The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba

We came with our 11 and 9 year old and it was the perfect family trip. The room was a great size. The resort is beautiful and clean. Staff go above and beyond and are so friendly. The kids want to come back every year.

I just got home and had an incredible time at this hotel. From the moment we walked into the hotel until we left 8 days later, we felt taken care of in every way by the entire staff. The property is fantastic, with everything we needed, and really fantastic food and atmosphere. The pool and beach never seemed crowded, we never had to wait long for food or cocktails anywhere, and everyone was so kind. We spent 7 days in a cabana, 1 in a poolside, 6 in a beachfront. The staff at the cabana's were exquisite. We were with our 2 year old niece, and every day they did something to delight her and in turn, us. She likes to play around with ice, so every day we were delivered a bucket filled with ice water. Mitchell, one of the cabana employees, came by and chatted with my brother and sister-in-law about having a daughter the same age, and later brought a stuffed animal, coloring books with crayons, and a butterfly keyring just for her. Our last day, we were celebrating her 2nd birthday, and they filled the cabana with pink balloons, her favorite color. The face she made when she saw them made the entire trip worthwhile. I'd like to specifically shout-out Samuel, Mitchell, Ely, Rousseau, Harold, Eduardo, Min, Nate, and Zahir for making this part of the trip so perfect. They took note of everything we liked and supplied us with it every day, we were so pleased with the attention to detail and kindness of this team every day. We had even more incredible experiences at Solanio for breakfast every day. Charlene and Kate kept us well-supplied with coffee and Charlene prepared a to-go cup of Berries for my niece every morning. At Rituals Coffee shop we also had the cashier send a mango she grew in her backyard up to our room for my niece, who loves Mango but my brother couldn't find anywhere on-property. We brought the Mango down to breakfast, and the kitchen staff cut it up for her to eat, she ate the whole thing happily. We all got massages and had incredible experiences. Personally I had an 80 minute massage by Wendy, who was incredible. I had been to the spa 6 years ago the last time I went, and the facilities were still fantastic and very comfortable. We had dinner at BLT steak twice and Casa Nonna once and had great experiences at both of them. BLT is expensive, but worth the price and as good as any steakhouse i've been to in NYC or elsewhere. The homemade pasta at Casa Nonna was fantastic, I had a lobster and shrimp special that was perfectly cooked and had plentiful lobster meat. The lobby bar was also pretty great, we had a pre-dinner or post-dinner and pre-casino cocktail most days and enjoyed it immensely. The one thing here was that the Pizookie, which was at one point a really fantastic skillet chocolate chip cookie, seems to have been done differently and wasn't as good. We spent a few nights at the Casino and had a great time losing some money. It's arguably the nicest, if not the largest, casino on the island. The rooms are a little dated at this point, but I love a big bathroom with a soaking tub and a large balcony, and they're still quite comfortable. The Diptyque product in the bathroom is fabulous and luxurious. Our turndown service was irregular, which was unfortunate because some days we had to miss it because our niece was sleeping. Only two other notes: The lack of AC in the Madero bathrooms was a struggle, and a lack of baby changing tables in any bathroom on-property EXCEPT that one meant my brother and sister-in-law had to spend every changing outside of the room in that hot bathroom. Otherwise, it was an incredible, meaningful family vacation that we won't ever forget. the Ritz-Carlton difference is alive and well at this hotel, and we'll definitely be back again.

Great experience, the Best Cocktail from Jose The Mixologist at the Pop - Up Bar!! All my Family loved Jose’s drinks, it’s really addictive specially the cocoloco Margarita with explosive flavored jellybobas that he add on top of the drinks!! Definitely delicious…worth the wait and the price!! We will miss you Jose from Colombia!!

No matter where we stay on Palm Beach, we walk down to the Ritz every trip to see José and his adorably designed bar. Right outside the walkway from the hotel to the beach, he serves up adult drinks and smoothies for the non-drinkers. Well worth the walk and the money, each drink is basically two drinks - what fits in the completely hollowed out pineapple and then all of the extra. More importantly, José is incredibly friendly and has an amazing entrepreneurial spirit. We love chatting with him on every business and having him share the story of how the pineapple bar came to be. Thanks, José! Can’t wait to visit you again soon.

Although I don’t stay directly at the hotel, every time I visit Aruba I make sure to stop by the Ritz at least once to enjoy the atmosphere. The beach team, especially Eli, Esmaily, and Mitchel always stand out with their genuine care and warm personalities. The sushi lounge is another favorite, not just for the delicious food but for the true hospitality from Sergio, Cornelio, and Javier. They always go the extra mile to personalize my experience and remember me as a frequent guest every time I visit.