I visited the Radisson Aruba resort this past December and ultimately had a great time. Aruba is an extremely easy family vacation and the Radisson was very kid friendly (especially the pools!). While a trip report is still in the works, I wanted to point out that this resort is in the process of being sold. While confirmation of the exact date and who is buying them is TBD, rumor on the street is that it will turn into a Hilton at some point in April.
I heard about this rumor back in December when I was visiting myself and at the time the front desk staff were reluctant to give out any information. My assumption is that they didn’t know much more than what I read on the internet. However, my parents just returned from this resort a few days ago and the staff there had no problem giving them some information. There was apparently a bunch of talk about the sale on the beach from many resort guests as well.
With that being said, you can still book at this hotel until December 2016! This gives you over a year and a half to book and utilize not only your Club Carlson points (the hotel requires 50,000 points for a free night) but also your free night on any award booking which is an amazing perk of the Club Carlson credit card. That means if you are a Club Carlson card member, you can book a stay for two nights and only pay 50,000 points! When I visited back in December, I was able to book back to back reservations using two different accounts to maximize the credit card benefits (related blog post). For that vacation, I booked three separate reservations that looked like this:
- Reservation #1: Booked under my account, night 1 = 50,000 points, night 2 = FREE!
- Reservation #2: Booked under my husbands account, night 3 = 50,000 points, night 4 = FREE!
- Reservation #3: Booked under my account, night 5 = 50,000 points, night 6 = FREE!
So for a 6 night stay in Aruba I only spent 150,000 Club Carlson points and since it was Christmas time the face value was over $4,000! Remember, this perk is not limited to this particular hotel, but to ALL Club Carlson properties.
While I am not 100% sure yet of my vacation plans this upcoming December, I have already gone ahead and made some speculative reservations at the Radisson Aruba to lock them in with points and the free night benefits. With that being said, assuming the hotel does officially turn into a Hilton hotel within the next month, there is no guarantee that the reservations will be honored so I would not book a non-refundable flight right now if you are not willing to stay elsewhere. The Radisson Aruba Facebook page does suggest that all reservations will be honored and customer service over the phone told me the same thing, but I received no guarantee from the Club Carlson social media team on Twitter. They said that when a property leaves the chain they will make every effort, but ultimately it is up to the new management to decide whether or not the reservation is honored. I personally would love it if reservations are honored and then we can get the perks of having Hilton status during the stay. Fingers crossed, but I am not getting my hopes up!
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Got my award reservation for Thanksgiving. Fingers crossed indeed. You’d think all reservations, award or not, would be detailed and recompensed in the sale so as to not inconvenience the guest. You want good relations on both sides.
@marvin – I agree but unfortunately it doesn’t always work that way. Additionally, since radisson is aware of the sale they really should make others aware on the website and give a tentative date.
I phoned Carlson two weeks ago about the impending sale and was told they knew nothing about it. In the meantime I have followed up with contacts at the resort and have been given sketchy information . I certainly hope that they will accept my accrued points when I get my doctors permission to travel. There is no other resort on the island at which we would consider to stay.
@Darrjly – I agree that they are being sketchy with this information. With that being said, if you do not already have a reservation I absolutely wouldn’t expect them to allow you to make a reservation with Club Carlson points once they turn over ownership. I suggest making a speculative reservation (which has not surpassed the cancelation timeframe) using your Club Carlson points for a time you think you can travel.
That looks like a fun place for kids! I have been going back and forth on whether to visit this place or not. I don’t have my daughter’s Spring Break dates for 2016 yet, so it would have to be Christmas. Looks like I don’t have much time to think about it. Hmm..
@leana – I thought it was great with me at the time 18 month old. It doesn’t have a slide like some of the other resorts (or a lazy river for the marriott), but I thought was great. And the beach huts are free (unlike the Hyatt).
There are many nice resorts on the same strip of beach but for peak times using club carlson points with credit card perk is great.
I have a stay planned for the Radisson Aruba in May, it’s been booked for a while now. Any chance they won’t honor that?
@nick – I am not able to get a clear answer when the resort is officially being sold. Usually people are given a decent heads up. In my opinion it should be at least a few months. I’m not sure about your stay in May, but personally I hope it stays in tact.
Thanks for this heads up. Been discussing with my husband for a while about going in late Nov., so we just booked 6 nights with points at CC Visa 2-for-1 rates (his, mine, his) for just prior to Thanksgiving.
Now we wait and see.
@marilyn – no problem! That’s great! Keep in mind that November is off peak so some other hotels might have pretty reasonable rates if the new hotel decides to cancel reservations.
I just booked 8 nights for Oct. ew have been going since 1974 we were told that it was sold to Hilton as of 7/15 My question is will there construction going on ?
@John A – No one seems to be willing to give out much information. Unfortunately, I am not sure.
I received a email from the Raddison saying my reservation is secured but nothing on renovations
It is official effective today July 14th that Hilton has purchased the Radisson Aruba, the change will take place at midnight tonight.
I am currently staying at the property and we have received official notice that our keys may stop working at midnight tonight when the system changes start to take effect. All of the staff are thrilled it is Hilton & not the RIU. They are stating that all existing reservations will be honored but new reservation stopped being taken today sometime. They did not have any additional info at this time, they are not even sure how it will be branded in the Hilton family.
@Rick – Thanks for letting me know! Any idea if they will be honoring Hilton status even if you booked through Club Carlson?
Is there any word on upcoming renovations?