Marriott's Aruba Surf Club

Travelled to Marriott Aruba Surf club with family. Stayed in a 2 room suite. Property was nice. We enjoyed the pool and accommodations. Beach was not spectacular. No waves, a boat dock located in front of property and broken shells and coral scattered on beach. You have to travel 15 minutes south to Eagle Beach for pristine beach conditions. Biggest problem and chief complaint was that 5 days in a row we returned to our room and were nearly overcome by the odor of burnt marijuana entering the room through the bathroom vent. We contacted the hotel staff repeatedly and they did nothing to resolve the situation. The building operations manager., Jazmine, was particularly ineffective. Our clothes and belongings began to smell like marijuana. Nothing was offered as compensation. The matter will be taken up with the credit card company.

Aruba is a beautiful Island with amazing beaches, food and scenery. I would say the Marriott Surf Club is a very nice hotel but lacks on the Beautiful beach piece of what Aruba is supposed to be about. The water isn’t clear and the sandy floor you would expect only last for a few feet before it turns to mud and muck. Make sure you are floating in the water because standing feels more like bottom of a lake. Hotel rooms are great, amenities are good and service was also great.

Interested to know if and where construction is taking place at the resort. We will be there the first part of May 2026.

Excellent time at the Surf Club! Had an amazing room in the Lighthouse tower looking out at the Ocean. From the time we arrived to the time we left, the staff throughout the entire place was great! Great location and close to many awesome places. Everything from ATV’s to Snorkeling was fantastic. Can’t wait to come back!

As far as the service it is top-of-the-line. I will specifically mention. Liza B an employee at the Marriott was very helpful in booking my Hut . She walked me through the process and did a follow up with me and my family. She made sure that we were able to obtain our room in a timely manner and that our request were fulfilled. I would consider her to be a star employee. Most of the other staff was beyond excellent. The only issue with the resort is it is congested on the beach.

I am a Marriott Gold member and would NEVER return to this property. Don’t try to get pool chairs unless you get up at 5am to stalk them like psychos to put your “chair tags” on them. No restaurants or bars to relax in - crazy time share people. The front desk managers DO NoT care about you especially “BORIS” who talks down to you like you are ignorant idiot. Skip this property- thank me later.

Terrible Experience – Extremely Disappointing Stay

From the moment we checked in to the day we checked out, our experience at the Marriott Aruba was unacceptable.

Customer service was consistently poor. Staff were unhelpful, dismissive, and showed little concern for guests. In the middle of our vacation, we were forced to move rooms, which caused unnecessary stress and disruption to what was supposed to be a relaxing trip.

The situation became even worse after we checked out. We accidentally left behind our AirPods when we moved rooms. Using the tracking feature, we could clearly see that they remained at the hotel initially. However, shortly after we returned to the United States, the AirPods location changed to a residential area in Oranjestad—far from the resort.

This strongly suggests that someone took them, yet the hotel showed no urgency or willingness to investigate or assist us. The lack of accountability and honesty is extremely concerning.

Overall, the staff was inconsiderate, unprofessional, and unwilling to help resolve serious issues. This was one of the worst hotel experiences we’ve ever had.

We will never return to this property and would not recommend it to anyone.

The hotel is in a good location- we had great weather - but the overwhelming issue is that they have too many guests and they cannot support the overwhelming numbers especially in a dated facility . For Example:
1) Check in- Nobody gets their room when they arrive, most people haave to wait - a substantial time period - very annoying with young families having to struggle etc. They actually have an area in the lobby to come back to once your are notified your room is ready - because this clearly happens every day
2) Lounge chairs : there is a whole system with chair tags, and people having to get up at 6am and stay by their reserved chair till 7 and then be back at 9 -- ?? tooo much- jsut for a poolside chair !! and a beachside palapa - costs extra- lots extra!
3) HOusekeeping happens once every 4 days - and they dont change the sheets!
4) you have to wear a wristband because you cannot use the facilities of the adjacent Marriot properties- as there is jsut an overwhelming overcrowding
5) the room walls are pretty thin- and there are lots of kids in adjacent rooms
6) the staff try - hard, but they are handicpped by the facilites aand the overcrowding

The location is good. On Palm beach. The largest hotel on the island with close to 900 rooms. Very busy and loud with families. Hard to get a spot on the beach so swimming in the pool was the only option. There is a lazy river that is always busy. Swim tubes always bumping into each other. Not relaxing.

We have been deed owners at the Marriott Surf Club for 18 years. WE own
Surf and Ocean club units. We are Presidential and Titanium level members through out Marriott, The new Palapa system is a disaster as you can't get a Palapa at 530 PMand waste half a day waiting to get into the system. and 700 AM has not been that great either. The visuals for the palapa numbers can't be seen and to request one you need to be on super speed or they are gone. So far this has decreased my love for Marriott and the new system. When I approached the front desk they gave me the politically correct answer but was of no help. Management. please listen to your loyal and long term guests, that this system is a failure and correct it. Technology is not always the best answer, waiting on the lines in the mornings were great social events and friendship makers. HELP

The customer service experience at this property was outstanding. I’d like to give a shout out to Dean, who professionally and efficiently got us checked in and into our room in no time.

As I sit here in Aruba on day four, Jan 2026 I decided to check the reviews again hoping to find the truth. Maybe I just missed it before I booked. Everything I've see and have ever heard are great things about Aruba. This is my truth and my experience in my Aruba vacation. I'm so sadly disappointed!! I'm staying at the Surf club and booked an ocean front room with a view of beach. Room is great. View is not what I expected since there's a boat dock and boats everywhere and no ocean waves, but the room does have a few of the ocean so it is what they said it would be If your expectation like mine is to sit on the beach and listen to the sound of the ocean, then U2 will be sadly disappointed. The beach is jampacked with fixed location umbrellas, and Palapas . It's nearly impossible to get a spot where you can see water even the second row of the beach is obstructed by so many chairs all booked and reserved for days and weeks, even a year in advance. If you're lucky enough to schedule do expect to pay for it at a minimum 60 bucks a day plus tips. you'll have no Ocean Sounds as there are no waves. But OMG are there boats, lots and lots of boats. There's a dock we're boats come in and out of right next to the swimming area. this is also where the wave riders and all kinds of water sports load passengers in and out. The smell of gas is the only ocean smell you're going to get. The other thing I wasn't prepared for the smell of cigars everywhere when you're eating when you're trying to rest, they sell cigars everywhere and people are smoking them. The Staff here have been pleasant for most part. But they are super strict about towels. The towels have trackers on them and you're limited in both bath and beach towels, this is frustrating for someone who likes a fresh towel with each shower. One of the other reasons I booked here was because they have a lazy river. Well, you have to bring your own floats and the river as they call it is one circle that takes less than two minutes to complete not impressive at all. They're simply have over sold this resort, there's not enough beach there's not enough pool chairs and there's not enough elevator space. I heard one vacation or say this morning he had to wait through eight elevators coming and going until he could fit in one to get out to the lobby. I'll be much more careful next time I book a beach vacation.

WE stayed for two weeks at the Surf Club and had a very relaxing and fun time. The first week we stayed in the one bedroom unit which is very comfortable and has a well stocked kitchen. The living room area was nice to hang out and relax. The bedroom is large with a decent size bathroom. The only problem we had is with the carpet in the bedroom which blocks opening the closet. It creates a tripping hazard when you open the closet door.
The second week we stayed in the studio which is small and has limited storage for clothes. The sink are is tiny and the dishes are stored in the cabinet below. We didn't like the small table and two backless hassocks to sit on to eat on.
The pool area can get crowded but the lush tropical landscaping makes it very relaxing. We will definitely come back to the Surf Club again.

Beware Lighthouse Tower is still under construction and its effects stretch beyond the building. As for the building itself, one elevator was closed our entire trip. This said constant backlog at the elevators and long wait times. Many people opted for the stairs. The construction is currently on the 3rd and 2nd floor but that is not accurate. We stayed on floor 4. Jackhammering was above us and below us. We understand that the tower would be under construction but it is inexcusable that they assign rooms so close to the construction. Construction started every day at 8am until 5pm. The noise of construction can be heard at the pool. They gave us a unit on the 4 th floor that had malfunctioning air conditioning that took 3 days to resolve. Our unit had water leaking through the lights from floor 5. The unit are full of VOCs fresh paint and all new finishing stab if you are sensitive to that, you will not be well. Our unit while mostly completed, wasn’t complete. Fixtures were missing. Sticker Labels still on the new locks, unfinished cut wood trim etc. The new appliances are all gassing off. When we toasted a bagel the smell from the toaster was so strong. Same with the oven. Be warned lighthouse tower will not be done by first week of December. Updates are hard to find. Here is your update!

My husband and I have been coming to the surf club since 2006. We recently were at Moomba to watch a football game and my husband had a medical emergency requiring an ambulance and hospital visit. The staff from Marriott heard that an ambulance had been called for and rushed over to Moomba to see if the emergency was one of their guests. Jose and the team were outstanding and Jose came and picked us up after my husband was discharged from the hospital. The compassion and kindness shown to us was incredible. The surf club really is one big family and we love it here. Thank you does not seem to be enough. We will be back soon Marriott to visit and will look forward to personally thanking your entire team.

My trip to the Marriotts Aruba Surf Club to celebrate our anniversary didn't start out the way we planned. The room I reserved from their website looked nothing like the room I was assigned. You had to lean over the balcony to see the ocean, the bed was not a queen, the room had a 1980's decor, unlike the website photos. I called the front desk thinking there had to be a mistake. I was informed "you could see the ocean if you were on a higher floor". With that said, we had to bring our luggage to another building in the hot sun after long day of traveling only to be given the same type of room (old looking, no queen bed) with a partial ocean view. Since we were only staying for a few days and we didn't want to waste any more time, we decided to make the best of this situation.
On the bright side, the grounds were well maintained, no complaints about the beach and pool, and the staff was very friendly and accommodating. There was a good selection of places to dine (there are 3 Marriott hotels together) and the food was enjoyable and reasonably priced. We had the opportunity to have a meal at the Sunset Grille located at the Hilton Hotel 5 minutes from the Marriott. The meal and the service was excellent and atmosphere was wonderful. We didn't have time to check out the rest of the Hilton, but from what we were able to see. the place is first class and worth looking into. The area around the hotel was like a mini–Times Square in New York.
Another issue we experienced during our stay was terrible sewer type odor. In fairness to Marriott, we were informed that there would be ongoing construction and I don't if the two are related, but my threshold for tolerating bad smells was put to the test one day while walking from the beach to the restroom. The odor was also noticeable on occasion walking past the pool towards the beach.
I made effort to communicate some of our concerns when we arrived home, most importantly that we didn't receive the accommodations we paid for. I received a reply with a case number with the promise my concerns would be looked into within 5 days. After 2 weeks and no response, I attempted again to make contact and received a reply from Nicole V. stating Marriotts Case Resolution Team will follow-up. This was November 4th.
I'm surprised Marriott's customer service team couldn't take the time to respond Bonvoy Gold Elite member who has been loyal customer for many years.


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Be sure to pack your earplugs. Marriott is conducting the oh so needed updates to their hotel. I'm sure it will be beautiful when it's complete but if you're traveling anytime soon be prepared for the constant and ear piercing loudness of jackhammers all day. Every day. They are jackhammering numerous floor with guest staying in the rooms next door and beneath them.

Huge 2 bedroom Villa with full kitchen.
We enjoyed the room, clean and spacious.
Staff is helpful and attentive
Check in desk was quick and easy and check out was too.
quick cab ride from the airport
Loved it
You can join in the fun or find a quiet spot to relax it has everything
Quality, service , cleanliness, surrounded by good people, alot of couples and some families, but not alot of screaming kids like a disney trip
it is all spotless and well kept
busy but roomy never felt crammed in
HIghly reccomended
Poolside andor beach service was very attentive
Every day happy hour 2 for 1 drinks
no they had everything that we needed

What was EXCELLENT: the staff (especially Joseph), the food/drinks, the civil and fair online Palapa rental system, the onsite Marketplace (very fair prices), the beach and the cleanliness of the surroundings. In addition, the island of Aruba is simply beautiful and relaxing, thank goodness!
What caused this rating: We were placed in a two bedroom villa in the Lighthouse Tower. This particular tower is under construction and the noise and chaos is understood and dealt with by going to the beach and removing oneself from the noise. However, this is not entirely about the noise. Our guests were placed in a room with a construction elevator moving up and down past their room beginning at 7:50am-8:00am everyday. If they wanted to rest and sleep past 8:00am they could not. One day there was a construction worker standing on the railing side of their balcony. At times this was an invasion of privacy. They were unable to use their balcony even when the elevator stopped around 5:30pm because of the stench of garbage. This trip was a gift to our guests for their recent retirement and as a couple having elderly parents in a nursing facility and recently losing their father - a vacation was desperately needed. I went to the front desk and was told a manager would contact me. A manager never contacted me. This situation was an embarrassment and only by the grace of our dearest friends and the beauty of the island was the trip not a complete fail. I can only imagine that renovation of this scale must be a logistical and managerial nightmare, however, Marriott brand DO BETTER. If you check into the Aruba Surf Club in the coming months ask if you are being placed in a room on the Oceanside ending in 02 because you will have a construction elevator going past your room beginning at 8:00am. I need to also say that on check out day a manager did speak with me and gave some credit to the bill and although appreciated, it was too little too late.

Louis the fitness instructor was the highlight of our visit. He did water aerobics in the morning and pool Zumba in the afternoon. He was excellent. So much fun, great attitude, encouraging and inspiring. And very nice. He was just really great.