Occidental Grand Aruba All Inclusive

Excellent. Please disregard all bad reviews. Best.

Everything you need was right there, beach, pool, food... Great place to relax and get romanced... Beautiful sunsets, everyday!

The location is great, the grounds are nicely kept, especially the pool area. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. Our room needed painting as there were marks all over the walls, the sliding glass door was difficult to open and the tub had a low wall that you had to climb over to access the shower. It is a hazardous situation for anyone with any physical limitations. While the specialty restaurants were decent, the portions were small. The main buffet dining was rather unremarkable in food quality.

The 4 restaurants were all excellent. The buffet was good. The activities were good, however I found out that the same shows repeat after 5 days or so, so I was seeing repeats. The lunch cafe was excellent too. I enjoyed the casino especially the chance to win $1000 with the free bingo. Great location too, for shopping & the adjoining walkways in the back of the hotels.

This was the 2nd time me and my husband have stayed here. I came back to re-do our honeymoon and have everything exactly the same. The staff is very friendly and helpful for what ever we needed and I always like being pampered. The food was mediocre at the buffet, but the specialty restaurants were amazing. We got the beach front room to wake up and look out over the blue water. I will try other islands but will come back to Aruba again. Was a good time.

After a short 15-minute cab ride from the airport, you are greeted by friendly staff, who offer you a cold beverage (water, iced tea, soda, or an alcoholic drink of choice). The hotel rooms are clean and tidy. Each room has a balcony with a table & 2 chairs, a minibar fridge stocked every other day with soda, water and beer, and a small safe to keep jewelry and valuables. Each room also has a mini coffee pot. Bars include the lobby bar, pool bar, beach bar and 2 lounges. Restaurant choices on-site include the buffet, Italian, Mexican, Japanese and Caribbean. The concierge will book 2 evening dinner reservations. Some restaurants will take walk-ins, whereas others are strict on having a reservation. Not all of the restaurants are available every night. The on-site casino is fun, but frequented by smokers. Activities include on-site pool, tennis courts and a activities booth with snorkeling, kayaking, etc. For calls back to the US, an affordable option is purchasing a Setar phone card and using the payphones near the Bricknell Bay Beach Club about 5 minutes walking distance across the street. For scuba diving, deep sea snorkeling, and other off-site treks, the concierge staff are very informative and helpful. Dinner on the beach is available for couples at $250 all-in, which is pricey but nice for honeymooners or established couples. American restaurants are also within walking distance from the hotel (TGI Fridays, Starbucks, Burger King, McDonalds) if one would like to eat off-site. There are also some nice bars and lounges down the street. The Palm Beach high-rise hotel area has several hotels nearby if you want to explore. Some allow visitors to walk through, while others won't let you in if you don't have a room key or hotel all-inclusive wristband with the hotel name on it. I would definitely go back to Aruba. It was an amazing trip. The beaches are clean. The water is warm, clear and calm on Palm Beach. Only caveat of the trip is to arrive super early for your return flight to the US, as there are double customs (Aruban and US) checkpoints and 3 security scans before heading to your departure gate.

Overall an average Hotel. Staff needs to be nicer. The food was horrible. Very low variety and it is very bad

Had a wonderful visit. The only thing I didn't care for was the push to get you to buy into their time share program. We were asked every single day sometimes twice a day. Got old.

I went with my son who is 3 yrs old. The food was terrible but if you are three,your palate is not as developed and so for him, the food was ok, but for me it was the worst food i have had in a long time. All in inclusive places tend to have terrible food. I have gone to other islands with all inclusives and it is the same. This is not unique to Aruba. I will not be going to any more all inconclusive resorts. The staff was very friendly and the Occidental Grand hotel was nice and clean. However, my son was sick for two days and they were reluctant to bring up room service. I could not leave him alone and i needed to eat. They begrudgingly brought up food, with one cup of coffee (which was cold) and when i called for a pot of coffee they acted like i was asking for the Queen. Even in the diners I can get more than one cup of coffee. Not good service. Overall, Aruba is a great place to visit and when we return we will go to a better resort that hopefully has better food. I will always love Aruba. I am from Jamaica and I appreciate the safety of the Island and demeanor of the people there. A wonderful place, indeed.

Just got back from our long awaited trip to Aruba!!!! The island itself is amazing, beaches are great, and weather was awesome! Hotel was just FAIR-GOOD. We do a lot of all-inclusive when we travel to islands but I don’t think it’s necessary for Aruba being that the island is very safe and there are a lot of restaurants and bars on the hotel strip. Staff was amazing! From Renato entertaining us at breakfast to Erik making us smile at the pool bar...I would give the staff at the Occidental 5 stars! The event staff is great as well with bingo, water aerobics etc...The casino is also a good time! The cons to this hotel are the rooms. We paid for both early check in- which our room was not ready when we arrived at 2pm and also an "ocean view room" The room we originally got was NOT ocean view but half parking lot and pool view. We had a rocky start with the staff in the royal club but then Emily stepped it up and upgraded us to a BEAUITFUL suite facing the ocean with a Jacuzzi and several rooms. Special thanks to her- without that the trip would have not been the same! Royal Club is a waste…if you are OK with mediocre rooms then just save your money and book the regular rooms! Also the food was OK. Don’t waste your time on the buffets, or breakfast. It’s the same thing every day. The specialty restaurants were great. Especially the Italian and Zen- (oriental)…WAS THE BEST! Boy and Elmo are awesome..and keep the party going! The party on the beach was kind of lame and the food was even worse…I wouldn’t even serve to a prison inmate…skip that and try a restaurant on the town that night…I heard Flying Fish Bone is great! All in all I would give this hotel a 3 1/2 – 4 stars. If it wasn’t for the entertainment during the day, beautiful beaches and staff the hotel would not be above a 2! Thanks for making our stay so fun and warm!