The Best Beach Hotels to Book in Aruba

Aruba gets back to nature on the northwest coast: cacti rise beside dirt roads best tackled by 4WD. In glamorous contrast stands the Ritz-Carlton Aruba, several stories high, butterscotch and imposing, gazing out over clear blue Caribbean waters and apricot sunsets. This is luxury magnified (even if you choose an entry-level limited-view room), plushly curtained and carpeted. We advise a junior suite or higher for sweeping marine views. The highlight? Apart from the 15,000sqft (1,390sqm) beachfront spa, it’s surely the shrimp tacos at Madero Pool & Beach Grill as you watch swimmers and strollers on Palm Beach.

Beach hotels in Aruba don’t get more hulking than the 370-plus room Barceló Aruba, towering over the sands of Palm Beach. Yet you won’t find a more relaxing space in northwest Aruba for lazing under the palms by the foaming shallows. Young ones love it here – the Kids Club keeps children aged four to twelve active from 9am to 5pm. For adults? There’s a natural lake-form pool edged by rocks and palms, as well as two hydro-massage pools. Tennis and golf lovers are catered for. Speaking of catering, the ​​All-Inclusive programme covers seven restaurants and three bars. Don’t miss sushi dining at Kyoto, for starters.

To its returning clients, this is the best beach hotel Aruba has to offer – particularly once they’ve found Renaissance Island, a guests-only sandy outcrop plied by complimentary water taxis. Book a private cabana with hammocks over the sea, and lunch the afternoon away at Papagayo Bar & Grill – or sip a beer at Mangrove Beach Bar as flamingos stalk by. The rooms are spotless at the Renaissance, handily set in Oranjestad: Scandi-pale, cool and high-raftered, whether you choose a resort or island-view. When dinner beckons, so do seven restaurants. Try L G Smith’s Steak and Chop House for the Black Angus beef.

With 12 casinos, Aruba may be the best island in the Caribbean if you’re game. As its full name indicates, the Hilton has a Vegas-worthy playground with 200 slot machines and table games from roulette to Caribbean stud poker. Not your scene? Not a problem – in the heart of the Palm Beach strip, the Hilton is handy for bronzing days and clubbing nights. Of course, you don’t even need to step out – on-site drinking and dining are diverse, from poolside cocktails to beachside seafood, lagoon-edge brunches to lobby coffees. And the rooms and suites are serenely clean and cool – made for idling in.

With a touch of the Dutch village to this upbeat retreat – maybe it’s down to the gabled facades and gingerbready facades. There is certainly the antithesis of international brand-bland. Take the low-footprint ethos – staff strive to protect hatched turtles, with a monthly clean-up on the sands, so you can join in to help keep Eagle Beach spotless. Whether you splurge on the penthouse suite or go low with the manor studio, rooms ooze character, all whirring ceiling fans and gaily toned bedspreads. For dinner, visit Passions on the Beach – and try the calypso shrimp with spicy piña colada-red curry creamy sauce.

Noord, the far-northern tip of Aruba, is famous for Palm Beach, which is the vacation epicentre. Here you’ll find white-on-white Ocean Z Boutique Hotel, set among palms. It’s an urban-groovy five-star hideaway, designed by an excellent Venezuelan architect: low-rise, with a fashionable slash of blue pool; there’s a scattering of pale-pine-floored rooms and suites overlooking the swimmers doing lengths. Popular with wedding parties, it’s a lively property, but dinners at the Med-flavoured restaurant are as romantic as they’re restful, you’ll realise, as you both fork your way through linguine frutti di mare.

There is something Aztec-futuristic about this giant stepped complex: 215 rooms cover nine categories, from the entry-level studio, via luxury spa lanai suite (sleeping six), to a California-worthy three-bedroom townhouse. In the tourist-loved hotspot of Palm Beach, it’s got the works: from kids club and family pool to DIY BBQ grills, aqua-aerobics to basketball and tennis courts. More lazily, you might idle under a parasol – Palm Beach runs for six sandy miles – or switch off in the spa, where Aruban aloe features in balmy treatments. Go Greek at Kouzina restaurant – one of 14 excellent dining and drinking spots.

It’s hulking, it’s a high-rise and for a good reason – or reasons – it’s hugely popular among budget-minded Caribbean sunseekers with families in tow. There’s the massive expanse of safe, sandy Palm Beach, waiting for tiny footprints. The highly Instagrammable pool has a handy children’s section. And PureBeach Bar & Restaurant (one of three fine places to indulge) has a menu loaded with pizzas, burgers and nachos. Head out for a day trip to De Palm Island and you’re in for a treat, from the water park to banana-boat rides. You’ll sleep soundly later, in rooms of zingy, nautical blue-and-white furnishings.