Props to the Bucuti

[Aruba4ever]

My wife's cousin is in Aruba celebrating their wedding. They reached out (late as we did not even know they were going) and said they were miserable at the Barcelo and wanted to know where they should go to relax. My wife said what would I suggest with no kids and of course I said the Bucuti. So they toured the property and decided to get a regular room and make the move. Class move by the Bucuti when they checked in they were upgraded to the East Presidential Penthouse and are beyond thrilled!

[LisaGrn]

Niiiiice!! And it's an absolutely picture perfect day down there. More people on the beach than I've seen in some time (all things being relative that is).

[B Likes To Travel]

Great to hear. Sucks that some of their time was lost at their first accommodation but what a great recovery!

[Aruba4ever]

I so agree! I think the Bucuti saved their honeymoon as they were so displeased with everything about the Barcelo and now feel like they have gone to heaven.

Great to hear. Sucks that some of their time was lost at their first accommodation but what a great recovery!

[robin]

Awesome! It is so quiet now, it is nice that they could do that.

[Andrea J.]

The Bucuti sets the bar very high.
Normally they are booked solid, even in quiet times.

[ladder4]

Aruba4 ever,
Did they say what the problems were at Barcelo? Just wondering.

[Aruba4ever]

They said everything from the room being less than clean, to poor service at check-in, poor service at the bar, and they did not enjoy the food. So all in all, they did not like it at all. It must have been much less than they expected for them to leave a place they had paid for in advance.

[B Likes To Travel]

It’s a shame. At a time like this, you would think hotels would up their game since the competition is tough.

[~Amy~®]

It’s a shame. At a time like this, you would think hotels would up their game since the competition is tough.

Hard to do when most staff is on temporary layoff and revenue is low due to lack of guests.

Had a friend staying at the Riu while I was there (she owns a timeshare there) and she said staff was being rotated no matter what your occupation was - one week you are a maid, next week you are a restaurant server, next week front desk, etc. in order to keep staffing costs down. Very few guests at most resorts so staff is scaled back. Resorts are just trying to make ends meet. The only exception is the Bucuti (I was there for brunch visiting management friends) and they have a very high occupancy percentage compared to other resorts.