voco Surfside Aruba — Hotel in Oranjestad (city)

Randomly decided to come to Aruba for 2 nights and chose this hotel because:

1. it was a last minute trip and we really just wanted a place to sleep / shower
2. we didn’t want a resort / all inclusive because we knew we wouldn’t be spending a lot of time on-site.

Never again will i return here for several reasons:

1. We booked through our credit card company which means if 2 flights are booked, we could only add 2 guests to the reservation for the hotel/room. However, i made sure to choose the “superior room” which has an occupancy of 2-4 since our friend was also coming but booked her flight separately. Upon arrival at the hotel, i was told since the reservation is for 2, we need to pay $60 extra for the third person. The room was not changed from 1 King to 2 beds since there were “none available”. They set up a sofa bed instead which was already included in the Superior room. Yes, I should have contacted the hotel to let them know the reservation would be for 3 instead of 2 so i didn’t really make a big deal of this but still felt this was unfair since the room remained THE SAME. I asked why is there a charge if the room is the same. The front desk lady said “for the extra towel, linens and making up the sofa bed”. I told them I’d be happy to make up the bed myself but of course it didn’t matter because this is a SCAM to nickel & dime! Also, what’s the point of a $300 deposit? For what? That’s excessive. I don’t want your sandpaper linens/towels.

2. Airplanes during the day - club noises/LOUD music and car sounds at night. Another reason I literally spent a total of 6hrs a day here (MAINLY to sleep and shower).

3. Disrespectful/ Unprofessional staff: I’m 24 weeks pregnant and have gestational diabetes. For this reason, my diet is EXTREMELY strict. Another reason we chose a hotel not a resort/all inclusive. I couldn’t eat anything at the hotel. We paid for breakfast but due to the limited options, all i had was a boiled egg. For lunch, a family friend who lives in Aruba let me know that i can get food at a local restaurant about 5 mins away. So i got take out and brought it back to the hotel. I was never told i couldn’t eat this near the pool area nor that outside food isn’t allowed prior to this. One of the employees at the bar told me mid- meal i couldn’t eat it there and needed to buy food from the hotel. He said the cameras already saw me and he could get in trouble for not telling me this. I explained i didn’t know and further explained that i have dietary restrictions the hotel couldn’t accommodate. He said well you can eat it in your room. At that point, i no longer had an appetite. I told him it’s fine, I’ll throw it away and he said yes, go ahead and let me use the trash can behind the bar. Soo kind to let a pregnant woman throw away a decent meal! Anyone with a rough pregnancy should understand how difficult it is to eat AND actually keep the food down. This isn’t an all inclusive resort, why is outside food not allowed? I’m not a child, i don’t care for burgers and fries/tasteless pasta. That’s not a meal. I am not American, i enjoy flavor and authentic meals even with a strict diet.

4. the other 2 people in my party said the margaritas tasted like water with lemon — again, why would i want to PAY to eat or drink anything here?

5. The room from hell: the sheets are extremely itchy and rough on the skin. The pillows are flat. 2 of the drawers on the dressers kept opening (did not close at all). The light in the bathroom went dim the second night here. The lock on the door straight up came out into my hand but staff said it was normal .. (room209)

6. what’s the point of a hot tub if it’s almost the same temperature as the pool?

7. I can’t say “you get what you pay for” mainly because … there were/are other hotels and airbnbs within the same price range or lower.

2 stars for 2 reasons:

1. free parking
2. location (equal distance to either side of...

LOCATION: • Extremely close to the airport — you could easily walk the distance. • Taxis only accept cash (fixed rate of $21). • 25-minute walk to downtown, safe to walk alone during the day and night, even as a solo woman. • Besides a few bars, there’s nothing immediate around the hotel for use or necessities. • Taxi to the cruise port (inside the port) costs $25, cash only.

GENERAL: • No carpet on the floors — just tiles — meaning they get very dirty with dust, sand, and humidity very quickly. • Towels are outdated, but clean. Decent prices for the food and drinks - I recommend

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✅ PROS: • Beautiful outdoor common areas. • Pleasant restaurant with very tasty food and a good variety of drinks. • Comfortable bed. • Pool area is very pleasant, with the water temperature being just perfect.

A huge thanks to the reservation team and receptionists very pleasant and accommodating !! Great staff overall.

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❌ CONS: • There is no elevator, so carrying luggage up or down two flights of stairs (if staying on an upper floor) is highly inconvenient. • Internet connection in the room is extremely poor — at best two bars, often just one. • A “convenience store” is heavily advertised on the front of the hotel, listed as open daily from 8 AM to 8 PM. However, during the weekend I was there was a holiday - it was closed entirely. If the hotel promotes this store so prominently, they should either manage it properly or remove the huge advertisement from The front of the hotel. • The noise level is horrendous. Across the street is a large parking lot and a few bars — but the problem isn’t music. It’s the locals who rev their motorbikes and tuned cars at maximum volume for show. This continues from around 7–8 PM until 1 AM. It was genuinely the worst noise experience I’ve had at any hotel. • The daily lunch advertised in the restaurant menu is only available Monday to Friday — not on weekends — I was told only after trying to order Sunday noon. • The AC unit in the room has a very strong dusty smell, indicating it needs serious cleaning. And was either freezing or no air at all. • Pool rules are not enforced at all by the hotel staff. One family with a single child managed to disrupt the entire pool area: cannonballing into the water, screaming nonstop, jumping into the hot tub, spitting into the pool, and throwing fruit (grapes) around. While this behavior stems from a clear lack of parenting, it is also the hotel’s responsibility to ensure basic pool etiquette is maintained. Most other children were polite and respectful — this situation should have been addressed immediately.

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OVERALL: The hotel has some beautiful elements and could be a relaxing stay — but the extreme noise, poor maintenance on basics like the AC and internet, and the lack of enforcement on facilities seriously diminish the experience. Management needs to step up attention to detail if they want to live up to the potential the...

Dear Manager, ( Talk of The Town Aruba) I just spoke with your front desk employee, Xianteh and explained to her that I mistakenly made a reservation at your hotel for the wrong dates (2/22-2/23) through Expedia because we were vacationing in Aruba last week and our flight got delayed by 1 day. We needed a hotel for Saturday, 2/8 , but I plugged in 2/22-2/28 on my cell phone by mistake. I did not realize the dates were wrong until I got my confirmation from Expedia. I quickly canceled that reservation and re-booked for Saturday, 2/8 and we stayed that night. I notified Expedia and asked if they would refund the $350 for the 2/22 reservation. They replied and said that your hotel needs to approve the cancellation and notify Expedia for them to refund me. Your front desk associate told me that only a manger can do that for me so I'm asking for your help with this. I truly appreciate your assistance and hope to hear from you soon. Outcome: I made several attempts requesting to cancel the 2/22 ( 2 weeks away) reservation to no avail. First it was in person on 2/8 when we checked in that night and paid $350.. Additionally, I requested cancelation on line with Expedia and via phone and email with the hotel when I arrived home from Aruba on 2/9. They Hotel Manager never responded to the email above. 3 days I've been working on this and was just notified today by Expedia that Talk of The Town hotel denied my request for the 2/22 cancellation and will NOT refund my money. This is horrible customer service and outright greed. Essentially we paid them almost $800 for a 1 night stay at a (2 star hotel in my honest opinion). And I would bet there is a 99.9% chance they will book that room on 2/22 and collect an...