The Westin Aruba Resort Rating: 4.0 Pearls

Aruba

The beach is a major draw

The Westin has the polished, quiet feel of a business hotel. The lobby has buffed marble floors and tall wood paneling. Rooms come with two flavors of Starbucks coffee. The business center is small but has three brand-new Apple desktop computers. The atmosphere is quiet, throughout the property; they don't play music in the fitness center.

Though the Westin feels like a business hotel, most guests are certainly here for a vacation. The beach, pool, and fitness center draw more traffic than the business center, and older American couples and young families make up the bulk of the guests.

The beach is the major draw, like anywhere in Aruba. The hot, silky sand has plenty of seats for folks to nap, their earbuds firmly in place. Caged cockatoos and parrots line the walkways -- the birds even spoke a little English ("hello," mainly). Some guests, particularly those with kids, prefer lounging by the pool. Whether at the beach, the pool, or the five on-site restaurants, the theme is undisturbed relaxation. Even in the casino, guests relish the subdued quiet of an efficient, service-oriented hotel.

Restaurant staff

• Fast-moving porters wearing tailored, double-vented white shirts take bags immediately and bring them to guests' rooms.
• Prompt response to service requests
• Helpful concierge
• Room service (in-room dining) available from 6 a.m. to midnight
• Poolside food and drinks service

View on a Larger Map

The Westin is about 20 to 25 minutes from the airport, depending on downtown traffic. The hotel is next to the Riu resort, and is one of a series of mega-resorts along the beach. One of Aruba's few major roads travels directly past the Westin.

The High-Rise complex, a large downtown strip that ends at the Holiday Inn SunSpree, is a 10-minute walk in the opposite direction from downtown (and about a two-minute cab ride along the bus and palm-lined road). The High-Rise has many restaurants, including the fabulous Hostaria da Vittoria, as well as a number of nightlife haunts, such as a movie theater and a samba club misleadingly named Mr. Jazz.

The location feels very safe. Between foot traffic from the High-Rise and tourists from a number of neighboring hotels -- including the Holiday Inn SunSpree, Occidental, and Radisson -- the area is well populated at night. For added security, hotel personnel frequent the street outside the hotel.

Though the Westin shares a strip of beach with the Riu, its beach area is about 30 feet from the end of the Terrace Deck restaurant to the water. Most of the space is occupied by beach chairs and cabanas. Not counting the Riu property, the Westin's beach is about 100 feet long.

The Ocean View Room

Westin's rooms are excellent, especially for the weary traveler (they are all quiet and immaculate). The white bedspread and pillows were perfectly in order. Street and hallway noise is virtually nonexistent day and night. With the balcony door open on the ocean view rooms, all you can hear are the rushing fountains by the pool.

Room types:

• Standard rooms (all a fairly spacious 380 square feet) differ by view -- Island View, Partial Ocean View (on the side of the hotel), Ocean View (facing the pool and the beach), and Premier (an Ocean View on a higher floor) -- and come with either one king- or two queen-size beds.
• The Islandview and Oceanfront Junior Suites (both 472 square feet) offer a bit of living space in addition to the king-size bed.
• The One-Bedroom Suites (729 square feet) come with either an Ocean View (overlooking the beach and pool) or Ocean Front (overlooking just the beach); both have a private bedroom with a king-size bed as well as a full-size pull-out sofa bed in the living room, an extra 50-inch flat-screen TV in the living room, and a much larger bathroom that includes a separate Jacuzzi and shower stall.
• The Presidential Suite (1,229 square feet) also includes extra space for entertaining guests.

All rooms include:

• Westin's famously comfortable Heavenly bed
• 32-inch flat-screen TV
• Curved shower bar for extra space
• Starbucks coffee and Tazo tea
• Private balcony
• Small work desk with a built-in strip of power outlets
• Westin's signature Heavenly Bath mouthwash and hydrating cream

The pool

• Clean, quiet, pool, next to the Pelican Watersports outlet
• Impressive fitness center (renovated in 2006)
• Intermezzo Day Spa
• Small business center with three Apple desktops
• Hertz car rental desk on-site
• Sizable shopping concourse in the lobby with great duty-free jewelry shops and a few places to grab a snack, postcard, or Aruba-themed sweatshirt
• Two ballrooms, often rented for weddings and corporate events

The hotel has a certain glimmer, a sheen earned by a constant flow of mops and maid carts. Despite the high volume of children, not once did I see a spill or misplaced toy. The rooms and bathrooms are equally spotless.

• The Westin Kids' Club offers supervised daily activities for kids ages four to 12, such as scavenger hunts, arts & crafts, local food tasting, and movie screenings: three-hour half-day sessions from $25 per child; full day from $60 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with lunch); evening sessions from $65 (6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with dinner).
• Other kids' activities include the Little Chefs program (Mondays), at which kids work with a member of the kitchen staff to help prepare a three-course meal for parents ($50 per adult; free for kids under 12).
• Cribs and roll-away beds available in all room types
• Kids' menus available at all restaurants

Meal from The Terrace Deck

The Westin has a number of indoor and outdoor dining options, ranging in price and décor -- from fast food to fine dining. The food and service is as good as, if not better than, the local restaurants and the nearby High-Rise shopping center.

• Blossoms, an upscale Asian restaurant with a luminescent water cascade, offers Japanese and Chinese cuisine for lunch and dinner.
• Baci Ristorante, in the main lobby just beyond the casino, has excellent pizza and seafood pasta.
• Pago Pago specializes in seafood and steak. Its private booths and fine cognac selection make it the Westin's best option for romantic dining.
• Outside, just a few feet from the ocean, the Terrace Deck serves causal American fare like cheeseburgers and nachos.
• For some barefoot canoodling, Azull Beach Restaurant offers "sunset barefoot dining" Wednesday though Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (in time to watch the sunset).

• Wedding Size: Up to 1,000 people; up to two weddings per day

• Extra Fees: The additional costs can really add up here: $250 for a wedding coordinator (if you don't opt for a package), $300 for an officiant, $200 to $400 to set up the ceremony location, $50 to set up the bar and $110 to pay for a bartender (for three hours), plus another $250 to $400 in location fees.

• Wedding Packages: From $1,370 ($1,570 on weekends) for a minister, a wedding arch, a bouquet and boutonniere, one bottle of champagne, a one-tier wedding cake, and a wedding coordinator

• Ceremony Location: Indoors in the Gallery (70 people max) or the Ballroom (1,000 people max), or outside on the beach, the Beach Terrace, the beach plaza, the Seabreeze Terrace, the Sirocco Terrace, or poolside

• Photographers and Videographers: Photo packages from $625 (just 36 prints) to $1,500 (for full event coverage and 250 prints); video packages from $675 for two hours of coverage and one raw and one edited DVD

• Music: From $750 for three hours of steel drum music to $2,800 for three hours of a five-piece band

• Food: Buffets from $53 to $70 per person, three-course plated dinner menus from $48 to $67; kids', kosher, gluten-free, and vegetarian menus available upon request

• Drinks: Open bar rates range from $21 for the first hour and $12 for each additional hour to $27 for the first hour and $14 for each additional hour (based on liquor selection)

• Cakes: One-tier cakes start at $135; three-tier cakes start at $295

• Spa Treatments: The spa offers facials, massage, body wraps, mani/pedis, and hair and makeup services. Bridal hair and makeup begins at $180, and includes one hair trial.

• Honeymoon Suite: Newlyweds usually stay in an Oceanfront Suite room with a private balcony.

• Airport Transportation: The resort provides a free shuttle for the bride and groom; everyone else will have to take a 20- to 25-minute taxi.