I'll give a little update for my Aruba experience so far...absolutely loving it.
Arrival at 2120 at night on AA2217 was the easiest Immigration and Customs I've ever had, from Immigration through Customs I was on the street in less than 5 minutes, with checked baggage, thank you AA priority baggage! A quick Government set price taxi ride ($25) to the Holiday Inn and we were checked in. The AA Cabin Crew were checking in 5 minutes after us. A nice upgrade from the cheapest AAA option to a partial ocean view room worth $100 a night more.
As IHG Gold my partner had a palapa reserved for the next morning, Platinum get one reserved for the entire stay. The beach and surroundings are beautiful, the weather magnificent - Aruba has a constant breeze keeping it very pleasant.
As it is high season in Aruba hotel prices are not cheap, the AAA rate for the Holiday Inn is $255 a night, other brand hotels nearby are a lot more expensive. The Holiday Inn does have the nicest beach location as the oldest resort on the island.
For shopping enthusiasts you will love it, it is extremely similar to outlets shopping in the USA but cheaper, Tag Heuer watches are around 15% cheaper as there is no tax on jewellery/watches etc. Brand shops I've seen but didn't enter- Prada, Ralph Lauren, Polo, etc etc.
A lot of hotels and resorts offer all-inclusive, it's not worth it for me, the difference in rates was $300 USD a night and we have spent around $130 a day on meals and drinks, (we did bring duty free alcohol which may be cheaper to buy locally but $20 USD for 1L of Jameson I'm not complaining!).
As for the locals, extremely friendly, everyone speaks English, all signs are in English, a very low crime rate and unemployment rate, Aruba lives up to their own description as The Happy Island.
Would I visit Aruba again, absolutely!
