Divi was Divine

We spent 6 days of our honeymoon at the Divi in mid-July. It was not a five star hotel, but it wasn't a motel either. We were very pleasantly surprised at the service, food, bars, entertainment and accomodations.

They were all better than we expected, at least a 7.5-8 out of 10. Its location on the island is ideal - away from all the highrises on the best beach in Aruba. The beach was great that time of year and we never had a problem getting a chair. Overall we had a great time without ever having to leave the resort. I would definitely recommend the Divi resort to my closest friends.

Absolutely no regrets

Stayed at the Divi for our honeymoon, Aug. 17 - 24 2003. The hotel was generally clean including the room in which we stayed. The staff was very friendly. Everything was well organised, in particular the front desk which arranged tours, reservations at the in-house restaurants etc. The food at the restaurants was generally good, especially the Red Parrot. The drinks and snacks at the bars were also good. The weather was very good, plenty of sunshine.We appreciated the fact that the hotel provided us with the all-inclusive wrist bands when we came in early on Aug 17 and allowed us to keep those bands after we checked out of our room (12:00 PM), until we left for the airport (5:00 PM). We were also provided with a hospitality room to shower before going to the airport.We will seriously consider visiting Divi again.Just one complaint, the exterior of the rooms needed a little touching up.This notwithstanding, the vacation was excellent.

Divi Divi

We just returned from a week at the Divi Divi. August 30 - Sept 6 2003. Overall our experiences in Aruba were fantastic! We stayed in the Lanai bldg. and like reviews I had read before leaving,the rooms are clean but don't expect it to be like a high rise. It was comfortable and clean. We did get tired of the food after awhile and our experience at the Red Parrot was not good. We had our grown children with us to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, and one of our sons broke a tooth on something that was in his dinner there. It's not like the states where they try to make amends even after talking to the hotel manager nobody ever followed up to see how he was the next day. I think the service is unmentionable because they are pretty burnt out. No tips even tho we did on most occasions. We did the off road scene in jeeps on the first day and had a blast! Definitely recommend. Shopping was pretty awesome too! I definitely recommend the Gold 4 Us shop in downtown. I got some good deals on tanzanite. They keep going down on price so don't go with their first price. We did snorkeling, jet skiing, parasailing. All great times. My sons went on the party bus, the Kooko or something like that and had an awesome time. We did spend some time at the casino across the street and definitely play slotto when your there. We won some but not alot. Overall we had an awesome time and would love to go back!

Divi Repeater

We have been to the Divi six times, after 5 times, they give you a deal on the room, you are officially in the Parrot Club. Our last time was Christmas & New Year's, ringing in 2003. These weeks are very busy, with children. The Divi has a new rule, any child under 17, yes 17, can stay for free in a room with their parents, or for a nominal fee in an adjoining room. This is now a huge downfall with the resort and there are now too many kids. From Christmas to New Year's Eve, they have fireworks nightly, put on by various businesses. These are great fireworks. Now getting to the Divi... the food has gone down since our initial visits, but is still good. We like eating at the a la carte restaurants at the Divi and Tam next door. All Divi patrons can use the Tam. The Divi is also always remodeling. Once the pool, the buffet area, the lobby, the beachside rooms, and currently (summer of 2003) the 100 & 200 buildings (which is our favorite area to stay--we prefer the 100 block of rooms facing the ocean/pool area). The bartenders always have your drink ready for you when you walk up, except for me, because I am always changing wheat I drink. Aruba is a safe island, I can walk alone and feel comfortable even at night. The Alhambra Casino is within walking distance and the shops behind it are open at night!

Our next visits is for Carnival 2004! I should also mention that the Arubans are very happy to have tourists. They had a great observance of September 11th on the year anniversary. It was embarrassing that not more Americans showed up, it was very well done.

Wonderful vacation!

Had a wonderful time in Aruba and enjoyed my stay at the Divi. Food was excellent and guests were allowed to dine at the restaurants at the resort's sister hotel next door. The beach was pretty and the water was incredible! I swam in the sea and never once went in the pool. The pool was clean and spacious. Must dos: rent a jeep and tour the island. The resort side (south side) is tropical and green, the north side is like a totally different island. Desserts, rocks, crashing waves where it's too dangerous to swim and serene sites. Visit the Natural Pool, Natural Bridge and the little chapel. Snorkeling was good, especially over the German shipwreck. There are lots of timeshare people and sadly, stray dogs that were starving for attention and food. I have no bad things to say about this resort.

May 2003

Stayed at the Divi in May 2003. We had a great room with an awesome view of the ocean/beach. The rooms need updating but were still nice. Not fancy but nice. The breakfast and lunch buffets are good. Dinners at the restaurants at the Divi are bad. Plan on eating out. Every night if possible. The one exception was the barbecue by the pool one evening, which was quite nice. The staff was courteous and helpful. The bartenders and waiters were not that great. I think the all-inclusive philosophy with little or no tipping robs them of all motivation. If the idea of walking out your bedroom slider and being right on the beach appeals to you then this is the place to be. If not, you may be better off at a high rise. They are more upscale and if it is not all-inclusive you can plan your meals out. Overall I we would stay their again. Not for the food, but for the beach and the room with a view. Definitely a good 'island feel' to the place. We loved Aruba. There was so much to do even after a week we feel like there was just was not enough time to fit everything we wanted to do into just seven days. Things not to be missed: Restaurants: El Gaucho Madame Jeanett's TangoActivities; Mi Dushi (snorkeling and sailing) Kayak Adventures (Kayaking and snorkeling) Rent a jeep and tour the island. See the natural bridge, the lighthouse etc.

Homesick for aruba...STILL!

We traveled to Aruba in June, 2002 for our senior trip. Before we left, I thought that since there were 15 of us all together, there would be some problems, but I never knew how AWESOME Aruba is! We stayed at the Divi Aruba Beach Mega All-inclusive resort, and I have to say that this resort is the best that I saw on the island, especially for the money. The rooms weren't luxurious but they were clean, the AC worked great, and it was just what we needed after a long night of partying. Beds were comfortable, spacious bathroom. You almost needed a ladder to get into the tub, but it was no big deal. Maids and staff were sooo nice and friendly and always helpful. The first few nights in Aruba we thought it would be a good idea to keep our patio door unlocked so we didn't have to carry our key to the bars, but when we returned, we discovered that they were locked. Apparently, housekeeping locks the doors at 8pm every night for security. This happened more than a few times to us, until we realized it. It was funny and the staff didn't seem to mind a bit. Our group had four rooms and the staff made sure we were all next to each other. I would definitely request a room on the first floor for the patio and easier access to the pools, beach, and lobby. We always seemed to hang out on the patio late at night after getting home from the clubs. The pools were great, with a waterfall in one of them...and although we were pretty much well behaved, security had to come a few nights to tell us to be quiet. Don't get the wrong idea about this place though...there were teenagers here, but mostly young couples, that seemed to like to party as much as we did. But it's not a crazy place like Cancun or the Bahamas. Dont listen to other people about the food...It was great...But you have to remember that it IS a buffet, and that the food is sitting out for a few hours, so get to them when they open. Its an open-air buffet too so obviously there will be birds, iguanas, and flies, but I never found any of them IN my food. Tou get the right bartendar--DINO!!!! He's been working there for years and he remembered people that were there that had been there 5 years before. Make sure you meet him! The wood-oven pizza is excellent. The beaches are perfect, although the water is very salty and some coral at the bottom. The water was a little rough on some days because of the wind, but you could still swim. There are places to rent jetskiis, banana boats, snorkeling equipment, all right on the resort. We didn't know about the jetskiis on the resort so we walked pretty far down the beach to rent them, about 20 mins, but we ended up meeting really cool guys at a little hut that rented them. There was nightly entertainment right on the resort, but we hung around only for a little while before we went out to the bars and clubs in Oranjestad. The bars on the resort were open all day until 2am. We had all-inclusive on the resort, which, by the way, is the WAY TO GO! I would never not get all-inclusive now that i've had it. Food and drinks are all free on the resort! So if you are going off the resort to bars and clubs, drink some before you go so you don't have to spend as much money elsewhere. Now onto the nightlife outside the resort... We went to CARLOS N CHARLIES just about every night, whether we went there all night or just stopped by after being somewhere else. The Dj played great music and there were lots of dance contests...but beware of going on the stage if you have a skirt on. They like using the wind machine! The drinks are fantastic and come by the yard, which make cool souvenirs. Locals and tourists go here, and it draws a younger crowd at night than during the day. It's a BLAST! Mambo Jambo is another cool but smaller, open-air bar that overlooks the streets of Oranjestad. It plays Latin music mostly, and there are lots of locals as well, but you can learn some cool dances. We went on the Banana Bus one night, which is a bar-hopping bus. This was probably one of the most fun nights in Aruba. The drivemusic. They picked us up at our hotel, gave us free drinks the whole night (only when we were on the bus), and brought us to 3 different bars, then dropped us back off at our hotel. We had an awesome time, and it only cost us $25 each, with coupons for free drinks at each bar. This is a better deal than the Kukoo-Kunooko, which is $50 per person, but they do give you dinner. We also went on the Tattoo Boat one night, which we didn't really enjoy. We were the only teenagers on the boat and the only single peope. It was only couples on the booze cruise, and I ended up getting off early. We also went to a Harley bar one night for $50 per person, where we got some excellent ribs and free domestic beer, Balashi, until we left. They also had free Harley rides which I did, and really enjoyed. I clung on to a large greasy man, and we raced with another biker and my friend...PS. no helmets! The highlight of our entire trip was definitely the Jeep Safari tour. You can do either a half or full day. We did the half day and saw the Natural Bridge and the Natural Pool...definitely well worth the money! The people in Aruba are absolutely incredible, everyone is so nice and friendly and absolutely love tourists. I met some great people there, and I am homesick for Aruba! We're planning a spring break trip for March 2004, and although I want to try somewhere different, I would absolutely LOVE to go back to Aruba and the Divi!

Review Of 30 Years

I have been going to DIVI FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS. Of course nothing is as good as it use to be but if you like a low rise on beach near a casino this is the BEST. Rooms vary however and we prefer OCEAN FRONT. People are very friendly here and some of personnel have been here 30 YEARS.

Barefoot Elegance

We just returned from our fourth trip to the Divi (since 1986) and again were overall pleased with the hotel and staff. The hotel is well maintained and clean, though for you first timers, this is not the Hyatt. It is a two story low rise located on one of Aruba's prettiest beaches. Unlike the high rise hotels located up the road, if peace and tranquility is what you are looking for, this is the place to go. There are no ski jets or banana boat vendors parked on this beach...just cabanas. The hotel offers three delicious buffets every day plus you can visit their sister hotel down the road for additional restaurants. Try the Red Parrot restaurant, but you have to make reservations here. Service was slow, but the food is out of this world. They feed you pretty much all day and when the restaurants are closed, you can get delicious pizza at one of the bars...made fresh in front of you. My 12 and 13 year old children had no problem finding food they liked...there was such a variety for every palette. There are lots of lizards and iguanas, so if you are phobic about this don't go because these creatures visit every day at the pool and surrounding sidewalks. They are shy, though, and will not bother you. The only downside was that vistors would hang towels on chairs under the beach cabanas the night before, so trying to get a cabana was challenging. The staff was very friendly and helpful and you can sign up for tours and car rentals right at the hotel. Snorkeling at the German ship wreck is a must and try to explore the other side of the island. It is quite an experience. The island is very safe. Many of the backroads are unpaved...be sure to get a jeep. Every night there is a nice show, lasting about an hour, and afterwards the DJ or band is wonderful. Drinks were plentiful and strong. The bar is right on the beach and you can watch the wonderful colorful sunsets every night. We'll be back again!!

Divi Beach Resort

If you want to go to Aruba, looking for an all-inclusive, and nothing real fancy, the Divi Beach resort is the place. Simple, and friendly - well worth it! You will not be disappointed. Food and drink were great....staff could not do more for you. After all, who really wants to drag extra clothes just to get dressed to go to dinner - or go to a casino - a true all-inclusive beach resort! We were there Jan. 4 - 11 and will be back in June!