May 8, 2025
Featured Resort Review: Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club
Aruba in the southern Caribbean is a fantastic island to escape the colder temperatures of the north. It is also great in the summer for a relaxing getaway. There is no better place to stay when you go to Aruba than Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club.
Located on the famous Palm Beach, this resort boasts spectacular amenities, great villas, and perfect views of the Caribbean Sea. Your family will surely enjoy the wonderful pools, amazing lazy river, and everything else the resort offers. Renowned for its wonderful beaches and world-class dining, Aruba is worlds away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life back at home. Of all the options you have to pick from when planning a trip to Aruba, you’re sure to want to consider Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club.
This article provides detailed information to help you plan your stay at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club!
This highly sought-after resort, with three pools, a lazy river, and a wonderful beach, has everything you need to unwind and enjoy your day relaxing poolside or wading in the Caribbean’s wonderful tropical waters.
Visitors flying to Aruba to stay at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club will arrive at Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA). The drive from the airport to the resort is about 15-20 minutes. Serviced by the major US airlines, you’re sure to find a flight from your gateway city. Though it might require a layover. The major US rental car companies have licensees operating in Aruba. Several local on-site and off-site car rental companies also serve the airport.
Do You Need a Rental Car?
With so many food and beverage options between Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club, Ocean Club, and the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, you don’t need to go far to get something to eat. Many restaurants are within a short walk in the Palm Beach area. So, you may not need a car during your visit to the resort. If you want to set out and explore the island, try some restaurants that aren’t an easy walk or visit any of the other fantastic beaches in Aruba, you will want a car of your own. Not renting a car? Expect a taxi from the airport to the resort to cost $30 to $40.
While the currency in Aruba is the Aruban Florin (AWG), the US Dollar is widely accepted, and most restaurants provide menus with prices shown in US Dollars. When prices are supplied in Florin, the official exchange rate is fixed so that a US dollar is worth 1.80 AWG. For quick and easy conversion, divide the price in Florin by two to determine an estimated cost in US dollars.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 85°F | 86°F | 87°F | 88°F | 89°F | 89°F | 89°F | 90°F | 90°F | 89°F | 88°F | 86°F |
| Temp. | 80°F | 81°F | 81°F | 82°F | 84°F | 84°F | 84°F | 85°F | 85°F | 84°F | 83°F | 81°F |
| Low | 77°F | 77°F | 78°F | 79°F | 80°F | 80°F | 80°F | 81°F | 81°F | 80°F | 79°F | 78°F |
| Rainfall | 0.3″ | 0.2″ | 0.1″ | 0.2″ | 0.3″ | 0.3″ | 0.3″ | 0.4″ | 0.8″ | 1.4″ | 1.7″ | 1.1″ |
Located in the Southern Caribbean, Aruba is a desert island receiving only 15-20 inches of yearly rainfall. This means it is rare that your vacation will be ruined by rain. Sure, a brief, but rare, rain shower may pass through, but it usually clears out quickly. Hurricanes are also rare in Aruba because the island is south of the hurricane belt. Most hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin travel north of the island. Aruba has never received a direct hit from a hurricane since record keeping began in 1851. Daytime temperatures will be in the high 80s to low 90s, with nighttime temperatures getting no lower than the mid-70s. This makes Aruba the perfect year-round destination.
Aruba is also famous for its trade winds. It can get quite windy at times, and there is almost always a constant breeze. This can make it feel cool even when the temperatures are very warm in Aruba. Be careful around the Marriott Aruba Surf Club resort, though. It can get very windy in sections, especially by the Spyglass Tower entrance and in the parking lot behind Spyglass Tower. Hold on to your hats!
Located at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club
The resort offers several onsite food and beverage options.
Captain's Galley Pool Grill
A great place to grab a bite to eat, poolside. From appetizers to handhelds, Captain’s Galley Pool Grill serves your favorites. Open 7:00 am to 9:00 pm
Located at Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club
Additional food and beverage options are available at Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club, located directly adjacent to the Aruba Surf Club.
Campeones Cantina & Tequila Bar
Delight in Mexican fare, from tacos to quesadillas, and start your meal off with tortilla chips and all the fixings from their tortilla bar. It’s open for dinner.
Located at Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino
The resort only offers several onsite food and beverage options.
Starbucks®
Coffee House – Open daily and into late night.
Located at The Ritz-Carlton Aruba
For even more dining options, you will find The Ritz-Carlton Aruba. Located further up the beach from the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino.
With all the restaurant options, you have a lot to choose from. You can also charge your purchases from restaurants and outlets to your room folio at the Aruba Surf Club.
Grocery
Most people at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club will pass the large Super Food grocery store from the airport to the resort. In fact, people staying in just about any resort in the Eagle Beach area of the Palm Beaches of the island will be passing this store. Thus, it is perhaps the one grocery store most people go to stock up on provisions for their stay while in Aruba. A large modern grocery store with produce, bakery, deli, and so much more. You will have difficulty deciding what to get, but because it is so visible on the drive in, it can also get hectic, especially on weekends.
Location: Bubali 141 A, Noord, Oranjestad, Aruba
Another option where more Aruba locals go to shop is Ling & Son’s IGA. This grocery store is located off the main road, so many tourists don’t see it. We found this grocery store to have the same items you will find at Super Food, but it isn’t nearly as busy. Be sure to start out at the customer service desk and tell them you are a timeshare guest. When we visited there, they offered a 10% discount for those staying in a timeshare.
Location: Ling and Sons Building, Schotlandstraat 41, Oranjestad, Aruba
Restaurants
Aruba is filled with many culinary options. There are so many, in fact, that it wouldn’t do justice to try to list them all here. There are also many different opinions on which restaurants are best and which are not. If you are staying at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club, you are also only a short walk away from restaurant options in the Palm Beach stretch of Aruba. A resort at the end of the Spyglass tower wikes you down a short road to Palm Beach.
Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club consists of two-bedroom and three-bedroom villas. All the villas lock off. This means the two-bedroom villas can be reserved as two smaller units: a one-bedroom and a studio unit, and the three-bedroom villas can be locked off and reserved as a two-bedroom and a studio unit.
There are also four different view types. More about that later. Because different view types are in different buildings, the square footage provided is an estimate.
Three-Bedroom Villa
Floor plan
Two-Bedroom Villa
Floor plan
One-Bedroom Villa
Floor plan
Studio Villa
Floor plan
When you reserve a specific view type when making a reservation or renting a stay at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club, the diagram below shows the location of each view type.
Ocean Front (Yellow)—These units are located at the end of the Lighthouse tower. They all directly face the ocean, and all are two-bedroom lock-offs. While the ground floor doesn’t have villas, the lower floors may still have the view blocked by beach palapas and palm trees. If you’ve booked an ocean-front unit, you must request a high floor to ensure a spectacular view. Keep in mind that requests are never guaranteed.
Ocean Side (Green) – These units are on the sides of the Lighthouse Tower. Some have views over the pool, while others have views of Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club to the north (left above). Both three-bedroom and two-bedroom lock-off units are in this view type. Due to the position of the three-bedroom lock-off villas, the studio side of these is technically a garden view as they are on the back side of the Lighthouse Tower. So, be aware that if you book an ocean-side studio unit, there won’t be a view of the ocean from the balcony.
Ocean View (Blue)—Located in both the Compass and Spyglass Towers, most units will have good ocean views as the lower floors of these buildings are designated garden views. However, rooms that face the north (left above) in the Compass Tower will have views that look over to Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club, and some rooms may have obstructed views due to the building next door.
Garden View (Red)—The lower floors in the Compass and Spyglass Towers will have the least desirable views. Views from the higher floors in the Spyglass towers can have great ocean views when you look to the left. While the diagram makes it look like there may be iSpyglass units facing (right above), there are none. All units in the Spyglass Tower face inward toward the pool and lazy river.
Lazy River
Serenity Pool
Waterslide
The resort features a small waterslide at the Blue Water Pool closest to the Spyglass Tower. Have fun while you zip down the slide and splash into the pool.
Activities
BBQ Gas Grills
At Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club, gas grills are located in several areas around the resort property. This gives you plenty of places to grill up that perfect steak or even the simplest hamburgers and hot dogs. Your options at the grocery store expand significantly with the availability of an on-site gas grill, which is never very far away from your villa.
Fitness Center
The fitness center is located on the ground floor of the Compass Tower.
Nothing says Aruba like palapas, and no stay at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club is complete without at least one (or many) days on the beach under the shade of one of these thatched huts. A palapa is a small hut with a roof made of dried palm leaves. It’s the perfect place to set up for the day on the beach while protected from the sun’s harmful rays. Enjoy the day in the shade while you enter and exit the tranquil Caribbean waters.
As nice as a palapa is, you need to understand one thing about them when staying at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club: the palapa reservation system. In years past, to reserve a palapa for the day, you had to line up the day before or the morning of with lots of other resort guests to make a reservation. The good thing is, those days are now gone. Reservations are now made online.
You will receive a QR code and reservation instructions when you check in to the resort. Below is information on when you can reserve. The link below will take you to the website to see how it works and other activities available at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club. You can also practice making a reservation. This may be necessary because palapas get booked up fast. Especially those in the first few rows. Unfortunately, you can’t make palapa reservations in advance, as the system requires a room number to confirm a palapa reservation.
Be sure to take some cash with you to tip the staff who help set up your chairs for the day.
Link to Reserve Palapas & Activities – https://marriottarubasurfclub.ipoolside.com
To ensure that there are lounge chairs at the beach and pool for guests, Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club will issue you a chair tag for each guest staying in your villa. These tags are to be attached to a chair on the beach or poolside. This is mainly to prevent guests from reserving chairs on the beach and at the pool when they can only be simultaneously in one of those places. Simply attach the tag to the chair you plan to use, which is considered “reserved”.
We have an issue with this system. The tagging system seems to grant guests a license to go down early in the morning and reserve their lounge chairs. Then return hours later to actually occupy them. This is a problem with many timeshare resorts, but it seems exacerbated at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club due to them handing out the tags. If you plan to be down early and sit in a chair close to the pool, stick around because early morning and later evening are the most peaceful times around the pool, and when the lazy river is least busy.
If you reserve a palapa on the beach, you must take your chair tags with you, as the staff setting up chairs there will want to attach them to the loungers.
As with chair tags, each villa guest will be provided with a wristband to ensure that only Aruba Surf Club guests use the resort facilities. Be sure everyone is available at check-in because they will not just hand you wristbands to attach later. If you have guests staying with you who are arriving later, you will need to visit the front desk for them to get their bands.
Wristbands are especially enforced in the lazy river. Security staff may ask you to show your wristband at the stations on the bridges that go over the lazy river. A drawback of these wristbands is that they aren’t removable. They are the plastic clip-on type like they use in hospitals. If you remove yours, you need to get a new one. They may also change the color of the wristbands during your stay. If they do, they will come around the pool area to cut off the old one and attach a new one.
Resort Map
Looking for a map of the resort to find your way around? Here it is!
Aruba has several area attractions and is known for its fantastic beaches, snorkeling, and even scuba diving. Make sure you don’t miss out on some of these!
Alto Vista Chapel
Baby Beach
Eagle Beach
California Lighthouse
Alto Vista Chapel—This small Catholic chapel stands atop the hills overlooking the north shores of Aruba. The first church was built here in 1750 but fell into disrepair. The present-day chapel was rebuilt in 1952. Services are held daily by the priest from Nord, but you can visit the chapel at any time.
Baby Beach – This popular spot gets its name from the calm and shallow waters. This is a place to come, swim, and enjoy the day, protected by geography and a break wall. There is no shortage of soft white sands to stretch your beach towel. There are also a couple of restaurants and bars nearby. Located at the southernmost end of the island, south of San Nicolas. Expect the drive from Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club to Baby Beach to take about 45 minutes.
Eagle Beach—This is where you will find the famous Divi Divi tree you see in all those promotional brochures and photographs promoting Aruba. Eagle Beach is consistently rated one of the top beaches in the world by TripAdvisor. This area is also home to the low-rise development area of Aruba, where Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club is in the Palm Beach area, also known as the high-rise section. There is also plenty of shopping and dining in the Eagle Beach area.
California Lighthouse – Named for the wooden British steamship that wrecked off the coast not far from where the lighthouse now stands, this structure is the tallest in Aruba. Located on the island’s north end, come up here for fabulous views south of all the hotels and resorts or panoramic views of the island’s north end. Located adjacent to the lighthouse, you will find Faro Blanco Italian Restaurant, where many flock to see the magnificent sunsets. If you wish to dine at the restaurant during sunset, call in advance for a reservation.
Arikok National Park – Covering 20% of the island, Arikok National Park is the place to see total ocean pools on the island’s eastern side. You will also find caves and other natural wonders. You can plan an excursion through the concierge, or if you have a vehicle that is up to the task, you can pay the entry fee to visit the park. Just ensure you are driving a Jeep or other vehicle with lots of ground clearance. There are deep water runoff gullies that cross the road through the park. A regular compact car just won’t cut it.
Experience Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club for Less!
Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club is a fantastic vacation destination for your family. Whether you plan to stay at the resort or want sights in Aruba, this resort has it all. Its extensive amenities, nearby restaurants, activities, and being co-located with Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club, the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, along with the Ritz-Carlton Aruba, make this resort a perfect place to spend your next vacation. As you plan your next vacation, we hope this review will help you have a memorable stay at one of Marriott Vacation Club’s best resort properties.
Looking to stay at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club? Check our current listings for rent here:
