Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino

My wife and I stayed at the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino from November 14–23. It was our first time in Aruba, and traveling with experienced friends made the trip absolutely fantastic. I can’t say enough good things about the island—and especially about the Marriott. Our room was amazing. I had booked a deluxe ocean-view room but had no idea we’d end up on the top floor with a direct ocean-facing view. Dumb luck, I think! The balcony was large with a spectacular view, the room had recently been renovated and was impeccable, and housekeeping was excellent—both morning and evening turndown service. The room itself was spacious, with a big TV (65”?), bottled water, a mini-fridge, coffee maker, with all the amenities we needed. The elevators were fast and efficient. I’d read some negative reviews complaining about firm/hard beds, but we did NOT have that issue—we found the beds perfect and slept very well. We also loved our early-morning relaxation time on the balcony. The resort facilities were outstanding. Even though a full renovation was in its final stages during our stay, noise and inconvenience were minimal. We spent most of our time at the adult pool, which was spectacular—quiet, pristine, and relaxing. We never had trouble getting loungers on any of our nine days. The pool staff were great; the attendants were attentive and the bartenders (Jonathan in particular) were fantastic. Entertainment was plentiful and excellent. One night, the resort celebrated a Marriott’s 30-year celebration with live music and an incredible fireworks display. Watching it from our balcony left us speechless—the visuals, duration, and how close the fireworks were to us was mind-blowing. Again, just dumb luck on our part! Serendipitously, we met managers Raymond and Raoul and ran into them many times during our stay. These guys are genuinely welcoming, down-to-earth, and have a great sense of humor. They were all over the property, yet most guests never realized the two managers were constantly circulating and checking on everything. On at least two occasions, even while deep in conversation with other guests or staff, they made a point to say hello, with a handshake, as I passed. A truly pleasant surprise. The Stellaris Casino was lively and busy every night. One of our friends hit a jackpot of over $18,000, and we did much better than expected as well. We had budgeted to lose a certain amount… but happily walked away “about even”! The restaurants and bars on property were excellent. We ate at Mercat several times and at Ruth’s Chris once—both were outstanding. Nearby off-property spots (Malmok for breakfast, especially) were also fantastic. In short, we honestly can’t think of a single significant negative about the resort during our stay. It was fabulous from start to finish!

It was a very pleasant experience. See Ludwig when you are there. He has a wealth of knowledge about the island.We plan on going back.

We stayed on Tradewinds level for second time. Rooms are done over and are very nice. Staff is outstanding especially in the Tradewinds club. The noise from construction was everywhere. Both pools had workers constantly driiling, sawing, etc.There was even construction on the beach near the palapa hut. The staff said there were delays getting materials to the island but this was not communicated beforehand. It was not minimal disruption.

Nice hotel room but Overpriced.A hotel should charge 36 dollars for a buffet that includes fake eggs. A 4.5 star hotel does not sell fake eggs. This is more like a comfort suites

We stayed at the Marriott Aruba for five nights, and unfortunately the experience was pretty terrible from start to finish. The biggest issue was the construction. There was extremely loud jackhammering, sawing, and brick-cutting happening all day long—and even into the evening. The hotel stated the work would stop at 6pm, but we repeatedly saw crews still working well past 8pm. When we asked about it, they simply said they were behind schedule and needed to make up time. The noise echoed across the entire pool area all the way to the ocean, making it impossible to relax anywhere near the hotel during the day. We ended up having to walk about 10 minutes down the beach and pay $50 per day for chairs and an umbrella just to escape the noise. You couldn’t go anywhere near the main pool—the sound was truly overwhelming. What made the situation worse was how poorly the Marriott communicated the construction upfront. Other hotels on Palm Beach, like the Hilton and Hyatt, clearly listed their projects on their booking pages, which helped us avoid them. The Marriott, however, buried theirs as a tiny footnote about “enhancements,” which did not come close to describing the reality. Had we known the extent of the disruption, we never would have booked here. When we checked in, we immediately complained. The staff’s solution was to offer us a room upgrade the next day. While this didn’t actually solve the construction issue, it was at least a gesture—so we repacked everything the next morning. But when we got to the front desk, we found out they were planning to move us to the same category room on the opposite side of the hotel… which turned out to be even closer to the construction. It was a completely pointless inconvenience and honestly felt like they didn’t care. The issues didn’t end there. We had no hot water on our last night, and most of our interactions with staff at the bars and restaurants were with people who seemed rude, indifferent, or simply uninterested in helping. To be fair, the room and view were nice, but that might have been the only bright spot. The hotel’s location is also less ideal compared to other properties on Palm Beach, and the area around the Marriott feels overcrowded due to the massive Surf Club complex that stretches deep inland. To add insult to injury, we walked past the Hilton several times during the week, and their construction noise was dramatically lower—and they clearly took steps to maintain a relaxing environment for guests. Overall, this was a disappointing, noisy, and frustrating stay that felt like a poor value for the money. We would not return and cannot recommend the Marriott Aruba until they are fully transparent about the construction and significantly improve guest service.