Holiday Inn Sunspree Hotel

We stayed at Holiday Inn from January 18 - February 1 2004. We travelled with 4 kids and a couple of friends. Aruba was great and so was the weather. The beaches were beautiful. But the staff at the hotel were friendly EXCEPT for the staff who worked at the KIDS CLUB. The staff stayed all day in the kids club room without doing nothing at all. When we went there to ask if they were going to announce the activities of the day and engourage some kids to go and play it looked like we had disturbed them. They never smiled. it was as if they were at a funeral instead of working with children. Same thing for the nightly entertainment. it was very boring! They have to employ more people who are excited about their jobs. I might as well inform you that if you are going to stay at this hotel, that for breakfeast there is a line up 20 minutes long for toasting bread. There are only 3 toaster the same that you use at your home. Also they have to renovate the bathrooms in the hotel room beacuse they are old and some of them have mold. The food was good we enjoyed that. So if u are travelling with kids be prepared beacuse theres no kids club theres a schedual but they do none of those activities. We would gladly go back to Aruba because it was a beautiful island but next time at a better hotel.

We just returned 2/8/04 from staying 8 nights at the Holiday Inn Sunspree. I, too, was concerned after reading reviews prior to leaving for Aruba, but I am here to tell you that I would definitely go back and stay there again!!! The staff was great, especially the bar staff. They had to put up with a lot of impatient tourists who didn't know how to relax!! I found the food in the Miramar and Sea Breeze Grill to be great and the majority of the time the dinner buffet was just fine. The all-inclusive plan is definitely the way to go here as food is very expensive in Aruba. We found our room to be sufficient, clean, beach great, plenty of chairs. I cannot say enough about how great the people of Aruba are, especially those who work at the Holiday Inn Sunspree....very friendly, very helpful in every way. Great deal for the money and I highly recommend staying there.

A group of us booked an all-inclusive trip to Aruba Holiday Inn Sun Spree Resort through AAA. Like most, when it came close to our vacation date (Feb 1st. 2004) I started searching on-line for pictures of the hotel and past guest reviews. I know I should have searched before making the reservation but oh well.When I read all the terrible reviews, I thought I was in for one horrific vacation. I read about unfriendly staff and bad food. Unclean rooms and even of fleas.When we arrived, I was very impressed with the open and refreshing lobby. I stayed in an Ocean Front room in the Bonaire Tower. All I can say is that the room was huge and what a spectacular view from my private balcony. I immediately put on my sandals and headed out for some drinks and the terrible food I was expecting.Fortunate for me I found none. The food was great and the drinks did there job. Staff was friendly, and even friendlier if you give them a nice tip every so often. Hey, if you had to cater to people on vacation, I am sure you would go that extra mile for someone who took care of you with a nice tip.Best places to eat are at the Sea Breeze Grill for pre-lunch, lunch and after lunch. Every morning be sure to make reservations for the Miramar Restaurant, it is also included in the all-inclusive plan. It is more of a formal dinner and has even better food. Oh yeah, breakfast is great too. They have a good spread and make omelets of your choice. In addition, if you have special requests, like an egg-white omelet or egg sandwich, just ask and you get that too.The only thing they could have done better was to have better theme nights. They need more excitement at night although some nights were better than others. There is a gentleman named Carlos at the Pali-Coco lounge. I gave him a generous tip at first and he treated me as if I was a star every time I walked in there for evening cocktails.The beach area is beautiful...........Enough said about that.I definitely recommend an Ocean Front Room and try to get it in the Bonaire Tower. It is a bit nicer than the other tower and closer to everything. One of the couples we traveled with stayed in a non-ocean front room and there view was of a roofs air-condition system. Another couple stayed in the other tower, also in an Ocean Front room. There room and view was just as nice as ours was but the tower was not as new and it was a walk away from the main lobby.I also considered staying at the Hyatt were it is a lot more expensive. I took a tour of their lobby and casino just to compare for future reference. The Hyatt is beautiful, a lot more modern and extravagant. However, with that come all the rich and wealthy people who are betting hundred dollar chips like its play money. I felt kind of foolish with my ten dollar bets. The atmosphere is a little too "Snobby" for me. I do not think I would have enjoyed the other guest at the Hyatt as much as I enjoyed interacting with guest at the Holiday Inn. There is more of a working middle to upper middle class crowd staying at the Hoilday Inn.So, if you are looking for a wonderful vacation, make the upgrade to the Ocean Front room, preferably at the Bonaire Tower, tip well and enjoy a great, relaxing vacation. I am definitely going back. Do some research on upgrading to the purple band (includes all top-shelf drinks and beer) it might work out better for you.

After reading some of the reviews of the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort before we left on our vacation , I decided to remark on our experience there . Ourselves and another couple, who have travelled numerous times together for the last ten years - to Mexico , Cuba, San Andres and the Dominican Republic - were quite excited on booking a trip to Aruba . On our arrival we found the resort staff friendly and helpful. Our room was quite nice and well equipped. The food was second to none at the buffet and the two other restrurants at the resort. (the list would be too long )Staff at the eating areas were friendly and professional. I don't understand some of the remarks relating to the food being not that great. It was one of the best resorts for food we've had. ( I guess everyone has different tastes).The pool and beach areas were very nice with lots of beach chairs available . That's usually a problem other places we've stayed. "Yes "if you wanted a hut on the beach you had to be there early but that's not unusual at most of the resorts we have been at. Drinks were great - lots of great specialty drinks . My wife and her girlfriend loved them. I think the only thing about the bar areas that could use some improvement was when the hotel decided that all guests had to sign for their drinks . We were all inclusive and this seemed al little unusual. A lot of extra work for bar staff. It seemed to give most people something to wine about!!!. Bar staff were very pleasent under these circumstances. I hope the resort was just trying to acquire some information during this process because I think this made a lot more work than necessary for staff and we felt uneasy having to sign the slips when we were all-inclusive. All in all, an excellent vacation.

My boyfriend and I vacationed in Aruba from January 20th to January 26th, 2004. We are 29 years old and do not like to think of ourselves as "Too High Maintenance." We were planning to stay at the Allegro Resort, but after hearing that is has gone downhill, we decided to stay at the Holiday Inn Sunspree since it was "Just Recently Renovated." We arrived on a Tuesday and there was no line at the check-in counter when we got off of the bus. So we avoided the long check-in wait that everyone previously mentioned. But just to let you know, while walking in the lobby on Friday, Saturday, and Sundayas guests arrived, the line was super long and it seemed to be moving quite slowly. This hotel is obviously understaffed. We failed to receive a Welcome Cocktail. There was a small problem when we checked in because the hotel didn't have us down for a King size bed but it absolutely was requested. After arguing with the not so friendly man (or woman?) behind the desk, we were finally given another room that was Non-Smoking with a King Size bed. The room was fine. It was spacious and kept clean. Housekeeping staff changed linens when requested and always provided fresh towels daily despite the card in the bathroom that asks guests to reuse the towels! The balcony was nice and we had a beautiful view of the island and the ocean. The only small complaint about the room is that the water never seemed to get as hot or as cold as you wanted it to be. Oh, and one morning out of the week, construction was going on right outside our room and we we woke up to Jack Hammers at 7:30am. Anyway, prior to arriving in Aruba, I read that the staff at the Holiday Inn were very unfriendly. We did not encounter this at all, besides the little man (or woman?) at the front desk when we checked in. Restaurant staff, Activities staff, Bartenders, Outdoor staff, and Housekeeping staff were very welcoming and always seemed to be very friendly. Every day when arriving at the beach, staff were always helpful providing us with chairs and towels. Waiters were friendly and always smiling. As for the food, it was just okay. The food is pricey in Aruba so it was definitely worth going with the 'All-Inclusive' package. The Breakfast buffets were good. We waited in line a few times to be seated no longer than 15 minutes. We sometimes got down there more towards 10:00am so we usually didn't have to wait in a long line. As for lunch, the Seabreeze Grille outside was average. Small lunch menu that was the same daily. There was usually no line to be seated and service was pretty efficient. We ate at the Miramar one night of the week since we were lucky enough to get a reservation at 10:00pm on a Wednesday night, but we did not care for the food at all. Keep in mind, the Holiday Inn calls this the "Miramar" but technically it is a room next to the breakfast buffet with the same set up but separated by a wall. Nothing too fancy! Stay away from the Vanilla Custard Flan dessert unless you like eating 'rubber.' Apparently, you need to arrive at the Activities desk in the lobby at 8am the morning before to be able to eat at the Miramar the next day AT A DECENT TIME OF THE EVENING! As a result of this, we ate in town a few nights. We recommend El Gaucho, Don Carlos, and the Waterfront Seafood Grille. Theme nights outside around the pool were nice and they always had a variety of food daily. We never ate it so I can't comment on that. As for the drinks, we like Vodka, but their Vodka was not tasty AT ALL. So when on the 'resort,' we had to pay an extra $2 for Sky Vodka, which was fine I guess since we really didn't consume an excessive amount of alcohol all week. But the Pina Colada's were delicious!! Getting drinks from the bar was never a problem and we were served quickly. The pool is nice but not as nice as some of the other hotel's pools. It was on the small side but it was clean and it really didn't matter to us since we were mainly at the beach all day and only at the pool at the end of the day. Chairs were always accessible..as for the huts..we never had an interest in them so I'm not sure how early you had to be out there to be able to get under one. The beach was beautiful. The water wasn't as clear as we thought it would be but it was still nice and very warm. Lots of shells and rocks when you walk into the water which will hurt your feet. Get water shoes!!! We did an Island tour which allowed us to see many interesting sights in Aruba such as the Natural Bridge, Bushirabi Ruins, Light house, etc. We went on the Party Boat called the TATTOO and that was kind of fun. In hindsight, we would have enjoyed the sunset cruise much better. We took advantage of the Kiyak's and Paddleboat's since they were included in our package. That was fun! We also rode the intertubes as the speedboat pulls you along very fast!! That was great!! Should have went Parasailing but we never got to it. There are a lot of places to go shopping in the city. But instead of taking a taxi and paying $10 each way, you can just jump on the bus for $2.00 round trip per person. We went in the city at night to go to some different bars. It was very safe walking around the city. Carlos and Charlie's was a lot of fun. Mambo Jambo was cool.Tantra was okay if you are looking to party all night long after hours. We did sightsee at other hotels and we were sorry we didn't stay at the Allegro after all. Their pool was much bigger and overall it seemed like a nicer hotel. But who knows, we have heard many complaints about there also. When asking some frequent Aruba vacationers, they highly recommended the Radisson, Marriott, and Wyndam. If you can afford the Hyatt....that should be your #1 choice. It was beautiful there. The Holiday Inn wasn't bad but if you are used to staying at higher end hotels or resorts, then don't stay here. This was close to 'JUST AVERAGE.' Overall, we had a great time and loved the island, the shopping, the white sandy beaches.....But were disappointed with our hotel! Good Luck and Have Fun in ARUBA!! :-)

I returned from my first visit to Aruba on the 10th of January and as a result of that experience have spent the last 3 weeks planning my next visit (hopefully at the end of this month). My family (3 children, 2 adults) stayed at the Holiday Inn and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Prior to booking our trip we read the reviews on this site and as a result understood amongst other things that while we were going to a resort with a clean pool that the buildings were older. We were pleased to see that the pool and pool area was kept very clean throughout our stay. Our rooms while old and re-stuccoed a number of times were large, clean and comfortable. The food was very good (Miramar only offered 2 selections with costs additional to the all-inclusive...at least 12 without). The employees we found friendly (almost without exception) and the service good. Our previous island experiences have been Barbados, Jamaica, Bermuda, Cuba, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Croix, Puerto Rico, Margarita Island. If your expectations are realistic you will thoroughly enjoy your time at this resort....do not expect a 5 star for a 3 star price. Finally...you make your own vacation good or bad.

About Aruba....We bought an all inclusive plan, through a travel agent in Merrimack, NH from TNT promotions. You can book thru them direct but you won't have an actual person to verify things with etc. and it's worth it to me to know exactly what's going down and when. Anyway, TNT has their own keosk at the Boston Airport, Gate D I believe (which is international flights). It was a charter flight so it goes direct to Aruba which is worth going to Boston for, we even got a pretty good lunch on the way down and the way back which I haven't gotten on any national flights since 911. We split a limo service with my parents aka my drinking buddies! Picked us up in Merrimack, NH and dropped us off at the Boston Airport gate, no hassle - Which is worth it if you can split the fee with another couple. We got there, checked right in, only waited about 45 minutes, left Boston at 6:30 and got into Aruba at 11:30 am. There's an hour difference in time, going backward. DO NOT FORGET YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE COPY and license. One poor lady didn't have it in Boston and she couldn't go. TNT people met us at the airport, very friendly and efficient. The bus was right there, no waiting, got to the Holiday Inn Sunspree around 12:30. You can pick different hotels ( I toured the Windham, right next door which was also very nice, but it was $200. more) I would try that place if I went back only because it's a bit more modern and upgraded than the Holiday Inn. We weren't supposed to be able to check in 'til 4:30 but our rooms were ready and we went right in, put on our swim suits and walked around with our first of many drinks to get a lay of the land. The beach is great!! Anyway the all inclusive includes all drinks, all food, airfare and hotel. A very good deal in my opinion. I really am still weaning myself from margaritas!! The food at the Holiday Inn Sunspree was plentiful, about average on quality and there were plenty of choices (3 different areas to eat at also). I don't go on vacation to eat (and gain weight) so that was okay with me. The drinks were great and plentiful, the people very friendly and that goes for the whole island. Of course it's very commercial in town, although very quaint looking, and at the tourist spots but if it were a nice quiet little island it would be kind of boring to me. My husband loved the casinos (we had one right in our hotel, as do most hotels there). The shopping is great and you can get good bargains if you know where to shop. (I know now) There's plenty of stuff to do outdoors and in. You have to go to Carlos and Charlies, in town, it's an absolute earthy riot. There's a ton of restaurants on the island (which by the way is 19 miles x 6 miles, but seems a lot bigger) so if you don't want the all inclusive and would rather eat at a different place every night you can certainly do that. There are pricey, medium and low price places. Lets see, my husband and I went on a kayak/snorkling adventure, which is billed as suitable for novices but it's not. I was the only kayaker in the bunch and it was a challenge for me and a real adreniline rush, but it could be scary if you're not used to kayak or rough ocean water. I would also recommend you be a good swimmer. The snorkling area, our kayaking island destination was beautiful, the bright yellow, purple and blue fish swam right up to us. Lunch was include in the tour price also. It was the windy season there (first week of March) right now and the guide said each day it would get windier and at the end of March they have an international windsailing competition which must be spectacular if you're into that, 'cause the sailing is awesome there. I liked the wind, even though it got up to 85 degrees it never felt like it. I didn't burn and I'm a fair haired pale skin (and only used number 8 sunscreen) but some whities were really cooked and it looked painfull. Then again I can't and don't want to lay in the sun all day. We also did an offroad jeep tour of the Island which was wicked fun and very beautiful in places. I took a ton of great pictures. You definitely want to take the jeep tour though, we passed about 5 carloads of tourists who were stuck in the sand with their rental cars, NOT a good idea. And it's the dessert side of the Island so it's very secluded. My Dad (who's 76) did a little bit of ATV riding in the countryside, which he said was rough in spots but very fun, there's also horseback tours that go through the countryside and right on the beach at times. That looked like fun, but unfortunately ONLY to me. The water is very salty, it stung my eyes something fierce. I recommend getting a pair of swim googles and using them when swimming (but maybe me and Rog are just sensitive flowers!) The water is great though, sooooooooooo warm and beautiful, and nice sandy beaches and grass huts and palm tress provide shade in the resort areas. I think all the extra stuff we did (which was 3 things) only came out to $300 plus whatever we tipped them. I've been to other Islands and Aruba is much less expensive and much more friendly. Their sloggan is "One Happy Island" and it fits. One very important thing about Aruba compared to other Islands and/or Mexico or the Dominicun Republic is that they have a huge desalanation plant and ALL the water everywhere is good so you don't have to worry about sitting in the bathroom your whole vacation. It's relatively clean, some trashy areas in places, but with the wind blowing all the time I don't see how they could keep it totally litter free. 7 days was good, the weather was great and all but I was ready to come back. It's a place where you can just sit on the beaches all week and be totally entertained by the activity going on around you or you can get off your butt and do stuff. We did a little of both and totally enjoyed the whole thing.

Jan 11 to 18 04. 2 adults, 2 children This was our second trip to the Holiday Inn in Aruba. Boy, have things slid in two years! Let me first say the weather was wonderful and the white sand beach was great. Our hotel room was fine and was cleaned well every day.This is a 600 room hotel so can be fairly busy. Be prepared to wait for everything!!! Only half the seating was opened in the restaurants. This hotel is very understaffed. Its not unusual to wait in line for 3/4 hr for a meal. They only have 3 four slice toasters {yes, the same ones we have in our homes!} for use. Two of the toasters only lit up on one side. I brought this to the attention of the staff twice and was told it would be fixed. It never was. As for the food, breakfast was good, lunch was ok, supper was terrible. The beach huts were saved everyday by the same people. When I questioned the vacationers as to how they managed to get a hut every day, I was told that you had to tip the guy that puts out the chairs every morning, then he would make sure you got a hut. What a setup he has! I would wake up at 600 in the moring to get a hut. and they would all be saved. Towels and chairs under the huts, just no people! So these people get to show up whenever they like because they have a hut waiting for them. I went to the front desk and complained about this practice, and was assured that it would be looked into and corrected. It never was. This practice obviously needs to stop and a new system need to be put in place. Two years ago when we were here there was a employee who would empty the garbage pails, pick up plastic cups from the beach area etc. Now the pails our only emptied at night, so are overflowing during the day. Two years ago I would of recommended this hotel. Now I would'nt! Management needs to pay attention to what needs to be changed, hire some more staff, and maybe talk with some vacationers for some input, because Aruba has alot to offer. It is a beautiful Island!

I will try to keep this short and sweet, but somehow i believe it will be long and drawn out, so here I go. My wife and I took our first trip to Aruba, we usually go on our yearly island trip to Bermuda in the summer, but this year we decided to bump up our vacation and go to Aruba in the winter. The island is awesome we had a great time going to all the shops ,the shopping mall, the snorkeling adventures, and the resteraunts, but then came the hotel. we stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree. Let's start at the beginning, we get to the hotel and like all other hotels you go to check in and the rooms are never ready, right? no different here,we get our "allinclusve bracelets, which hinder our island tans later on,and we go to the bar and get a few drinks, hang out and wait for the room to be set up. We head off to the grill to grab a quick lunch, and there was nothing quick about it, now let me take a second here to tell you that my wife and myself are not very high maintinence people and we usually, like most people keep quiet and deal with it, that being said our table was poorly equipped for our meal , no salt , no condiments ect. so now on to our meals, we waited about an hr for our burgers, which were quite tasty, we figured it was because the hotel was swamped with check ins they were a bit behind, but to our dismay this first meal set the tone for the rest of the trip. I would suggest to anyone who is thinking about staying at this hotel that when you order your drinks to order them two at a time because if you should, like i did, drink all your coke before you get your meal you will not receive anothe drink for a long time. The problem with the food service is, you don't have just one waiter one gets your drink another takes your order, another brings the meal and yet another cleans the table so what you end up with is a lack of communication, ask the desert guy for a drink and you will wait forever. The beaches are nice but unless you want to pay for shade , plan on being burnt, what i am saying is people tip the chair guys at night so they can procure the huts before anyone is even on the beach, the room was adequate the air conditioning worked fine the bathroom accomodations were a bit off, there were alot of things that were a bit off but my suggestion would be, go to this island and take it for all it's beauty but pay a little more for your hotel, you won't be sorry. As for the people at the hotel the information desk was a bit rude but the locals seemed nice. In closing i would like to say that we did our research on this hotel right here on this website, and I'll tell ya it was right on the mark with what people were saying but like most, i guess you just need to go and find it out for yourself ! When i go back to this wonderful island next year I will not be staying at the Holiday Inn sunspree, that's for sure !!! good luck and go see this island !

Just got back from Aruba - stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree -- I won't go to Aruba again and I won't stay at a "4" rated hotel.Mexico here I come again. The water is much clearer, the beaches are much cleaner and the people are a whole lot friendlier. Service is with a smile and always excellent!We felt "invisible" many times at the Holiday Inn. Sometimes we waited 10 to 20 minutes to get a table when there was seating available. Many times we waited 20 minutes to get waited on. The resort is understaffed. The workers were not overly friendly - even when tipped handsomely!!! Garbage containers overflowed, glass windows and doors were spotted and dirty. Pool was dirty at times. Fitness room had same dirty glasses on shelf for 3 days!! They did not have clean towels 2 days and the water fountain was broken 2 days.