Barcelo Aruba - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

12391 reviews

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  Trip 2026

  Very disappointed this trip. Upgraded to Royal Level that felt like regular room stay. Restaurant for Royal not impressed with food. This is 5th stay, looking to book at another resort next year

  Feb 23, 2026
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  Good service

  Great service from Karina at the Beach club

  Feb 23, 2026
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  Barcelo-Mid at best

  An older resort and it shows. Needs a refresher. Staff is a bit testy and dont pay up for royal or first as there is limited value. Location is good as it is central to night life.

  Feb 22, 2026
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  First time to Aruba + first time Barceló notes

  CAVEATS: We are not frequent travelers and my primary point of comparison for this vacation is a trip we took to Cancun (we stayed at the Hyatt all inclusive in the hotel zone there). So if you are a an experienced international traveler - this is likely not for you! TLDR: The resort was nice, in general as pictured, the food/beverage (both service and quality) was very uneven, the surrounding area felt safe and walkable, and the beach was nice. The Royal level check in was easy, fast, and very helpful as the staff took time to tell us more about amenities and helped with dinner reservations (sorry I have lost her name). Housekeeping also deserves a shout out - they were flawless, accommodating (extra pillows please and thanks), and never missed a turn down or wet towel! Long version with specifics: Rooms: We were on the 9th floor (Royal level) facing north. Exactly as pictured, super clean, and very comfortable. Excellent water pressure in the shower, and the bed was great. A few very minor quibbles … the lighting in the bathroom was super dim, the tv remote was barely functional, and putting the fridge in a cupboard meant you got a blast of hot air every time you opened the cabinet door (and made the fridge not keep things cold as well). These are truly minor things and overall the room was great. If I was booking again, I would request south facing overlooking the pool instead because the “sea view” was partial in both cases, but the north facing rooms look out over an access alley that runs from the main road to the beach that is full of parked cars (I assume to support local access) and every morning without fail someone would obnoxiously rev their engines and wake us up before 7am. Not something Barceló could control, but pool view would have been better had I realized. Overall, thumbs up on the room! Pool: Surprisingly warm (which we liked)! Very clean with small exception of the mock lazy river which winds around the pool area - that had standing low level water that had debris (not trash) and seemed like maybe it needed maintenance - unsure. The best part of the pool though is the iguanas - stand still for a few minutes and you’ll be surprised how many there are running around. The center rock sculpture had at least 6 at one point, and we saw a brief territory scuffle which was fascinating. The iguanas have no issue using the pool to swim from one point to another which can be unintentionally hilarious when they go past someone who wasn’t watching. Beach: It’s the same beach you can see and access up and down the northern half of the island, so not as much to say. No sargassum or seaweed, and we liked that there was a swim area with buoys and ropes because the island as a whole was quite windy and it was easy to get pushed out to sea if you were floating on chairs or rafts. Biggest issue with the beach is no palapas or cabanas available to reserve in advance, meaning no shade to relax in unless you managed to beat everyone else down to the beach in the morning. Food/Beverage: This is hard because it was so inconsistent. Bartenders: Seemed unhappy across the board - best guess, drunk tourists are annoying, they did not like dealing with them, and they showed it to everyone. (I mean, they’re not wrong, drunk tourists are annoying!) About half the time my order was partially wrong. I always made the effort to please/thank you, smile, be patient, and tip - but still just really underwhelming service. Room service: First time we tried took 45 minutes for a wrap and fries, both of which were room temperature upon arrival. Second time we tried we ordered dessert (“warm apple pie” and ice cream). They called back about 10 minutes later and were out of the apple pie. Ok, we’ll take the brownie instead. What we got was the flan (ick). That was the end of room service for us. Restaurants: Maître D’s at L'Olio and Kyoto were amazing and masters of their roles, the one at México Lindo was the same brusque walk you to your seat that any mid tier restaurant host does. The service at L'Olio and Kyoto were flawless, especially L’Olio, which hit the perfect blend of attentive but not fussy. The food at L'Olio amazed me and far exceeded my expectations for a restaurant of this type; Kyoto was on track for the same until we got to the entrees which were bland and wildly disappointing - but the rest was wonderful. L'Olio: Outstanding food and perfect service. The beef carpaccio was so good we almost ordered a second plate, the caesar salad with shrimp was served chopped which turned out to be perfect for an appetizer! Lasagna and Margarita Salmon were both very tasty and perfectly cooked. Triple Chocolate Mousse cake was also delicious. L'Olio was the highlight of our dining for sure. Kyoto: Great spring rolls, suimono (soup), California roll, and tataki beef. Basically everything up to the entrees was great. The Chau Capsun was meh - served in a big pile of mixed vegetables and bland. The Key Tien Chicken was awful - the chicken was chewy, tough, bland and never did see a cashew in it. México Lindo: We thought this would be the safe option because Mexican is so common and one of the easier cuisines. We were mistaken. Guacamole looked and tasted like frozen pureed avocado squeezed out of a food service bag. Chips were stale. Aztec Soup was - regrettable, and when they say “light touch of chili” they mean it may have coexisted in the same kitchen at some point. Red Chicken Enchiladas were served like a quesadilla (ok, fine) but the “red tomato sauce” was meant very literally - it tasted exactly like a pure tomato sauce with no seasoning or spices involved - watered down ketchup. Service was indifferent and we left without finishing or trying dessert. Royal level restaurant: Again, a mix! First day, the buffet was looking a bit sad by 10am so we ordered from the menu instead. Breakfast took 35+ minutes to get an egg/bacon/cheese sandwich (a signature item?!) served on wheat toast that was so stale I couldn’t cut it with a knife. The pancakes we ordered at the same time were very good! We went back two days later for late lunch and it was much faster, fresher, and service was great. End result, YMMV. Beach Club Restaurant (mini buffet): Probably fine if you have kids and just need to feed them something - wholly unappetizing otherwise. It’s mostly serve yourself which wasn’t obvious at first when seated outside. In retrospect should have just gone to the actual buffet which probably had more variety and turnover in the dishes. Miscellaneous: Housekeeping was fantastic, something I’m not sure I’ve ever left in a review before LOL. If you are planning to spend a significant amount of time at the pool/beach, plan to bring your own snacks, there are zero good options readily available. The food was almost exclusively bland - perhaps catering to boomers? The towel hut police rivaled the bartenders for being the unhappiest people around and made a simple interaction feel negative. On the flip side, the staff at the entrance to the resort (doormen? bellhops?) were friendly, welcoming, and helpful at both arrival and departure. Bottom line: Having never stayed with Barceló (or visited Aruba) before, we didn't know exactly what to expect, but if we decided to go back to the island, I'd probably roll the dice on a different resort just to compare. It wasn't a bad experience, but it wasn't one that would make me loyal either.

  Feb 22, 2026
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  Going downhill

  Like I had mentioned chairs on the beach are old and broken. The rooms are beat up. The Wi-Fi is horrible. Even the televisions remote controls don’t work and the air-conditioning in the rooms was not good.

  Feb 22, 2026