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Re: Wyndham
Here is my trip report from August from the Wyndham. Hope this gives you a better perspective of another's experience. I highly recommend the Wyndham and really enjoyed the resort and it's staff. You will NOT be disappointed.
Summary:
Aruba is a beautiful island with lots of neat things to do. We had a blast and can’t wait to go back. It was an awesome honeymoon and are very happy with our choice. I highly recommend the Wyndham and the all inclusive plan was awesome. We had some of the best food we’ve ever had. The service and food at the Wyndham were all excellent. Don’t forget to become a By Request member AND e-mail them a week before your stay with your #s to confirm. The Flying Fishbone is a must for all couples….spend the money and go because you’ll never forget it. You must see natural bridge, natural pool, lighthouse, baby beach, and the downtown area. I can’t say enough great things about the Wyndham and we will definitely return to Aruba and to the Wyndham.
Monday
Our flight landed in Aruba shortly after 2 pm. We got thru customs very quickly. We then had to wait for our baggage which took quite a bit of time. However, We managed to be out of the airport a little after 3. The shuttles and taxis are lined up as you come out of the airport. These shuttles are nice as in they are often included in your travel package, but if you want to immediately get to your resort then I'd suggest not do the shuttles since they stop at all the resorts.
The Wyndham is the second high rise hotel up from the low rise section. The shuttle dropped us off at the door and the bellman took our luggage inside for us and directed us to checkin.
If you are staying at the Wyndham, MAKE SURE that you become By-Request members AND once you are a by request member the VERY IMPORTANT thing to remember is that you need to e-mail the resort a week before your stay to confirm that you are still coming and also include your by request #. We did this and we were immediately walked over to a desk with 2 chairs to sit while you check in. We were doing this while everyone else was standing in the long lines at the check in counter. They had our paperwork all ready to be signed. We had booked a deluxe ocean/pool view room and I had made a request that it be an even room above floor 8. They upgraded us to a jr. suite on the 17th floor. In a total of about 15 mins. we were on our way to our room. I can't say again how smooth check in was for us and how nice the staff that greeted us was.
Our room was large and very nice. It was located on the far end of the hotel from the beach, but we still had a nice ocean and pool view as well as a view over part of the island. Also, the room did not smell musty at all as I have read in other reports.
We quickly made it back downstairs in order to grab some food at the Terrace before lunch ended. The Terrace deck is located outside facing the beach and lunch is served from noon to 5:30 each day. The food here was awesome and the service was excellent. We hardly had to wait at all it seemed to get our food once we ordered it. My husband fell in love with their cheeseburger and had one each day. The only complaint I had is that sometimes it took a while after you finished eating for them to bring the check to you to sign. But I don't really consider it bad service....more of a culture thing where we Americans are so used to being on the go, eating our food, and hopping right up to leave, but they are quite the opposite in their lifestyle.
After eating we walked around for a bit and go our tickets for the Monday Carnival night BBQ. Were seated at a table with 2 other honeymoon couples and another couple on vacation. There was lots of good food and entertainment. They give you a brief overview of what Carnival is and then show off costumes and dances.
Tuesday
We slept in til about 10 as we were exhausted from the wedding and from traveling. We managed to get downstairs in time enough to have breakfast. Daily breakfast is included in the all inclusive package downstairs at the Greenhouse. This is a pretty little area with glass windows which look out onto the pool area. There is a nice assortment of buffet items as well as an omlet station. Then it was time to hit the beach. The pictures of Aruba don't lie. The water really is that blue and clear and the sand really is white and beautiful. We never waited in line for a palapa.....having one really didn't interest us. We always just got our towels, walked out and usually a staff person would greet us and take 2 lounge chairs down close to the water for us.
We had lunch of course at the Terrace which was as always very wonderful.
We then attempted to rent a jeep for 3 days. Word of advice.....if you want specifically a jeep then reserve one before you get to the island. We called about 7 places and the earliest anyone had one available was the next afternoon. So we settled for a Jimmie rented from Budget. It costs $180 for 3 days with insurance. It costs half that for 1 day so it was worth it to pay a little more and have it the extra time and we were glad we did. A lot of people were renting ATVs which looked cool and we may do that next time. After all the paperwork, we got in and drove up to the lighthouse just to take a little adventure before we needed to be back at the resort.
Every Tuesday is the manager's cocktail party at the Wyndham and you shouldn’t miss this. We went down about 6 and met some nice people and had snacks as well as unlimited very good rum punch. Being honeymooners, a lot of the attention was on us. All the honeymooners got called up on stage and the entertainer had us doing silly dances and stuff. Lots of good laughs and it was fun. As honeymooners, they also let you come back on stage and one by one announce your names, where you're from, and when you got married and then they gift you a certificate to get your honeymoon t-shirts. Then they raffle away prizes included a 7 night return stay. We didn't win anything, but your names stay in the drawing for the return stay for 4 weeks.
Next it was time for dinner at Cafe Baci which is the Italian restaurant located in the resort. The bread here is unbelievable and my husband and I were both extremely satisfied with our meal. Service and food were great with no complaints. Definitely an EXCELLENT Italian restaurant. I think we ended up with a $6 surcharge for one item, but we knew that ahead of time and did not mind it at all considering how expensive the meal was overall if we weren't all inclusive.
After that we walked down the beach for a bit, walked thru the Casino, then headed back upstairs. We went to bed around 11 every night as we were exhausted by that time.
Wednesday
We got up fairly early and had our daily breakfast. Then it was off to downtown for some shopping. Downtown is a very neat place. Lots of pastel colors and little shops. Seaport Mall and marketplace are very nice and the marina is nice to walk along and look out at all the boats. We went back to the resort for lunch and then it was off on an adventure again.
Drove to the natural bridge which is a must see. Then we started the drive down to the natural pool. All the rental car companies tell you that you are prohibited from going to the natural pool. It is a very rocky dirt path down to the water and takes a while to drive. I wouldn’t recommend doing it unless you’re experienced with driving a 4x4. We didn’t have a problem, just took it slow and easy. There was a line of rental cars at the bottom so lots of people do it. If you don’t want to drive there are tours that go, but we wanted to drive so we could go and come as we please. The natural pool is an amazing experience and I recommend getting there some way. Then it was back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.
We had reservations at 6:00 pm for the Flying Fishbone so we hurried inside to clean up and back in the car for the drive to dinner. We had some of the best food we've ever had in our lives on this trip and I can't give a favorite place because we ate at so many wonderful places, but FF ranks with the best of them. Service was not slow at all as some have reported. We were actually finished with our meal in just over an hour after getting there. Then we sat and enjoyed the atmosphere and the saxophone player walking around. FF is an extremely romantic place and I highly suggest it. Watching the sunset while eating an excellent meal sitting on the beach is something every couple should experience...very very romantic and relaxing. This was our only dinner not include in our package....but that was fine with us. Oh yeah.....ask for their specialty drink which the bartender one an award for.....very good.
Thursday
Spent the morning on the beach. Then got ready for our fishing trip we had booked through the Driftwood. We met up with another couple we met on the aruba.com message board. They were staying just down the street from us so we went and picked them up to drive downtown. A word of caution…..take meds before you go and understand that you may get sick especially if you have never been deep sea fishing. I don’t have a weak stomach and have been around boats on fresh water all my life, but this fishing trip got the best of me. 3 of the 4 of us got sick and Rachel even took meds before going. So needless to say we didn’t have the best time for most of the trip. It was lots of fun for about the first 20 minutes and we caught 3 small tuna. We all then decided we needed to go back to our resorts to clean up, but wanted to meet back up for dinner.
We went to Texas De Brazil for dinner. Oh my gosh this place was so good. There is a 40 item salad bar with everything you can imagine and then they bring skewers of meet around to your table so its unlimited food and extremely delicious. If you have the AI at the Wyndham then you get a dine around coupon to eat here if you want. We had a few surcharges because we got desserts that weren’t included in our coupon, but it was so worth it. The chocolate moose cake and key lime pie were both unreal. We then drove up to the lighthouse to see the view at night and then went downtown. We went to Mambo Jambos. This is a neat place in the seaport mall. Most drinks are $5. You have to try the Bushwacker……I have this drink every time I go to New Orleans and was so happy to find another place where they make this drink like its supposed to be.
Rachel and Charles, we had an awesome time with you guys despite tlhe getting sick on the boat part.
Friday
Got up early for breakfast and then drove down to baby beach. This is a must see of the island as well. We snorkeled and it was very nice. We drove back to the hotel for lunch and then went downtown again before turning in the car. Then it was time to enjoy the resort. We made reservations for Pago Pago at the Wyndham. We had an EXCELLENT meal. We splurged and spent about $20 in surcharges, but that is nothing for a meal that cost over $150. Some people might think surcharges are unfair, but we didn’t. Pago Pago is a very, very nice restaurant and one that I personally would not even expect to be in an all inclusive package. It is not just average food, its spectacular food.
Saturday
Our last full day on the island and our plan was to relax and enjoy the resort. Lots of time out on the beach and in the water. Went snorkeling.....beautiful fish out by the little rock area down toward the Aruba phoenix. We saw an eel crawling around on the bottom which was cool. In the afternoon we walked down to the butterfly farm. Preferably you should go in the morning as that is when most of the butterflies are active as we learned. But we still enjoyed it and got to see some beautiful butterflies.
Went to the Casino for a bit before dinner. I lost a little money on the slots and my husband pretty much broke even playing craps.
Cafe Baci was so good that we decided to go back there again for our last dinner on the island for this trip. Again, it was a remarkable experience.
Sunday
So sad to know that we had to go home today, but we were very happy in that we had just experienced a completely awesome honeymoon. Our flight wasn’t until 3:20, but we decided to get up early, eat breakfast, and go ahead and check out because we weren’t sure how long the checkout process would take or how long it would take for us to get the shuttle to the airport. No problems with checkout….it took all of 30 seconds. Then got on a shuttle going straight to the airport. So we were there too early, but better safe than sorry. Waited until they let us check in and then going thru customs and everything took about an hour and a half, but we also stopped at a duty free shop. Lines weren’t bad at all and moved fairly quickly. Our flight was on time and was without a problem.
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