Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort Aruba Review

I count myself lucky that my grandparents took advantage of purchasing one of Aruba’s first timeshares in the 1980s. Our home away from home was always a haven to escape the bitterly cold weather in Massachusetts each February. For two wonderful weeks, we traded our snow shovels for sand pails and blizzards for beaches. As I got older, my love affair with the country continued. I began to explore other properties on the island, switching out a stay at our trusty timeshare for some of the island’s more luxurious options.

Ironically, I had a trip to Aruba planned just days after my grandmother passed away. While I strongly considered canceling, I reflected on all the amazing memories I had shared with her in Aruba. From playing the penny slots at her favorite casino to stocking up on gouda at our go-to supermarket, I felt like visiting our favorite place would be a way to not only honor her memory, but also feel closer to her at a time when I was grieving her passing.

For years, I had heard countless visitors rave about how Bucuti & Tara is the crown jewel of the island. It’s the sole adults-only property in the island’s more laid-back Eagle Beach area, operating since 1987. The boutique resort is like nowhere else on the island, balancing classic Aruban charm with luxury level amenities.

Aruba’s official slogan is “One Happy Island,” thanks in part to its reliably fantastic weather and the kindness of its residents. However, as the island continues to surge in popularity, some challenges befall guests at many popular resorts. For instance, the process of securing lounge chairs on the beach can be a grueling task, necessitating a wake-up call before sunrise just to claim a prime spot. Bucuti & Tara solves this issue by allowing guests to book their chairs the day before via an in-room tablet so they can take advantage of a little extra sleep.

And while everyone has a different vision of what they want their vacation to look like, many resorts have a party-centric vibe that can make relaxation a bit difficult. Bucuti & Tara focuses on savoring the quiet moments by catering to couples and small parties rather than weddings and large groups. The property knows it can’t be everything to everyone, and rather than expanding its amenities to please every kind of visitor, it has dialed in ways to cater to its guests in a way no other property on the island has.

People define hospitality in different ways, but to me, it’s about making people feel welcome, comfortable, and cared for—all things every member of the team at Bucuti & Tara showed me throughout my stay.

The Rooms

My penthouse suite had a full kitchen and dining area, a large living room, a bathroom with a walk-in shower and a soaking tub, and an oversized balcony with a daybed and bistro set. Each of the four penthouse suites offers breathtaking views of Eagle Beach, strategically positioned to allow guests to watch the sunset and catamarans hugging the coast.

Views and spacious accommodations aside, the real reason to splurge on one of the penthouse suites is the private thatched palapa on the beach. The palapas include a small table and chairs, plus two loungers. They require no reservations and are yours to use as much or as little as you’d like during your stay. In addition to the penthouse suites, the 104 accommodations include garden- and ocean-view rooms, oceanfront suites, and bungalows. The rooms are bright with dark wood tones and tile flooring that’s ubiquitous in classic Aruba hotels. Some include full kitchens, while others have a mini fridge and microwave, and all offer a patio or a balcony. Some rooms also have an espresso machine, and during nightly turndown service, you can expect organic tea awaiting.

The rooms are outfitted with a Tempur-Pedic mattress, a pillow menu, and Frette bedding, and each includes a dehumidifier and an air purifier. Guests will also find a tablet in every room—this is how you make reservations for the palapas both on the beach and at the pool, as well as how you browse other excursions on the island and make in-room requests.

Food and Drink

All bookings come with a full daily breakfast at the newly renovated Elements Restaurant. The spread includes an extensive buffet with fresh pastries, a bounty of fruit, hot items, and an omelet station. The restaurant also serves lunch and dinner daily, with a strong focus on locally sourced and sustainable ingredients and a wide selection of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. If you’re looking for something more romantic, you can arrange for a five-course beachfront dinner in one of four private palapas in front of the resort. The property is not all-inclusive and encourages guests to explore the culinary scene around the island. It does, however, offer the Dine Around plan, which includes a prix-fixe dinner at several standout restaurants for those wanting to try several venues without doing any of their own research.

One area where the property’s focus on sustainability shines is its bar program.  The SandBar cocktail menu utilizes ingredients that would otherwise become waste, like banana sugar crafted from discarded banana peels, a Champagne foam crafted from unfinished bottles used to pour welcome toasts for guests, and zero-waste citrus juice. These drinks—including the banana old-fashioned and the Negroni made with melon-infused Campari and a lemon-aloe spray—are a far cry from the generic, out-of-the-carton Coladas you’ll find at just about every other resort on the island. For those camped out on the beach, you only need to raise the red flag on your lounge chair to signal to a server that you’re ready for a snack or beverage. Bucuti & Tara also focuses on nonalcoholic offerings, piloting a daily Healthy Hour, where guests can enjoy half-priced mocktails and smoothies, in addition to a complimentary Mocktail Masterclass hosted by director of food and beverage Nicolas Nemalceff.

Activities and Amenities

The hotel’s prime spot on one of the best stretches of beach in Aruba means you simply can’t beat a day spent lounging under an umbrella and bouncing between the ocean and your chair. After all, the beach is one of the main draws of Aruba and it would be a shame to not take full advantage. In addition to the beach, the resort has one pool and a solar-heated Jacuzzi. There’s also nightly live music on the patio, weekly markets featuring local vendors, and movie nights on the beach. Unlike many resorts on the island, the pool is open 24 hours. Given Bucuti & Tara’s strong emphasis on wellness, you can expect the option of a daily yoga, Pilates, or tai-chi class in the morning, as well as the fitness center.

If you decide to venture away from the property, the concierge is more than happy to review a list of carefully curated activities such as catamaran cruises, paddleboarding, and snorkeling. This includes some activities that are exclusive to Bucuti & Tara guests, including sunset sails, full moon yoga, and bird-watching tours. All of the tour partners the property works with are selected based on their shared sustainability philosophy, and they do not promote activities that damage the island’s nature, like ATV and UTV tours.

The Spa

The Purun Spa features several signature treatments, like the Sacred Massage of Totomo, which honors the island’s ancestral culture, and the Aruba Aloe facial. Spa services are available inside, as well as on the beach in an outdoor cabana.

Accessibility and Sustainability

The property has accessible parking, ramps, elevators, and restrooms. Elements Restaurant and the SandBar are accessible via an entry-level ramp. There’s an ADA-compliant room on site in the resort’s Tara Wing, which has an adjustable bed height, low handles, wheelchair-high plugs, and a level bathroom with a no-step shower.

Since 2018, the property has been the Caribbean’s first and only certified carbon-neutral hotel. In 2020, the United Nations honored Bucuti & Tara with a UN Global Climate Action Award and proclaimed the resort’s sustainability program “highly replicable and scalable.” This commitment to sustainability can be seen across the resort, from menus opting to feature locally sourced fish rather than imported beef, Eco Power machines in the fitness center that convert kinetic energy to electricity, the lowest per-occupied-room electricity usage of all hotels in Aruba, and on-site solar panels that heat water for guest rooms.

Location

The property is in the heart of the low-rise district alongside Eagle Beach. While there are several restaurants and attractions in the vicinity, this area is markedly quieter than the bustling high-rise area of Palm Beach and downtown Oranjestad, both located about a 10-minute drive from the property. While there’s no need to rent a car as several taxis tend to stay on site in case they’re needed, it’s a wonderful way to explore the island on your schedule, and parking is included with your reservation. Both rental cars and taxis can be booked directly with the hotel’s concierge. One pro tip if you do choose to rent a car: Always use a locally owned car rental business—they’re much more reliable and competitively priced than the national chains on the island.

How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Stay 

The resort averages more than 97 percent occupancy year-round and has a returning guest rate of more than 60 percent. In other words, this property is wildly popular. Because of this, you’re not likely to find any sales or promotions at a discounted rate. The lowest room rates can be found throughout the late spring and summer, which is Aruba’s off-peak season.