Our exploratory trip to Aruba is scheduled! We’ll be there mid-afternoon on Friday, May 15 and will be leaving early afternoon Sunday, May 17. So, we have less than 48 hours to get to know Aruba and visit as many venues as possible.

Aruba has three distinct areas and we want to explore all three. There is “Downtown”, the “Low Rise Hotels” and the “High Rise Hotels”.

Downtown: We are going to visit the Renaissance Hotel. This hotel is right downtown. They actually have two hotels – the “Marina” (adults only) hotel and the “Ocean Suites” (family friendly) hotel. Being in town could be nice because its close to the airport, shopping, rockin’ bars and possibly more affordable dining. While the Renaissance doesn’t really have much of a beach to speak of (small beach at the Marina hotel and small dugout ‘lagoon’ area at Ocean Suites), they do have a private island. From what we can tell this is ‘the’ reason to consider the Renaissance. Since all beaches on Aruba are public, those that desire a private beach wedding should look into this Island.

Low-Rise Hotels: The ‘low-rise’ area contains smaller, more boutique-y hotels. We’re encouraged to consider this area where we might find more personalized service, larger and less crowded beaches (Eagle and Manchebo) and get more for our money. This area would also be more affordable for our guests.

High-Rise Hotels: Continue past the low-rise area and you will find the “High-Rise” hotels. Here are a lot of your ‘branded’ corporate hotels like Westin, Hyatt, Marriott etc. These hotel may have more amenities but are most likely going to cost us a lot more to for our wedding and reception. To be honest, we’re kind of ‘hotel snobs’ and have a feeling we’re going to want those amenities, but we’re trying to keep our minds open.

Currently Scheduled:

• Friday: Bucuti, Manchebo Pavilion, Eagle Beach, Passion’s Restaurant
• Saturday: Renaissance Ocean Suites, Renaissance Marina, Renaissance Island, Hyatt Regency, Aruba Marriott
• Sunday: Westin