Caribbean Palm Village Resort

Aruba is a fantastic vacation spot. The South West of the island has large US hotel complexes and excellent beaches. The Hotel area has all the usual US restaurant chains and menus of fries, chicken and burgers or pizza. If you get off the beaten track there are several excellent Aruban restaurants with truly excellent cuisine.
The Aruban people are very friendly making it a very pleasant place to be.
The Island is very dry and provides a very different interesting flora and fauna compared to the usual expected "Tropical Island" - truly a desert island.
The diving is excellent and there is good snorkelling inshore.
The Caribbean Palm Village is a typical US timeshare complex - good pools but basic entertainment aimed at mainly east coast US tourists. As this accommodation is a short distance from the beach car hire is a real benefit but they do provide a shuttle service for guests.
Hiring a car also allows you to get out and see the real Aruba and not the man made hotel area designed for US tourists idea of what the Caribbean should look like - you could be in Florida in this small corner of the Island. But this is only a small corner of the island which does provide a pleasant if artificial place to stay.
Visit the Aruban coin museum in Orangestad - the collection is enormous and truly fascinating.
We would recommend the following restaurants for a taste of local cooking: Gasparito, Papiamento the Conucucu House. There are other Aruban restaurants inland and in the South East of the Island which we forget the names of but provided fantastic spots with great food. Other restaurants provide good reliable food.
The Ostrich Farm is a bit boring and could be better done however if you have never been close to an Ostrich try it.
The Jolly Pirates sailing cruise is good fun and provides opportunities for snorkelling for people of all abilities - the trapeze swing is the best!
Take a Quad bike safari - great fun which gets you out into the national park area of the island and allows you to get to spots such as the natural pool you could not get to by car.
We flew KLM via Amsterdam from London. The service was first class and a very long flight was made enjoyable by the helpful and friendly crew who offered excellent service.
Overall, it was one of the best holidays we have ever had and would recommend it as an unusual, fun, interesting holiday destination.