Good Diamond Stay
 

My sense is that the Aruba Hilton tries to accommodate Elite members as best they can given the current large numbers of Elites. On a recent 5-night award stay, as a Diamond I was given two passes for full breakfast at the Laguna restaurant, which is a picturesque indoor/outdoor venue. The breakfast buffet at Laguna is excellent and very much worth the $25 per person normal cost. I had to sign the check at Laguna but they didn't charge me. The Palm Beach Club lounge room is small (about the size of two normal rooms) and there are clearly some very regular customers that routinely get access. I can understand that giving all Diamonds access to the lounge just wouldn't work. At the end of my stay, I did ask for late check-out and the front desk was very accommodating even though they were full. I chatted with the general manager Hans at the Tues evening reception (complimentary wine, beer, rum punch and good appetizers) and thanked him for doing the best he can with elite perks. Overall I would stay again. I've been to the Ren in town and the Marriott and Ritz that are way down the beach - I like the Hilton the best.

hey guys, going here with my GF next week and booked a massage at the spa. any ideas on how the spa is or recent experiences there? I'm diamond but not big into the lounges, saw that was an issue for some. also spent time at the waikiki hotel as diamond and now at the resort style ones status doesn't get you much :)

Jekyll & Hyde Experience
 

Having just returned from 8 nights at this hotel, I can firmly state that I have no idea if I would ever recommend it to anyone. Every experience we had at this hotel seemed to combine both the worst and best customer service - simultaneously.

I reserved a 1 bedroom king suite 10 months in advance of our arrival date - using a corporate rate. At the time that I booked, the rate stated that it included a palapa reservation for the duration of the stay. We put down a deposit 10 months in advance and spent the next 10 months itching to go.

A few weeks ahead of time, I was browsing the current hotel rates (like you do), and noticed that the king suite rate no longer included a palapa. In fact, the hotel has now created a "Palm Beach Club" level, which appears to be a concierge-type level, and is charging a great deal more for those rooms. Scouring through the site, I could find no reference to a palapa being included with a suite. I contacted the hotel to verify that their records showed that I should have a palapa, and within one day I received a very nice reply stating that although they had changed the rules, they did show that I was entitled to a palapa. (Great service!) She then directed me to the person who was to assist me in making the palapa reservation (which is now online). It took four attempts to contact that person, along with two requests for her manager's contact info, before I got a response (Bad Service!). I was assured that we had a 'waterfront' palapa for the stay.

We arrived at the hotel about 2pm (a couple of hours early) prepared to have to wait to get into our room. We discovered that the front desk clerk was waiting for us, so that she could tell us that they didn't have a king suite available - but were graciously putting us up in 2 rooms. After much discussion (during which they seemed flummoxed by my insistence that I needed a connecting room since my kids are 8 and 10 and can't be off on another floor by themselves), I stated that I was not satisfied with their responses and politely insisted that I speak with a manager. Within one minute of this request - the two desk agents suddenly disappeared into the back and left an intern alone upfront to deal with me. (Bad Service!). I honestly felt bad for this poor girl. She went into the back twice and came out with a different story each time as to why the managers weren't available. We agreed to come back in about 90 minutes.

We returned 90 minutes later to find a new desk agent (who I hadn't previously talked to) who was very professional. She stated that they would put me into two adjoining rooms for two nights, and then they would move us to the room that we had reserved for the balance of our stay. I asked what would happen in two days when I came down to move only to find out that the room still wasn't available, and she said - "You will have it, we have it reserved for you." She was unable to answer why they didn't have it reserved for me now - as they had previously committed to and taken a deposit for.

Through all of this, the hotel had offered us nothing for the inconvenience - hardly even an apology. So I finally had to baldly ask - "What is the hotel going to do for us?" At this point, she immediately offered up free full breakfast for the duration of our stay. This seemed to me to be a reasonable concession. Breakfast at a resort for 8 mornings for 4 people is an expensive proposition. So I sold out my integrity for egg white omelettes. This was Great Service - but I had to ask for it.

After two days, the hotel moved our luggage for us, and put us up in one of the nicest ocean-view suites in the entire hotel for the next 6 nights. They did not charge me for the room upgrade. This was great customer service, but I would suggest that they should have made this part of their discussion at the very beginning. So after two nights of listening to the hotel roof vents, we had a beautiful sunset view.

During our stay, my kids went to three separate "Activities" that were posted on a big billboard outside the activities hut (not the kids club). Each time they showed up for an activity, we found no one there. Going back to the activities hut and asking about the activity seemed to cause a great deal of confusion, followed by several phone calls or walkie-talkie calls, and then a Hilton employee would come skidding in sideways from some other part of the resort. The kids enjoyed the activities, so good customer service by the folks running it, but they weren't there in the first place, so bad customer service to start out.

I am not going to comment on the resort, as I think there are a lot of other reviews, and its a pretty standard Hilton resort 'feel'. However, I do want to comment on the palapas. I discovered that a waterfront palapa means only that you are in the front row of many permanent palapas. However, it appears that Hilton has leased or sold the rights to all of the beach space in front of the palapas to vendors who put up and rent large umbrellas with lounge chairs - blocking the views from the palapas. On some days, the umbrellas were three deep in front of the palapas. Normally, I would attribute this to the "public beaches" policy. However, I noticed that there were no umbrellas set up in front of the palapas at the neighboring Barcelo resort. On the other side, the Riu resort only had one or two umbrellas. At the Hilton, there were dozens and dozens of them. Clearly the Hilton has allowed something that the other resorts don't. If you want a clear view of the ocean, you are better off not getting a palapa, and simply working with the beach umbrella vendors. I'm sure Hilton gets a cut anyway. Very poor treatment of hotel guests on this policy.

During my stay, our rate was supposed to be cheaper for the last three nights. This was not reflected in my bill at checkout. The desk agent was very polite and helpful in correcting it (great service), but the bill should have been correct in the first place (poor service).

I am honestly torn by this resort. The hotel is nice and the people are very friendly and helpful, but nothing just "works". Everything here was a struggle to get right. What was supposed to be a relaxing vacation became a source of continual aggravations. Plus, the beach is overrun by watersports vendors and the traffic in the ocean is absurd. If you want a beautiful location that has lots of shops and restaurants in walking distance, this may be a good choice. But if you want a quiet, relaxing beach vacation where everything goes smoothly, I don't think this is the place.

Wonderful Stay
 

My family (2 adults, 2 kids) completed a 6 night stay at the Hilton Aruba back in February. Booked a 2 Double Bed Garden View room with a mixture of points/certificates. I am a Diamond member and was greeted as such at check-in. Got upgraded to a suite for 2 days in the Aruba Tower on the top floor (Level 6 I believe) and then moved to another suite in the Curacao tower on the first floor for the rest of our stay. We originally disappointed with the move, but turned out great since we were right next to the pool. I would just save the time/effort and book a palapa for the entire week. Otherwise you will get one on the side/back of the beach. The palapa rentals have a "good" location, but as others have stated, a lot of times there are rental umbrellas that are in front blocking your access to the beach. Got 3 vouchers to the buffet for everyday of our stay (1 kid is a baby so no need) and also a $20 voucher at the casino. The buffet is very good for breakfast, the food in the rest of the hotel is just ok. We had a rental car so we booked reservations at restaurants every evening off the resort. Staff was very friendly and helpful during our stay. We are already planning our next trip here for later this fall. Just an FYI, Alcohol is very expensive at the hotel and in Aruba in general. I would suggest you purchase items from the Duty Free before leaving the airport. A case of Coors Light was around $54 USD :mad::td:

Hilton Aruba
 

Does the point system on hotels vary this much? Back in April I checked June 2017 dates for 3 nights in a premium suite and checked again today for same dates June 2018. It is almost as many points for one night in 2018 as it was for 3 nights in June 2017? Did we have a HUGE increase? Thanks.

Premium room awards are directly related to the paid rates that the hotel is offering, so it just means that the hotel is 3 times more expensive next year. Why? Ask the hotel's revenue manager.

60 day cancellatuion policy
 

Does this strike others as rigid and unacceptable for a Hilton?

Where do you see this? I'm only seeing a seven day cancellation notice.

I have stayed at this hotel a few times with it was a Radisson

I was looking to book in December for the sale they have. Worked out to $200 per night for 7 nights. Not a bad deal, overall

Then I look, 15% service fee! 7 nights that is $230 USD for water and internet.

That is basically another night (so much for the free night) plus the cabana rentals have gone up from $25 per day to $50 per day

Disappointing to say the least

Large resorts nickel-and-dime their guests. Let the world beware.

Never felt that kind of nickel and dime when Radisson's flag flew

Aruba Hilton Resort
 

I am looking for feedback on the different room options and different towers. Which did you prefer and why? Thanks!

Is there no relevant feedback here?:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...asino-abw.html

Hilton Aruba
 

Not really...I was hoping for someone to respond that was familiar with the different options in the different towers so I could get their perspective. I am trying to decide which room is worth it. Either Palm Beach Club, or Curacao Tower vs. Bonaire Tower or if anyone did a premium suite.

Any recent reports?