Hotel Review: Radisson Blu Aruba

I have been to many Radisson hotels, usually the Radisson Blu brand, especially internationally. That includes many diverse locations such as Lima, Capetown, Madrid, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv, Reykjavik, Brussels, Sydney, and London, to name a few.  I liked them all with only one exception (Radisson Red Liverpool). The brand was especially popular a number of years ago when, if you had the Club Carlson brand credit card, you’d get an award stay of two nights for the points of one night! We all loved those two-for-one stays! Later on, the Radisson brand split into two chains, one half covering the Americas (which then became part of Choice Hotels) and the other half covering everywhere else. I initially transferred all of my points to the everywhere else group, but when that group moved to dynamic pricing for points redemption, I switched my points back to Choice Hotels (receiving one Choice point for every two Radisson points). Phew, that was a long walk down Radisson memory lane!

Suffice it to say, the Choice points have been burning a hole in my pocket, especially since they have been historically difficult to redeem because of Choice’s 100-day redemption rule (which is changing to a more user-friendly model in 2025).

I was surprised when I looked on the website and saw that the hotel was available on points for exactly the two days I needed. I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised.

Check-in was easy. We were greeted and given our keys. we proceeded to our suite.

The suite is large and really nice. It has a full living room and kitchen area and a separate bedroom.

There was a nice note, water bottles and hats on the table for us.

There is a kitchen table, a coffee machine, a full refrigerator and a microwave. Certainly, if a guest wanted to eat in the room, that would be a viable option.

Champagne! Thank you!

The bedroom was also very nice and oh-so beachy!

The bathroom is likewise modern and attractive. I like the tiles!

Honestly, the suite was everything we could have asked for. And the balcony was really nice too – with great views of beach – especially the sunset!

There are pools on the ground level. There is also an infinity pool on the hotel rooftop.

For those who prefer being on the beach, the hotel is not directly on the beach – – however it is only a block or two away and there is a designated area of the beach for Radisson guests. I believe the hotel also offers a shuttle to and from the beach.

The fitness center is also clean, modern and well-equipped.

I did not have breakfast at the hotel, so that is not included in my review.

Overall, I was happy with the hotel and our stay there. What’s more, the hotel is affordably priced and the point redemption was available and reasonable. I would return.