Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club

Staff on both sides are super supportive and caring. Ocean club studio rooms are bigger compared to surf club HOWEVER surf club has towel service machines around the entire property which is a massive plus for families and anyone needing it more than once. Ocean club towel hut staff are super stingy with their towels and say things like “we don’t exchange towels after 3pm” which sucks for families. Another important plus in the surf club beyond the Lazy River is the ice and water machines that are located IN THE HOTEL instead of outside the building like Surf Club. Overall a great experience at ocean club however our family prefers Surf Club for future visits. Important credit to amazing staff: Shanelle, Vianca, Dwight helped make the crazy long wait for the room worth it by helping us get an ocean view for our stay. Jeanelly, she was so nice to our kids throughout the holiday during various hours! Her hospitality and compassionate approach to our kids is something we won’t forget. My five year old son would look for her every day to chat and catch up! It was amazing to see someone so busy take the time to connect with guests.

I’d like to preface this review by saying that I’ve been staying at the Marriott Ocean Club for over 20 years. I absolutely love the location, the spacious rooms, the relaxed atmosphere, and the consistently friendly and helpful staff—especially those on the operations and activities teams. However, my most recent stay was deeply disappointing, which is why I’m leaving a two-star review. We were aware before our arrival that the resort was undergoing renovations. Over the past several years, the property has been working on much-needed upgrades, and we understand that progress takes time. In the most recent newsletter, the resort briefly mentioned structural renovations, but offered little detail about how these might impact in-unit experiences. Upon check-in, we were informed that the two-bedroom unit we had been assigned was directly affected by exterior renovation work. Specifically, both balconies would be unusable from a Saturday checkin until the following Wednesday morning—this was a major disappointment for my family, as we regularly enjoy meals and downtime on the balcony. We were told that work would be completed by Tuesday Afternoon and the furniture would be returned Wednesday morning, making the space usable again. As a goodwill gesture, we were offered a beach palapa in the 4th, 5th, or 6th row for the impacted days—a roughly $30/day value. When we arrived at the room, there was a fresh coat of paint on the balcony floor. Over the next several days, however, we saw little additional work being done aside from some window cleaning. Concerned about delays, I checked in with the front desk multiple times. Each time, I was reassured that the balcony would be ready Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning at the latest. But Wednesday came and went—our unit remained the only one in our column without balcony furniture. I followed up again and was told it would be resolved that day. Thursday morning arrived and still nothing. With less than two days left in our stay, I returned to the front desk to request additional compensation—again, not a refund, but simply another palapa to make up for the ongoing inconvenience. While the first two staff members I spoke to were helpful and understanding, the property manager was abrupt and dismissive. She claimed it was out of the resort’s hands because the contractors were behind schedule, and that this wasn’t a "full-service hotel." I explained that their own team had consistently told us the issue would be resolved on time, and we were now the only unit still affected, even though work had moved on elsewhere. Yet, there was zero accountability on her end. Interestingly, after I left the resort for a few hours that day, I returned to find the furniture magically back and the balcony accessible—suggesting it could have been resolved sooner. It was also obvious that they had simply overlooked our unit the day before but had no interest in owning it. I’ve worked in the hospitality industry for many years, including at Marriott properties, and this is not the level of service the brand is known for. I rarely write reviews, but this experience left me genuinely frustrated. When a property is aware of a major disruption to a guest’s stay, they must communicate honestly and clearly, and follow through on their commitments. And if circumstances change, it’s their responsibility to make it right. I understand renovation fatigue from guests may have worn the team down, but that shouldn’t have influenced how our individual situation was handled.

It was beautiful clean, and the people are very friendly!

This is a beautiful resort. That being said, if you go to Aruba for the water, I would not stay here at this resort. We have stayed at various other resorts on this same beach. This water in front of this resort was very disappointing. The Marriot does not clean up or rake any seaweed. Walking in the water, all you feel is various seaweed all over your feet and ankles. The boats are right next to this resort and the boat traffic stirs everything up. When my husband spoke to a Marriot owner, he told us that the resort used to clear all of the seaweed out and then they stopped. Therefore, the water is not crystal clear blue as it is right next to our resort. We walked to the resorts on both sides of us and landed up using their beach since it was clear and clean. However, if you go for the pool, you will have an amazing stay. Our unit was lovely and clean. However, the resort does need to rip out the green carpeting in the bedroom.

Our premier vacation experience planner, Ludwig Croes, was simply the most friendly and helpful person during our entire week in Aruba. He remembered our names and had an infectious smile and warm personality. He booked all our dinner reservations and even told everyone it was our 40th Anniversary so each restaurant did something special for us. Claudia Simmons, Master Sales Executive with the Marriott Aruba Vacation Club did our presentation and she was fabulous as well! Knowledgeable, warm, caring and not pushy. We loved her presentation!

I thought the property was beautiful but was very disappointed that you have to pay to use chairs and cabana. I feel for what we paid for the week this was a bit too much added cost.

My father is a timeshare owner. I have been to many different timeshare properties and stayed in multiple two bedroom villas. I have never been more disappointed in a resort as this one here. Timeshare owner one of the perks of having a villa is washer and dryer… well no washer and dryer in unit. On our floor…about 80 rooms and only 4 washers and dryers! Such an inconvenience when you pay so much money. Went to exchange our pool towels at 5pm and were told we can’t exchange after 3pm.. insane, towel hut still open just wouldn’t accommodate us. Kids can’t jump into the pool… pool is as deep as 5’ and no jumping… I get the no running but not the jumping. Also no balls in the pool.. yup you heard correctly no balls… so no football, volleyball etc… how do you entertain 3 boys? Want to try a gelato flavor? Nope sorry can’t do that either, you pick a flavor and have to buy without a sample for a child. To top it all off the staff is not friendly at all… no one says hello… just a terrible atmosphere… I will not be returning here and will continue to let people know our experience. Extremely disappointed!!!!!

Had a great week at Ocean Club for our honeymoon. Clean, safe, lots of dining options, great night life as well. Fun new bars. Will be back

Good

This was the best Vacation ever, the people were friendly. The property was beautiful. The smell of the ocean was priceless