Marriott's Aruba Surf Club

Nice hotel overall. Room was recently updated and very nice and clean. It had a washer and dryer which was super convenient. 2 bedroom had plenty of space for 6 adults. Location is great with a lot of shops/restaurants in walking distance. Pools were nice. The palapa renting is a pain in the rear though. Often times all were gone within a few minutes unless you want to sit in a spot with zero ocean views. Also, chair tagging at the pool is out of control. It is pretty much impossible to get a chair unless you are out there reserving your spot before 630am. The ocean area was busy. Boats are coming in every few minutes picking up people for different activities, so it makes the beautiful Aruba ocean pretty cloudy because of all the sand they kick up. Also, after walking out maybe 10', the ocean floor feels gross. There is like a 6" deep silt/muck layer at the bottom. That also smells terrible. Try to stand closer to the beach where the sand is more firm. I think I prefer the low rise area better due to the clear ocean and lack of boats coming in, making it feel more relaxing.

Very disappointed the customer service. My granddaughter had to wait about six hours for them to finally bring a pack and play and the drain in the bathtub didn’t work for her to take a bath. Then we ask them for a comforter for the pullout couch and they told us that even though they have them, they would not provide us one. Not a good job by Marriott. Usually love their customer service, but this one really is disappointing.

We just returned from our home away from home, beautiful Marriott Aruba Surf Club. We had the pleasure of meeting JD at the front desk. JD and the entire staff made sure all of our needs were met. We were assigned a unit in the newly renovated Lighthouse.
The unit and view of the pool was absolutely beautiful.
We are currently planning our next visit to the Surf Club.

Our check-in experience was fine, and we were very happy with our room. We booked the two bedroom suite, and it worked out perfectly for our family. Our 18 year old daughter had her own space because the second bedroom is actually an adjoining room connected by an interior door. This gave her a full size refrigerator, microwave, and plenty of privacy. The rooms were comfortable, updated, and well maintained. We had absolutely zero complaints about the rooms. Although, my husband says the beds were hard. I thought they were fine.

The pool area could definitely use some renovations. There was visible rust in several areas around the umbrellas and the tables are dirty looking, which was disappointing. Poolside service was virtually nonexistent, at least in the adult pool area and the food was just average. You can order using a QR code when they aren’t having “technical difficulties”. We chose to have dinner off the resort every night since so many great restaurants are within a 10 minute drive or less. There are a couple behind the hotel heading toward the beach. Aruba has a lot to offer, so it made sense for us to explore. Go to the California lighthouse around sunset. It’s beautiful!

One thing to be aware of is that housekeeping only services the rooms once per week. This wasn’t an issue for us, but it may be important for other guests to know before booking.

The beach was one great! The water was calm, beautiful, and perfect for swimming. If you rent a car, there is plenty of parking available, which made getting around very convenient.

The elevators in the Lighthouse section were frustratingly slow. The resort is currently replacing them, so only two elevators were operating during our stay. Since the elevators do not coordinate with each other, wait times were long and many guests were complaining about it. One night there was a line out the door to get in the elevators….

The lazy river requires guests to use floats between 10:00 and 6:30. Fortunately, there is a designated area where departing guests often leave behind floats they no longer need. The resort also provides air stations for inflating them. They sell them in the gift shop too. They were reasonably priced.

Be sure to bring sunscreen with you. We paid $75 for two bottles at the resort, which was NOT reasonable!!

One thing that surprised us was the lack of evening entertainment. If you’re looking for nightly shows, live music, or organized activities after dinner, you may be disappointed. They don’t offer much during the day either. This wasn’t a major issue for us since we spent every evenings off the resort, but it’s something prospective guests should know. Especially if you expect games or entertainment during the day or evening.

We decided to book spa treatments at another hotel because the reviews were better. We also did a UTV excursion and visited the lighthouse, both of which were a lot of fun. Neither activity was booked through the hotel.

Overall, we had a nice stay. The room, beach, and location were excellent. While there are areas that could use improvement, especially the pool area, housekeeping schedule, elevator situation, and lack of entertainment, we enjoyed our time in Aruba.

My husband and I arrived the first week of June 2026 in the evening. We inquired about restaurants available in the area for a quick meal that evening. The clerks at the counter referred us to either the convenience store at the hotel or to the business strip close by (never mentioning the restaurants available at the next door Marriotts). We were charged 10 US dollars for a gallon of water (more expensive than a gallon of gas at 8 dollars). We thought the convenience store was actually a rip off store but as it turned out everything was expensive in the end. The short walk to the small strip took us thru a poorly lit back street to more expensive food places where tips are almost requested on top of the 10% service tax. Taxis are also expensive, even for very short distances. The city bus and Super Food supermarket were the only 2 good values around. Needless to say we watched our purchases all week. Everything is expensive for what is offered so Aruba is highly over rated in our view while knowledgable and courteous desk clerks are noticeably absent at this hotel.

Terrible beach! I was so grossed out by the disgusting silty sand in the water. It was sticky and felt so weird, like mud. I would never go back to this hotel when there are so many nice beaches all over the world. If the Marriott Surf Club wants people to plunk down $45,000 for a time share, they need to start with cleaning up the muddy silt in the water.

As for service, nothing to compliment about. No upgrades as a Marriott Elite member, no breakfast. They did not clean the room every day. This is a time share and it is a lot more dated than the other Marriott hotels along the beach. The lazy river is their claim to fame, but it is very small and gets full of people who bump into you. If you are picturing a large lazy river like in Orlando, think again. You can go around it in 5 min.

I would not go back to the Marriott Surf Club. We also stayed at the Renaissance in Aruba and what a difference! At the Renaissance, we were upgraded to an ocean view room at the Ocean Suites, with complimentary breakfast. The best breakfast at a hotel is at the renaissance in Aruba. Also went to the Renaissance island with a ton of fish in the protected reef and flamingos too!

Beautiful & clean hotel. We had a villa for a family of 4 it was super spacious & comfortable. Front desk & most ground employees are very friendly. Plenty of food options, once we found the strip with all the restaurants & shops which is walking distance we were thrilled. We enjoyed our stay & cannot wait to come back.

My husband and I had an absolutely wonderful stay and can't say enough about the staff.The General Manager,Mario,Natasha,Jazmin, bellstaff and housekeeping were awesome!Their professonalism was matched by a warmth that made me feel like family.Unfortunately, my husband became ill and passed away on our Anniversary trip but the staff from the very first moment of the emergency responded with urgency and took care of me with every detail . Mario was a true blessing and guided me through this difficult time until my daughter and her husband arrived.I can't thank you all enough and my family and I will return some day and would highly recommend this hotel.

Love it. Except the hot tub supposed to close at 10 and blocked off by 9. No towels. On vacation and no bed by 10.

Aruba Surf Club is our favorite and best place. Associates treat us like family and are so friendly.
Also, we always feel safe.
The Management team is excellent- Joop, Jasmin and Ryan. Housekeeping Supervisor, Hilda. Security- Mario, Mavis, Cedric, Arleen, Novlet, Erik.
Grounds- Leonardo. Engineering - Mori, Berto.
Bellmen - Joseph, Shaun, Anthony, Eric, Vickson, Erikson. Exercise Room - Jesette.

The resort is great, but the room we had really was subpar. Shower leaked all over the bathroom floor and we notified the front desk the first day and the maintenance person that came up was nice and said they would call when they came back. Now on our last day, came up to the room and two maintenance workers were in our bathroom. Basically locked us out of our own room on our last night for over 5 hours. Ended up ruining our last night here, can’t take a shower to get ready for dinner to make our reservations. Now the manager is saying my wife is liar….. I would not recommend coming here….

Photo is my wife n myself waiting in the hallway for over 5 maintenance personnel in our bathroom with our floats!

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.