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Things to know... (by Howard H.):

The Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club is shaped like a "U." The inner courtyard units usually have nice views of the pool area (and ocean), although many lower units could be considered "Garden View" instead of "Ocean View" by some people. The "outside" of the "U" to the north looks out on the Marriott Hotel over a wide green belt, the south side predominately looks into Marriott's Aruba Surf Club, both with varying degrees of Ocean View clips.

During my last visit, a mid-week house cleaning was included. Pool towels were in the units and could be exchanged daily at the towel hut. This provided us plenty of towels. The unit did not have a washer/dryer in the unit, but floors 2 to 6 had a complimentary laundry room (provide your own consumables).

The resort has lots of amenities; casino, shops, beach actvity vendors, etc. It is located in the middle of what could be considered a "Marriott compound" (no fence) consisting of a Hotel, the Aruba Ocean Club, and the huge Aruba Surf Club, all adjacent to each other. Consequently, there is plenty of room to roam. Beach Palapas are at a premium and may be hard to get during busy weeks of the year.

Rooms are spacious and well appointed. Refurbishment took place around 2005-ish. Our unit had a DVD player and the television had lots of channels to view.

The property is in a great location within walking distance to the developing Palm Beach shopping area for a variety of restaurants., across from the Holiday Inn, Radission, Hyatt Hotels. Downtown Orangestad is too far to walk, you will need a taxi. Orangestad is developing some very high end shopping as cruise ships are now making Aruba a port of call. During our last visit, high end shopping includes: Gucci, Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton (coming soon), Cartier, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren. There are loads of jewelry shops.

I have owned at the Aruba Ocean Club for around five years. Compared to other timeshare resorts (Marriott) that I have visited, this one is my favorites. In 15 years of visiting Aruba, the activities seem endless! The island slogan "One Happy Island" has held true for me; I have found the residents to be welcoming and helpful. Renting a car and driving around the island can be a great way to explore. The road infrastructure is generally very good.

I have had the privilage of meeting many people at the pool who have "exchanged" into this propery and have been pleased. I think the biggest issue has been lack of daily housekeeping (available for an additional fee), difficulty getting a beach palapa, cost of airfare to Aruba, crowds at pool and beach, and being assigned a "non-view" unit when they expected one. However, I think these issues are generally common to "timeshares" and "come with the territory." My experience is that the staff at this resort want to be helpful, but are expected to "follow rules."

The child care program is slowly evolving, but grammer/middle school aged kids may have difficulty finding organized activities of interest. to them. The kids program seemed focused on kids under age 7 to me. The expansion of "game rooms" has provided activities for older kids at an additioinal cost.