Originally Posted by mreynolds767

Thought I would update after my stay to answer my own question regarding the Palm Beach Club Rooms, NOR1 Upgrades, construction, etc...

NOR1: I accepted a NOR1 offer for a Club Ocean View Room for $137++
Odd thing I noted from the beginning was it was a 2 Queen Room yet never did I see this room type as available for my dates. A kind bed Ocean View Club room was but that room type was never offered on the NOR1 program so the whole thing seemed a little odd.

I via chat in the APP contacted the hotel morning of check in day to see if my NOR1 was accepted ; it was not and they had no Ocean View Club Rooms available 2 Queen or King.
They had 1 remaining Partial Ocean View Club Room and offered me the NOR1 rate which I believe was $90++ per night. I accepted that via the app. I think it came to $105 or so with taxes included.
Might have received a free upgrade at check-in but would not have been to a Club room and was concerned about construction so wanted to be in the main tower.

Club was nice. Top floor in the tower. Our room was 1 floor below. The service in the club was excellent, they do a good job of knowing your names, preferences, etc.. in short order.
Service was also fast for drinks. Beers, soda, water is self service. Club does close at 7 PM ; so you cannot go there after dinner for a drink or just to enjoy the view. Wish they left it open until at least 11 PM as self service only.
B-fast I found really convenient to just go to the Club, it was never crowded and enjoyed the b-fast offerings. Egg station / cook to prepare what you wanted. Kind of wish we tried the main buffet for 1 morning to compare but wife liked the relaxed club vibe for the mornings.
I was up very early 2 mornings and went to the club just prior to official b-fast opening, they let me grab a coffee - all I wanted ; and then return for breakfast later.
It was also really nice to go for pre-dinner snack and drinks. The view from the club is very nice, top floor views. It strangely ends before the edge of the building so could be much better but still was a nice view from high up.
Plenty of outside seating - some with sun cover, inside seating can get full. Outside on the roof was very windy which I think is why most prefer to sit inside.
Admittedly we drank more than we would have if we did not have Club access. I made sure to have 2 drinks each evening - if I were paying I would have had 1 I suspect.
The food for evening was fine but definitely more snack ; you could not really make a meal of it.
I did not visit during afternoon hours as it never seemed convenient to go back to the room and to the club just to get a free drink or snack - given the distance from the beach or it we were out driving that day.

The hotel feels large but never felt crowded. The large size made some distances at times feel inconvenient though. I reserved in advance paid front row Umbrella spots on the beach a couple days and that went smoothly. Was nice to have food and drink service on the beach as an option.
Worth the expense if you are not doing it for every single day. Having a Club room reduced the beach rental by 25% I believe ; I think that was a club benefit not a HH one. Also got some free Aruba Aloe products. We liked those and visited the factory to take a tour and bought gifts for people back home there before leaving the island so the partnership with them paid off in our case.

The pool was only Ok. Pictures online seemed better than in person. One pool only half opened due to construction, the other fully open. But neither pool seemed great, both shallow. No swim up bars. No hot tubs on property. Pool closed a little early than I would have liked for an evening swim - but not terrible cannot recall if it was 9 or 10 PM but was enforced.
Grounds are awesome to walk, very pretty and extremely well maintained ; sand extends onto the property. Cool collection of birds you can visit but they don't ever leave the cages anymore.
Is also nice that beachside at the where the resort ends and beach begins (beach is technically public not Hilton property) there is a walking area that you can walk up and down to see the other resorts and beach from. Great for a peaceful stroll in the early morning or at sunset.
Was not aware of this in advance of the stay so was a nice surprise. The sand aspect on Hilton's property seemed unique to them, the other resorts were closer to the beach which I am sure is better for views from the rooms but did not have as nice of grounds as the Hilton.
Free sunscreen, free water near the pool area. Free use of floats for pool or beach but those go quickly so one day we paid to rent them from a place on the beach between Hilton and Rio.
One of the great things about Aruba is that the tap water is perfect for drinking, no need to buy bottled water and most restaurants (all but 1 on the island unrelated to Hilton) promoted this fact rather than trying to upsell you bottled water.
The open air lobby is wonderful as out the extensive grounds - other than that and the service in the Club Room it does not scream luxury. Given room rates I think I expected a little more in some aspects but is an older building so only so much is possible.

Loved having the fun beach pier bar Bugaboes on one side and the many shops/restaurants/gelato directly across the street on the other. Location was ideal for that. You are in a resort with normal resort amenities and feel but not captive at all.
Rented a car and self parking is easy and free. I drove for little errands/location scouting quite a bit and was funny ; the security at the parking area would always hesitate and give me multiple looks before opening the gate, despite me a few times seeing them 20 minutes prior when I left and holding my arm out the window with my Club Room bracelet. Each time, they were like are you staying here? Maybe someone driving alone was not typical. I definitely got the sense the few people that come with a car and park it ; leave the car there until check out. Honestly this is not a complaint I found it humorous, it was never annoying.

Construction really never bothered us. Our 2 main beach days and when we stayed on the property the full day were on Sat and Sunday though. Saturday they did very little actual work, Sunday they did none. We were driving around the island during normal work hours on other days.
The new tower looks very nice, far closer to the water/beach which would make a big difference!
The main tower is quite far from the actual beach; it is a large property but I did miss that see/hear the ocean from the lobby or room you can get in other locales (not talking Aruba).
We stayed in the main tower, our partial ocean view was exactly that. Other than the club access; I think I would prefer a garden view unless it viewed directly onto construction.
The partial view issue was ; we could see the ocean from the side which was nice but are on the side and were exposed to the restaurants/clubs across the street and could hear music late into the night even with the slider door closed. Given the distance I was shocked how load the music was outside on the deck. Not live music which I would have enjoyed but bassy club type music. I was expecting more reggae/island type music but that does not seem to be a thing in Aruba. Had to turn on the TV for some white noise to sleep which was annoying, I think a full ocean view in the tower would probably? solve that or a garden/pool view in one of the other buildings. Never entered the other buildings.

Beach itself is great for floating around, relaxing. Great sand and water.
Aruba is great for a relaxing, easy trip. I am not likely to return but more because I prefer to explore new places and would rather a more International feel when traveling. I also completely understand why some people wish nothing more than to return here every single year.

We had a split stay between here and the Renaissance Wind Creek - a Bonvoy property.
In terms of location, I think Palm Beach is the best option for most everyone and that the Hilton has as good or better location within Palm Beach as any other property so I do recommend it.
Point availability is also good and usually a good value for your points or FNC's.
Driving by the other Hilton (Embassy Suites) that did not seem like a place I would want to stay - though newer, modern, probably a nicer pool and I assume better views from the rooms it's location seemed far from ideal for beach or for walking to other things.