Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino

Nice hotel room but Overpriced.A hotel should charge 36 dollars for a buffet that includes fake eggs. A 4.5 star hotel does not sell fake eggs. This is more like a comfort suites

We stayed at the Marriott Aruba for five nights, and unfortunately the experience was pretty terrible from start to finish. The biggest issue was the construction. There was extremely loud jackhammering, sawing, and brick-cutting happening all day long—and even into the evening. The hotel stated the work would stop at 6pm, but we repeatedly saw crews still working well past 8pm. When we asked about it, they simply said they were behind schedule and needed to make up time. The noise echoed across the entire pool area all the way to the ocean, making it impossible to relax anywhere near the hotel during the day. We ended up having to walk about 10 minutes down the beach and pay $50 per day for chairs and an umbrella just to escape the noise. You couldn’t go anywhere near the main pool—the sound was truly overwhelming. What made the situation worse was how poorly the Marriott communicated the construction upfront. Other hotels on Palm Beach, like the Hilton and Hyatt, clearly listed their projects on their booking pages, which helped us avoid them. The Marriott, however, buried theirs as a tiny footnote about “enhancements,” which did not come close to describing the reality. Had we known the extent of the disruption, we never would have booked here. When we checked in, we immediately complained. The staff’s solution was to offer us a room upgrade the next day. While this didn’t actually solve the construction issue, it was at least a gesture—so we repacked everything the next morning. But when we got to the front desk, we found out they were planning to move us to the same category room on the opposite side of the hotel… which turned out to be even closer to the construction. It was a completely pointless inconvenience and honestly felt like they didn’t care. The issues didn’t end there. We had no hot water on our last night, and most of our interactions with staff at the bars and restaurants were with people who seemed rude, indifferent, or simply uninterested in helping. To be fair, the room and view were nice, but that might have been the only bright spot. The hotel’s location is also less ideal compared to other properties on Palm Beach, and the area around the Marriott feels overcrowded due to the massive Surf Club complex that stretches deep inland. To add insult to injury, we walked past the Hilton several times during the week, and their construction noise was dramatically lower—and they clearly took steps to maintain a relaxing environment for guests. Overall, this was a disappointing, noisy, and frustrating stay that felt like a poor value for the money. We would not return and cannot recommend the Marriott Aruba until they are fully transparent about the construction and significantly improve guest service.

Marriott Stellaris & Casino is a great place to stay. Greeted with drinks upon checking in. • The hotel says they have free gifts for you. One thing they do is try to get you to listen to a 90min talk for a timeshare, or something similar. If they call your room and say they have a free gift for you across from Starbucks or the Spa, don't waste your time. •Easy, 10 minute walk on a sidewalk/ pathway, along the water to other restaurants and shopping. •The updated rooms are really nice and comfortable. The glass in the shower could use a little extension. • Housekeeping is great. •The front desk staff were all friendly and helpful, not so much in the stores of the hotel. Not the desk staff next to the gelato store, but front desk is great! • Mercát Restaurant on site is really good, but staff seemed tired of didn't care much about working. •Atardi Restaurant on site was great! Reserve early (30 days in advance, maybe) and request front row. •Waves Bar & Grill has good food and great staff. •No problem getting a palapas. •Only used adult pool which was nice. Loud music at the main pool almost every day, really loud. Maybe to cover up construction noise? Loud music every night in the lobby until 10pm. So loud to can hear the music clearly through the bedroom door. On a high floor. •The BonVoy app the staff suggested at check-in is useful. ■ Overall, great stay. A big thanks to the management, front desk staff (check-in) and housekeeping.

In February, we were told construction would be complete by mid-October. Not. See pics of construction. Front desk staff unfriendly and not accurate. I caught them billing us for our breakfast for both rooms for all days. We purchased the breakfast package. Got the charges reversed. Then the rooms I booked (connecting kings with sofabeds ocean view), turned out to be Queen beds and NOT connecting just next to each other because of construction. For this, they gave us one $250 credit for each room. Leak in bathroom ceiling, see pics. Housekeeping lowered our room temp to a freezing temp of 65 degrees anytime they cleaned rooms. Was told at breakfast we get one mimosa or Bloody Mary with breakfast. We didn’t order one until midweek. When we did order a Bloody Mary, they gave it to us but they tried to charge us, advising that it was only a mimosa that was included. Worst, they then advised the other servers must have been mistaken. Otherwise, the good is it is a prime location and the breakfast buffet was decent.

Stellaris is our go to favorite hotel on our go to favorite Island, Aruba. They make it feel like our second home. Our waiter, Gabriel, out on the beach was top notch. He serves with timely and personal excellence. We'll look for him when we go back!