Help Please. I have the Holiday Inn booked but have read several negatives. Actually read negatives on both hotels. It looks to me like the Holiday Inn is bigger & has more there but the Allegro's pool blows Holiday Inn's away. Which has more to do? How about for the kids ? Please respond asap.

Thanks

Vince - Honestly, I would not choose to stay at either of those hotels. We love the Wyndham and that is where we always stay.

Hi I can sympathize with you, I am in the same dilemna. Right now I have the holiday inn @ 410 noc ai family of five. The reviews are pretty poor. I went to arubabound.com and saw pictures of the holiday inn. Not too bad.... I researched comments back to last fall on this messageboard, and there are some positives. I asked at 1800holiday "how many holiday inns are on the island"? She said only one. I was confused by one message saying there was three. It is not the crown plaza. It is a Sunspree resort. Unless you have different info. The ai plan is a bargain for me with three kids. I am torn between the ai at holiday inn and the Wyndham non ai, for half the price. It seems that there is alot of conflicting stories out there. I have to choose between ai at an ok resort or non ai at a quality resort I guess. I don't want to spend my vacation time worrying about cost of meals and drinks. seems like it's a common dilemna.

Hey there Jenn,
I just spoke to my agent & she quoted me significantly higher rates for the Wyndham even excluding the AI. The main thing that I do not like about the Holdiay Inn Crown Plaza (That's what Apple Vacations is calling it) is the pool. Looks like a standard little pool for 600 rooms to use. No waterfalls, no swim up bars. What's up with that ???? I checked Alegro & the same package is $800.00 more. My dilema is "Is the pool worth $800.00 more?"

The Holiday Inn is one of the older hotels on the island compare to the Hyatt and Marriott so there is no swim up bar or waterfall, but the hotel is nice and how much are you in the room anyway? We were happy when we stayed there.

Thanks Tina,
I just confirmed & booked the Holiday Inn Sun Spree. I figure it is our first time to Aruba. How bad can it be. We are doing the All Inclusive.

Vince & Jen - The Holiday Inn Sunspree has a pool the size you would find in an apartment complex. I also heard that the food at their restaurants is just OK - not great, and there are also surcharges placed on certain items, which would cost you more than you already paid for all-inclusive. There are many restaurants in Aruba where you can eat reasonably. You can even see some of the menus online with prices. The price depends on how many drinks you have and how many courses you order. There are also fast food places such as Wendy's, Burger King, etc. I don't know what cities each of you are coming from and who you booked your trips through, but I stayed at the Wyndham last September for 7 nights (including airfare from NYC on Delta, R/T transfers & daily breakfast buffet) for $1,100 per person. We also received a $100 food & beverage credit directly from Wyndham. I think we got a great deal and we had a wonderful time. You can visit Wyndham at www.arubawyndham.com. Good luck in whatever you choose.

Vince

We just returned from Aruba 3 weeks ago and were in shock when we walked into our room at the Allegro. The rooms were run down, dirty and full of rust marks in the bathroom, walls and balcony outside. There were cigarette burn marks on the head board of the bed and the dresser and night stands. We complained to the manager and we were moved to a " nicer room" on the other side of the hotel which was basically in the same shape minus the cigarette burn holes. We booked our trip thru Vacation Outlet.com and came home and wrote letters to the Operations Manager stating they should be ashamed of themselves for advertising the Allegro as a 4 star hotel. It is not! 2 maybe!
Do yourself a favor and stay at tht Radisson or Hyatt which are on either side of the Allegro. The beaches are beautiful no matter where you are, so you will enjoy yourself when you get to Aruba.

I really feel the need to tell the truth about my experience at the Allegro since we felt very mislead and are NOT the type of people who complain alot nor are we " fussy" The accomodations were simply unacceptable! Your initial question was re: the views from the rooms. Yes you can see the pool and or ocean from the room depending on where they put you. The views are ok since all rooms face the beach or pool as long as you are on the 3rd floor or above.

I'm returning to the Holiday Inn in April for my 4th stay and love it. I understand about the pool, but I never found it a problem. The location is far superior to the Wyndhams and we spent time at the Hyatt which is a stone throw away. I know they have a lot of children programs, but can't compare them to others. The rooms are nice and clean and the staff has always been decent to me. Enjoy your trip.

Allegro Resort. I am a property owner with Allegro. Now that Occidental has purchased the hotel and resort chain many renovations are soon to be in the works. As far as all-inclusives are concerned Allegro has it down to a art. Americans and Canadians alike must remember two things when it comes to resorts of any kind abroad. 1.the standards are less than what we maybe used to in the US and that the resorts will do it's best to make you comfortable and your stay hassel free. 2. Not all resorts you'll visit will be brand spanking new in appearance. Hundreds of thousands of guest stay at them throughout the entire year. I can ask but one thing from all would be travellers: Enjoy the weather, Enjoy the freinds you'll meet and among all enjoy the moment. Regarless of what you do just have fun and everyone everywhere wants that all important American Dollar. HAVE FUN!