ARUBA NEWS: Summer Edition 2013

Aug. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- WHAT’S NEW
Hands-on help from tourists
Visitors to Aruba can get hands-on with the Dutch Caribbean island’s ground-breaking green initiatives with the annual reef care project in September.
Started in 1994, the Aruba Reef Care Project was one of the island’s most ambitious environmental projects to involve both tourists and residents. It now forms just one of a series of measures aimed at making Aruba a world-leading ‘green’ destination.  Around 900 volunteers join the reef care project, scheduled for September 21 this year. It covers a 20-miles stretch of the southern coastline, including those in front of the main resort hotels. Volunteers are asked to collect any litter from beaches, while snorkellers and divers remove debris from the sea which could potentially threaten the island’s diverse marine life.

A valued opportunity for visitors to work with locals and help preserve Aruba’s prized coral reefs, the project is supported by the Aruba Tourism Authority and many hotels. Some of these provide packed lunches for participants and offer prizes for star volunteers. Visitors may e-mail: castroperez@gmail.com for additional information

Electrifying Aruba
Aruba is again an international focus from September 6 to 8 with the world’s largest electronic music event.  The island has been chosen as the setting for the inaugural Electric Festival, reflecting its role in furthering the electric dance movement in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
Electric Festival – a combination of conference, public entertainment, as well as studio sessions, workshops and exhibitions for DJs, producers, artists and fans – is now planned as an annual event and the largest of its kind. And it will be more than just a dance music event by encompassing creative arts, cuisine and lifestyle. For those in the know, a leading figure in the event will be Aruba’s own world-renowned music producer and DJ, Chuckie, who made his name in Amsterdam and who has performed at some of the world’s leading electronic music festivals. Other big names of the genre and appearing in Aruba include former Guns n’ Roses guitarist Slash and DJ Mag’s Top 100-rated DJ, Hardwell.
A competition to win a travel package to Electric Festival is available at http://electricfestival.com/ win/ (http://electricfestival.com/%20win/) and tickets are also available for purchase, with one-day passes at US$50.

HOTEL NEWS
Aruba gains another luxury hotel with the opening later this year of a 320-room Ritz Carlton. Provisionally scheduled to open in December, the hotel is on a Palm Beachfront site and will include four restaurants, a 15-treatment room Ritz-Carlton spa, two swimming pools, a 24-hour casino and one of the largest state-of-the-art meeting facilities in Aruba. The seventh Ritz-Carlton property in the Caribbean/Mexico region, the hotel will offer guestrooms with a choice of king-size or two queen beds. Fifty-five suites, including deluxe, executive and parlor, are available, two of which are seafront with a master bedroom, living room and private balcony with outdoor showers.

The property’s signature Ritz-Carlton Club Level also overlooks the property’s coastline and offers 35 exclusive rooms, with additional personalised services, including a private club concierge and all-day food and drink choices.
www.ritzcarlton.com

Holiday Inn transformation
Holiday Inn Resort Aruba is going through the most ambitious transformation in its history. The largest resort on the island and the largest Holiday Inn resort in the Caribbean is currently undergoing a US$20 million renovation, with completion scheduled for the end of November. The first phase included the complete renovation of one of its three buildings, Curacao, and the addition of an adjacent pool and whirlpool and is already finished.
Phase 2 will include a complete makeover of all the rooms and hallways of the other two buildings, Aruba and Bonaire. The main lobby, including the front desk, guests services and lobby bar, plus the Iguana Bar and Seabreeze Restaurant, will also be renovated. The addition of a new state-of-the-art spa and gym, plus an upgrade of banqueting and meeting facilities will complete the project.
www.holidayarubaresort.com

Family fun at Divi Resorts
Keeping the kids entertained is now child’s play at three Divi Resorts following the introduction this summer of a ‘Treasures of the Caribbean’ activities programme. The new line-up is free and constructed around family activity. It includes a weekly treasure hunt, sandcastle building – with a chance to win a family vacation for the best one – and movie night with popcorn and tropical drinks. The programme is available at Aruba’s Divi Village Golf & Beach Resort, Divi Dutch Village and Divi Aruba Phoenix.  www.diviresorts.com

Hotels win international accolades
Six hotels in Aruba have joined an elite selection, having been selected for accolades underlining world-class accommodation quality on the island. The properties have all been awarded TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence for 2013-14, while another hotel has been recognised for sustainable tourism.
To qualify for a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, hotels must maintain an average rating of four or higher out of a possible five, as reviewed by travellers on the site. This recognition has gone to Aruba’s Divi Mega Resort and its sister Tamarijn Mega Resort, together with the Radisson Aruba, the Renaissance Aruba Resort and the Boardwalk Hotel, a boutique property 200 yards from the island’s renowned Palm Beach.
Meanwhile, La Cabana Beach Resort and Casino also gained the TripAdvisor recognition, as well as a platinum certificate, representing 10 years of continuous certification as an Earth Check resort. This places La Cabana among a unique group of worldwide sustainable tourism companies committed to sustainable practices.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
Tuesday is party-time!
Aruba loves to party and the latest free regular event is a date for all ages. The Biba Aruba Festival at the Radisson Aruba Resort is a celebration of the island’s specialities and will include carnival dancers, local food, fire and limbo shows. Local crafts will also be on display. Held every Tuesday around the resort’s pool deck, Biba Aruba is open to everyone. Admission is free and children are welcome on a bouncy house, while adults can enjoy a drink at the nearby Castaway’s Bar. www.radisson.com/aruba

Beach belle
Aruba’s Eagle Beach has been ranked No.3 in the Caribbean’s best walking beaches, as rated by Caribbean Journal, the region’s leading digital newspaper, covering more than 20 countries and territories. Making the award, Caribbean Journal said: ‘Aruba is about the colour of the sand, the combination of the water and the island’s special light. Eagle Beach is an ideal place to take it all in and being in the low rise hotel district makes the vistas that much better.’