AAA Four Diamond Resort with a Casino and Private Beach

The four-pointed red star on Aruba’s national flag represents the four points on a compass, a symbol of the country’s multinational appeal. Situated just off Venezuela’s northwestern coast, the island has benefitted from its warm climate, low annual rainfall, and convenient trade winds that first attracted Arawak Indians, followed by Spanish, British, and Dutch colonists. Its multicultural history contributed to the creation of Aruba’s official Papiamento language, a Creole dialect that borrows from Spanish, Dutch, English, and Amerindian languages. At the AAA Four Diamond Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino located in the capital, Oranjestad, you can see a diverse assortment of national artifacts from Aruba’s past, including shell and stone tools and excavated skeletons.

The resort is made up of two distinct properties. The first is Renaissance Marina Hotel, an 18-and-older resort with an adults-only pool and easy access to a 24-hour casino, where you can play blackjack or roulette. This hotel also contains the Okeanos Spa, which offers aloe facials, seaweed body wraps, and access to a private beach concealed by mangroves. Just a few steps away, families stay in the Marina’s sister property, Renaissance Ocean Suites. Guests of both hotels have access to 40 acres of beachfront property, a fitness center, spa, and restaurant on Renaissance Island, just 10 minutes offshore. Here, the staff facilitates kid-friendly activities, including kayak rentals and hikes on a nature trail where guests can watch daily iguana feedings.

Guest rooms at either property put you close to shopping, dining, and nightlife at the Renaissance Mall or in nearby Oranjestad. Onsite restaurants include L.G. Smith’s Steak & Chop House, where Angus-beef steaks and coconut-lime ceviche are paired with an extensive wine list.

Oranjestad, Aruba: Dutch Capital with Exotic Wildlife and 18th-Century Fort

In the late 1700s, Dutch settlers founded the capital city of Oranjestad on Aruba’s southwestern coastline to serve as a transitional harbor for trade between Curacao and Venezuela. Today, their influences can be seen in the city’s colorful and ornate Dutch Colonial architecture, most especially in the sherbet-colored buildings that line Wilhelminastraat, one of Oranjestad’s main streets.

Oranjestad’s proximity to the Caribbean Sea and its trade winds make it a nice spot for casual trips to the beach as well as other outdoor activities. Just 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the hotel, Aruba’s Butterfly Farm is home to hundreds of exotic butterflies, including the iridescent blue morpho. To the north, the Aruba Ostrich Farm lets visitors feed the large birds and taste ostrich meat. Before leaving the island, make sure to walk a few blocks east of the hotel to Fort Zoutman, Oranjestad’s oldest structure. Built in 1798, the restored fort and tower houses a history museum inside its barriers.

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