The Aruban Resort Oranjestad

Visited LaCabana in July for 7 days.Room was a villa w/balcony, which was very nice,overlooking courtyard that doubled as a soccer field,youth 'trolling' spot and lots of noise. Beach and pools were very nice. Location was nice,walking distance to several outstanding restaraunts. Good value, if you are a travelling family or don't mind wall to wall kids. CAUTION about the 'one happy island'; protect your valuables, particularly if renting a car. Thieves entered our vehicle and stole souveigneers, bathing suits, towels. This was in Orenstadt.

Just got back from a trip to Aruba and stayed at La Cabana from 8/20-8/26. We are an engaged couple in our late 20's for some perspective. This island is amazing! First, the hotel- The rooms are all suites and are huge! We actually stayed in the building farthest from the beach but liked it because the two pools were quieter and it really is not a far walk at all. The maids do an amazing job cleaning your room each day and the entire facility is spotless. We did a mini-all-inclusive which I highly recommend if you do not have a family because this island is safe and has so many great restaurants that it would be a shame to not leave the hotel! I cannot emphasize enough how friendly EVERYONE is on the island. On one occasion we were lost in Saventa and pulled over at a gas station asking for directions- not only did a complete stranger know where the restaurant was- he had as follow him right into the parking lot 2 miles away! We were amazed as in DC people just pretend they don't know where something is to avoid the trouble! Anyways, I highly recommend: Going to De Palm island for a half day- good snorkeling, nice private island, good lunch and worth the $45; renting a jeep and going exploring- definitely an experience climbing those mountains in a little jeep but CAUTION- DO NOT listen to the woman at the natural bridge who suggests taking the coastline to the natural pool!!!! We met so many jeeps who were sooo lost (us included) and had flat tires! Instead take the roads to the park entrance and go to the natural pool from there- it is definitely worth it and MUCH less of a hassle; Finally, go downtown- the casinos and night life are fun; eat at El Gaucho for the best steak ever and if you are a couple PLEASE go to the Flying Fishbone-completely AMAZING!!! We will definitely be back to Aruba! Have fun!

A word of caution to those thinking about going "all-inclusive" in Aruba. We have been to Jamaica and Mexico on "all-inclusive" deals so we booked one in Aruba. The LaCabana Resort is built for timeshares, and is not an all-inclusive resort. Their all-inclusive package limits you to what you can eat and drink, and is not what we expected when we booked. There is also very little water sports included in the package. If you are not careful, you could walk away with a huge bill at the end of your stay due to the surcharges added if you don't stick to excactly what they tell you to eat and drink.

I just got back yesturday from La Cabana Beach Resort. My husband and I did the all-inclusive for a week and we absolutely LOVED it!!! The staff was always friendly, the food was outstanding (I even completely enjoyed the seafood and I am not usually a sea-food lover). There was always a variety of food to select from. For breakfast we generally ate at the buffet at the Captains Table. They always had a wide selection for breakfast. The dining-in Restaurants like Captains Table, Las Ramblas and E Piscado were out of this world!!! The beach was gorgeous and we never had a problem finding chairs under the shaded huts (even in the afternoon). The pools were beautiful with waterslides to entertain children and adventurous adults. The rooms were very clean and spatious. I can't complain about anything other than having to come home!

Had a fabulous time!! My husband & I just got back from La Cabana. We were there for 5 nights from Thursday, 6/12/03 to Tuesday, 6/17/03. We were supposed to leave on Monday, but extended our stay for another day. If I did not have to get back to work, we would have stayed until the next Thursday!Anyway, we arrived early on Thursday 6/12. Our unit was not ready yet, since check-in was not until 4:00pm. That was OK, as we were able to leave our luggage in the lobby with the bellman. We went out & sat by the pool, eating ice-cream from the lobby café. Only about $2 for 3 heaping scoops of ice-cream! (Several other times I tried to get only 2 scoops, but then they would simply give me 2 super large scoops. I did not need much persuading to just accept and eat it all each time!)Our rooms were ready right at 4pm. The rooms were OK. We had exchanged our Florida timeshare unit to stay here at La Cabana. We exchange our own unit all the time to visit different places, and in comparison, we have stayed in much nicer timeshare rooms. The La Cabana unit that we stayed in was not as well maintained as other timeshare places, but it was certainly decent, clean, and everything was functioning. Did not particularly care for the fact that the unit opened up into the bedroom (more like a hotel room, rather than an at home feeling), however, the bedroom had plenty of room & closet space was great. The beds were a little extra firm, but OK. The kitchen area was small, but we could cook small meals fine. The balcony was great, but I would recommend getting a room overlooking the pool. This would be a much nicer view, as we were in a back unit.In any case, we did not spend much time in the room. We spent 2 days lounging at the pool from 9am to 7pm, with intermittent trips to the beach, which was a short walk across the 2 lane street. If you are staying in the main building, it is not far to the beach at all. We probably would not have wanted to stay in the villas which are located in the building behind the main one (further away from the pool & beach, but still not a far walk). Oh, the breezes on the beach & by the pool!! It was so relaxing!! Once we were out by the pool, we could not move further than from the pool to the lounge chairs; a slow walk to the beach then back to the pool lounge chairs; then later to the whirlpool then back to the lounge chairs. It was wonderful!We spent one day in town, exploring all the jewelry stores. Note, the further away from the center of the main shopping area (near where the cruise ships dock), the better the prices! And you can negotiate. The shopkeepers are very friendly, anxious to make a sale, and willing to make a deal if you buy multiple items. Some people say they find them to be pushy, but we did not have any problems once we said a firm, No, thanks! There were people trying to get us to take timeshare tours, but they were not pushy.We did not have the all-inclusive plan. We bought bread and other staples & snacks for the room. We had brought packets of salt, pepper & sugar with us. For lunch & dinner we ate at La Cabana, as well as walked to restaurants at nearby hotels. We also had one or two meals in town. Overall, we found the food prices to be reasonable, about the same as what you would pay in the U.S. (NE/Northeast) at similar quality restaurants. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary on Fathers Day, and treated ourselves at a nicer restaurant at the Paradise Villas, next door. It was a little pricier, but again no more than at a similar quality place in the NE/Northeast U.S. The only thing we found expensive were slushes/frozen ice drinks. These were $4 for a 6oz-8oz cup. In the U.S., for $4, you get a whole lot more in a Fruit Coolatta from Dunkin Donuts, or a slush from 7-Eleven or even Dairy Queen. But, hey, we were on vacation!! We splurged!The local people, taxi drivers & La Cabana staff were friendly & helpful. The bus system was pretty good. Even when the buses on the hotel area route were running only every hour, we were able to catch a minibus for only a $1, so we were not waiting very long at any time. We visited some of the other hotels in the area, just to see what they were like. There were some that had nicer rooms, larger pools, bigger games room, but we still found La Cabana to be the best when considering everything such as amenities & activities, proximity to the beach, proximity to downtown, and proximity to other restaurants.We felt safe, at home, and completely relaxed at La Cabana!We are already planning our trip to Aruba for next year, and we will definitely stay at La Cabana!!

this place is SUITE (double meaning)...my wife and i had massages together(my first 1) -it was just a 2 minute walk from our room, so was the casino. the restaurant staff was so pleasant: Theo, Sonny, Miriam, Judith, etc. They made me want to eat. First rate restaurants at the facility...don't forget Pizza and Pastabilities either, they have great pizza sauce...We used their fitness center every morning after breakfast, that helped us feel good all day. In general, we went to La Cabana as a 2nd honeymoon, and now Jodi & I are closer than ever. I was very sad when we had to check out. ALL INCLUSIVE includes the love you feel from La Cabana.

We honeymooned in Aruba in May 2002. What a great place, Aruba is. First, the hotel. LaCabana came recommended by a friend who had earlier stayed there. This is a family hotel, with more children on the weekends from locals and weekenders. Very well staffed, very friendly and accomadating. They have all you need on sight. We took the all inclusive option. There are 5 restauraunts on sight, so we wouldn't get bored eating at the same place every night. Often there were buffet dinners, and the food is well cooked, bearing in mind it is a buffet. The served dinners we had were equally as well prepared. Just a side note, I had to beg them not to give me such large ice cream cones!! Nightime entertainment is very entertaining, MW&F. I was led up to do the limbo, and my wife photographed it! Any employee will be glad to take your picture for you with your camera. Ask for a close up though. Everyone steps back to take your picture, and when it is developed, you are little specs in front of a huge building. The rooms are cleaned daily with new towels. There is everything you need in a room, iron, blowdrier, microwave, full kitchen, etc... Air conditioning is great, and paddle fans are nice also. Plenty of nice landscaping, and iguanas everywhere! There is smoking allowed in many lobbies, so if you are a non smoker, be aware of that.The island has the world's second largest de-salinization plant and the water is probably better than your home water. Montezuma's revenge is not really an issue. There is warm, and hot water. The water lines run above ground in the sun. Buses run all over the place and very regular. Independent minivans also run everywhere, and will drop you off most anywhere. Pay for the ride when you get in, the price magically seems to go up if you don't pay in advance. Everyone is friendly there, even those not associated with the tourist trade. At the orientation meeting, we booked a safari, a cruise and a snorkel trip. All 20 % off at that meeting with all the vendors. Also saved the m out who has what available. The safari is the way to go. You'll see Natural Bridge, the back side of the island, the caves, the flora and fauna, and it included a snorkel trip also! The snorkel trip was the first for us and we have never seen such sights. Just like National Geographic. Both of these were with Depalm tours. Very well done. Then we had a day cruise with Jolly Pirates to 3 reefs and a sunken german WWII ship. That was the best memory of the entire honeymoon. They also had a rope swing off a yard arm for all to swing into the water, or somersault if you wish.In town, there is all the shopping you could want, alot of tourist trappings. It is hot all the time (80-90 degrees), and the wind blows all the time (10-15mph). Dress light and drink plenty. Walk all over the downtown area, it's all friendly.

PLEASE READ ALL OF THIS ITS GREAT AND HELPFUL!hey we just went to aruba and la cabana last july. i miss it so much. la cabana is excellent. its HUGE. there are 3 pools and theres a dunkin donuts and baskin robbins right near the pool which was so great. but if you want to go the beach and main lobby and the bars and everything else you have to cross the parking lot and go through the main building so its a pretty good walk to the beach. well at least where we were at. there are so many rooms. but im not going to let that bother you. its so nice and big. theres a restaurant there but we didn't go in it. it looked pretty nice though. theres a hallway where the restaurant is and theres a drugstore. on your way to the beach theres mini shops that was helpful. we were constantly buying pop and water. but we really didn't go to the beach that much (the one at the hotel)because we are snorkelers and the beach is populated with people swimming. no coral whatsoever. its a good beach for swimmers. the beach is gorgeous. we rented a jeep and checked out beaches where you can snorkel. the snorkeling was great at the beaches. i recommend getting a jeep. on the one side of the island nothing is there. its all rocks its looks lunar. it is so neat. that part of the beach the waves are humungous. i also recommend going to baby beach. we went there three times and its not even near la cabana. i loved it!!! **BRING BREAD**. people brought bread to feed the fish. its called baby beach because its so shallow so far out. theres rocks on the side of the beach and it caves in and thats where most of the fish are. its so awesome. millions of fish feeding on handfuls of bread. theres a pet cemetary right near it. we also drove to the natural bridge. that was really cool its the biggest natural bridge in the carribean. theres many people there. we also went to the natural pool. THAT WAS AWESOME. its really hard to find though. the whole island is a desert and we had the drive through hills-make sure if you want to do this tRING SNORKELING EQUIPMENT** if you want to actually swim in the natural pool. the natural pool is a pool that the waves make. the waves are wicked on both sides but you're safe because of the rocks. when really big waves come it splashes over you in the pool its so cool. theres a mini waterfall near it lingering off the rocks. good luck finding it because its in the middle of nowhere. but don't give up finding it-you'll eventually find it!! if you want to buy food for your hotel room make sure you find a decent supermarket. theres one near this store called "danas".we went to the little one in town and it was gross. i think we were the only americans in it. we finally found the decent one. Oranjestad(the capital) is awesome. theres so much commotion and the cruise ships dock off near there so you see all of these people. its so colorful and the buildings are dutch and colorful. we went to this fancy restaurnt called chez mathilde. it was exquisent. make sure men have ties and pants. oranjestad is excellent for shopping. we went fishing on this boat where you have to pay. i think its 40 bucks a person if you want to fish but if you just want to sit there its 20 bucks. it goes far out in the ocean(well not that far) and you fish. almost everyone that was fishing caught at least one fish. i caught three and one big colorful one. i think it was an angle fish but i could be wrong. if you do do this(i recommend doing this) the boat is called rainbow rentals i think... i forget the cap'ns name. if you do this, look in all his photo albums and if you see a girl with a striped shirt and black shorts thats me. if you catch a big fish he'll take your pic. overall this vacation was one of my favorites and if you're going here i am so jealous of you right now. have a great trip.

We honeymooned in Aruba during May 2000 and absolutely loved La Cabana. We chose an oceanview 1 bedroom suite and am glad we did. The view was beautiful! The hotel caters to families, so if you're looking for an exclusive "couples-only" this is not the place for you. But, we love kids, so I welcomed watching them while sitting in the sun. The beach is beautiful and during the day different vessels cruise by (way off shore) and that was fun to watch. The guests and staff at La Cabana were down-to-earth, not "stuffy" and I felt comfortable walking around in beach wear. Other hotels we visited on the island didn't have this same casualness that I liked at La Cabana. We did not do an all-inclusive package and instead chose to explore the cuisines of the island. First night we ate at La Cabana, which was great, but I would totally recommend getting out there and trying other resteraunts. Taxis are easily accessible and La Cabana has a person in charge of setting up dinner reservations for you. And don't forget to box up your leftovers! We brought those to our room and heated them up for lunch each day. The LaCabana market was a little more expensive than the grocery store in the shopping district. We took the bus down to the grocery store one day and had fun looking over their imported cookies, juices, etc and we bought some of these things to use in the room.The casino was fun, the beach was amazing, the atmosphere was casual (we loved hearing the live caribbean band playing in the evenings -- we could hear it from our room) and it was a safe trip. There was plenty of site seeing to do too. We're going back on an anniversary someday and next time we'll bring our kids with us!

We stayed at La Cabana in July 2000. We had a one bedroom villa with a full kitchen that was great.

I was even able to order groceries before I left. They were delivered the morning after we arrived. The pools were fantastic. There are 3. The kids LOVED the giant water slide and Dunkin Donuts hut near one of the pools. The poolside cafe near the other side of the resort was very good, with burgers etc. Perfect for 11 year old appetites. The resort is ON the beach at Eagle beach. It was one of the best beaches for families. It has very calm water, you can wade out a bit without a drop off. We tried other beaches, but always came back to this one. Overall, I would recommend this resort to anyone who is traveling with kids of any age.