Vacation Rentals by Owner

Awesome

Guest: Dave (New York)
Date of Stay: 01/14/12 Review Submitted: 02/27/12

This was our third straight year staying at this great house and we are already planning for next year. We stayed in hotels previously and the house rental option is way better. We had both friends + family to the house over our 3 week stay and it worked great for all of us. Lots of options - for kids, couples, parents, etc...outdoor dining and a nice view of Palm Beach. This is your own private place with everything you need for a great vacation. It is in a great location close to the beaches and great restaurants. Javier was there for any questions and needs we had during our stay. The pool was always clean and the yard in beautiful shape....hot tub, deck, volleyball court - what more do you need? Oh yah, and perfect weather too!! I would definitely recommend Aruba and this house to anyone.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

SIMON FAMILY VACATION JAN. 6 -14 2012 ( 11 of us ) MISSOURI RESIDENTS

Guest: Len (Missouri)
Date of Stay: 01/06/12 Review Submitted: 01/19/12

We just returned home from a wonderful week with our family at this beautiful villa in Aruba. There were eleven of us - eight adults and 3 children - one being only 4 months old. The bedroom arrangements were excellant with private bathrooms in each. The kitchen was very well equiped with a micro wave, and a convection oven along with the regular cooking range, two refrigeraters with freezers were available, and many pots, pans, dishes, etc. There were several gathering conversation areas in the house and in the outdoors. There was also cooking area in the outdors. The grounds were all beautiful, well maintained, and enjoyed as well as indoors. This location was easlity accessable to shopping and all the wonderful beaches.Over alll is was very much enjoyed by all members of our family, was hard to leave and would be wonderful if we could do this again some day. An ultimate vacation we will always remember.The owners are very congenial and co-operative! Highly recommended - especially for familys!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, romantic getaway.

great time in Aruba!!

Guest: karen (baltimore)
Date of Stay: 12/04/11 Review Submitted: 01/15/12

great home with beautiful outside spaces, pool, hot tub, gazebos and volleyball court. We stayed for one month and had a wonderful time. Javier is the caretaker for the property and he is awesome! With any rental properties there are sometimes minor issues, but the owner and Javier were on top of any problem and made our stay delightful. We loved the location because it was central, with lots of nearby beaches, shopping and restaurants. The house has a great floor plan with large living room separating the master suite and one bedroom from the other bedrooms. Worked great for our friends and family because everyone had their privacy. we will definitely come back to this home again!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.

Dissappointed in Aruba

Guest: KimmyM (America)
Date of Stay: 11/19/11 Review Submitted: 11/29/11

From the start the house was dissappointing. The map had landmarks that no longer exist so finding the house was difficult. One of the ac's were out in one of the bedrooms, it took the owner 3 days to get it fixed. The heat was almost unbareable, we opened all the windows to get a breeze, but all we got was eaten by mosquitos. Some of the windows have screens, but none of the doors have screens so lizards came in and out and a bird flew in and crapped all over the dining room table. The family room is full of mosquitos..You sit on the sofa and they swarm around you and bite. The owners two cats tried to come in and out and we found out they bite and are covered in fleas. The kitchen is not gourmet....nasty old pots and pans, NO spices in the spice rack. Not even salt and pepper. Freezer didn't work, ice maker didn't work, the counter ice maker he claimed to have was stolen, he had an old ice chest on the porch we had to fill with purchased ice bags daily, light and fan over cooktop do not work. No iPod docks or clock radios anywhere in the house as described. The beach chairs were no where to be found, the caretaker told us to take the chairs from around the pool (they are not travel chairs) when we asked the owner about them he instructed the caretaker to purchase 3 chairs for a house that sleeps 10 guests??. The grill is rotting and falling apart. There was no wifi, the care taker asked my brother in law to fix it...he did. The crib on request is a lie. One of the toilets plugged up every day and had to be fixed. We asked the owner about all the amenaties that he claimed to have that were not available....He responded with "Over the years things have been stolen or broken and he is not going to replace or fix them. He just doesn't have time to update the websites." He went on to tell us what a good value we were getting for our money. Finally on the third day he sent someone to fix the ac in the bedroom. He even had the caretaker turn on the ac in the family room that he first claimed was broken, provided we closed all the doors and windows. We did but were still eaten by mosquitos for the rest of our stay. The last straw was when Grandma was looking for something for the kids to watch on tv and accidentaly turned on the hardcore porn channel that was not locked out in the family room. Grandma and the kids were very upset. We will not return to this house. The owner is difficult.

Owner response:I have to say that this is only the second group of unsatisfied guests in the 6 years I have rented our Aruba home. We live approx 90 days/ yr there and take pride in its great condition and our guests enjoyment of the home. We welcome feedback of all types, but only ask that is the truth. The VRBO map pin is right on top of Villa Tropical. Most guests choose to be picked up at the a/p but we have another printable map if guests need it. The air conditioner mentioned was fixed that same day. We have a variety of techs available 7 day/ wk to fix what is needed. The freezer was found to be filled so full of food that the door couldn’t close and seal properly causing the compressor to be strained. A brand new fridge was purchased for these guests and the motor of the orig repaired. Now there are two refri’s for guests to use. Aruba is located in the tropics and there are some lizards. We do have two garden cats that eat lizards b/c the lizards eat the flowers. The cats won't even come around unless you feed them as I heard these guests did daily. I have never heard them to be aggressive. Mosquitos do come out when it rains a lot and there is no wind. The kitchen was completely renovated last year. Many of the pots were purchased at this time as well. I have just purchased another set of pots to use on the outside grills we have under each gazebo. The new Bosch fridge has an icemaker built in. There is an ipod cable at each of the entertainment centers to connect to. All Direct TV chanls can be password locked and the code is given to guests upon their arrival. There have always been three beach chairs at the house and now there are 6. We also have beach towels, a thermos to take to the beach, as well as an umbrella. There is wifi at the house but when there are storms like Nov’s the signal can be spotty or lost. All of the toilets are in new condition. The toilet mentioned in this review was found to have had a small brush flushed down it, likely by one of the kids of the group that wrote this review. We take great pride in our home and it shows. The house recently appraised at $1.6M USD before the remodel. I have many guests that come back every year. The photos and video on vrbo as well as my web page are an accurate and current depiction of the state of the home. I welcome anyone to call me personally regarding anything you want to know about this home or what was written in this review. Thank you for your time in reading this response

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AWESOME Villa!!!!!!

Guest: Keisha (Louisiana)
Date of Stay: 06/22/11 Review Submitted: 07/03/11

This hilltop villa was exactly as advertised. The property is exceptionally and immaculately maintained. The grounds are lush and well manicured. The groundskeeper/butler (Javier) was a superlative extra!! The house comfortably accommodated 10 adults, but could have slept a couple more. The beds were very comfy and the air-conditioned bedrooms made night-time rest all the more enjoyable. The pool is beautiful and the jacuzzi another bonus! We loved the comfortable feel and luxurious look of the property. The property easily compares to some of the higher end resorts but offers the comfort and coziness of home. The kitchen was well stocked with modern appliances and most items needed for great entertaining. There were tvs in all of the bedrooms except one. Full laundry room allowed us to go home with clean laundry that we could simply unpack and put away. Eagle and Palm beaches are very close---within walking distance. We enjoyed a night of partying at Señor Frogs in the nearby high-rise area. Drove ~20 minutes to the other side of the island to enjoy Baby Beach. This property is close to the California Lighthouse and a short drive to The Natural Bridge. I would definitely recommend this property. Susan was very patient and extremely helpful while working with our group during the planning phase of our trip. She responded promptly to our calls and emails and was always very cordial. Enjoy ARUBA!!! We definitely did!!!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Amazing Tropical Villa

Guest: Terri and Larry (Elizabeth, PA)
Date of Stay: 06/12/10 Review Submitted: 06/25/10

We stayed at this tropical villa June 2010 and enjoyed all of the amenities. Our family of 8 found this villa to be very accomodating in many ways. It is much nicer than the photos and video online can capture. It is just an amazing place to stay. The inside of the villa is very comfortable and attractively decorated. It is also very spacious. The outside is just a tropical paradise. It is the highlight of the villa. We highly recommend this villa to others.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children.

Guest: Tom & Christy Nixon (Colorado Springs, CO)
Date of Stay: 08/05/08 Review Submitted: 08/05/08

Your place in Aruba is wonderful. Anyone considering staying here should know that it is clean, well stocked and beautiful. We all enjoyed the lush landscaping, feeding the turtles (big hit)relaxing and BBQ for dinner. We also found it easy to navigate the roads and find beach parking. Everyone we met was friendly and helpful. Thank you so much for sharing your home away from home with us, we truly felt spoiled!

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Guest: kate pallies (-)
Date of Stay: 12/16/07 Review Submitted: 12/16/07

Lovely home. Very helpful people. Truly one happy island.

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Guest: Joe Chanlder (Anchorage, Alaska)
Date of Stay: 05/09/07 Review Submitted: 05/09/07

Villa Tropical is a fabulous place to stay whether with a family or two or just adults. The villa is very clean, neat, and relaxing. It is located on top of one of the few hills in Aruba, so the views of the ocean, sunset and city lights are magnificent, especially while in the hot tub sipping your favorite island delight. The grounds are lush and tropical. The pool is fun for everyone, and provides the perfect environment for your personal massage. The pool’s rock waterfall emits soothing sounds while you can choose any number of music choices to be played on the outdoor speakers. The house is centrally located and is 5 to 10 minutes away from any place you would want to go: beaches, casinos, restaurants, shopping, windsurfing, kite surfing or whatever. We went with another family and had a fantastic time.

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Guest: Tyra Chandler (Anchorage, Alaska)
Date of Stay: 04/24/07 Review Submitted: 04/23/07

This villa is truly a tropical island oasis. The home is a great vacation spot for both adults and families. The kids love the pool for swimming and splashing around, while adults can also enjoy the tranquility of the waterfall trickling over rocks into the pool and outdoor music--especially while you are getting your personal soothing massage and sipping Rafael's special homemade limeade. The outside palapa is fabulous for evening meals, most notably when prepared by Rafael--exquisite dinners with an incredible marriages of flavors--well worth the money and better than most of the finest dining establishments on the island. And don't forget to use the hottub to relax and take in the incredible view after a hard day of playing. This place is in a great location with easy access to everything from beaches, to fishing, restaurants, dancing, casinos, go carts, ATVs, golf (minature golf too) and of course shopping.

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Guest: Tony Giannuzzi (New York, NY)
Date of Stay: 03/07/07 Review Submitted: 03/07/07

A stunningly beautiful home with fantastic ammenities. Highlights include a natural rock pool with waterfall, canopy covered rear deck, hot tub, and beautiful views of the island. By far one of the premier homes on the island. An ideal retreat for your vacation!!

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Guest: Andy Bauer (Farmington, CT)
Date of Stay: 03/05/07 Review Submitted: 03/05/07

I had the opportunity to stay here from December 26 through January 3rd, 2007. The house is spectacular! The location is convenient to the hotels, the beach, and downtown. The views are incredible from both the front and rear of the house, as we got to see the New Year's fireworks surrounding the island... definitely an awesomely memorable experience! We were able to rent ATV's close by, and the beach is only 5 minutes away. Rafael is an attentive housekeeper as he makes sure to keep the house clean throughout your stay. If you get a chance to stay here, do yourself a favor and take advantage of the poolside massage. It is an experience you will never forget! -Andy Bauer

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Guest: J Lindsay (-)
Date of Stay: 03/05/07 Review Submitted: 03/04/07

This location is a true oasis. Located on a slight hill the constant breeze kept us cooler than normal...the house is set-up so the breeze flows through but it has air-conditionaing as well. The entire place has a great vibe with its lagoon type pool, huge outdoor dining palapa, and hottub. Rafael is a great host as well. Enjoy....we did!

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