TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

What a mess! So many issues. 1. The room did not have a functioning phone. Complained 4 times with no resolution. Finally after I had to walk to the front desk in the rain during a tropical depression demanding action or another room they gave me another room. (Had to make an international call on my cell phone to call the front desk). 2. the new room… did not have hot water! Only Luke warm - at this point I’m leaving tomorrow and I’m just ready to get the hell out of here. I paid over 500 dollars per night and did not get the service I obtained from a holiday inn. The food … meh The restaurant rolls were not heated and hard. The grouper was obviously reheated and passable only. Saw a bird eating watermelon at the fruit station and no one took action…an animal was eating the food at the fruit table… let that sink in… there were also flies landing on the fruit… I have been to multiple all inclusive resorts on different Caribbean islands and this was by far my worst experience…by a long mile. I will never come back and for sure will not go to Divi resorts. The thing that really ticks me off was the passivity and no attempt to resolve my issue until I told them the situation was not acceptable. I do not leave reviews in general unless really good or really bad so the fact that I am taking the time to write this review says a lot. I paid thousands of dollars for this trip and I can not relay how disappointed I am with this experience. Never again. This is a true review with no exaggeration only facts.

This was a return trip for my wife and I who stayed here 28 years ago for our honeymoon. This time we came with our 2 adult children and their significant others (all in their early 20s). We had three rooms in Vista II. Our room was ocean view. Literally able to walk out the slider on to a little patio and then steps to the best beach on the island. Rooms were completely upgraded. All inclusive features were well worth it. Free roam of the Tamarijin as well. Never had to wait for a drink, the choice of restaurants were great and the food was very good. Reservations were easy on the App. Staff were extremely friendly. We played golf one morning at the course across the street. The activity center was great. We did an E-bike tour through the activity center. They had tour guides who took us to visit the California Lighthouse and other spots along the way. Shout out to Zef, Calvin and Donny (or Dunny) who were the guides. They were instructive, conscientious, and very funny and friendly. We were not expecting much of this tour but it was fabulous. This tour was part of the all inclusive. On another day, we were able to take E bikes and snorkel gear out from the activity center, and utilize on our own. Highly recommend Divi!!

My wife and I stayed at the resort in June of 2025. The resort is basically ok. The staff ranges from below average to very good. None are excellent. When you compare this all-inclusive to ones I have stayed at in Mexico (Excellence, Finest, Dreams) it really doesn't not even come close. The rooms are ok, which means disappointing given the cost to stay. They need to be renovated. I stayed at the Veranda I think. The shower is anemic. Squeaky, but comfortable bed. Uncomfortable furniture. You have to walk really far from check in to your room with no assistance for luggage and it is hard to find the elevator. The front desk staff is not good. There is one random employee that spends his entire time next to the front desk talking to the staff trying to work at the front desk. I don't know what he does, except distract his co-workers. They hotel needs several doorman to help with taxis and transportation and luggage. They frequently had zero. They also should hire ones that know basic information, such as the cost to take a taxi from the hotel to the airport and other locations. They should engage the driver and inform him of the price. The taxi prices are set, but the taxi drivers often lie, such as our first driver from the airport that charged us 35 dollars, and then complained when we confronted him and finally agreed to 30 dollars. And told us not to come to Aruba if we are cheap. But I digress. They need real doorman. I thought most the bartenders provided good service as did the servers at restaurants at night. The breakfast and lunch buffet are pretty forgettable. Breakfast was the same every day with no variation. Lunch was pretty much the same, except the carvery station changed. They had ham as the carvery station twice, which is a sad carvery. They did have lamb one day and a big ribeye (both overcooked). You can get pizza and "paninins" at the bar, which are also forgettable. Club Margot is the best restaurant, and is actually one of the best restaurants I have ever been to at an all inclusive resort. However, the menu is set so going there more than once would mean you eat the same thing. Papparazi was decent, but nothing to write home about. We had bolognese, Carbonara, beef tenderloin and ravioli, and chicken parm. Ginger was better than I expected, though I had low expectations. We had two wok dishes (one beef and one chicken) and the bao was quite good. I liked the entrees at Red Parrot, but thought the appetetizers were disappointing. Escargot was sad, and the french onion soup was too sweet. Beef bourginon and cocount shrimp were good. the shrimp came with curly fries, which I love, but oddly, we could not find those curly fries at any other restaurant! We did not go to the Mexican restaurant. We went off property to Opus one night, which was excellent. I highly recommend at least one night off property at one of the wonderful restaurants in Aruba. The pools are dated. They are too deep and need to be re-done. We preferred the pool that was somewhat more updated in front of the Vista 3 building. So let's turn to the positives. The beach at the hotel is one of the best beaches I have ever been to. It is clear with white sand. You can see marine life easily. Because it is a low rise, it is not crowded at all. Yes we wanted front row seats at an umbrella by the beach, and would set up at 8:30. but you don't really need to. Plenty of space, plenty of umbrellas, no ridiculous getting up super early just to get a seat at the pool or beach. You can easily walk to eagle beach. You will want floats. There are plenty abandoned, so you do not need to bring one. In addition the towel hut has noodles and those foam pool lounge beds also you can check out for free. We found two floats. We liked to set up on the beach by Vista I and II at the edge of the resort area. We would get on a float and let the current take us to Eagle beach, and then take a 15-20 min walk back. Walk north to check out Eagle beach. I really liked Manchebo beach which comes out at a point just north of the resort past the rocks. You get longer stretches of that clear water you can see through going out all the way to the rope that designates the swimming area. You must go north and check out the beaches. I did scope out some other resorts, and almost all look just like the Divi. Except one stood out - the Bucuti & Tara looked much nicer, and I will investigate staying there next. Or I may go to the high rises, perhaps the Marriott. We liked to go to the beach right in front of Vista I and II at the end, because we found it most convenient. Although it was farthest from our Veranda rooms, sitting at those beach umbrellas/tables gave you fast access to 1) the beach 2) walking north to the other beaches) 3) you have wifi (some of the beaches particularly near the main pool, no wifi) 4) you are close to the best pool in front of Vista III and can go back and forth between it and the beach. Also the bar at that pool is usually the most empty, and water and ice are close by also. So you really never go back to your room. I did walk past the Vista, and although, sure it looks more updated, and I peaked into some rooms when the housekeepers had them open, and they did look better, but honestly, still nothing to write home about. We did do an excursion on UTVs to the major sites and I highly recommend it. We booked through Viator Rockabeach. Coincidentally the concierge had booked probably 12 people at the various Divi resorts on the same trip. I always research and book my own excursions, but FWIW, seems like the Divi concierge utilizes some of the better outfits. I am pretty critical with my "stars" on tripadivisor. I give this a 3, where a 5 would be a Ritz/St. Regis or a high end all inclusive like Excellence/Finest. 4 would be most Marriotts. I give this a 3.

Summary Overall, the beach is very nice and beautiful, but everything else is not so great. We think that the resort is overpriced and overrated with foods and services being quite below our expectations. We definitely would not go back to Divi and Tamarijn All Inclusives unless changes in foods and services are made in the future. Facilities: Overall, everything was nice and clean and well maintained at the hotel. The best part of Divi All Inclusive is the beach. The beach is so nice, and very clean, and not crowded at all. They have a lot of beach chairs and umbrellas that we were always able to get one umbrella and chairs whenever we went out to the beach. There are showers stations throughout the beach that we could rinse off the sand before going to our rooms. The sunset is beautiful over the ocean on any days with less clouds, but the sunrise is not over the ocean though. We stayed in Lanai rooms, which are ocean front and just steps away from the beach. The rooms are a little bit small. One of our rooms was a bit smelly; we were not sure what that smell was. The bathrooms don’t have any ventilation or exhaust fans; as a result, we had to open the bathrooms’ windows to get more air circulation, but that was still not enough and it was always damp and smelly inside the bathrooms. They do not have iron and iron board in the room; so we had to request for one. TV is great with lots of US channels and easy to use. Having the key bracelets was very convenient as we’ve never had to worry about keys when going out. Wifi internet inside the rooms were very good, but there was no internet at all everywhere else including inside the gym or restaurants (the hotel Wifi signals were there but internet was just not working). The gym is nice and well equipped and has very great view of the ocean, but there was no internet for us to watch Netflix while running on the treadmill. Swimming pools are nice and clean with towels readily available. The hotel app is nice and easy to use, and we were able to use it for restaurant reservations and activities. Pickleball court is not available in either Divi or Tamarijn as described on their website. It is only available in Divi Village Golf or Divi Dutch Village, which is a bit further away. Around the resort within walking distance, there’s a casino very nearby but we didn’t go in. We went to the market place next to the casino, but there was not much there. We also went to Ling & Sons food market nearby and it was a grocery store like in the US. We took a taxi to downtown, which is about 2.5 miles away, and went around the flee market and gift stores. Restaurants, Foods and Drinks Overall, the foods were just ok to us, and definitely below our expectation. Having paid that much money for all inclusives, we expected the foods to be much better. The foods were average and there were not many selections in all restaurants, including the buffet Pelican Terrace. We were able to get reservations at Red Parrot, Pure Lime, and Ginger, but we were not able to get reservations at Paparazzi for some reason. Out of the three restaurants we went, we thought that Ginger was the best, and Pure Lime was the worst. The Pelican Terrace is supposed to be buffet style, but it is not really a buffet as there are many dishes that we had to order to be cooked (they gave us a pager to let us know when the order is ready). The fast foods at the bar were not good either. We often saw flies in the restaurants and bars, even indoors of the signature restaurant Red Parrot. The best thing we found at the Pelican Terrace was the fruit selections during breakfast as there were many types of fruits, including some exotic ones like dragon fruit and rambutan. The sushi was also good. Drinks were really good. The menus at all the bars show about 6 frozen drinks and 6 cocktails, but we were actually able to order any drinks we wanted even if they were not on the menus. Staffs and Service We booked 2 lanai 2-queen-bed rooms 6 months in advance. When we booked, we asked to get the rooms closer together on the first floor. We were told that we would get rooms on the first floor for sure since 2-queen-bed rooms are all on the first floor and only king-bed rooms are on the second floor. But when we checked in, the receptionist told us that they didn’t have two rooms on the first floor, and we had to get one room on the first floor (room 616) and one room on the second floor (room 620). So it was not true that all 2-queen-bed rooms are on the first floor as we were told. Then, we were told to wait for the shuttle to get to our rooms. After waiting there for 10 minutes, a staff member told us that we had to walk to our rooms now since the shuttle had to go somewhere else to help other guests. We walked to our rooms and surprisingly found out that both of our rooms 616 and 620 were on the second floor. So this is the second time that we were misled by the staff. The receptionist actually looked at the room map and confirmed to us that 616 on first floor and 620 on second floor; we didn’t see how she could have missed that and felt that she purposely lied to us. There were some staff members who were really nice and friendly during our stay. They were smiling all the time and served exceptionally well. However, there were some staff members who were really mean to us. Some cooking staff members were not very friendly at all and made us feel like we were getting free foods from them (even though we paid for the all inclusives) and just wanted us to go away. We ran into a very mean staff member at the smoothies station. I ordered two smoothies, one for me and one for my wife. Then when I came back to order two more smoothies for my kids, this staff member made her angry face and spoke some language that I didn’t understand (even though I knew that she could speak English from earlier order) and raised her two fingers; eventually she spoke English and told me that I could only order maximum of two smoothies and couldn’t order anymore. That was unbelievable!!! I told her that we paid for all inclusives, and it was just not right that an expensive all inclusive resort had a limit of two little smoothies (each glass is about 3-4 oz at most) per person; we could order as many drinks as we wanted and there was no way to have a limit of two smoothies. Eventually, she made two smoothies for me but was still very angry at me for some reason. I don’t know if she behaved like that toward all the guests or if she discriminated against only me because I am Asian. Either way, it was just extremely bad and unacceptable. We also ran into a receptionist at the Red Parrot restaurant which was not friendly and helpful at all; in one night at around 7:15pm, we passed by Red Parrot and saw some empty tables so we thought that we could come in to order some coconut breaded shrimp that we liked; without looking at the scheduler on his computer, the receptionist immediately told us that there was no table available until 9pm; while going away, we looked up online on the app and saw quite a few tables for three available, including tables that were available now at 7:30pm; we booked one table for three at 7:30pm and came back to see the receptionist, and the receptionist reluctantly and embarrassingly took us to our table. On our first night, we requested for an extra blanket (the room was cold because we could not set the thermostat higher than 70 degrees for some reason). The house keeper told us that they would bring it up in a few minutes. We waited for an hour but nobody showed up. We had to make the second call and eventually a staff member brought up the blanket before we could go to sleep. On our next to last night, we requested an iron and iron board, and it was brought up right away, and that was great. On our departure day, the hotel staff somehow knew the time that we were leaving and checking out and sent a staff member with a golf cart to our room to help us with luggages. So that was really great. Entertainments There were nightly entertainments, but they were ok and not spectacular. The live band music was often late and took many breaks. Conclusion Overall, we don’t think that we got what we paid for. We think that the resort was overpriced and overrated, and it was quite below our expectations. We definitely would not go back to Divi and Tamarijn All Inclusives unless changes in foods and services are made in the future.

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE this resort! I could not have been more please with this resort, staff, location, food and drinks! This was my very first visit to Aruba, and surprisingly, it wasn’t my first resort choice, but it will definitely be my future choice! Let’s begin with the staff. Lilly, Yorkie, and many others were incredibly accommodating. They went above and beyond to ensure we were well-informed about the island’s history, local customs, and details about the drinking water. They also made sure we had dinner reservations, knew where to go and what was and wasn't included with our stay. My friends had a slight problem in their room, but with in minuted, they had someone there to remedy it. The customer service was exceptional, and they were all extremely friendly and wonderful to get to know. The food was top notch in each restaurant and buffet style location. For example, we had nice tender oxtail one night for dinner... and this was in the buffet style restaurant. They also make your items to order in that location. The three course meal locations we amazing as well. From Mexican to Asian and Italian, all of it was delicious! Unlimited drinks are always a selling feature and they delivered - they weren't watered down all!!! All of this was included between the two resort locations. Now, let’s talk about the beach and the rooms. They are simply breathtaking! Every night, I’m lulled to sleep by the soothing sound of the waves, and I woke up with the same beautiful sound. There is access to the sea all over, but the main beach is between the two resorts. We spent a full day out there with the beautiful sand and sea. Because there is so much access to the beach, this one wasn't crowded at all. My room had a balcony so I was able to relax and enjoy the sounds and sites day and night. It was also spacious with a king bed, two chairs and a pull out couch. I could possible fit about twelve people in there comfortably. The bathroom was clean and luxurious as well with mirror lights and a rain shower. If I had one complaint, it would have been the bed... a little to firm for my liking, but I made it work. I've already begun planning my next vacation to Aruba and will be saying at the same resort. As a travel agent, I'll also be recommending this location to my clients.. such as wonderful time was had!!