Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino Palm/Eagle Beach

My husband and I stumbled across this hotel the first time we went to Aruba. We decided to go and booked through the Continental Vacations and picked it because I had stayed at Radissons before and thought they were okay. We instantly fell in love with the place from the moment we arrived. And vowed every time we return to Aruba, this is where we stay. We first went in 2001, returned in 2002, and have our flights and rooms booked for 2003. In 2002, there was an overbooking problem with the Radission and we were accomodated at the Hyatt. I was never so happy to get to my room at the Radisson on the third day of our trip. You don't know how good you have it till you are not there. The management staff took care of the moving of our luggage and things to the Radisson. They sent us a beautiful basket of fruit and cookies as a "Thank You" for putting up with the inconvenience. This in our minds confirmed that this truly is the best hotel committed to providing the most enjoyable stay on the island. The rooms are spacious and beautifully decorated. I like a nice room when I am away it adds to the pleasantness of being on vacation. The one complaint I do have is the shower, being tall, I often feel like I am going to hit my head. But, this is a small price for luxury. The restaurants in the hotel are great. Especially the Sunset Grille, definitely ask for the engagement table. It is on the balcony facing the ocean, and seems very secluded from the rest of the room. The service is okay, but I am not in hurry on vacation, so the pauses were okay. The pool is great. Quiet too. Just nice and quiet enough to take a nap there rather than the room. I always find a table with an umbrella and stay out there from around 9 am to 2 pm. I never feel crowded or put upon when I am there. I never hear anyone elses conversation, which in other hotels is quite common at the pool. I am counting the days till I am on the plane and on my way back. Exactly, 157 days till paradise.

Just got back from our first trip to Aruba. Before going we did a lot of research on the hotels available and eventually decided on the Radisson. We were somewhat concerneed by the endless complainsts about small rooms, inability to get a chair at the beach, low ceilings, shallow baths etc etc.

Honestly - get a life. The hotel was great. The room was very tastefully decorated and bore no resemblance to a work hotel. The outlook of our garden view room was great - gardens, swimming pool a slither of sea. The grounds were fantastic and the hotel was located on the best part of the beach. We've stayed in a lot of nice places - the Radisson is not the best hotel I've ever stayed in by a long stretch, but for what it costs (USD185 per night incl tax and breakfast) its excellent. Don't worry about all the terminally miserable people complaining - you won't be disappointed with the rooms grounds or hotel.

Complaints ? The food is pretty average and overpriced, buts thats what you expect with any "Americanised" resort. The breakfast on the other hand is great. The service is definitely of the "hands off" variety.

But these gripes are outweighed by the quality of the hotel, grounds and rooms.

As for all this competition between the Hyatt and the Radisson ? Go and have a look - I think the Radisson has nicer grounds, much better pools and far better rooms (the balconies are great). Even if there was no price difference, I would choose the Radisson every day of the week.

My husband, me and our 14 month old baby stayed at the Radisson in January 2003 and overall had a wonderful time.The best parts: 1.) The zero entry pools - our baby LOVED these and so did we. He could run right in and wade for ages before he was too deep. These are great to just lie around in for adults too. If you have a little kid, these are fantastic. 2.) The area - you can walk the beach/boardwalk for exercise and its about as nice as anywhere in the world (we went to Hawaii on our honeymoon so this is high praise - we've also been to Jamaica and it doesn't even come close - call us huge snobs if you will, but we hate that "constant reminders of the third-world/poverty/fear of being mugged feeling when we're on vacation" that we had in Jamaica) Downtown had a few beautiful little restaurants too, but we mostly hung out at the beach. 3. ) Food - we ate at the Hyatt next door, or in the Sunset Grille (by the way - you can't actually see the sunset while you eat at the Sunset Grille- they've made a few landscaping gaffes and have trees obstructing the view!!) When we're on vacation we like to eat well. I think the Hyatt had an edge in the restaurant category (the ambience there is spectacular!) but the best of both worlds is to stay at the Radisson for the pool and eat at the Hyatt. Also - one time the concierge told us that the Sunset Grille was fully booked, but when we showed up they seated us right away in a half empty restaurant!The bad (and this is pretty bad!!): Every day we went swimming and used beach towels provided by the hotel cabana people. We used to sit our baby in his stroller on top of the towels when he was wet. Well, a few days after we got home I noticed a little red spot on the back of his knee. Over the next month it spread all over his body into this horrible rash. Well after multiple visits to the pediatrician, and to a pediatric dermatologist - we found out he got SCABIES!!!! from the beach towels. Although we had such a great time and overall it was a fantasticearing up (after two applications of very nasty scabie medication!!) This was a pretty big negative for us and I guess I'd really have to think hard about going back. I think there are regulations governing washing of public use towels in America that they don't follow in the Caribbean - just a little something to think about.

This resort gives Radisson a new name. Everything about it was fantastic. From the food to the nice rooms. Of course, you can always depend on Aruba for wonderful attitude and servce, and the Radisson is no exception.

Being a travel agent, I am not easily impressed but this resort knocked me over! Everything from the grounds, the pools, the beach and the rooms just blew me away! The staff is very friendly and accomodating. I have no hesitation selling this to the most discriminating traveler and my clients have loved it as much as I did. What can I say...this is a 10!

We just returned from a perfect vacation in Aruba. We stayed at the Radisson and were thrilled with the facility. Our rooms were beautiful, with authentic West Indian decor. We've stayed at many different resorts, Hyatt's, Marriott's, and Westins, but I belive the Radisson's rooms can't be beat! We stayed in the second building (Bonaire) with pool/Garden view, but really, every room in that building also had a partial ocean view.We used Guest Services from the Radisson and were very happy. The Powerwalk (sponsored through the Fitness Center) took us to the northwest tip of the island, with breaktaking views. Definitely sign up for this! Fitness Center was very nice, but could be bigger...many guests used the facility. You have to reserve your treadmill at peak hours.If you go to the Radisson, Happy Hour at Gilligans is a must. Wonderful drinks and service. A bit expensive if outside of Happy hour.The grounds are lovely, and the beach is the best maintained on Palm Beach.We plan to return to Aruba, and will stay at the Radisson again.

My family and I stayed at the Radisson in July 2000. We loved everything about it, except the high prices. The trick is actually to go to the Kokoa bar on the end of the pier that is less than 30 yards from your private cabana. Drinks are about $3 each. I have returned to Aruba 4 times since my initial stay because I love the island so much. The Radisson is the premier hotel to stay at, if you don't want all-inclusive. There are 2 pools that are well-maintained and have a walk-in fell...e.g.it's like walking into the ocean. They are situated among many palm trees and the real carribbean beach extends far back into the resort property, so you can walk on the powder-white sand all the way to the towell hut where you get fresh complimentary beach towels each day. The lobby is open air, but not to worry because it is cool and very clean. There are parrots squaking and everyday there are demonstrations where you can hold them and take pictures. There are over 100 cabanas now, each with a small table in the middle. There is a roving bar (mounted on a 4wheeler) and a nice woman who takes drink orders straight from your lounge chair. They just got brand new chairs and towels in July 2003. There is a sand volleyball court, a pier not 50 paces away where there is a GREAT dunkin' donuts (to avoid paying the $15 for the breakfast buffet), and a great bar/restaurant on the tip (also great for watching the famed Arubian sunsets) and two lobbies, the smaller of which has a mini-mart with reasonable prices and Marlboro Reds 75 cents cheaper than at the pier or anywhere in town. The review about the window shutters is correct, they are made to not quite shut tight, but we experienced no problems with it, perhaps they were in one of the other towers (we stayed in the main tower). The rooms are beautiful, but the mini-bar and fridge are very expensive. There are small tables and chairs on each balcony where we loved to sit each night and listen to the wonderful musicians who performed nightly at the bar nearest the main tower. We LOVED the grounds at the Radisson, there were so many varieties of plants and many different kinds of lizards and iguanas roaming freely (they are not dangerous, they run away at the sight of you). The bus stops right outside the hotel and you can all the way into Oranjestad (the main city and where all the shopping is) in about 10 minutes and for only $2 each way....well worth the cost as cabs are a bit more pricey. All in all, Aruba is heavon on Earth. I would sell everything I have to go back any day. I plan to move to Aruba when I graduate from college. The Radisson is certainly one of the most beautiful places on the island. Don't forget to do watersports at Itito's (located right on Radisson's beach area) Tell them you know Megan, and you will get a discount. The only licensed driver on the island is my boyfriend, and he works at Ititos...his name is Andres. Tell him hello for me. I also know the cabanas Gabriel and Javier, so tell them you know me, and you will get a primo good cabana. Enjoy!

I did hours and hours of research on Aruba prior to planning the trip there with the help of a travel agent. The reviews I read concluded that the Radisson is the best if not in the top 3. After getting back last night (2/7/2003) we are certain that the Radisson Aruba made our trip the best it could be. It is expansive, beatiful, peaceful and serene. The rooms are large, well decorated and clean. The hotel is made up of 3 buildings: Aruba, Curaco and Bonaire. The buildings are separated physically on the hotel's large beachfront property. The lobby is connected to the Aruba building and is an open lobby without doors. There they have a gift shop, a casino, a restaurant and a nearby outdoor bar/restaurant. The grounds are absolutely amazing. Between the buildings and the beach there are acres of palms trees, waterfalls, flowers, parrots all intertwined with 2 gorgeous very large pools and 2 whirlpools. The beach itself is stunning. There are many cabanas that you may sign up for at the towel hut. You have to reserve a cabana by at least 715am in order to have one. We spent most of our time on the beach. Radisson's beachfront seemed to be the largest compared to other hotels there. Radisson also seemed to have the largest property along eagle beach. Nearby is the Hyatt, Allegro, Aruba Grand and others. The Hyatt also had nice grounds but is very cramped at the pool areas and the beachfront. Another thing we were impressed by is the friendliness of the staff. The concierge service which does everything from restaurant reservations to providing activity ideas was very nice. The cost of food in Aruba is no doubt expensive. We recommend a few nights at a fancy restaurant but also there are many casual and more reasonably priced restaurants. Almost all restaurants charged an automatic 15% service charge and gratuity is expected on top of that. The radisson has a daily breakfast buffet that costs $14.95/pp that is in there Laguna restaurant overlooking their mini waterfall/river. see the rest of the island. Drinks are rather expensive also. A typical mixed drink in a cup is $8.In terms of rooms-all of them are nice. We preferred the Aruba tower over the others simply because we were told the rooms in this tower are larger and also because it is connected to the lobby more directly compared to the other two towers. Overall we were very impressed by this hotel and would return to the same one again and recommend it to anyone.

We recently returned from Aruba and had the BEST time ever. We have been to several islands in the Caribbean, but Aruba is by far our favorite. Our plane was full of people who were returning to Aruba, and we can see why!!!

From the moment we arrived at the Radisson we were treated like royalty. We typically stay at Westin’s, W’s or 4 Seasons, so we really did not have high expectations of the Radisson. I had read several comments on this site about the hotel (most of them were positive) but again, went there not expecting much. (People have varying opinions of nice, clean, fancy or comfortable depending on what they are used too) Our room was very pretty with a great balcony. The bathroom was a bit small with low ceilings in the shower, but other then that, it was PERFECT. The hotel staff was wonderful and the beach and grounds at the hotel were amazing. It was very clean and anything we needed was provided for us. I read another comment from someone saying that they were given a ground floor room because king beds were not on any other floor. They told us the same thing, and we did not argue. We were just ready to get to our room and relax. We actually enjoyed having the ground floor room; our patio was large with a nice view of the pool still giving us privacy.

I know I read some complaints about phone charges however when we checked in we received a little booklet on the cost of phone calls. There was also a notice by the phone in the room warning guests of the long distances charges.

One other thing I really liked at the hotel was the beach towels. They were huge, which is nice, and sometimes unusual. Also the chairs at the beach and the pool had comfortable pads. The pool also had the chairs that sit in the water which was nice. We never had a problem finding a chair at the pool or beach. Our room had a fairly large TV (27 inch) with cable which was a nice. It was very easy to get cabs at any time from the hotel. We walked along the beach and looked at other hotels; we liked the Radisson the best. The pools were large and the zero entry (I think that is what they call it) was a nice touch. I never felt the grounds were crowded, there is a lot of room/space for people to spread out. We did not make it to the Casino (we are not big gamblers) but people said it was nice.

We ate at the poolside restaurant (Gulliver’s I think was the name) It was only ok, nothing to write home about. However, the Sunset Grill was wonderful!! Also, another restaurant to try (not at the hotel but walking distance) is the Texas De Brazil. It was wonderful. One thing that I noticed is a lot of people smoke in Aruba (mostly visitors) however; they are allowed to smoke just about everywhere. I am used to smoking only in designated areas back in the states.

I still can not get over how friendly the people are in Aruba, and how clean the island was. We can not wait to go back, and will stay at the Radisson again. If you are at all hesitant about staying at the Radisson, don’t be. You will not be disappointed.

First let me start off by saying that the grounds were absolutely beautiful and very well taken care of. It was definetly the nicest hotel of all the dozens, and believe me, on our search for a good casino we saw them all. Unfortunately, there are a few very big problems with the rooms that I think you should know about before you embark on your trip. While the rooms looked very nice and I did like the rustic decor, they were very disfunctional and uncomfortable and for $300+ a night, I expect certain comforts:

1) The rooms are designed with wooden shutters on a track to cover the windows. BUT, the shutters were wider than the window and the track and therefore did not close all the way. Apparently, according to customer service down there, this is the way the hotel was built. Every morning at 5am we were awakened by sunlight in our eyes. We slept poorly as a result and did not feel rested the whole time we were there! After 3 days, housekeeping came and stapled some tablecloths to the window frames which helped a little. Basically, the shutters look nice but serve no purpose and even at the cheapest of hotels, you get shades which block out the sun. Clearly, the full nights sleep of your guests were not taken into account when this room was designed. We were not the only guests who felt this way. Everyone we spoke to said they had the same problem with their shutters and would not stay at the hotel again as a result.

2) The bathroom doors consisted of two wooden doors which closed in the middle as they came together. The toilet was right behind the doors which had a 1 inch gap inbetween them when closed and there was no lock on the doors. This allowed absolutely no privacy in the bathroom since you could see right in the doors and right to the toilet and whomever was sitting on it and you could hear everything that went on inside it which made going to the bathroom a rather humiliating experience for both of us if you can understand what I mean. Bathroom privacy is something that in no way should be compromised and in this case it simply did not exist. Again, another issue that we discussed with several other guests.

3. The bathtub in the room is substandard size with about 6 inches height from bottom to rim, not even enough to sit in with some water. In addition, the ceilings in the shower were so low that my fiancee had to sqwat every time he had to take a shower and he is only 5 foot 10 inches. In addition, there was NO light in the shower and it was almost pitch black with a closed curtain.

4) The TV was at 90 degree angle from the bed which resulted in two very stiff necks. In addition, we had static on most of our channels.

5) The movie selection was outdated and ridiculously overpriced at $12.99 a movie? Every other hotel has new releases for rent at under $8.00.

6) The beach/pool area. Every other hotel we visited, near the pool bar had fun reggae or calypso music playing. For an entire week, the hotel blasted 50's doo wop music and depressing soft rock! The bar is supposed to be fun and lively...sitting in the pool listening to Lionel Richie's greatest hits while sipping a $9.00 Pina Colada is not fun. Come happy hour there is an absolutely awful band whose singer has an awful voice. They play one song then stop and its back to depressing music again. Tropical happy hour is supposed to be about buying drinks and dancing on tables. Instead, most people came for a drink and left since it was so boring. When we asked about changing the music to something more lively, we were told that they change the music once a week and that they have no control over it. In the meantime, you could hear the lively beats coming from the Allegro hotel next door. Talking to other people from other hotels revealed that ours was truly the only one that played this old fart depressing music. I just don't get it.

6) Happy hour. I realize everything is about making money in Aruba, but the happy hour menu was pathetic. It offers maybe 10 drinks and among them is NOT the Pina Colada, the most requested drink at any pool/bar. Two days while at the not-so-happy hour, people asked for Pina Coladas and the bartenders said they were not included in happy hour and thos people left without buying a drink. At $9.00 a drink regularly, people come to the happy hour to drink and get a break on the price. To not have a Pina Colada or every drink possible is ridiculous...that is what happy hour is!

7) We bought internet cards and 3 out of 4 times when we went to sign on, the computers were not connected to the network and we had to go find help and then wait almost an hour for someone to come and fix them.

All in all, we had a great time in Aruba and the customer service rep assigned to our case was as accommodating as she could be without replacing doors and shutters, but I was quite disappointed by the comfort level and the ability of the hotel to provide what the guests wanted. Everything there is extremely overpriced compared to the other hotels right down to paying $4.95 for a tiny box of Fruit Loops. Everyone we spoke to felt the same and said they would not stay there again. I thought the Radisson was the nicest hotel there, but the sunlight in the morning and the bathroom issues made it a place I would probably not stay at again. I don't know if management in the US knows of these big room problems or not, but these things make the difference between being happy and feeling at home or feeling ripped off and uncomfortable. Aruba is a big return trip island, and for the people we met, they will choose from one of the other dozens of high class hotels when they go back. It was clear that these rooms did not take into account practical comfort issues when they were designed and it is clear that the person down there in charge of making decisions for how the hotel was run does not make very good decisions.

Regards,

Stephanie Finz