Aruba gives a Dutch welcome — and some sensual Caribbean flavor

Queer travelers in North America have plenty of warm-weather beach vacation options.

But one legacy of colonialism in the Caribbean is that many parts of the region are extremely homophobic. I’ve seen it myself in places like Jamaica and St. Lucia, and safety becomes a real concern. 

So, a recent trip to Aruba, a self-governing country within the kingdom of the Netherlands, was a delightful surprise. The island is set in the Southern Caribbean, a mere 50 miles or so north of Venezuela, and is often referred to as part of the “ABC islands,” Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. Aruba is roughly 6 by 20 miles in length, and features two stunning main beaches, Eagle Beach and Palm Beach. The island has sunny weather nearly round, and is not susceptible to hurricanes, due its southerly location, a great bonus!

Aruba has been a leader on queer rights in the region, thanks in part to its Dutch history. The island has allowed same-sex marriages since 2024 and passed laws protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination back in 2012.

We chose the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, set on Palm Beach, for several reasons. The resort, with 414 guest rooms and suites, recently underwent renovations and now boasts the largest spa facility on the island—not to mention a truly impressive two-story fitness facility. The resort is a proud supporter of the LGBTQ community and each year during Pride Month, it hosts a celebratory Pride brunch at its Mercat restaurant and lights the resort entranceway up in rainbow colors.

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We loved our oceanfront room, with a beautiful palette of tans and taupes that brought a relaxed beach feel; our floor to ceiling windows faced the stunning resort pool and magnificent Caribbean Sea beyond. Other touches we loved including dramatic recessed lighting under the bed and behind the headboard, twin marble vanities in the large bathroom, large shower and soaking tub, and a sizeable balcony.

 The resort has 10 on-site restaurants and bars, and we sampled many of them. Atardi was hands-down our best experience on the island, a magical dinner set right on the beach, the sun setting perfectly behind the water as we ate. 

Mercát provided an excellent morning breakfast buffet. In the evening, the restaurant has an Italian/Mediterranean vibe, and the calamari and meatballs here were top notch, as well as the short rib ragu. Outdoor seating here was another favorite any time of day, as the view of the palm trees and the beach beyond simply couldn’t be beat. Another fun breakfast option is Nana’s Dutch Pancakes, a new concept that recently opened and serves crepe-like sweet and savory breakfast options that were quite enjoyable.

Other options include Campeones Cantina & Tequila Bar for some tasty Mexican, the Lobby Bar, Waves Bar & Grill, and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

Spa time

We booked a couples massage at the on-property Mandara Spa, which comes in at an impressive 6,500 square-feet and boasts 12 treatment rooms, new steam and a sauna room. The spa focuses on aloe as a wellness element and incorporates the magical extract into many of the treatments, such as the Aloe & Milk Bath Treatment. Aloe is one of the most important exports in Aruba today, and even the resort bars have gotten into the wellness aspect of aloe, offering it in some of the cocktails in the Lobby Bar and Mercát — aloe is said to have medicinal properties when properly ingested. 

Our therapists were truly gifted, and we upgraded to the hot stone massage, which brought a bit of extra heat to the relaxation and was blissful. We particularly enjoyed the delightful outdoor courtyard, complete with new hot tub, cold plunge pool, and plenty of seating for relaxing, which we took advantage of after our treatment.

Other activities

There’s not a lot of queer-focused businesses on the island, and the sole gay bar, Cage Night Club, has some peculiar hours, open only on Thursdays and Saturdays (although locals said they’re sometimes open on Fridays, too). Drag shows on Thursday are popular but there is often a cover charge. But we found some fun outside the resort, too.

We booked a Snorkeling tour through the Marriott’s concierge with De Palm Tours, and chose the half-day snorkel adventure, aboard a well-equipped catamaran. It included snorkel gear, snacks, lunch, and an open bar. There was plenty of inside and outside seating, so we could get out of the hot sun when needed. And the lunch was probably the best I’ve ever had on this type of cruise — fabulous. Plus, the bartender kept the drinks flowing, and we had to pace ourselves a bit until after we were done snorkeling.

Speaking of the snorkeling, we stopped at three places, including over the sunken wreck of the SS Antilla, a 400-foot German cargo freighter that was sunk intentionally by the crew when it became clear that they were about to be captured. It was fascinating to swim over the length of the wreck, easily visible in the clear waters.

After learning about the importance of aloe in the Marriott’s Mandara Spa, we were inspired to Uber over to Aruba Aloe, where we took the free aloe factory tour. They have 10 acres dedicated to growing aloe, and we learned that at one point, two-thirds of the island was used to grow aloe. Aruba Aloe’s factory processes the various parts of the aloe plant into everything from soaps to lotions to medicine. The gift shop is a dangerous place, and we found ourselves trying to calculate how many Christmas gifts might fit in our luggage, as we wanted nearly everything there!

Lastly, it seems remiss not to mention Aruba’s sunsets one more time. Each night, we made sure to watch the stunning scene from the Marriott’s beachfront and were never disappointed. If anything, it made us determined to make it back to this sunny, accepting paradise again soon.

Related: [PHOTOS] Check out ‘Queer Eye’ star Antoni Porowski on vacay in the Caribbean

This trip was made possible from our friends at Marriott.

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