Blogging to Aruba

Passions Restaurant at the Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort

2009-07-15T09:59:49-04:00

Passions on the beach at the Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort had been recommended to us by a friend and my parents last year. We thought it would be the perfect spot at which to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It was so wonderful last year that we returned again this year for our anniversary.

It is very easy to imagine how beautiful a spot this is watching the sunset over the ocean while sipping your pre-dinner cocktails. We usually end up staying on the beach or at happy hour until at least 6 p.m. so prefer to eat later. Even after dark, with the stars over head and the Aruban tradewinds, this spot is a gem.

Upon arriving, Humphrey the maître d' greeted us immediately. From the ambiance to the food to the service, we again had a perfectly relaxing evening seated at table set under a palapa whose trunk was decorated by mini white lights surrounded by some torches. Our server Daniel was exceptional. Daniel even went above and beyond by jotting down some words in German for our very curious daughter.

For appetizers I again ordered the oh so delicious Caribbean Crab Salad, dh had Cold Strawberry Soup and dd, the seafood lover, ordered the Aruban Seafood Soup. Dd and I shared a Caeser Salad while adventurous dh, sampled the Tropical Watermelon Salad. Entrees were the oh so tender Filet Mignon for myself and dh and dd each ordered the "Get Together" with grouper and shrimp in a creamy spicy sauce. Dd is not fond of spicy so Daniel offered to instead top it with Mango-Passion Fruit Chutney. I am not crazy about Mango and even I thought it was yummy!

Passions has placed a portable rest room on the beach for their guests so Dd checked it out and gave it her approval.

Dessert again was amazing. Dh and I shared the Passion Surprise! for two which included Cheesecake, Tiramasu and Passion Fruit Mousse and dd had the Chocolate Brownie Sundae. Need I say we are looking forward to returning again next year for our anniversary.

Tamarijn Aruba All Inclusive Beach Update June 2009

2009-07-13T17:08:23-04:00

Having found them to have the best pricing, we have now used MCM Tours for over ten years when booking our Aruba travel. Knowing, for our original all inclusive visit to Aruba, that we needed a spot which was affordable for a family of ten, it was they who originally suggested the Tamarijn because of the quality of the food, value and oceanfront rooms. MCM Tours has always provided us with the best customer service and are quick to respond to our questions. All around they are a pleasure to work with.

What can I say about the Tamarijn that I have not said before? For the money, this is one of the best values on the island. Certainly for us, having a 13 yo who loves to eat, and kids 17 yo and under staying and eating free at the Tamarijn, this works out to be the best for us. Our daughter can eat pizza and ice cream to her heart’s content while washing it down with unlimited frozen concoctions and sodas. Staying in room 1313, two times out of three, some of the members of the staff have come to call our dd, “Lucky”. ?

The rooms are by no means luxurious, the bathrooms need a facelift. To their credit, the Tamarijn in the past year have added new soft furnishings to the rooms as well as new flat panel televisions. There have been other people who have complained that the rooms are too small. This has never been a problem with us, once you have sailed on a cruise and spent seven nights or more in a cruise ship cabin, you never give it a second thought. I know members of the family and certain friends, who would not be happy with the resort and I would never recommend it to them because of that.

However, having said that, we are also not paying Radisson, Marriott or Hyatt prices. The only time we spend in the room is sleeping from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. and odd bathroom stops and showers. In Aruba, at the Tamarijn, our patio and the beach in front of our room are our living room.

Check in at the Tamarijn was smooth. While waiting for dh to fill out the paperwork Igmar from the activities staff spotted us and came over to say hello with hugs and kisses. He has worked there since we have been going to the Tamarijn and we know why. He is great at what he does and genuinely cares about his guests. Lo and behold we were assigned room 1313. We had stayed in this room on our first stay at the Tamarijn and loved it for its location. This time the beach in front of our room was in the best condition that it had been in all three of our stays. One of our loves of Aruba is the beach and this was just perfect. Our family had waited a year, but we were in our paradise of Aruba.

For anyone who has been to the Tamarijn before and was saddened to see the erosion of the beach over the past years, the beach was looking the best since our first visit in December of 2007. I hope for everyone’s sake that Mother Nature is cooperative and leaves the sand on the beach for some time to come. The sand on the beach makes a great resort even better!

On the upside, the Tamarijn/Divi has improved their golf cart shuttle service. Previously at night we have had some very long waits to get between the Divi and the Tamarijn. It is not a bad walk between the two, and I don’t mind walking after dinner, but when we traveled with my then 94 yo grandmother who was incapable of the walk it was an issue. This year, there were new shuttles were larger and seemingly there were more of them. In addition, there were clearly marked “shuttle stops”. Even though the Tamarijn was sold out while we were there, we never had to wait very long.

A negative was their change to their dinner reservation system. You are able to only reserve ala carte restaurants one day in advance. The concierge opened at 8 a.m. each day and lines were long each and every day. It was simply hit or miss that you would be able to get a reservation for a time of your choosing at a specific restaurant. My advice is to be very flexible about times and restaurant choices. The fussier you are, the earlier I would get in line to make your reservation.

I have read some complaints on different forums regarding the service at the Tamarijn and I would like to address this. We found out from Carmen, one of the bartenders, and by far our favorite, that the resort was short on bartenders. Two were out sick after having had surgery. Carmen, seemingly a “Superwoman” worked the pizza bar solo on our next to last day at the resort and had her vacation cancelled for the following week.

Our dd had a problem our second day at the resort. She went to the pizza bar to order a pizza and after fifteen minutes gave up and came back to our palapa crying saying that they, the bartender and his assistant, ignored her. Dh and I walked with her back to the pizza bar. Felix and Rudy were both working and though there were people at the bar, everyone was being taken care of. Felix came over and asked me what I needed and I told him what had happened. He seemed very surprised and questioned Rudy about it. Rudy gave it very indifferent shrug of the shoulders, Felix glared towards him and pleasantly took the order and we all moved on. Dd did not have any trouble the rest of our stay.

Dh late the same day walked up to the bar to get he and I each a drink and Felix was alone tending bar. Rudy was busy counting the tip money and refused to come out from behind the back counter to assist Felix. Dh went to the front desk and explained what had transpired and Rudy was never seen again at the pizza bar during any of the other 11 days of our stay.

Follow Up Old Man & the Sea Restaurant Aruba

2009-07-07T08:00:20-04:00

I opened my email this a.m. to find an email from the owner of Old Man & the Sea dated 1:32 a.m. Obviously he is a gentleman dedicted to his work.

The email included a sincere apology and some details as to the facts behind what had happened "behind the scenes" that evening.

The owner also detailed the steps and actions he is taking in order to make his restaurant the best that it possibly can be.

Dh and I are both satisfied in knowing that he does indeed care very much about his restaurant. Again, it was indeed a heartfelt apology and I thank him for that.

Old Man and the Sea Restaurant Aruba

2009-07-06T13:05:32-04:00

Let me start by saying that we had high expectations for Old Man and the Sea. My husband and I have read many a rave review and were willing to spend the money for an expensive dinner on the beach. I am very pleased that many others have had wonderful experiences at this restaurant. We do understand that many folks have had very enjoyable experiences at this restaurant, however for us the experience was not the same and our expectations, for the price we paid, were not met on more than one count.

We arrived on time for our 8:30 p.m. reservation and despite an email request for a table on the water, were seated away from the water. There were at least 5 tables on the water which had no one sitting at them. I have since been told by a friend that they too were a party of more than two and were also not seated next to the water.

Once our waiter arrived with the menus we were asked for our drink requests. Glasses of red and white wine were ordered, and the red glass came back with greasy finger prints on it. A clean glass was asked for, and the waiter said, it was dirty "only" on the outside. He relented and did bring another glass, but this glass again had the same greasy fingerprints. It seemed the waiter, from my observations of service to other tables, was serving with his hand on the goblet and not the stem. My husband gave up and settled for a greasy glass.

Next came our dinner order, we ordered:

Two hot appetizers
Scallops Seaside Duet
Stuffed Oyster

Three salads
Spicy Caesar Salad, Crab
Avocado Salad & Pear
Walnut Salad

Two entrees
Sober Capt. Joby’s Seafood Exploration
"Concert for two"- shrimp, chicken, fish, lamb chops, tenderloin, scallops

Two desserts
Quesillo
Mint Chocolate Mousse

The waiter wanted to bring all our appetizers and salads together. If we wanted this type of dining we could have eaten much cheaper in the states at any number of truck stops. Once we explained the order of service, which was assumed in a restaurant like this, the waiter complied with our request.

Shortly afterward the manager came and introduced himself. We explained the problem with the second greasy glass and he did not offer to replace it. In addition we told him about the question regarding the order of service. He stated he would speak to the waiter about it. The manager did and then the waiter came back to the table with an attitude stating, "Every customer has a different preference". Funny, first time we have been asked this question in any "fine dining" establishment.

The stuffed oyster appetizer was served cold, not even lukewarm and had to be sent back. The waiter offered to serve my salad while a new order of oysters was prepared. That was fine. When the order of oysters came, and from then on through the meal, we were served off of plates which were so hot that the heat literally radiated off them. I took this as a definite sign the kitchen was trying to tell us that they got the message. In my mind they took it too far and were now mocking us. Sarcasm at its worst is pretty darn ugly.

The food for the most part was good, not great and inconsistent. The pasta was over cooked, and one salad had the tails off the shrimp and one entree had the tails on the shrimp.

Coffee and dessert was ordered. I asked for a decaf cappuccino, and was served a decaf coffee. The check arrived and we were billed for three desserts and not two. Again, this was inattention on the part of the waiter. The error was fixed after pointing it out to the waiter. After spending as much as we did for this meal, we should not have had to "monitor" the waiter's every move.

The wait staff was very young, but we are not ancient and very grudgingly if ever complain about food or service in any restaurant, whether in Aruba or at home. Instead of a "confrontation", which my husband and I sincerely dislike, we simply do not return after a bad meal. This instance however was different to us in that after having spent $300, including the service charge, for a dinner for three people, we definitely felt cheated of not only our money, but a romantic beach dining experience.

Having been a customer service manager as well as a third generation member of a restaurant family, I fully realize that in there are "off" nights, but again, for the money, there is little room for error.

A letter to the owner detailing the above, did not receive a response.

Why Pictures of Aruba Hotel Bathrooms?

2009-06-16T09:57:00-04:00

Obviously you have seen my pictures of the Radisson including the bathrooms. Now I also have photos of the bathrooms at the Tamarijn. Yes, quite a contrast.

Keep in mind though, there are two schools of thought.

One is as long as it is clean, the amenities of a bathroom are only "window dressing".

The second is, even if it is clean, it will not meet one's standards unless there is marble or granite surrounding you. I simply call it glam and glitz.

My family thinks I'm odd, but like I tell them, "that is what people really want to see".