lucycan

Planning a mid April spring break in 2017 with a family of 4. Do both of the MVCs accept points reservations? Alternative is 2 rooms at the Marriott or Ritz.

Open to suggestions. Thanks!

hhoope01

Yes both of them sometimes will have awards inventory. I have a 2 bedroom unit with points
at ocean Club in May.

rylan

As mentioned, they do sometimes have points reservations available... however you are looking at a peak travel period so availability is likely to be very limited or non existent for points. I suggest booking way in advance.

lucycan

I've been tracking both the OceanClub and SurfClub but neither available for points. 2 bedrooms would be great but at $900+ a night hard for me to justify.

hhoope01

I'm heading to the Ocean Club in 2 days for a 7 night stay in a 2-bedroom unit fully paid with points. This thread is getting me antsy to get there.

BTW, when I made the reservation back in December, 2015, there was 2 bedroom award availability for both MVCI properties. I chose the Ocean Club as we are going with friends and hoped the OC would be better for a bunch of adults rather than a traveling family with kids.

immax45

These are very popular timeshare properties, and owners get the priority over MR redemptions during peak season and busy times (late June-Aug is busy, but not 'peak'). I've booked both on points, but had to be patient and flexible. I've also gotten great deals on EBay and Redweek. To the point where I was happy not to use my points because it would have given me a terrible value. I then used those points to extend my trip with a few free nights at the Marriott Stellaris.

Booking directly through Marriott will cost you, but it's your best chance of getting anything close to full-service hotel treatment. Not a guarantee.

Mr. Vker

Remember, if you are at the OC, you can use the pool/facilities at the full service Marriott-except for the adult pool which is fenced off. Have a great time!

bearcat74

Was just at the Marriott Stellaris last week and was a fantastic stay. Great beach and pool, which were mildly crowded as expected. Chatting with one of the managers before we left while waiting for our bus he noted they are going to be starting some construction soon in the lobby (despite it looking pretty new currently) - adding a starbucks near the front entrance and moving the lobby bar/cafe over to that area (where gift shops are now). Also are supposedly taking out the Tradewinds restaurant on the 8th floor to add additional suites.

Already planning for when we can go back. Based on reco's above may have to spend a night or two at the Ren downtown for a different feel and check out the private island. We went down one day to check out the downtown and shop near the Ren. Very easy and affordable by the public bus (around $5.20 for two and a 15-20 min trip each way).

mmayer

Would that kill the whole Tradewinds floor concept? That would really stink!

Stayed there 2 years in a row for our end of winter vacation. It was a very nice addition to the trip!

EDIT: Hmmm, just went to look to see if Tradewinds Floor would be available next February. Using Flexible dates, there were no rooms available from ~December 18, 2016 - March 10, 2017. Odd that they would shut down for construction during high season. Tradewinds rooms are still available for reservations on March 10.

SkiAdcock

Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino offers you great deals at Atardi, La Vista, The Great Room and at their Pool Bar.

ARUBA MARRIOTT HAPPY HOUR & RESTAURANT DEALS

http://www.aruba.com/aruba-vacations...staurant-deals

Cheers.

pharmawalk

Ritz-Carlton Club level is the way to go in Aruba. Very nice. Great and helpful staff that acknowledged gold elite status with upgrade to Club level Executive Suite. HOLY COW - it was great! Ended up staying an extra day and our super helpful representative (PM for name if you are going) ended up rescheduling our plane and rebooking our next reservations on Bonaire to accommodate the extra day. Unparalleled service!

Edit: we started with base Club Level room for clarification

hhoope01

You had my hopes up there for a minute. If a Gold got a club-level suite upgrade, what might a Plat get, Presidential suite by chance?

Need

Plat got upgraded from normal non club level room to non club executive suites. Don't really care about club as we are enjoying our lunch on the beach. Best resort ever!

The executive suites is amazing. You can fit 10 people in the shower LOL.

hockeyinsider

So, the dilemma:

I can get a $199 rate for a corporate "function" at the Ritz-Carlton or $198 at the Renaissance, which includes a daily $50 credit. What do I do?

PHLGovFlyer

For me it would boil down to this: Does the group want to be on the beach, or in town with access to the private island?