Divi Dutch Village Beach Resort

Very practical, great service staff for room cleaning, poor front service staff. When I return to Aruba it will be at a different hotel.

We just got back from a week at the Divi Dutch. We were not on the all-inclusive package. I'll keep it brief but to summarize, I highly recommend this hotel. We have been to three of the Divi resorts in this area--the Divi, the Tamarijn, and now the Divi Dutch. We loved them all, the owners of this place really know what they're doing. The great thing is, when you stay at one you can use the facilities at all of them (pool, beach, gym, attend events, and if you're on the all-inclusive you can eat at any one of them). The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. The room was clean, new and very nicely set up. We called the front desk a couple times for minor issues that came up and their response was immediate. The beach at the Divi resorts is gorgeous. Blue water, white sand, not really that crowded (we've been there in both the peak season and the off season), great palapas (Google that word if you must). We think Aruba is the ideal tropical vacation because of the beautiful beaches and also because there are not beach vendors harassing you. I'm not sure if it's illegal to sell items on the beach or just not the custom, but there is nobody doing it. It's a great contrast from some other places we have been where you literally spend the whole day fighting off beach vendors. Our room was on the first floor, and our patio was literally a 15-foot walk to the pool. How great to have that. The pool was nice, well maintained and clean. There are three pools at this resort alone; when it got a little noisy at the pool near our room we went to another one which was very quiet. The pools tend to close around 8 pm, we would have enjoyed an after-dinner swim but so be it. We were not on the all-inclusive plan and it was fine. We liked making food in the kitchen on our own schedule rather than being tied to the meal schedule and we wound up saving some money. They have a bunch of grills at the resort that are brand new and are kept very clean. There is a supermarket with a Chinese name that is a 5-minute walk from the resort. It's not great but you can get what you need there. At the end of our trip we discovered a much nicer supermarket toward the middle of the island, we would have gone there if we could do it over again. One note about not being on the all-inclusive package: it's a little harder to navigate than if you are on the plan. Things that normally would not incur a charge, like taking out swim fins from the sports area, require a nominal fee ($10). We didn't have a problem with it but it did require adjustment as we were on the all-inclusive during previous stays so we were not used to carrying money around with us.

Was to have early check-in ... as was indicated on request,,, after a plane arrival of around noon, had to wait until 4:00 to get a room. to add to his frustration, the other request for an upper-level room was totally neglected ... (and I had made the reservation over a month ago)! Then the bottom floor room had a "door that was too short" ... we had to stuff towels between the floor and the gaping "hole" underneath the "short door!" .... Wow, then to top it all off ... the water backed up in the shower, and the bathroom floor tiles, flooding th unit and damaging all our shoes on the floor,,, though they responded in a fairly timely manner,,, the damage was already done. There was never a consideration offered for any of these problems, and the staff all seem to "play ignorant" to each and every problem. We stayed at this resort on our first visit to Aruba several years ago in the late 70's, or early 80's ... the new renovations, still need work.

Recent stay at Divi Dutch Village Beach Resort was great. Our family of 4 - 3 adults and a 17 year old- were quite comfortable in the 1 bedroom suite. The room was like a small apartment! Was nice to have a frig and stove; we went to the grocery store and got drinks, liquor, snacks and some breakfast food. Didn't do the all inclusive; would reconsider that based on the price of groceries, drinks and dining out; plus there are many options for dining due to the multiple Divi resorts. People were friendly. Food was very good. The resort was quiet and peaceful, relaxing and family friendly. The concierge was incredibly helpful. Check in was slow.... only one person at the desk. Snorkeling equipment was available (to rent for the day) at a nearby Divi resort. The beach closest to us was quite rocky at some spots. Taxi service is readily available and the charge/rate is based on the location and is a fixed price, not dependent on number of travelers. There is also a shuttle available that travels to the other Divi resorts. Definitely get to the Aruba airport 3 hours before your flight leaves and recommend printing out boarding passes (easily done at the hotel) the day before or day of your flight. There are several security checks plus you go through customs at the airport. Overall a great vacation at a very nice resort!