Travel Guide: Aruba

Happy Sunday loves! As promised, I am finally posting my travel guide to Aruba! Below I am going to post some of the outfit and swimsuits that I wore on our trip. At the very bottom of this post you can see all of the beautiful pictures from the resort and island itself! I hope you all enjoy reading my full review of Aruba and our stay at the Aruba Marriott. 

Swimsuit: Tularosa Nina One Piece  // Hat: Woven Fedora // Bag: Sunny Straw Bag // Sunglasses: Quay Aviator Sunglasses

Swimsuit: Tularosa Nina Top and Tularosa Thessy Bottom // Cover Up: Red Paisley Kimono // Bag: Straw Bag with Handles Similar One Here and Here // Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Large Aviators // Earrings: Gold Hoops

Top: Blue Tie Back Top // Shorts: High Rise White Distressed Denim Shorts // Hat: Margaritas Por Favor Floppy Hat // Ring: Reagan Cocktail Ring in Gold

Swimsuit: Show Me Your Mumu Johnny and the Band Bikini Top  and Show Me Your Mumu Johnny and the Band Bikini Bottoms  // Shorts: High Rise Distressed Denim Shorts  // Ray Ban Blue Lens Sunglasses

Romper: Pastel Tropical Print Romper // Earrings: Mint Tassel Earrings // Bag: Large Bamboo Bag

Dress: Black Bodycon Dress // Shoes: Sam Edelman Yarina Sandals Also Available Here // Earrings: Red BaubleBar Earrings

Dress: White Lace Maxi Dress Available in Different Colors Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here

Swimsuit: Show Me Your Mumu Walk the Palm Bikini Top  and Show Me Your Mumu Walk the Palm Bikini Bottoms // Hat: Hello Sunshine Floppy Hat

Swimsuit: Alix Sagamore Top in Ivory and Alix Normandy Bottom in Sage Combo // Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Aviators Gradient in Gold // Bag: Straw Bag

Top: Tularosa Bandeau Top // Skirt: Tularosa Wrap Skirt // Shoes: Sam Edelman Yaro Ankle Strap Sandals // Necklace: Kendra Scott Nettie Statement Necklace in Gold 

Swimsuit: Peixoto Jade One Piece // Sunglasses: Blue Lens Ray Ban Aviators // Bag: Straw Pom Pom Beach Bag

Romper: Show Me Your Mumu Johnny and the Band Tie Front Romper // Shoes: Schutz Enida Heel in Natural // Earrings: BaubleBar Oval Statement Earrings

Top: Linen Colorful Striped Top // Shorts: White Denim Shorts // Earrings: Vanessa Mooney Pink Tassel Earrings 

Top: Show Me Your Mumu Off the Shoulder Top in Mexicali // Skirt: Show Me Your Mumu Maxi Skirt in Maxicali // Earrings: Kendra Scott Diane Statement Earrings in Gold

Swimsuit: Tularosa Haven One Piece in Pale Pink

Top: Show Me Your Mumu Nica Ruffle Top in Fuchsia // Shorts: Show Me Your Mumu Skippy Shorts in Chili Pepper // Bag: Rattan Woven Purse // Earrings: BaubleBar Margarita Drop Earrings in Coral

My photographer and friend Deeana, and I, stayed at the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino which is part of the Paradise by Marriott collection of resorts. I was so excited to have had the chance to work with Paradise by Marriott, which is a collection of eight luxury resorts across the Caribbean and Mexico regions. After having a pick of destinations within the collection Deeana and I decided on the Aruba Marriott and had such a wonderful visit. I have a couple of friends that have been to Aruba and they only had amazing things to say which is why I ultimately decided to go there! Now onto the review…

Transportation: Deeana and I had a layover in Miami on our way to Aruba but had a direct flight from Aruba back to Charlotte on our way back. The flight was cheaper to have a layover on the way there but it’s so nice that you can get a direct flight to Aruba right out of Charlotte. When we landed in Aruba it was really easy getting our luggage and getting a taxi to the hotel. Everything was pretty seamless and easier than most other places I have visited. Everyone was super friendly and we were only about a 20 minute drive from the airport to our hotel. We actually got to drive through the city of Aruba where there was a TON of shopping and it was really cool getting to do a little site seeing on the way to where we were staying. 

Beach: The beaches in Aruba are absolutely gorgeous (see the pictures below to see for yourself). The water is super blue and the sand is beautiful. The beach was literally right outside of our hotel which was nice. I always hate when you have to walk really far to get to the beach. I guess that’s the lazy in me ha! There were also a ton of things to do on the beach right near our hotel. There were a lot of different huts where you could sign up for different water activities. There were also huts where you could just rent (for free) different floats which was really nice. They have a lot of different sized floats so you could get one for how ever many people you wanted to float with. Deeana and I rented a float for two people and floated out in the ocean together. It was so nice and relaxing! One thing I also really liked about the beach was all of the tiki huts that it has (see pictures below). The tiki huts were so cute and they were everywhere so you didn’t really have to worry about not being able to find one. These were nice to put our stuff at while we were in the water and to lounge in the shade when we were getting hot. Aruba also has a Flamingo Beach full of flamingos that you can visit if you are staying at the Renaissance Hotel. If you are not staying at that hotel, you can buy day passes to go to this private beach if there are some available. The cost is around $100 for the day pass but it is totally worth it. Deeana and I actually didn’t get to make it to that beach because it was already full but next time I go to Aruba I really want to go. I’ve seen tons of pictures and it looks amazing! Plus, how cool would it be to spend all day with flamingos?!

Pools: I loved the pools at the Aruba Marriott. There were 2 separate ones that we went to a lot. One was a huge community pool that had a swim up bar, tons of layout chairs, and even some really cool waterfall areas. You could always expect a good time at this pool. We also spent a lot of time at the Adult Only pool. This pool was right outside of our room and is only for adults so it was nice to go to if you did want to get away from all of the kiddos playing. This pool was a little quieter and was definitely more relaxing which was great for when we were wanting to just lay out and rest. It also had the coolest cabanas everywhere and it’s own bar. Note: there are A LOT of iguanas and lizards in Aruba. They were everywhere at the pools just running around. I was a little scared at first but then quickly realized that they weren’t going to hurt me at all. They actually were really fun to watch and they come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. They remind me of squirrels in NC, they are just everywhere and you just get used to them. They aren’t dangerous at all!

Room/Hotel: I really enjoyed our room at the Aruba Marriott. They were nice and big and each room had 2 King sized beds. The bathrooms were also really big and we each had a huge walk in closet. Each room also had it’s own balcony which overlooked the ocean which made for some pretty amazing views. One thing I loved the most about our stay was our greetings in our room when we arrived. Deeana and I each had a meat and cheese board waiting for us, a jar of macaroons (how CUTE), and bottles of wine. They also had a really cute card written for us. Everyone was just super nice and friendly the entire time and we felt super welcomed which is always nice. The hotel itself is really amazing. There are different places to shop at the hotel including places like David Yurman and there is a huge casino in the lobby of the hotel. We didn’t spend much time in there but it is awesome if you like to gamble! Not to mention, the casino was pretty big. There were a lot of different places to eat in our hotel including an amazing sushi restaurant in the hotel lobby, a Ruth Chris Steakhouse, a breakfast/lunch buffet and a STARBUCKS! You all know how much I love my Starbucks and so does Deeana so we were really pumped when there was a full running Starbucks right in our hotel lobby. We definitely visited it at least once a day. There is also a really cute gelato shop in the hotel lobby. The gelato was AMAZING. If you go I highly recommend stopping by there and getting some! Overall the hotel was stunning. It was very well decorated and had great aesthetics.  See all of the pictures below to get a good look at everything! We were not at all disappointed. 

Food/Activities: The food in Aruba is AMAZING. We were not disappointed for one single meal. I think our favorite meal was when we ate at the Atardi seafood restaurant. It was some of the best seafood I have ever had and the restaurant is right on the beach. We had dinner literally right beside the ocean which was so cool to me. The breakfast/lunch buffet at our hotel was also amazing. We ate there almost every single day. Lots of good options to choose from! The sushi restaurant in the lobby of the Aruba Marriott was also very good. We ate there the first night and it was some of the best sushi I have ever had. There are also a ton of good local spots around the hotel so it was fun to venture out and try out some of the other restaurants. I didn’t have one bad meal while I was there. If you are a foodie then I highly recommend going! There are also a TON of activities to do in Aruba. I mentioned this earlier but in the city of Aruba there is a lot of nice shopping to do. We unfortunately didn’t have time to go there but we did get to drive by and look and saw places such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Zara. You can sign up to do pretty much any water sport imaginable in Aruba which is awesome. There are huts all over the beach where you can sign up. Deeana and I went on the Jolly Pirates boat while we were there. We did the sunset trip and it was so amazing. The boat is made to look like an old pirate ship and has swings that you can jump off of into the water. They offer tons of different sailing/snorkeling options. I highly recommend doing this if you are visiting Aruba. 

Cost: The rooms are pretty reasonably priced where we stayed especially considering the beautiful tropical location and how close you are to the ocean. They also do offer all inclusive prices at certain times of the year which is nice. If you are looking for an all inclusive trip I would definitely give them a call to see when they offer those packages. The food and drinks were also reasonably priced considering how incredible everything was. 

All in all, I highly recommend visiting Aruba. It is a beautiful island with tons to do and incredible food to eat. I simply fell in love with it. If you do visit I highly recommend staying at the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. We just enjoyed our stay there so much and couldn’t get over how beautiful it was and how friendly everyone was! If you may be thinking of going somewhere else in the Caribbean or Mexico region then I suggest looking at the Paradise by Marriott collection of resorts. I could not recommend them more! I also wanted to point out that Aruba is very HOT. It is really close to the equator making it the hottest island I have ever been to but it is also very windy which makes up for how hot it is. There is always a huge breeze going on so you really never feel that hot which is nice. I also felt very safe in Aruba and I cannot say that for all of the other tropical places that I have visited. I can definitely see my husband and I coming back to visit in a few years (maybe even with kids)! 😉

Make sure to check out all of the pictures below. It will really help to give you a glimpse inside the resort and the island. We really enjoyed our stay and hope you are able to stay there one day! If you have any other questions about the resort or the island please let me know and I will get back to you! 

XOXO, 

Katy 

All Pictures By: Deeana Kourtney Photography

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