Aruba Accommodations

Most visitors will be staying in one of three areas: Oranjestad, Low-Rise hotel area along Eagle Beach, or High-Rise hotel area on Palm Beach.  Within each area there are hotels, resorts, timeshares and all-inclusive resorts.

A hotel will be a basic room with one or two beds and a bathroom.  Most hotels will have at least one pool, daily housekeeping and possibly other amenities.  Hotels will the be the lowest cost of any options listed on this website.  A hotel is a good choice for travellers on a budget or for those who simply need a place to sleep and plan to spend most of their time outside.

Resorts will have simple hotel rooms up to multiple bedroom suites.  They will also include pools and other amenities such as restaurants, conceirge, spas, watersports and some will have casinos.  Resorts are used by business travels who need meeting areas as well as leisure travellers who prefer to spend more time close to their room.  Resort costs will vary depending on room size and amenities available to those staying at them. 

Many of the people who travel to Aruba stay in timeshares.  A typical timeshare offers one, two, or three bedrooms, a central living room and dining area, complete kitchen with full-size stove, oven, microwave, and dishwasher, as well as dishes and utensils, Washer and dryer and one, two, and sometimes three full bathrooms.  Most timeshares have amenities similar to a resort and the full kitchen allows families to eat meals in their unit rather than in restaurants. Many timeshares offer movie rentals on-site and VCRs or DVD players in the units, so families can save money on entertainment as well.  Some timeshares have limited rooms available to non owners and the prices are comparable to resort prices.

The two main reasons for the popularity of all-inclusive resorts are time and value. The resorts on our list vary in terms of what exactly is included, from "everything" to "most things" when you read the fine print. Usually  all meals, wine and water sports are included. Granted, the rooms don't come cheap but considering that some hotel rooms cost and still charge you for the bottled water and the mini-bar, guests are less likely to be shocked by their bill at checkout time.

Being able to leave the wallet and credit card in the room safe also helps to get guests into a vacation frame of mind.  While the prices are not for the budget-conscious crowd, booking a stay there removes much of the hassle because guests know exactly what they will be paying for. Being presented with menus that are free of dollar signs also helps guests forget about the outside world, which is what a vacation is supposed to do.