Has anyone exchanged their points for Aruba???

[treloarf]

I hear Aruba is really nice - just something differrent from WDW? Anyone know anything about the resorts that you can exchange into. A friend of mine stayed at the La Cabana Beach Resort & said it was awsome, but it was thru a different timeshare.

 

[DVCLady]

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[Dean]

Of the 5 Aruba exchanges available to use with DVC, only the Marriott will truly come up to DVC standards. La Cabana and Playa Linda will be nice in their own right. The fact that one can exchange a studio and get a full kitchen at many of these resorts is a plus. The chances of getting a 1 BR in exchange for a studio is great at La Cabana. Air fare is the killer though ranging from $600 to $800 pp lately from what I'm told.

 

[treloarf]

Dean,
I was able to get a 1 bedroom at the La Cabana for August (approx 160-200 pts), but the airfare is a killer for the 4 of us. I tried to use frequent flyer miles, but no luck there neither!

I hear Aruba is great!

 

[Dean]

No way I'd give up 1 BR DVC points for the La Cabana. There are twice as many 1 BR units as studios and the studios have the same kitchen and square footage just a different set up. Chances are pretty high that one would get a 1 BR compared to a studio and if exchanging a sleep 4 studio, only the 1 BR would match anyway for an ongoing search.

Besides, though La Cabana is a nice resort, it's not comparable inquality to DVC and I own there.

 

[JimB.]

About 3 years ago we exchanged for 1 week in a 1 BR suite at the Sonesta Suites resort in Aruba. About 160 or 170 points, if I remember correctly.

It was just a bit cramped for my tastes, but otherwise very nice.

As opposed to most resorts in Aruba, it is in downtown Orangestad on the shore, instead of the resort beaches on the north side of the Island. You had to take a boat to their private island to get to a "real beach", but it was nice and secluded.

Advice: If you wear a hat, make sure it fits snugly. My "Indiana Jones" hat I bought at MGM a few years back now resides at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean just offshore Aruba as a result of failure to observe this rule.

If you go, make sure you take a "Jeep Tour" of the Island.

Be prepared for "sticker shock" at the price of meals.

 

[kel3420]

My husband I went to Aruba about 7 years ago, and by FAR, this was our favorite vacaction. Huge winnings, every night at the casinos helped, lol.

Personally, I would recommend staying at one of the beachfront resorts. If you can afford the Hyatt, it is beautiful. We stayed at the Holiday Inn several resorts down, and loved it. While we were there, they were building a huge resort next door and had recently worked on the beach area. We took a walk one day, and there were literally huge piles of conch shells. It is rare to find one on the beach, much less hundreds. We spent an hour going thru them, and ended up bringing 10 of these home, that were perfect, not one scratch, dent or hole. All in all it was a very memorable vacation.

Aruba is famous for their "trade winds", while it does keep you comfortable in the very warm weather, if you put lotion on and sit on the beach, you are soon covered head to toe with sand

Aruba is one of those places where I would not trade points to go.

 

[Jenn]

We have been 3 times (never on points) and have stayed at the Holiday Inn and what is now the Allegro (used to be a Radisson and before that it was the Golden Tulip).

From our area, you can usally find specials for booking a couple of months out in the $699 to $999 range per person for the first two adults with lower prices for the kids, depending on the hotel. If the airfare alone is $600 to $800, I would just rather book one of these package deals and save the points. My husband really wants to do an exchange there, but we would be bringing our 2 daughters and I can't see spending $2,400 to $3,200 just on the airfare.

If you go - the Jeep tours are great as another poster mentioned. You get filthy, rotten dirty so be prepared but touring the island that way is great.

We have done various excursions like sunset cruises, snorkeling trips (once snorkled at a shipwreck just off the coast), dinner shows, etc.

We haven't been since 1996, but when we where there it was very safe and you didn't have to worry about the locals harrassing you to buy stuff which I have found is prevelant on other islands. We love it there and I would highly recommend it.