Do I want to go to La Cabana Beach and Raquet Club?

[iceeu2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close iceeu2]

....I suspect that I would like to go, but don't know about DH. We are both huge Kauai lovers and love our laid back stays at Pono Kai. I have not even begun to do any Aruba research so which sites should I use to begin my research? And, if we do decide that Aruba is the place we want to go.....which room types and locations are your favorites?

Thanks

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Well I do. LOL

Aruba is absolutely nothing like Kauai. Aruba is flat and arid. There is a high rise area and a low rise area. La Cabana is in the low-rise area. There is good food (pricey) and casinos. The caribbean water is warm, calm and crystal clear. The snorkeling is not good. The people are friendly and it is safe.

La Cabana just recently completed an entire room by room renovation and I have heard very good things about it.

You would want a poolview unit, JMHO.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I enjoy the laid back, relaxed feel of the low-rise area but would opt for high rise with older kids/young adults. Aruba is easy to get around and people are friendly. La Cabana is across the road from a nice wide beach and well located on the island. It is not a pretty island, as Lawren said, but it's a lot closer than Kauai for us and an easy place to get to for beach, sun, and beautiful, warm sea.

[hac Member Find all posts View Profile Close hac]

Aruba!

We were at La Cabana last fall for a couple of nights after we completed our stay at the Aruba Surf Club. The resort was undergoing renovation at the time. In fact, the lobby was in a temporary location and parts of the resort were not open. I am not sure what the current status is - sounds like the renovations may be complete from what a previous post indicated?

We had a one bedroom/2 bath unit and our friends were booked in a studio, but got upgraded to a one bedroom as well - with a very different layout. Our unit was very large. It actually had a murphy bed in the living area and a full kitchen, as well as a large closet by the entranceway. There were only two of us, but the second bathroom came in handy for wet swim suits and dive gear. We had two balconies and an outside corridor entrance. We could see a sliver of the ocean if we looked hard, but for the most part our view was of the road and grassy area below. Our friends room was much smaller and smelled as though it had been recently painted, but had a nice view of the pool. It also had only one bathroom. When you entered the room, the first room was the bedroom, then the hall with the bathroom off of it, and then the living room/kitchen area - which was a lot smaller than ours. There was a balcony off the living room. This floor plan might be a little difficult if you had others staying with you, as they would have to walk through the bedroom to get in and out, but for two it would be fine. The entrance to this room was in a closed in hallway - not open air.

The pool area was nice and the beach is right across the street - so makes for a nice sunset of weather is good. The tiki bar had some good happy hour specials and was open later than some pool tiki bars. There was an on site restaurant and several within walking distance.

We found a lot to do on the island. We wanted to see the countryside and the other coast (much rougher) so we rented a car for the day. We stopped in at the Aruba wild donkey sanctuary (ask for Desirah) and the Ostrich/Emu farm which were both very interesting. I even won the name the baby donkey contest - Thunder is the new baby's name! There is also a botanical garden and butterfly farm on the island. Of course there are a lot of watersports vendors and two shopping/entertainment areas - downtown and the Palm Beach area. We discovered you can take public transportation to get to and from a lot of places we needed to go. There are two casinos. Visibility wasn't great when we were there due to some storms, but we did do some fun diving and snorkeling.

Have fun! We are going back later this fall to stay with our friends at the Marriott Surf Side - part of a sales promotion they signed up for last year.

P.S. They may say Aruba is not in the hurricane belt, but both times we have been there we have experienced bad weather from storms. They are not prepared for lots of rain so streets flood, our room at Divi the first time we were there leaked, and ocean front rooms had to be sand bagged. But, probably a safer bet than the rest of the Caribbean during the fall slow season.