Divine time at Divi and Tamarijn Aruba – All Inclusive hotels Aruba

 After spending 9 days exploring the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis in February 2013, I was invited to Aruba island as they were happy with me being happy on St. Kitts (except the incident when my phone clock changed the time zones and I was 40 minutes late for dinner with the Minister of Tourism.) Anyway, now it’s a great story to tell, don’t you think?

So … To be honest I never heard much of Aruba until I got that very first invitation email. I had to check it on a map to know exactly where it lies. At first, all I knew was ”in the Caribbean” and knowing how much of a beach bum I am, my answer was straight away yes.

It changed my plans again as initially I was supposed to stay in Mexico, catch up with writing and relax for 6 weeks. But then I was invite to train Muay Thai boxing in Thailand for a week and straight after fly to Aruba for another 6 days.

Well, let’s just say it was a prety hectic few weeks and very active ones when I thought I would sweat out all the good things out of me in Bangkok trying to kick as high as possible while screaming a martial arts ”ah.”

So 4 weeks on the road and I flew from Prague to Mexico, to Thailand (and you don’t even want to know all the flights I took), to Miami (where I met one of my fans for 3 days) and finally to Aruba.

I was so exhausted when I landed in Aruba.

My body did not know where I was nor what time it was.

But at least, there were some cool guys on the same flight to Aruba (OMG, don’t get me started about ripped black guys with hats!) and then very hot weather greeted me at the Oranjestad airport.

Sunbeams were all I needed!

Divi hotel where I was going to stay sent me a taxi and the driver was super cool. I learned that he spoke 5 languages like many other island inhabitants.

At the reception of Divi All Inclusive Aruba, the Manager Marijn greeted me with a smile and a strong hand shake.

”How was your flight, Alex? Let me walk you into your room and quickly show you around.”

I saw from far there were a few gifts both on my bed and my table waiting for me. So sweet! I so appreciate little details.

I put my baggage down, changed into a new shirt and rushed to the Indulgence by the Sea Spa just a few metres from my room on the way back to the reception.

I was a bit late for my spa treatment as we landed later than we were supposed to.

However, Stefanie and Cathy, my two girls in crime for the next week were patiently waiting there for me and did not want to start their treatments without me. The spa therapists, together with the owner were all ready to receive me and the girls and give all the three of us the best service ever! 

Just a few minutes ago I thought that sunny weather was the best to get me back on track after so many exhausting days.

Oh my, was I wrong!

Wellness was even better! I almost fall asleep, trust me …

I also received a package with 4 Eminence probiotic products in travel size bottles. 

The next following days were all about Adventure and Spa. We went on a crazy jeep tour around Aruba with DePalm tours, had a lot of time to watch both sunrises and sunsets, and even to sunbathe (I think it was the most relaxing press trip I’ve ever been on, thumbs up!), check out the golf course, eat way too much, meet cool people and find out the basic information about Aruba island.

What I loved at Divi All Inclusive hotel:

• There’s 7 restaurants included in the all inclusive packages in Divi and Tamarijn resorts. The Italian restaurant in Tamarijn, the Paparazzi, is probably the most delicious and the most high-end restaurant in these 2 resorts. You can dine in style, for sure.

• different kinds of fresh fruit and salads for both breakfast and lunch so you can easily be vegetarian/vegan/or even raw vegan until dinner. Then it becomes a bit more difficult at dinner as most of the restaurants offer vegetarian dishes but not vegan options. However, if you ask for a special vegetarian meal without cheese/eggs, they might be more than happy to prepare you one. At least that was my personal experience and I so appreciated they wer nice enough to make me vegan meals if I ordered some.

• swimming pools – no wonder, I love swimming and you all know that!

• a lot of different activities during the day – from yoga, volleyball, pool aerobics to rock climbing wall at Tamarijn

• live music – every night there’s a different night live music you can listen to after dinner

• wifi – I just wish it worked better but as it’s such a spread property, it’s difficult to cover it all. It did work fine in my room and also at the balcony and the beach.

• Indulgence by the Sea Spa right on site so if you feel like pampering yourself, no need to go far

• Divi is more elegant than Tamarijn, less families stay here, less kids, more older people or couples and honeymooners. Although as a young single person I do not really belong to any of these groups of people, I still prefered staying at Divi.

• pretty private beach – comparing to the High Rise hotels further, the Low Rise hotels where both Tamarijn and Divi belong to, have a better and most secluded beach with less people. Exactly what I enjoy. Les people, more privacy, no one really staring at you when you are sunbathing in your bikini or playing like a kid in the waves.

• animals – a few birds, lizards and iguanas around the hotel reminded me a bit of the wildlife in Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. It might surprise you but I am such a huge animal lover and I gain energy in nature. I could spend hours staring t trees, plants or animals just doing their thing. And at Divi, each time I walked out of my room, I saw a green or blue-colored lizard and loads of small birds. Oh, cuties!

• palm trees around – I saw many of them right from my balcony and observing stars and the Moon between the shivering palm trees was a calming experience. Then I could jump into my bed like a happy kid.

• the best sunset on the beach – I watched it every night first from my balcony, then I walked down to the beach to get beter photos and practice very quick yoga there.

• a huge hammock at the best spot between 2 palm trees on the beach – great to swing and relax

• free water – you can refill your bottles any time you want. Thumbs up for this eco-friendly detail.

• organized weddings on the beach

• little flea market by the reception at night – in case you didn’t find time to go shopping into town, you could get some souvenirs right here

• swimming pool lit with violet, blue and green lights, very romantic and peaceful!

• free shuttle all around the property

• you can eat at all the 7 restaurants included in the all inclusive package, even when you are staying at Divi, you can dine at Tamarijn and vice versa

• little shopping arcade/stores at both Divi and Tamarijn

• there’s 3 more restaurants that are not included in the all inclusive packages but belong to the same hotel chain – Windows (one of the top 3 restaurants on Aruba), Fusion (Wine and Tapas bar with live music every night) and Mulligan’s. It’s worth eating at all the three of them during your stay. Windows on Aruba offers a $35 dinner for all the Divi and Tamarijn guests which is a very special price as just many main dishes cost around $30. The atmosphere in the Windows is very quiet. We enjoyed lunch at Mulligan’s, and also a delicious tapas dinner at Fusion. We were lucky enough to dine there when Roel de Vries sang and played piano there. Let me just say: OMG! No more comments.

• golf course the Links with 9 holes which can be done in 1.5 to 2 hours so you still have the rest of the day for other activities

• women golf club lead by Tabita

• ATM machine at Tamarijn (not at Divi yet)

• there’s different kind of rooms to choose from at the hotels and I like when people have a choice as not everyone wants the same thing

• computers with internet in case you didn’t bring your own device

• Alhambra casino just a minute walk from Divi

• Aruba has some of the nicest beaches I’ve ever been to and you know I spend most of my time beach bumming everywhere I go. The color of the sea right in front of my room at Divi was simply crazy! So turquoise, so transparent, and so matching the white sand. The peaceful breeze together with the occasional shells and corals in the sea added a nice Caribbean touch to the whole experience.