Seven days in Aruba

A week anywhere in the Caribbean is amazing, but Aruba was very different form anywhere I’ve been before. It was a land of pure relaxation, eating and drinking.

We spent 7 days at the Westin Resort & Casion Aruba. And thanks to the power of Twitter and SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest) we got an upgrade to a partial ocean view room on the 17th floor. Room 1727 would be our home. The hotel is in an area called Palm Beach, a very tourist rich area with bars, restaurants, shops, clubs, and anything else you can imagine. The Westin is within walking distance of all of this stuff but is also just a short drive or very inexpensive bus ride into Orangestad, the Capital & largest city on the island.

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Although the hotel did have an all inclusive option, we went without it. We bought booze at Duty free and picked up mix and snacks at the grocery store!

It was economical that we did this, and we weren’t committed to eating the hotel food and only drinking there. If you left the hotel with an all inclusive bracelet it didn’t matter as you’d have to pay for food and drinks, so it worked out very well.

Having been to many beautiful beaches in the past, I was excited to see what Aruba’s beaches were like. I had heard nothing but great things, and it did not disappoint. The water was beautiful and crystal clear and the sand was soft and white.

The purpose of this trip was to get away and relax. And Aruba was perfect!! It isn’t one of the most culturally rich countries I’ve been too, but it was very beautiful, and if you have the money to shop, you won’t have to look hard to find shops! Since many cruise ships stop in, there is no lack of high end boutiques! Food was excellent and had an amazing variety. Lots of Dutch, American and South American cuisine but there was lots of fast food too! I would certainly recommend Aruba as a destination but I would caution young adult travels who are looking for adventure to stay here for long. It is an island of relaxation and indulgence, beautiful beaches and friendly people.

If you’d like to see more pictures, please click here!

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Aruba ariba!!

The journey has begun. October 8, 2011, I boarded AC1294 and headed to Aruba. A carribean island that sits on the northern coast of Venesuela.

The flight was about 5 hours from Toronto and normally I have nothing bad to say about Air Canada but wow, this flight sucked! The flight itself was fine but our TVs didn’t work. As everyone else’s around us started to work, ours didn’t and when the flight attendant said they would tell us our options after they still weren’t working; all we got was a ripped up Globe & Mail.

We finally arrived safely, even though the turbulence was some of the worst I’ve ever experienced! And the sun was still out. We taxied to the Westin Hotel & Resort and then, darkness. The power had gone out. We thought maybe we were in for a rough week here, but it turns out some construction hit a power line and the power was out on the whole block! It came back a few hours later and we haven’t had issues since 🙂 Free wifi is working like a charm now but can only be used on one device at a time (which no one mentions!!)

Westin Aruba Room