Barceló Aruba

Travel Date: March 31, 2025

Daniel in the First Class bar is THE BEST! We love to stop by and listen to his stories and he makes the best drinks. We cannot wait to see him again when we return. The alcohol choices are top shelf and plentiful. Much better than the pool bar or...

Daniel in the First Class bar is THE BEST! We love to stop by and listen to his stories and he makes the best drinks. We cannot wait to see him again when we return. The alcohol choices are top shelf and plentiful. Much better than the pool bar or the lobby bar.

Travel Date: March 31, 2025

Manuel was spectacular in everything from customer service to overall performance!! He continues like came by to make sure we were ok and the food was good and had an amazing attitude each time! The chefs, Miguel and Robert were fantastic and cooked our steaks to absolute perfection!

Travel Date: March 31, 2025

This was the most disappointing experience I’ve had at a resort. My boyfriend and I are two of the most laid back individuals, so the fact we were this frustrated and disgusted by our experience says something. From the moment we checked in, we were met by unfriendly staff that...

This was the most disappointing experience I’ve had at a resort. My boyfriend and I are two of the most laid back individuals, so the fact we were this frustrated and disgusted by our experience says something. From the moment we checked in, we were met by unfriendly staff that always seemed to be inconvenienced to help you. We arrived and were told reservations for the restaurants were “encouraged”, however the reservation desk was closed for the day and we could try to walk-in at any of the restaurants. That evening, we tried to walk-in at each of the restaurants (Mexican restaurant was closed) and were told they had no availability, meanwhile there were visibly open tables. Noted. We went to the buffet that night for dinner and to put it simply, it was disgusting. We got there within 30 mins of them opening and food that should be served hot was all cold. The next morning I went to the reservation desk to make our reservations for the week - for a 6 night stay, I was told we were only able to make up to 3 reservations - meaning we would need to eat at the buffet the remaining nights. After experiencing that the night before, we knew that was not an option for us and we made reservations off property. Breakfast - buffet is manageable if you want to eat an omelette each day. Lunch - buffet is disgusting. Not one appetizing option. Even the burgers were gross - they are boiled before and sitting in water when you go to ask for one and then quickly thrown on the grill to warm them up. To me that’s simply unacceptable. We ended up eating breakfast and lunch off property each day after our experience at both. For the restaurants- Mexico Lindo - Our server Gerald was a sweetheart and made a below average meal more enjoyable. Kyoto - very small portions, average food. L’Olio - the best food we had at the resort and still not great. Our server Umberto was amazing. He was the one server all week that anticipated our needs and never let our glass be empty. We never made it to the Aruban Seafood restaurant. It is worth noting, during each of our meals at the restaurants, there were numerous open tables. I’m not sure why getting a reservation is so difficult. Rooms are fine. However, shampoo and body wash dispensers do not work. Room lacks basic necessities such as body lotion or conditioner. Every other service member seemed to do the bare minimum - I felt like I was inconveniencing them just simply asking for a drink at the bar or a refill of water at dinner. So weird, especially with this being an all-inclusive. I understand not wanting to over-serve guests but asking for second drink at dinner and being met by an eye roll or a sigh is bizarre. The one redeeming quality of the resort is the beach, however you can get that at any of the neighboring resorts. The beach is also ruined by the broken system of “securing” beach huts/palapas. Each morning you need to be on the beach between 4am-5am if you even want a chance at securing one of these shady areas. The few memorable staff members of this resort are the gentleman that work on the beach moving chairs. Antonio, Vladimir and the rest of the crew were fantastic all week. I wish I had gotten everyone’s names so I could give them the credit and recognition they deserve. The nonsense they deal with each day of upset guests not knowing how early they need to be down to reserve a hut, to guests fighting with one another for these huts is insane. There are a few drink runners that work the beach, Nate, aka Nate the Great, was awesome. Such a friendly guy and gave some really good recommendations for our time on the island. The cherry on top of the trip was calling Room Service on our last full day. We called for fresh towels and water bottles for the room. After 45 mins, we called again being we had yet to receive them. After another 30 mins, I went downstairs to the front desk to ask a third time. Overall, it took 2 hours and 3 asks to get the towels delivered to our room, water bottles never made it. Beyond pathetic. If you’re looking for a stay on Palm Beach, I suggest looking at any of the other hotels in the area. Maybe we were spoiled by all-inclusive resorts we have stayed at in the past, but I don’t think we are unreasonable to desire a certain level of customer service and quality when booking an all-inclusive. The value just simply isn’t there at the Barceló.

Travel Date: February 28, 2025

We really enjoyed the resort itself. Were a bit worried about the reviews on the restaurants and food at Barcelo Aruba but we found no issues there. There was a good variety of food and it was always pipping hot. No problem reserving seats in the restaurants either. We found...

We really enjoyed the resort itself. Were a bit worried about the reviews on the restaurants and food at Barcelo Aruba but we found no issues there. There was a good variety of food and it was always pipping hot. No problem reserving seats in the restaurants either. We found all staff to be amazing and friendly. The big issue for us was the loud, music every night from the bars across the street. Loud music went anywhere from 1:00 am until 3:00 am on the weekends. Ear plugs didn't work because the base actually vibrated the room. We work hard and look forward to a vacation that is both fun and relaxing. We are not exactly early birds but excessive noise late every night was just too much. We mentioned it to the front desk staff over the week on more than one occasion but they only shrugged. Said there was nothing they could do. Too bad. I would give this resort a rating of 5 if we would have been able to sleep!

Travel Date: March 31, 2025

Joman is a great waiter. He had a smile on his face everyday we saw him. He has much respect from all of his coworkers and gets along with everyone. I hope to see Jorman at all my future visits to the Barcelo resort. He makes the visit truly a...

Joman is a great waiter. He had a smile on his face everyday we saw him. He has much respect from all of his coworkers and gets along with everyone. I hope to see Jorman at all my future visits to the Barcelo resort. He makes the visit truly a memorable one.

Travel Date: January 31, 2025

We recently returned to the Barceló Aruba, and as always so very many among your wonderful staff made our visit special. It’s why we return. Listing each would be impossible (and we'd inevitably leave out someone by mistake), but we especially would like to recognize the First Club staff for...

We recently returned to the Barceló Aruba, and as always so very many among your wonderful staff made our visit special. It’s why we return. Listing each would be impossible (and we'd inevitably leave out someone by mistake), but we especially would like to recognize the First Club staff for helping to make our stay so incredibly enjoyable. Specifically, we would like to recognize Ivette, Marolyn, Belinda, Daniel and Armando for doing such a great job during our stay. From the point of check-in, to handling any questions or requests we had, serving delicious cocktails before dinner, all the way through to check-out (that day we all dread), each of them, in their own unique way, put the "E" into EXCEPTIONAL customer service. Thank you!! We love our Barceló family!