niteowl94

If your referring to my post I was at the Westin, not the RIU. I checked in on 2/19 and checked out as the hotel was closing on 2/26.

I had even more issues with the hotel and the staff after my post but SPG Consumer Affairs was awesome and they did the right thing for me so I'm satisfied.

unrdchi

No I was referring to the poster(s) who were arriving after the closure and had been relocated to the Riu, without much response from Riu.

awerdna2002

I have still received no response from the Riu, despite repeated emails, and my numerous calls result in them telling me to "send an email". I have taken this up with Starwood on several levels. After the "hey kid, you're on your own" email I posted about earlier, I had a phone call with SPG. I was told that everything would be fine, and that Starwood had not heard of any problems yet. I was told that the Riu was swamped with requests and therefore were slow to respond. So, I am continuing to hope for the best, though the thought of arriving with family in tow to find things messed up is making me nervous.

I've got a little over 3 weeks till we go so hopefully someone will post here about their experience.

bkballin

I just returned from my trip to Aruba. I was due to stay at the Westin for my second time from 2/27-3/3 and experienced all the issues and frustration everyone has voiced here. Starwood put me up in the Riu and only after 4 attempts was I able to get someone from Riu reservations to send me a confirmation that I had a room. Long story short, there were a lot of Westin people at the Riu and most had no confirmation of their room before they got there. Everyone did have rooms though and the front desk personnel was as accommodating as they could be when issues arose.

The hotel itself was ok. The rooms could be updated, a king bed is 2 full size beds pushed together and my tv was a Zenith (27 inch tube tv). On the plus side it is all inclusive for all of the Westin transfers which includes all meals and drinks (including brand name liquors). The pool is much better than the Westin in my opinion mostly because there is a swim up bar. For anyone with status though, you will quickly realize you are not special at the Riu when you are only allowed one towel per person and the loss of your towel or towel card results in a $20 charge and whatever you do, don't lose your all-inclusive wristband!

With the Riu being right next door to the Westin you have access to the same nightlife and food options in the High Rise district. The breakfast and lunch buffets were better than expected but we preferred to eat dinner outside of the resort as that is one of the reasons to go to Aruba and not DR for instance. For anyone concerned, you should allay your fears as your trip will not be ruined. Not to say I will ever return to the Riu but for this trip it was good enough.

87155

I have a reservation for December at the Westin Aruba which is now RIU, we have reserved a 1 bedroom ocean front suite. The property will be reopened by the time of our trip however it turns out the property is no children which we have 2. They do not have any 1 bedroom suites at the RIU and i asked them about locating us at another hotel. I was given the response today that they got rates at the other hotels for the time of my reservation and they are TOO HIGH at other hotels and it is not an option. We offered to take two rooms however they do not have connecting rooms at the hotel and I explained we have young children.

Yes the rates for that time are quite high however is this my problem?