This was my first time really splurging on a hotel. I don't typically spend this much on accommodations, but I was traveling to Aruba with my fiancée and wanted to make it a special trip. At approximately $700 per night, I expected a premium experience. Unfortunately, the Marriott fell well short of those expectations.
Let's start with check-in
I'm an American Express Platinum cardholder and booked this hotel through the Fine Hotels + Resorts program, which includes benefits such as room upgrades when available, early check-in when available, and guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout.
When I asked Angelica at the front desk about an upgrade, she told me they had more guests checking in later and couldn't offer me one.
I had already paid for a partial ocean-view room, hoping an upgrade might get us something even better. Instead, we were placed on the second floor overlooking the adults-only pool, with trees blocking whatever ocean view might have existed.
After calling the front desk, a helpful bellman came upstairs and showed us a few alternative rooms. We settled on one on the fifth floor because it had the best view. Unfortunately, that decision came back to haunt us because there was construction directly below us. (See attached photo.)
The room itself was average, but the design left a lot to be desired.
The connecting-room doors were so poorly insulated that I could hear our neighbors coughing at night and even using the bathroom in the morning. Not exactly the privacy you'd expect from a $700-per-night hotel.
The shower was another issue. It had one of those half-glass doors that allows water to escape everywhere. After showering, the bathroom floor was practically flooded. Getting up to use the bathroom at night meant walking through water.
And then there was the construction.
The property is in a great location, but much of the pool area was under construction. What should have been beautiful landscaping, rock features, and a relaxing atmosphere was instead filled with workers, barriers, and construction equipment.
There was also construction happening on the first floor, with workers drilling into concrete. The noise was so loud and disruptive that relaxing by the pool was practically impossible. At times, it almost felt like the drilling was shaking the building.
We eventually decided to spend most of our time exploring Aruba instead. Thankfully, the island itself is absolutely beautiful and ended up being the highlight of our trip. We essentially used the hotel just to sleep and have breakfast.
Unfortunately, even breakfast became an issue.
The worst part of our stay was the discrimination we experienced at breakfast.
On our first morning, my fiancée and I went to the hotel's indoor/outdoor restaurant next to the pool. We were dressed for a day at the beach. She was wearing pants over her bathing suit and a bikini top.
Within about 10 seconds of entering the restaurant, a female manager approached my fiancée and told her she needed to cover up. I wasn't standing with her when it happened, and since English isn't her first language, I wasn't entirely clear on the exchange. But she understood perfectly well that she was being told her clothing was inappropriate.
Initially, I gave the hotel the benefit of the doubt. Maybe there was a dress code. Fair enough.
That changed the very next morning.
As we walked into the same restaurant, a young white woman was walking out wearing a bikini top and a short sarong that barely covered her bikini bottoms. Her outfit was even more revealing than what my fiancée had worn the previous day.
Apparently, that was perfectly acceptable.
At that moment, I felt we had been discriminated against. Why was my Hispanic fiancée immediately confronted about her clothing while a white woman could walk around the same restaurant dressed even more revealingly?
We were one of the youngest couples at the hotel and among the only Hispanic guests we saw. The difference in treatment was impossible for me to ignore.
What upset me most wasn't simply the dress-code issue. It was the effect it had on my fiancée. For the remainder of our stay, she became self-conscious about what she wore around the property. Instead of feeling comfortable and relaxed on our vacation, she felt like she was being watched and judged.
We even started joking about it, saying we'd better be careful or we'd get kicked out for being "too Hispanic." But underneath the jokes was genuine discomfort.
I spent approximately $700 a night at a Marriott property booked through American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts to enjoy a special vacation with my fiancée, not to have her made to feel unwelcome or discriminated against.
Whether management wants to acknowledge it or not, that is how we experienced their treatment, and it cast a shadow over the rest of our stay.
Breakfast managed to disappoint us again on Sunday.
At check-in, Angelica specifically told us that Sunday breakfast ended at 10 a.m. instead of the usual 11 a.m. We made sure to get downstairs early and arrived at approximately 9:46 a.m.
That's when we noticed a sign stating that the last seating was at 9:45.
Nobody had mentioned that cutoff to us.
There was no one at the hostess stand when we arrived, so we waited several minutes. Other guests began arriving behind us.
When someone finally appeared, I said we'd arrived at 9:45, figuring that being one minute past the cutoff, with nobody there to greet us, shouldn't be a problem. Apparently, the hostess checked with management, who seemed to have reviewed the cameras, because we were told we'd arrived late and would not be seated.
One minute.
At a hotel charging approximately $700 per night, where guests had been told breakfast ended at 10, management couldn't make a one-minute exception.
Other guests stuck around hoping to speak with a manager. I decided we'd had enough and left to find breakfast elsewhere.
Ironically, we discovered a fantastic breakfast spot that cost less than half what the hotel was charging. So at least something good came out of it.
Even checkout was disappointing.
One of the guaranteed benefits of booking through American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts is a 4 p.m. late checkout. Yet at 12:15 p.m., someone was already knocking on our door telling us we needed to leave.
We were actually packing and planning to leave around 1 p.m. anyway, but that interaction was the final straw. We decided to leave immediately.
When I went downstairs to check out, nobody asked how our stay had been. No "How was everything?" No interest in our experience. Nothing.
After four days of disappointments, it was a fitting ending.
My overall impression?
This property felt more like a retirement resort or seniors' cruise than a lively Caribbean getaway. The crowd skewed significantly older, and we saw very few younger couples or Hispanic guests. There's nothing inherently wrong with that atmosphere, but it wasn't what we were looking for, and the way we were treated made us feel even more out of place.
I don't mind paying a premium for a premium experience. What bothers me is paying premium prices and receiving mediocre accommodations, disruptive construction, inconsistent service, and treatment that makes you question whether you're welcome.
Aruba is an incredible island, and we had a wonderful time exploring it. Unfortunately, the Marriott was easily the most disappointing part of our vacation.
For approximately $700 per night, I expected much better. I would not stay here again, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to younger couples looking for a romantic Caribbean getaway. There are plenty of beautiful beachfront properties in Aruba. I'd strongly suggest exploring those options before spending your money here.
