climbing wall
at no charge. Use the electric cart (at the Tam) to go to the Alhambra
or to visit the Divi Aruba AI. Ask about use of the gym or spa at the
Divi Phoenix.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
See below.
Any suggestions on cheap airfare from Boston? Thank you
Follow up on Jim of Boston's suggestion.
Check out the Delta and Continental vacations as well.
Book early (can do so some 320 days out). Track the fares online.
If it goes down contact the airline. Each has its own way of doing it but you should be able to realize the savings if the fare goes down.
-Info-
http://www.geocities.com/daka630/show/layouts/layoutmenu.htm
This menu page has links to some general Aruba information and
Divi Resorts specific information.
The Dutch Village link (#5) goes to a page with four images.
Floorplans for the studio, 1BR & 2BR units make up three of these.
The fourth is of the resort layout. It is from an older Dutch Village
handout. A close look will show the unit numbers. The first digit of a
unit number indicates the building number. Thus, unit 12 is in building 1.
Buildings 1, 2, 3 & 4 have been renovated with work in progress on buildings
5 & 6. The renovated units have somewhat more contemporary furnishing.
The old furnishing is a heavier, darker style.
Link #3 goes to a map of the low rise / high rise resorts. Configure the page
setup of your browser to print letter/portrait & you can print the map.
Upon your arrival in the airport pickup all the free booklets and such.
Many contain maps. While you may decide to rent a car, there is a bus stop
right at Dutch Village. About $2.00 round trip into Oranjestad.
Many visitors walk the 0.5Km/~0.3mi to Hong King (a grocery store) to buy food
and then take a cab back. As Dutch Village is, basically, a timeshare resort,
each unit will have a small kitchen. Being an older (one of the first) Aruba
resort you may find you also have an oven. The kitchen is great for doing your
own breakfast & a frig lets you load up on "kid food".
Link #2 goes to a resort layout map that will show you the relative placement
of Divi Dutch Village, Tamarjin and Divi Village.
Some general information:
On the the plane you should be given an Aruba Immigration Form.
It has perforations about 2/3 down the length of it. Do complete the bottom as well.
You will need one form for *EACH* person. Do not lose the bottom (which you will need
when you depart).
Once you are outside the airport you will, most likely, board a DePalm Bus that
is there to transfer you to the resort. It will go to each resort in turn.
The driver will unload bags at each resort. If your resort is "down the line" this
can be a tedious journey. However, Dutch Village is in the low rise resort area
and the buses generally stop there first.
An alternative is a taxi
(Link #1 goes to a taxi rate schedule -- it is representative of the rates).
Departure Tax: Should be included in your airfare.
At check out: You will see some additional fees/tax.
Ask at front desk - they can tell you what it will be.
Phone calls: Ask at front desk ... What is charge for a local call?
If you get a Venhata card - will it work from Dutch? They do at Divi
Phoenix. They do not at Divi Village. So ask.
Consider buying a SETAR calling card. Very cost effective.
Use at a dedicated phone (on in lobby at the Tam).
Check In (and where it is - Divi Village or Tamarjin)
Go to http://www.dividutchvillage.com/dividutchvillage/questions.asp
Recent news about Dutch Village and some photos
http://www.diviresorts.com/event_detail.asp?general_event_pkid=23
hth
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