Our Aruba Wedding

Thanks to a request, here are some more photos that we took of the Westin during our Aruba site visit in May 09. Some of these are very similar but I figure I might as well post them just in case someone sees something in them that I didn’t.

Well we went in circles for the rest of the trip trying to figure out what option is the best for us and finally it comes down to the Westin Aruba or the Aruba Marriott. For us this decision is incredibly difficult. Really, we want the wedding and reception at the Westin and want to stay at the Marriott but that’s not practical because the hotels are on opposite ends of Palm Beach. Also, we felt like we’d be able to negotiate a better deal if we kept all of our business in one place.

For the wedding itself, we felt like both resorts were pretty even. The Marriott is the hotel furthest north on Palm Beach and the Westin is almost the last one on the south Palm Beach so we didn’t feel crowds would be a problem on either. Our October date is also considered off season. Neither seemed to be a bad location (or better than the other) in terms of things to do and restaurants, though the Westin would be a little closer to the low-rise area and downtown.

For the reception, we had a lot more confidence in the Westin. We loved, loved, loved their coordinator and were excited about the food. We liked the primary reception space (the terrace) and loved the back-up space, (the ‘gallery’). Unfortunately though the Westin is nice, we didn’t really want to stay there. We wanted the brighter, better decorated rooms and lush pool with the swim-up bar.

We try to ask ourselves, which is more important – the quality of the stay of the guests or our 4 hour party? So many people told us ‘this is about you’, your wedding… guests will just be happy to be there and you need to pick what you want. Well we want our family and friends to get as much enjoyment as possible from the trip. We respect the fact that many of them don’t get to travel much and will be making sacrifices to be able to come to our wedding. And finally we asked ourselves, if we were to go back to Aruba just for vacation, where would we want to stay? That answer was the Aruba Marriott.

So, we moved on to contract negotiations. Would one present a deal that’s so much better the decision will get easier? The Westin was quick to offer a really nice package – they would give our guest all ocean view rooms with breakfast for 2 at a good price.

Initial negotiations with the Marriott were a bit slow. At first their best room price was more than the Westin, didn’t include breakfast and they couldn’t offer ocean view rooms. The difference amounted to around $60 per night. Given that we are paying all expenses for probably a dozen people, that would really add up. Finally, a destination wedding travel agent got involved (this woman is awesome!) She got them to match the breakfast for two and lower the room price to within $10 of the Westin. Room type could not be guaranteed though. We would be offered island, garden or ocean view. Guests would be offered the ‘best available upon checkin’. Given that its off-season in October the manager insisted our guests would be very happy with their rooms.

Sealing the deal was still difficult though. We were still torn between the two. Finally we asked ourselves, if it weren’t for the sales coordinator we met at the Westin – if she weren’t there anymore – would the Westin still be a contender? That answer was finally no. That it was this fantastic woman we were attached to, not the property. There was also the nagging concern about the Westin being at the windiest part of the beach. The independent wedding planner strongly advised against their beach for the ceremony telling us we’d be much happier with an Eagle Beach wedding ceremony. Honestly, I don’t remember it being any windier than anywhere else, but know that’s a complaint I’ve read other places as well. Since we weren’t planning on having videography we just dismissed this during our visit but wondered again about it later.

And don’t get me wrong – the reception locations at the Marriott aren’t BAD. The property is beautiful and they have several options – the beach, a paved patio, the lawn, poolside, the sandy volleyball area… We just wanted something a little more intimate – semi-private. And it was just dinner we were worried about. We liked the beach ceremony area we’d also use for cocktail hour and loved the idea of dancing poolside but wanted dinner to be a bit cozier. Hopefully we can accomplish this with the canopy we have in mind.

Expectation: We were expecting to LOVE the Westin. Wherever we travel, Westin is one of our preferred hotels. The sales coordinator we had been exchanging emails with was always prompt and friendly – prior to the trip she was by far the best to work with.

Though we didn’t care for the Renaissance Ocean Suites hotel, we did get a great night sleep there. The beds were comfortable and the room was quiet. Just what we needed before our morning appointment at the Westin!

As soon as we walked into the Westin we said “Yes, we could hang out here!” Their lobby is modern and airy and we felt more at home. We met their sales coordinator for breakfast and fell in love with her. She is warm and bubbly and absolutely adorable. We had breakfast with her and could tell that she was the kind of person that would treat this wedding as if it were her own with attention to every detail. She was ready to take notes and was totally open to special requests, even getting excited about them. She seemed to treat special requests as a welcomed opportunity. You can tell she genuinely likes her job and the resort.

The biggest concerns we had with the Westin were that we had read reviews saying they are on the windiest part of the beach. The independent planner we met with Friday night warned us how busy the beaches are at all of the high-rise hotels and the wind at the Westin is especially troublesome. We were also concerned that the Westin would be way out of our budget.

Well, I can’t really speak to how much of an issue the wind is there, but we ended up not being very concerned when we visited their beach. Also, the Westin is near the beginning of the high-rise section so we also weren’t concerned about  ‘crowds’ or distracting water sports late in the afternoon.

We toured the rest of the property. The beach and spa were very nice. The pool is ‘ok’. It’s really large and there is plenty of room around it, however there wasn’t much shade and we noticed that very few people were by the pool which seemed unusual for an 80+º day. There also was no swim-up bar which was a bit of a disappointment. I can forgive a lot of things for a ‘happening’ pool.

We then moved on to the reception spaces and loved them! They have a wonderful terrace that overlooks the pool and beach. Its open air but covered and sheltered from the wind by the hotel. Its charming and has some casual seating they’ll let you use giving us the mix of functional and loungy seating that we want. It’s a nice intimate space that would not need much decor (and therefore save us money!). Next we looked at the back-up location and almost liked that more! At the moment they had it set up as a gallery and that’s exactly what the space felt like – an art gallery. Gorgeous wood floor, nice lighting, a glass wall looking into the lobby… Fantastic!

She took the time to show us three different rooms. They were ‘nice’ but not quite what we expected. They were inline with what you expect from Westin – contemporary with their famous beds but a little bland for a resort. I remember sage green drapes and beige carpet and wishing there was some cheery pop of color that says you’re in a tropical place. I was also wishing they were a little brighter as far as sunlight streaming in. Every room does have a balcony though, which we appreciated.

In working through proposals we found the Westin to be the most affordable of our top three choices (Westin, Hyatt and Marriott). We were offered a great rate on ocean view rooms for all guests and catering prices were reasonable especially considering they were going to do quite a lot to customize the menu for us (we wanted to see some Indian options).

On a side note - we went back to the Westin later that evening for dinner and it was FANTASTIC! The restaurant is called Azull and is sort of a make-shift restaurant on the beach. Just before sunset they set up dining tables with chaise lounges in front of them. You get to relax on the chaise with a glass of champagne while watching the sunset. Once the sun has set you move to your dinner table and have a fantastic ‘feet in the sand’ dinner surrounded by tiki torches. The night we went there was just us and one other couple. There were two waiters that were the cutest guys! They were having fun with us encouraging us to get up and dance to the romantic music they were playing for us. For dinner, really you get your choice of “Dinner A” or “Dinner B”. The “menu” is written on a board… We both chose grouper I think and the food was outstanding! We have a shrimp appetizer that was fantastic, the main course even better and the desert was over the top. It was just too good to pass up – by the time we were done we could barely walk out of there. And get this – toward the end of the evening it starts to get a little cool – anticipating this, the waiters brought us warm towels to wrap around our shoulders. What a luxury. We highly highly recommend Azull. (To view a larger photo, click on the thumbnail which links to their website.)

Conclusion: We LOVED the sales coordinator and wedding spaces, however did not fall in love with the resort as we had expected. It seemed the rooms and pool could be brought up a notch. Still, we left thinking that if we don’t like any of the options we had yet to see, we’d be ok with that.