Barcelo day pass or De Palm island?

[Biris]

Hi,

We are are group of eleven people ages 9-80. We will be in Aruba from 10AM-11:30PM. There are 4 kids age 9-16 who enjoy pools and don't care much for beaches, but they enjoy snorkeling. Having never been to Aruba, I'm not sure which of these 2 places my group will enjoy more. Is there a pool at De Palm island?

Any suggestions is greatly appreciated.

TIA

[JerseyGirlatHeart]

Just went, no pool, but did have a water play area for children.

 

Edited February 9, 2019 by JerseyGirlatHeart

[Biris]

Thank you JerseyGirlatHeart for your reply. I think we will go with Barcelo since it has a pool 🙂 

 

[beccabrie]

Hi Biris, have you done Barcelo now and if so, how was it? We are thinking of going as well but I think we only get to stay for 5 hours so wondering if best to go somewhere else where we can stay longer. 

[CJDepew]

We were at the Barcelo two weeks ago on a day pass. It's very nice and clean. Towel service is provided. We were there on the afternoon pass because of being in port 1-10 pm. It was difficult finding chairs, much less any with shade. Drink service on the beach is spotty. There is a swim-up bar at the pool but it appeared they were taking care of those with AI hotel guest wristbands more quickly than the day pass wristbands. We ate dinner at their buffet, and I have to say, I've eaten better at Golden Corral, which was a disappointment. The beach and water were definitely worth it to us, though.

[Biris]

Thanks CJDePew for your reply.

 

I booked Barcelo for the end of May, and we chose the day option. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find some chairs or find some shaded area. I’ll update when I’m back. 

 

Biris. 

[BNBR]

We are struggling between these 2 spots as well. Aruba is newish for me, and we prefer beach clubs over hotels. Does that even exist on Aruba?  Nachi Cocom/Mr Sanchos type places. 

[Hatteras51]

10 hours ago, BNBR said:

We are struggling between these 2 spots as well. Aruba is newish for me, and we prefer beach clubs over hotels. Does that even exist on Aruba?  Nachi Cocom/Mr Sanchos type places. 

The only beach club is Reflexions, which is on Surfside Beach,  which is a short taxi ride from the port. There are some reports and a few pictures on this board.  I love the Surfside area. I spend several weeks in Aruba every year. 

[tamara01]

We have done Barceló 2x, 1st time we loved it, 2nd time - was last Christmas - I am sure being Christmas was the reason but we found zero chairs on beach or pool,  we looked all over, finally just put our stuff on a spot by the pool an enjoyed the pool, but we really missed being able to get out of the pool and sit, ha.  Drinks were good, buffet was decent but nothing great.  I would say about the same as ship buffet, not tons of choices.  Didn't do the beach since we live in FL and do the beaches all the time.