Aruba is a yearly trip for us. We have tried a few different resorts, but end up coming back to Barcelo for the people and the value. This year we tried something different, we paid extra money for royal level accommodations. I do think it was worth a few extra dollars we paid because of the upstairs dining room where we had breakfast every morning, nicer room and the beach bar. it was a little more customized. As far as the beach and the weather, it’s perfection here. If you like a super quiet, private vacation, it’s not that: it’s busy, but we enjoy walking the strip at night after dinner, there’s a lot going on. At Barcelo the staff is extremely accommodating, Melvin, Karina, Jamie, Jissette,,… There’s so many nice folks. I don’t know everyone’s name, but they’re all extremely accommodating. Even though Barcelo is an all-inclusive resort, we enjoy going to dinners off resort and there are so many good restaurants. Agridente (Italian), we had dinner at the Ritz, It was exquisite, Pizza at Napolitano, there are so many good restaurants. We’ve been other places that we like very much but Aruba is an easy flight and a relaxed vacation for us. Hope this was helpful.