Crystal Beach Villa, Aruba Malmok-Arashi :on the Beach

• Great Location!

  Great Location!

  • Guest rumchella (Kansas City)
  • Date of stay 01/01/10
  • Review Submitted 01/12/10
  The crystal beach villa is a spacious place that would be well suited for a family or several couples with kids. There is a lot of room to spread out yet you still feel like you have your own privacy. The kitchen is large and ideal for making large meals in and gathering around the table which seats 8 or eating out on the patio. The patio is wonderful and fully equipped with a variety of seating and BBQ grill. There is plenty of food stores in Aruba in fact there's one right after another. The prices are fair considering it's an island. If you plan to stay at the Crystal Beach Villa you will need a car rental. The house is in a High End residential neighborhood not a commercial area with resorts and stores. We used the car rental that Viola recommended the price was good and below most other rental places. The car ran good but was not too spiffy to look at. Upon arrival it was pointed out by the owner Viola, in the owners manual to not use the jacuzzi tubs that are provided in two of the bathrooms because the price of water is very expensive in Aruba. This might be a let down to anyone that likes to soak in a jacuzzi tub. It was also written that tenants that use excessive air conditioning and other utilities will be charged extra. These instructions may be perceived as frugal and different from the care free less controlling ways of let's say a resort or hotel. I chalked it up to part of the eccentricities of renting a space out of someone's home verses a commercial space. We made sure to turn the AC off when we were gone during the day. The location is ideal because it is right across the street from one of the best beaches in Aruba. This however is not a secret because tour busses and boats frequent this beach on a daily basis. The snorkeling is wonderful and there really is room for everybody out there. Water slippers is advisable, there are rocks and little stickers that get into your feet. All things considered you win back what you have lost in petty inconveniences. Why- because of the non commercial location right there by the best beach and the roomy clean appointed spaces of the villa and lastly and perhaps the best is the peaceful patio where one can relax, break bread, have a drink with friends and watch the sun set into the ocean.

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

  Owner response: Thank you for the review, I would like the guests know, we are not offering in our listing a jacuzzi. Also we are not to frugal, but wasting will be a problem for our good prices.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 17/19

• A "Gem" of a Find!

  A "Gem" of a Find!

  • Guest Gary (Windsor, ct, usa)
  • Date of stay 04/02/14
  • Review Submitted 04/14/14
  Won’t find a better view then from the “Crystal Beach Villa”, you will be awestruck with the 180 degree view of the ocean from your massive terrace. Four large comfortable bedrooms. Not to mention the house is in the nicest area in Aruba. There are beach chairs, floats, coolers, and even snorkeling gear available and if there is anything you don’t see, Viola the owner is more than accommodating. You will not find more gracious hosts then Viola and her family. This “gem” of a villa is spacious, clean and well maintained. The location is perfect, and just seconds from the best snorkeling beach on the island and a few steps more to the most beautiful Arashi beach and without all the crowds like the resort beaches. I actually swam with sea turtles; don’t waste your time or money on a snorkeling excursion when you can just walk across the street to the best snorkeling sites. It’s awesome to have the access to the villa all day long and not have to load a car up every time you want to go the beach. For $2 a bus runs by the house every ½ hour and stops all along the resort area. We have visited Aruba for many years and stayed in many of the hotels which have become excessively crowded and wait in lines just to get a cabana. We will never stay anywhere but the Crystal Beach Villa in the future. A gem for sure! Gary & Judy, CT

  Owner response: We are trying improve our service all the time. Of course we will be happy to see you again and again. Vi

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• Great Vacation

  Great Vacation

  • Guest Alex S.
  • Date of stay 03/16/14
  • Review Submitted 03/26/14
  We stayed for one week in March 16th 2014. > > It was very easy and pleasant to make the reservation for two couples. When we arrived to Aruba, Viola waited for us. We got a good indoor parking place for our car. > The Villa is located in a great location, it has a beautiful entrance hall, marble stairs and a floor and it is extremely clean and well kept. > The view of the ocean from the terrace is just breathtaking. The property is filled with beautiful flowers so it feels like a tropical paradise. > We all enjoyed the snorkeling, which was just across from the Villa and we saw a lot of colorful fish and squid. > We also took an ABC Jeep Tour, which was a great adventure for all of us. We had such a great time at Aruba! > The owner, Viola was very nice and always helpful and professional. We could not have picked a better place to stay. What a fantastic vacation! We would definitely recommend it to others. > > Alex (Phoenix, Arizona)

  Owner response: It was pleasure for me to meet so beautiful people!! Thank you , Vi

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• AMAZING VACATION!

  AMAZING VACATION!

  • Guest Mary (Ventura,California)
  • Date of stay 02/20/14
  • Review Submitted 03/24/14
  We stayed at the Crystal Beach Villa from February 20th2014 with my family and friends.Our villa stay starts with a good parking place and smiling owner. The Villa is just gorgeous,has fantastic view to the beach which is just a few steps from it and it's very well equipped for all your needs.With BBQ grill,great 2 eating table and lounge chairs.Spacious kitchen with 2 fridge,big outdoor shower,even porch shower,flat TVs in every bedroom. The owner Viola was great and always very helpful. We spent the most time on the beach by the house by snorkeling and relaxing using beach chairs and towels from the Villa.You can see so many fish there! Unfortunately I was only one from us who saw a huge turtle ( I will never forget). Clean bathrooms,I liked the bathrooms showers,AC in each of bedrooms.We loved it all breezy and open and put the AC only evenings on to avoid the mosquito's coming in how we knew sun set and sun rise,but there wasn't many upstairs anyway I think because of the wind. We were just exciting about our stay and we were already planing to come back next year,high season is always booked long ahead,good planing makes it easy. We can only recommend this relaxing place for families,friends and even occasions.

  Recommended for: Families with young children.

  Owner response: Thank you for your review. We're very happy to hear that you enjoyed your stay in the villa and in Aruba.

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• Michael P.

  Michael P.

  • Guest Renka (Nuernberg,Germany)
  • Date of stay 03/23/14
  • Review Submitted 03/23/14
  Wir sind vor ein Paar Tagen zurückgekommen von unseren Traumurlaub auf Aruba, wir waren schon hier paar mal. Es ist eine traumhafte Insel. Da wir keine Freunde sind von Hotels haben wir uns ein Studio in der Crystal beach Villa gemietet. Es ist eine Traum Villa vor allem wegen der Lage, nur ein paar Schritte und Sie sind bei einem wunderschönen Strand. Die Villa ist sehr groß und dadurch ist man ungestört, die Küche ist sehr gut ausgestattet und sauber, die Besitzerin Viola ist sehr freundlich und vor allem sehr hilfsbereit, wenn ein Problem sich entwickelt, wie zum Beispiel das die Kaffeemaschine nicht funktioniert hat ( was normal ist das alle Elektrogeräte durch das Klima schnell den Gleißt aufgeben ) war Sie sofort da und hat Sie uns eine neue Kaffeemaschine hingestellt auch Ihr Mann, hat uns gleich geholfen wie wir mit den Schloss von unserem Koffer Probleme hatten. Auf diesem Wege möchten wir uns auch bei Viola, Mirek und Mike für alles bedanken und wir werden wieder gerne noch paar Mal kommen.

  Owner response: Vielen dank, es freud uns sehr das sie einen schonen Urlaub hatten!! Es ist immer wunderbar ein bischen Europa hier zu begrussen, Ich weiss das der Flug lange dauert trotzdem immer mehr Deutsche Urlauber kommen zu Aruba und auch wagen es eine private Unterkuft auf Aruba zu wahlen und nicht nur uberfuhlte Hotels. Wir haben wirklich viel zu bietten, Strand, durchsichtiges turkise Meer, das beste Insel snorcheln Location, viel Platz und es ist auch moglich etwas zu sparen. Es ist eifach etwas anderes wenn man einen Wagen nimmt und auch die Insel kennenlehrnt als nur im hotel sitzen. Danke Vi

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• Very Disappointed...Infested with COCKROACHES! Cost my family time/$ and 1st 2 days of vacation

  Very Disappointed...Infested with COCKROACHES! Cost my family time/$ and 1st 2 days of vacation

  • Guest Mark W. (Massachusetts)
  • Date of stay 03/09/14
  • Review Submitted 03/17/14
  Upon arrival the villa was not very clean. One of the toilets was clogged and another not clean. The toaster was filthy with about a 1/2 inch of crumbs in it. There was grease on stove & the grill caked with grease. Dishes in the dishwasher had food on them. The refrigerator was unplugged, door open sent a musty smell into the non air conditioned kitchen. Fridge had mold on the side of it, no doubt from being unplugged & sweating in the heat. The entire villa had a musty smell. Also this 2nd floor has no lock for the entrance. You need to lock each bedroom at night. We spent $500 on food and put it into the fridge and a mini fridge. Figured it could only get better as the house itself is beautiful and in an amazing location. Well it got worse. Day 2 arrived and resulted in the fridge breaking. Viola's son was wonderful and helped translate for me with his dad. They brought up a 2nd fridge that was old&unclean. I moved as much of the perishables as I could to the mini fridge. 2nd fridge was plugged in for about 4 hrs and remained warm. I was told that they would buy a new one the next day. Day 2 we also began to notice bugs in the kitchen area. I advised Vi about the 2nd fridge and asked if the bugs in the kitchen were cockroaches. She immediately saw one upon entering the kitchen, stomped on it, and told me that it was tough to tell (She knew). I left to bring some friends to their resort. Upon returning to the villa I found my wife in total distress. She informed me that Vi came up with bleach to pour in the sink drain. She said they were bugs from the garden that the drain leads to. The infestation multiplied over the hour I was gone. I confirmed on internet these were in fact cockroaches, my wife opened the dishwasher and they were pouring out. They were all over the counters, all over the table, floor, etc. My wife stood up for hours killing hundreds of COCKROACHES! I spent more $ on chemicals to kill them on top of the $ I spent on items to clean the villa originally. We had enough at this point. In the morning I informed Vi that we were going to find another place. I spent half a day locating a place for 7. Vi gave me most but not all my $ back. Vi sent me an email in 2 days apologizing and told me exterminator confirmed what I told and showed her. She stated she thought I was lying. Gave me another $100 back. Still not full refund, told me she was losing $ as we left. Time/$ wasted. I know most reviews are good here.This was our experience:STRESS!

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• Great Location, Great Space!

  Great Location, Great Space!

  • Guest James (Wisconsin, USA)
  • Date of stay 11/21/13
  • Review Submitted 12/27/13
  I stayed at the Crystal Beach Villa around Thanksgiving 2013 and had a great time. The pictures are accurate - the "listing" picture shows two houses - the villa is the larger two story building on the left/middle. From the second floor balcony (or really the whole villa rental) you have beautiful picturesque views of the ocean. There is a lot of room - we had two families (4 adults, 7 kids <8 years old) and didn't have any issues (kids liked sharing beds, one baby in a Pack 'N Play). The location really is great - the north end of Boca Catalina is right in front of the house, and it has probably the best shore snorkeling on the whole island. Seriously - all of the snorkel tours will anchor right in front of the house. The beach is a little rocky, and there is quite a bit of coral (obviously), but the kids had great fun nonetheless. Even the little ones saw fish swimming up towards the shore. And if you want a little change of scenery, just up the road there is Arashi beach (also, one of the best beaches on the island - not quite as perfect sand as Palm/Eagle/Manchebo, but still a great place to hang out). The house was very well equipped for our stay - refrigerator had plenty of space, oven, microwave, stove, pantry, utensils, dishes, etc. There were also plenty of showers and bathrooms, and the outdoor shower for rinsing sand off was nice as well. One person worried about needing to pack a hair dryer, but no worries, that was included as well. A car is pretty much as "must" - while there is a bus, there is a lot to explore on the island, and going out to meals, grocery store, exploring, etc is all much more convenient with a car than trying to take the bus. General Aruba information - it is hot here (85-90F), but there is a good breeze, so after a day of acclimation it was comfortable in the shade. With little kids we just scheduled things such that we were out in the water in the morning and in the later afternoon when it wasn't so intense. The house does have AC in each of the bedrooms which is good enough to help sleep. If I come back to Aruba, I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

  Recommended for: Families with teenagers, families with young children, sightseeing.

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• Location, views, comfort and character

  Location, views, comfort and character

  • Guest Rhonda M. (Austin)
  • Date of stay 12/07/13
  • Review Submitted 12/16/13
  Our stay here was fabulous- start to finish. It was our first trip to Aruba, so we had no idea whether we'd chosen a good location or not. As it turned out, this was the perfect place for us. The short distance to the hotel district and the peace and tranquility of our beach front neighborhood were ideal. And the home - oh, it is truly a villa! The stately architecture and wonderful views just cannot be beat. The open air design of the home allows for constant breezes and maximum enjoyment of indoor / outdoor living. By day we admired the ocean view, and at night we drank in the moon and stars. The house is not in the hotel district, but is less than 10 minutes away. You have easy access to all the fun, but you can retreat to the beauty and peace of the villa at any time. We thought that Arashi beach, just steps from the house, was the best on the island. The kitchen is well stocked, and all four bedrooms are lovely and air conditioned. Everything you need is provided, right down to a cooler to take to the beach. All three bathrooms have been recently and tastefully updated. There is a television in every bedroom, but we never turned them on. The island is so lovely, and the outdoor terrace just consumed all our time and attention when we were home. It seemed a shame to even go inside to sleep! But we slept so well. We slept with the windows open for the breeze some nights and used the AC other nights. I was comfortable both ways, but have to say that hearing the ocean waves while enjoying a perfect and constant breeze was just wonderful. We never had a mosquito. The house is perfectly designed for the climate. Viola, the owner, is readily available to answer questions, and very helpful. She's just as kind as can be. She made us feel welcome and right at home. We had easy off street parking and loads of information about the island to get ourselves oriented. It took no time at all to settle in and get our island adventure going. The home has the easy grace of a beach villa- it's not over the top in decoration. It wins you over with easy comfort rather than fussy decor. We could not have been happier. Everything about our stay here was wonderful and we are so grateful to Viola for opening her villa to us. We will be back!

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• Amazing!

  Amazing!

  • Guest Stacey J. (Houston, Texas)
  • Date of stay 09/09/13
  • Review Submitted 09/18/13
  If you READ, you will know EXACTLY what you are in for. Those who were disappointed did not read. This property was AWESOME! It is exactly as pictured. This is Viola's, her husband's and son's home. She has it sectioned off into quadrants all of which are on different levels of the house. We rented the top floor with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, an indoor kitchen with breakfast area and outdoor terrace. Everything was nice, neat, clean and orderly. Though we hardly knew she was there, Viola was gracious, and helped with anything we needed. There were 7 adults and there was PLENTY of room for everyone, we did not even hear one another at all (excepting the two bedrooms that are back to back and light sleepers may hear snoring from the next room, LOL). We never heard anyone from the other quadrants either. All of the bedrooms are air conditioned, the terrace (obviously) is not and it is customary to turn the air off during non sleeping hours. Aruba is HOT, STICKY and WINDY, so plan accordingly. The beach is literally across the street. It was the best snorkeling we experienced on the island and 3 of our group are very experienced divers. Unless you plan to stay at the house, you need to rent a car (Royal gave us a great deal and we rented 2 for our party). This house is on the North end of the island and if you plan on seeing the wonders of Aruba, you will need a car. The area of town this house is in, is VERY nice! The "Polis" (police) frequented this area a lot (and even pulled over just to ask us if everything was okay since we were on the beach at night). We felt very same and comfortable. I travel extensively and I would definitely rent from Viola again! Enjoy!!

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• Crystal Beach Villa top, Lage top, Einrichtung top

  Crystal Beach Villa top, Lage top, Einrichtung top

  • Guest Ulrich H.
  • Date of stay 10/20/12
  • Review Submitted 02/03/13
  Die Wohnung im OG der Villa ist großzügig eingerichtet und bietet Platz für bis zu 8 Personen. Küche komplett eingerichtet. Die Sonnenterrasse ist großartig, Blick auf den Strand und das Meer. Nach links hinunter sind es nur einige Schritte über die Straße zu einem kleinen Felsstrand - sehr gut zum Schnorcheln, Wasserschildkröten - und daneben ein kleiner Sandstrand. Nach rechts in etwa 200m Entfernung der breite Malmok Beach, zum Schwimmen gut geeignet. Ein Mietwagen ist unbedingt zu empfehlen, um die Insel zu erkunden. Viola, die Vermieterin, kann zu allem gute Tipps geben (auch auf deutsch und hilft auch bei kleine Blessuren. Obwohl wir unglücklicherweise die ersten Tage Regenwetter hatten, war es ein rundum schöner Urlaub. Der Preis ist nicht günstig, die Ferienwohnung jedoch allemal die Miete wert, Violas freundliche Betreuung unbezahlbar. Wenn wir nochmal nach Aruba kommen sollten, dann wieder Crystal Beach Villa. Auf diesem Wege, liebe Viola, vielen Dank für eine schöne Woche Aruba.

  Owner response: Vielen dank fur die Review, wir werden uns naturlich sehr freuen sie bei uns wieder zu begrussen zu konnen. Ich weis, Aruba ist nicht billig aber gerade unser Preis ist in diese Location der niedrichte. Wir versuchen unser Haus immer wieder zu verbessern und sind glucklich wenn wir auch gluckliche gaste haben. Danke schon Vi + M + M

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Additional information about rental rates

Fees:

• Taxes Not included