My wife and I are planning our first visit to Aruba in January to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Which of these three resorts would you recommend and why? We are looking for a great resort with beautiful pool/beach area and lots of action. Also, where is the best happy hour spot on the island? Any comments would be greatly appreciated. I just can't screw this up--I need to knock her socks off!!!

The Hyatt has the most beautiful grounds of the three, the Marriot has the most children visiting with their parents, and the Radisson is the most recently renovated and my personal choice. The Hyatt only has step out balconies but it is gorgeous if you can live with that. The Marriot is a beautiful property, but I don't want to put up with everyone's kids. The Radisson is brand new, the grounds are beautiful, the pool is wonderful as is the beach and the rooms are re-done. My choice is I were you.

we honeymooned there in june .stayed at the marriott, there was kids but the were well behaved. i would go back to the marriott in a heartbeat. it was beautiful, the food ,staff, grounds and casino were excellent. the beach was rated by e-tv as one of the 10 best in the world.. plam beach was 6 i think . with any choice you make you won't go wrong...

I just got back and I stayed at the Radisson. The decor was just beautiful in the rooms (beaded lamps, 4 poster beds, really nice linens, marble bathroom but with really shallow bathtubs and odd shower attachments). It is a really nice place. I loved my balcony (which holds two chairs and a small table) and view, and the rooms felt pretty luxurious. You can get pretty decent prices with coupons. In terms of rooms, I'd say the Radisson was top notch.

HOWEVER, at the Radisson, I had to really fight for what I wanted (an ocean view) even though I PAID for an ocean view. They put me on a low floor where I couldn't see the water at all even though it was an "ocean view" and I'd requested a higher floor, then they said "there is nothing we can do, all other rooms are taken". My recommendation if you have any trouble is to not let yourself get upset and just calmly ask for the customer service manager. The front desk folks mostly will not do much for you, but once you have the customer service manager on your side things can happen. Overall, the staff was nice but not especially helpful or kind. Since I didn't stay elsewhere, I don't know how it compares.

The grounds at the Radisson are pretty nice, but the Hyatt's grounds really amazed me. They have lots of crazy pools, all kinds of tropical birds, and these really romantic looking restaurants (there is one that is on this grotto with the black swans swimming around -- just gorgeous). I'd say the WOW factor would be best with the Hyatt. However, I never saw the rooms there, and the small balconies do sound like a drawback. Theoretically, you could stay at the Radisson and just eat at the Hyatt I suppose.

The Marriott was beautiful inside, although again didn't see the rooms. It is at the end of the long strip of hotels and there is lots of construction happening between that hotel and the next one up, which made me wonder about the noise factor. The restaurants there sound top notch.

To wow your spouse, I did see some people from the Hyatt having dinner on the beach. You get your own little tent and your own waiter and a torch and you have this beautiful meal for the two of you. It looked very romantic.

Have fun!

We honeymooned at Bucuti Beach Resort and it was nothing short of perfect. It was romantic, quiet and very relaxing. When we wanted more action at night, we took a cab up to the high-rise area.

Check out the Wyndham. Have stayed there 3 times and it is great. Food and people are the best!! Rooms and grounds are lovely. Service is outstanding!!! We are going back in September.

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon and I have to say the Radisson was an incredible place to spend a week! The rooms are beautifully decorated and the balconies are spacious and furnished with chairs and a table. The hotel is clean and offers the best beach in Aruba and two beautiful pools. The casino is small but there are many in the other hotels if you want a larger casino.
The only problems we had were MINOR....
On our first night there it was late and we wanted room service. Problem was, the menu (directory book) was missing from our room. It took over an hour for the book to arrive after phone calls and visits to the front desk. Bonus....they did not charge us for the food!
On our last few days, the gift shop ran out of Internet cards (used to login for time on the three computers). This was our only way to contact family, (WATCH OUT WITH THE PHONES!!! SERVICE IS BRUTALLY EXPENSIVE...buy a phone card if you want to call). We also wanted to check on our flight.
Again....minor problems!
All in all, the Radisson is the perfect place to stay. I agree with Ana on Hyatt's WOW factor but also suggest eating there as the option.
To me the Radisson has it all and is a great value!
Best of luck!

I would have to agree with many of the others. We spent our honeymoon at the Radisson in July. I had a hard time making the decision of where to stay and I was glad I made this choice. I think the pools at the Marriott and the Hyatt were loaded with children (Hyatt even has a waterslide screaming out "kids play here"). The Radisson pools were much more subdued and they had shallow areas that you could literally sit in chairs in the water or even lay in the water. Very nice place.

The grounds are lush with waterfalls and all sorts of exotic plants. Location is much more central vs. the Marriott. From the Radisson, it is easy enough to walk to the Hyatt, the Wyndham, Playa Linda, the Allegro and even the Marriott. Cab rides to downtown aren't bad either, but the bus is even cheaper.

The Hyatt does have some nice places to eat (as does the Radisson) and some of the other hotels have more activities going on like live music in the casinos etc., but you can always spend time at other places as well. The rooms were very clean at the Radisson and balconies were nice, not sure about the other places. The staff was extremely friendly to us in the restaurants and front desk, however, the concierge people have no clue about what's going on around town. All in all, I would highly recommend the Radisson and when we go back, we would stay there again too!

Mike,

We have been to Aruba three times, this June we went to
the Hyatt and stayed for a fabulous week. The grounds are beautiful the best on the island as is the service. They have all the watersports you could want right on the beach in front of the hotel and these great little huts that you can get with a little table to relax have a drink and get out of the sun. There is a package deal you can get called "Pampered in Paradise"
where a table is set up on the beach for a very romantic candlelight dinner for you and your guest(s) it is magnificent and really will make an impression. There are 5 excellent restaurants and the best Sunday breakfast buffet on the island with unlimited champage. A nice beach bar for happy hour and a great little bar outside the casino for after dinner with a live band every night. We cannot wait to go back and the only place we would even think of staying at is the Hyatt. You won't be sorry.