Marriott's Aruba Surf Club Reviews & Ratings

Stop whining! The Surf Club is just great. Is it over crowded during xmas and new years week? Yes, just like every other place, but you can't find the Surf Club pool and large beach area any place else. So, if you want the beautiful grounds, pool, and all the Marriott amenities, you can't beat this place.

If you're an owner and bought at $30,000 or so- where are you going for this quality and these amenities for $1500.00 a week for a two bedroom apartment? Just got back from two weeks and can't wait till next year. The beach was crowded but there was room for all, and the back end of the pool area was almost empty. You can always get a palapus at the pool beach by building "C" with lots of shade. This area is the best secret of all. Sat there, and was very happy. Not as windy as by the waterfall area.

This was the best thing I ever bought. The family memories we are creating is unbeatable. We go with our 2 sons ( and a girlfriend) and we choose to look at the overwhelming positives rather than the few negatives. So take your kids and have a great time.

Marcia NJ

We have been going to the Marriott Aruba Surf club for 5 yrs. We own 3 weeks and could not be happier with our investment. We travel with out 3 kids so we are a family of 5. The units are great because we all fit very comfortably. The rooms are clean, roomy and beautiful. We have 2 sets of families that we travel with each year and let me tell you we are making the best family memories ever. Every year my kids love to go to Aruba. No matter what kind of year it has been when we arrive in Aruba this feeling of peace just comes over us and we just have the best time. We laugh and enjoy each others company. No cell phones, ipods, etc. Just plain old conversation and good times. Exactly what a family should do. In this world today people do forget to slow down and make memories with your kids because soon enough they will be grown and off living there own lives. They are now 18, 15 and 13 and we can't wait until next year to hit the pool and just float in the lazy river or swim in the ocean. We are a busy family all year long and its great to relax and see my entire family smile. The resort grounds are kept amazingly clean and the staff is very friendly. The lazy river is inviting and relaxing. The tradewinds are just so soothing they rock you to sleep on your lounge chair. The Ocean Club owners seem to have a problem with the Surf Club because I think they are jelous its so nice. They are so sour that it was built and that its all new. They are the only people who seem to complain in there reviews??? wonder why. Go back to the Ocean Club.

Excellent property. We have owned here since before it opened, pre-construction. While I understand the comments about the property, Marriott did a great job with the location and the units here are top notch!! Washer and dryer in the units, granite kitchen, big spacious living quarters. Really amazing property, and the river pool is the best!!! You dont get the river pool at the ocean club. We will continue going here for years, cannot be beat- except for St. Kitts which is also amazing. Just bought a timeshare at the St. Kitts Beach Club which is really nice as well, and no lines to wait in for huts, there are so many huts you can get them whenever you want any time of the day on the beach. Another great Marriott property down there too!

This coming January will be our third year at the Surf Club. We are owners and stay for ten days to two weeks at a time. We find the resort lovely and have never experienced the difficulties that are described in these other reviews. It is crowded at times but not to the point that you can't get adequate and relaxing space on the beach. We do reserve palapas in the early hours for no fee and always have gotten them. If you want to avoid the am lineup you can rent them for a fee. Half are rented and half are given out first come first serve at hut in early morning. The pool is crowded-but what premier resort isn't during Platinum season? Our first year the overcrowding was due to the Oceanclub people using our pool. We used the Ocean club pool a lot and found it literally deserted because they were all at the newer Surf Club with the lazy river. Last year each had to use their own pool facilities which improved things considerably. We have always found the gym and workout facilites available. sometimes you just had to be patient with a short wait. It will be expanded for this year. Many of these negative comments appear to me to be just angry people who could never be pleased no matter what was done. We are very pleased we purchased and have made friends with other unit owners who are there at the same time. We eat in restaurants almost every evening and don't find them any more expensive than at home in the states (Northeast USA). This is a fairly new resort just finished last year and you have to expect some growing pains. We feel the Marriott has worked very hard to resolve issues as they came up and see many improvements to the entire operation over the three years we have been there. We cannot wait to get back in January and watch the sunsets in Aruba.

This is a Beautiful Resort. We return this year in April. The weather there was perfect, since at home it was in the 20s. We spent our First wk in the Studio of our 3 bedroom unit. The 2nd week we had Guests come from Michigan & Geogia. We had Breakfast in the unit each morning, mostly because everyone had a different desire for "Breakfast". Lunch was frequently the left overs from dinner. We rented a car at National for the 2 week, at the resort. They offered a better deal than the airport. Took a cab to the resort, agree on the price before leaving the airport. Food is a little more expensive, but remember, It all comes over by boat. There is no Soil in Aruba, just sand. Very little grows there. This is a family resort, geared to Families. But remember, you had to be 10 yrs old sometime, or your wouldn't be Retired now! The staff is very friendly, and sometimes it is a little crowded, but you don't have to go far to find a friendly person to tak to or play games, or just sleep. Whatever your Pleasure. You still feel comfortable walking on the Beach or any place in town. I still say it is the only Beach you can go and lay out & never Sweat, the Breeze is Wounderful

My wife & I went the 1st week of March 08 the only good thing I can say about the Surf Club is the room and the grounds are top notch. We have owned at the Ocean Club since '99 and would much rather be there. We decided to go this week and nothing was availabe at the O/C so we rented a week at the Surf Club. The Marriott people know that they tried to cram to many people into a small space so instead of purchasing the property right next to the Surf so that the Mega resort could be spread out they just chose to keep the pool area very small and undersized for the people that are there. So thier answer is they are trying to screw over the people who own at the O/C by telling us that we can no longer use the pools at each others resorts! Unfortunately this is not what was promised when we purchased at the O/C in '99 we were told that we would be able to have full use of each resort amenities. We went to the pool on the 1st day there at 8:00 am and all of the pool chairs were completely taken! So we went over to the O/C to use the pool it wasn't 10 minutes later and a towel nazi (dressed as security guards) came over and told us that we can't use this pool I told them were not moving and if they don't like it too bad. An hour later a manager came over and said we would have to leave, to bad we didn't. After a half hour talk she decided to give us a pass to get O/C towels to use the pool. She told us that the "owners board" for both the Surf and Ocean Clubs decided that this was thier solution to this problem. Unfortunately the owners weren't consulted about this decision so I will be e-mailing all of them as well. She told me that it's not in the contract and that there wasn't anything that we could do about it, this was a "condition of sale" when we purchased our Time Share weeks so I feel like the Marriott is not being very receptive to the owners of these resorts and instead of making this a relaxing vacation what they have done is to make people very mad at each other. I got up early one day and watched the action at the pool with all of these people trying get the chairs by the pool it looked like the last New York cab on a rainy day! What a joke! the Marriott from what I hear has plans to expand the pool they better hurry... I will stay here again only because I know that I can go use the pool at the Ocean Club. Other than that the one good thing is you can almost always count on the weather and it didn't disappoint us like the Marriott has!

My husband and I just returned from a week at the Aruba Surf Club. We are owners at the Aruba Ocean Club but since we couldn't get a reservation at our home resort until March we traded for the Surf. The rooms are lovely and clean as they are at all the Marriott resorts. We stayed in a one bedroom overlooking the main pool. However, I would not stay at this resort again due to overcrowding. In order to get a pool chair with shade you had to go down at 7:30 a.m. to reserve it. We just didn't bother and took our chances later in the day. Although we were always able to find a spot at the pool or beach after someone had abandoned a spot, I found this bothersome. Also, the chairs were literally side by side at the pool and the beach. It was always quite noisy at the pool and not very relaxing. The view of the beach was obstructed by the tons of chairs with shades. The lazy river was nice but again crowded so you couldn't really relax as you were contstantly bumping into other people. The Surf Club advised that the reciprocal agreement with the Marriott Ocean Club and the hotel had been suspended until April so you couldn't use those facilitities' pools either. We spent our last day at the Marriott hotel in a newly renovated room and that was great. I will definately go back to the Aruba Ocean Club next time for the peace and quiet. Families with smaller children may prefer the Surf due to the lazy river pool. Regarding restaurants, we had several great dinners at Chalet Suisse, Screaming Eagle, Gianni's, Madame Jenettes, and Ruth Chris Steak House. The Marriott burgers and the breakfast buffet at the hotel are were very good as well. Tony Roma's was not as good as it has been in the past and they have raised their prices considerably. The happy hour drinks at the bar were not good nor was the juice bar. Save your money and buy your own! We rented a car for the day and went to the supermarket and Baby Beach. Make sure you get the Marriott VIP card before you rent. We didn't. It saves 20% at Economy rental car.

WE JUST SPENT 11 DAYS AT THIS RESORT AND THIS WAS ARE THIRD YEAR STAYING AT THE SURF CLUB. WE ARE OWNERS OF TWO WEEKS HERE AND WE CANT WAIT TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR. ARE ROOM WAS GREAT THE STAFF WAS EXCELLANT AND I HAD NO PROBLEM GETTING PALAPAS ON THE BEACH. YES THINGS WILL BREAK, AND IF YOU LOOK HARD ENOUGH AT ANY PLACE YOU GO ON VACATION YOU WILL FIND PROBLEMS AND AT CERTAIN TIMES THE FRONT DESK GETS BUSY BECAUSE THIS IS A TIME SHARE AND CHECK -IN - CHECK- OUT IS ON FRI.-SAT.-SUN.

SO MY OVERALL RATING OF THIS RESORT IS GREAT AND I WILL RECOMMEND THIS RESORT TO EVERY ONE!!!

We stayed at the Surf Club 4-11Jan 2008. We exchanged for this property and have been to Aruba many times in the past during this time of year. We absolutely love the island. We thought at one time that we would buy here pre-construction but decided to wait. We were thrilled to be able to get a Marriott property in Aruba in January and thought --great, if we like it we'll buy.We're very glad that we did not buy!

Our experience was similar to some of the other negative posts. The Marriott was overbuilt and understaffed for the amount of people that occupy the Surf Club at peak times. We could not get any lounges near the pool in the shade until around 5pm...If you wanted a palapa you had to reserve it (and pay for it) up to 3 days in advance or wait in line at some ungodly hour in the am to get what was "left" over--if anything. After the first couple of tries we just went to Arashi beach.

Check in was obscene. We arrived late...after midnight. There were only 3 people in front of us but it still took nearly an hour! The room was not adequately prepared: no soap/ shampoo etc--Of course this was rectified the next am with housekeeping--but still the room should have been guest-ready. We requested a high floor with a view but were glad when we didn't get our initial request.

We were put on the 3rd floor...good thing...the 2 out of 3 elevators were broken for 2 days!! the waits were incredible. I felt sorry for folks with strollers and wheelchairs! At least we were able to walk up and down the 3 flights easily.

We reported a leak to the front desk (at the time it was very minor) 2x. They didn't fix it until 3 days later when the entire bathroom flooded! I don't know if it was just the floor we were on or what, but at some times the water in the shower was too hot and at other times there was no hot water. Complaints to the desk just got an apology and said they would have engineering look into it.

Food/Beverage service at the Pool was very slow--even for Aruba standards. It was clear that the employees were trying very hard to accommodate the guests but were truly just overwhelmed by the enormous capacity at this resort.

We were told there was internet access in the room. There was an ethernet cable in the room. However, I researched a bit and found that there hadn't been internet access in the guest rooms since late November! Apparently there was some problem that they couldn't fix in the 5 week time frame??? It was embarrassing to see guests with files (ourselves included) late at night in the lobby area trying to catch up on work! There was wireless access available in the lobby at no cost....Trust me, I would rather have paid daily for the service in the room!!

Again...we love Aruba and will go back to the island. We have stayed at other Marriott time shares and have never had a problem--even the slightest in the past. We are glad that we did NOT buy at the Surf Club and will NOT go back to this Marriott unless we stay at the quieter Ocean club or at the hotel (after the renovations are completed). I guess if you like kids, crowds, and disappointing service you will be okay here.

Stayed at the Surf Club 2/2-2/9/2008. Beautiful rooms, but Extremely overcrowded!!!! The opening of the two additional towers have completely overwhelmed this place. The pool and the beach are way too small for the high volume of people at this facility. People were fighting (literally) over chairs and palapa's at the pool and beach. The wait for the elevator was always long. The fitness room was so crowded you could hardly move, all of the cardio machines were constently in use and the room was so hot you couldn't breath. The service people tried hard, but it was obvious they were overwhelmed. If you want a peaceful, quiet vacation, do NOT stay at the Surf Club. If you're ok with heavy crowds and just want a nice room but nothing else, go for it.

We just returned from a week at the Surf Club (Jan. 27 - Feb. 3). Unlike the previous post, we had NO difficulty getting a palapa most days. And if we hadn't, there were plenty biminis (chairs with canapy tops) or trees available for shade on the beach.

We were impressed by how uncrowded the facilities felt. We were a bit concerned about that because of the completion of the new building. However, the Lazy River never felt crowded; we had plenty of space to relax and enjoy floating in it. The Caribbean was equally enjoyable. The only negative was the people that felt they had to have their chairs right at the water's edge (and there were many of them). Behind them, things were much more spread out.

Yes, check in was hectic and it was the result of this very large group that comes to the Marriott in January and refuses to respect its property or check out times. Hopefully the Marriott will deal with that issue. As for check in, they told us at the owners meeting that they were insituting a new check in procedure - people from the newest building will check in at that building. That should alleviate the recent delays.

They also said they were building 39 new palapas on the beach and had completed 5 of them while we were there. That should help people find more options with shade. I would recommend the Surf Club to anyone considering a Caribbean vacation. The beach is wonderful, the Lazy River is a special amenity, the nearby restaurants are outstanding, etc... etc. We are already looking forward to our visit next year.

I am an owner here and have just returned from staying on Jan 27, 2008. I could not find any pool chairs much less two together shaded. The check in was hours long and some people did not get into thier rooms until 21/2 hours later then the check in time. This seems to be because Marriott has sold to a group of 1000 people whom they cater to all through the timeshares and hotel and cannot get them out of the rooms on time so they can clean them and turn them over. We could not use their restaurant one night because it was serving this large group a special type of food. Marriott has over-built /been greedy at this property and the amenities do not support the amount of people. We are just a big herd at this property and treated as such. I would be careful of buying from Marriott at any of their new properties until you know they are not going to repeat what they did at Surf club. Even to try to secure palapas on the beach you must get up very early ( I'm not sure when I didn't do it but I think around 7:am and wait in line. Now their is real respect for an owner on vacation. You cannot use any of the other pools around the property ie... Hotel or Ocean club but there is no space or shade so you can't use Surf clubs either. This property needs work!!! Aruba is beautiful. Marriott is no longer a name you can trust without first being sure this will not happen at their new properties. Buy resale on line if you can their older properties are good but beware of anything new until you are sure!!!!

We just got back from a week at the surf club (we went 12/7-12/14). We went with friends and we all love this resort and will go back again for sure. I'm sorry to see some of the negative comments from others, since we had such a great experience. This is definately a 5 star resort.

I'm in the middle of a two week stint, 51 and 52. Aruba is a fantastic place to come for a winter break. Even the bad weather is good. The hotel facilities are good and consistent with the past few years. The Marriott got very greedy! All facilities are extremely overcrowded. We are on a rotation with some other families in getting up at 5:30am to reserve pool chairs. The security guards are abusive to the guests. I have numerous bug bites sitting out on the chairs early in the morning. The health club is overcrowded with security shutting down treadmills after 1/2 hour. There long lines at the end of the day to exchange towels. It took almost 3 hours to get food at the pool last week. The resort is changing rules by the day to aleviate the overcrowding. There are long lines to get cabs to town and out for dinner at night. The resort opened up a new building this year and did NOT add any facilities to compensate for the extra thousand guests. In addition, the Hotel is under construction and the hotel guests are coming to the Surf Club as well. I have questioned the resort and there does not appear to be any short term fix. Be careful renting during peak times at this resort. It is till a nice facility, but be ready to fight for your usage and be an early riser.

I just returned from a week stay – Nov 3 - 10. This is my fourth stay in the Ocean or surf club in the past two years and will likely be my last.

I agree with all the comments about the rooms; they are 5 star quality. The pool is very nice, but there was no floating in the lazy river as it was wall to wall people.

Over the past two years, the beach in front of the surf / ocean clubs has become the worst beach is Aruba. The surf club beach is so overcrowded, that Marriot has not even bothered to add huts. There is no room. They took the simple approach and added hundreds of lounge chairs that have multi colored canvas sun covers. The water sports vendors which line most of the beach front only add to the circus like atmosphere.

The ocean club is much less crowded, as the ratio of huts to rooms is much higher than at the surf club. However, if you stay at the surf club, you can not reserve a hut at the ocean club.

Unfortunately the over development at the surf club has impacted the beach at the surf and ocean clubs as well as the other nearby resorts. The water at the beach is cloudy, and at times smells like rotten eggs. Once you get to about twenty feet from the water line, the sandy bottom is covered with a layer of decomposing vegetation. The cloudy water, the smell and the vegetation are all due to the removal of the stone jetty / marina which was directly in front of the surf club. After the jetty was removed the waves spread all of the sediment and decomposing vegetation for about a quarter mile in each direction. Supposedly, the sediment will eventually decompose / wash away and the water will return will regain its natural clarity.

The water will clear, but the overcrowding will only get worse. I can’t imagine how crowded the surf club will be during the busy season when the resort is full and the adult couples are replaced with families and more children.

This is the best vacation we ever had! We have gone back here for the last six years. The people in Aruba are wonderful, the restaraunts are excellent and it's easy to see why this is a 5 Star resort.