Wow - the renovations at the Amsterdam Manor are amazing! The updated rooms are very welcoming and extremely comfortable.

It was great to come back 'home' and reconnect with the friendly staff at AMBR.

My friends and I shared a suite with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, and spacious balcony patio area with a nice view of the ocean and sunset.

We had a great time at the Wednesday Night Movie on the Beach! What a way to watch a movie!! Toes in the cool sand, lounging in a beach chair. We brought out a pizza and a bottle of wine and enjoyed watching a movie under the stars.

They also have a great dining experience on the beach at their Passions restaurant. Great way to watch the sunset while enjoying an exquisite meal...again, with your toes in the sand.

As always, great food and drinks, great staff, and a wonderful experience once more at the AMBR.

Can't wait for next year's return trip!

We spent a wonderful week last spring at the Amsterdam Manor and fell in love with Aruba again. Four of us stayed here four years ago and this time we brought along four more friends to share the fun. Of all the beaches we have visited in the Caribbean Eagle Beach is the best. The beach has lovely sand, nearby shade, clear water and sandy bottom for swimming. Both times we have been in Aruba the week of Easter when the island is in full swing and the beach in front of Amsterdam Manor was never crowded. Trust me, the high rises only have a sliver of a beach that is jam packed. The Manor is a clean, lovely and friendly place to stay and with the kitchen in your room you can save on your meals. The restaurant in the resort is quite good and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from within a very short drive. My only complaint this time was that my bed was too hard and my old back didn't take kindly to it. You will read that the air can get fouled from the nearby water treatment plant and that is true. However the trade winds blow 12 - 17mph every day all year long so you don't even notice the plant most of the time. We have never been bothered by the smell on the beach and only occasionally in the courtyard of the resort. It's just not a big deal at all and if you have spent any time in your life in an industrial town you will never notice at all. This is not a big party resort, the spring breakers who come here are retired or bringing their kids. It's a great place to relax, unwind and read a couple of books. However if you are looking for a party there a plenty of great clubs in town and it's only a 10 minute ride from the resort. We plan to return to Aruba again and the Amsterdam Manor is still on the top of our list.

This was our 16th trip to Aruba from September 8-22, 2007.

We’ve stayed at many different resorts over the years in Aruba but have finally found “our home” at Amsterdam Manor.

It's a small resort located on Eagle Beach. One of the main reasons for choosing it was because it’s small, more personal, and the beach is never crowded (can always get chairs and palapas at any time of day.)

Check in was a breeze since I pre-registered on Amsterdam Manor’s website. I booked a 2 bedroom, 2 bath which my husband and I shared with two friends.

They are just finishing up a major renovation of all of their rooms: new tiling and granite counter tops in the kitchens and bathrooms, new kitchen appliances and dishes, flat screen TV’s and cordless phones in each room, and new modern, sleek looking furniture. Everything was so comfortable!

Things that we like:
Two restaurants – Mango’s and Passions on the beach.
Weekly BBQ night and show every Tuesday.
Free movies on the beach for guests every Wed. night.
Beach bar with lunch service and daily happy hour.
Pool bar with 2 happy hours.
Room service from Mango’s.
Beach towels available at any time of day.
Free internet service for guests and WiFi.
Full kitchens or kitchenettes which includes frig, stove, all utensils, glasses, dishes, toaster, coffee maker, blender.
Nice quiet pool area with cushions on the lounge chairs.
New, modern bathrooms
Flat screen TV's
Never crowded or noisy - very relaxing atmosphere
Great staff!

Spent many wonderful days on the beach – water was clear and warm. Some days we brought our drinks/lunch to the beach and other days we just ordered from the beach bar because it was just too easy to have drinks and food brought to your palapa (and that’s what a vacation is all about!) We had everything from salads to French onion soup to pizzas delivered to our chairs! The service is wonderful at their beach bar (Diego and Diana are the best!) One afternoon I decided to order a Mojito but Diego said the mint didn’t look fresh and he would be back in a few minutes with new mint. I waited a bit and decided it was going to take longer than I thought. Hubby and friends were out in the water so I joined them. About 15 minutes later Diego is standing at the water’s edge with my drink in his hand, waving me in! I yelled at him to meet me half way – funny that he didn’t really go for that idea! But talk about service….drink brought to you right at the shoreline!

They now have free movies on the beach for guests every Wednesday night! First movie we saw was Devil Wears Prada (that night we took a bottle of champagne to sip on while watching the movie) and the following week we saw Wild Hogs (this time took a bottle of wine and some microwave popcorn – our friends snacked on pizza and beer!) Very nice, fun idea!

The water at Eagle Beach was great – small, gentle waves, warm water and a nice, sandy bottom. The water was so clear on some days that you could be standing up to your neck in the water and still see your feet. Lots of fish (big and small) to see swimming around your feet as well (which is probably why we had pelicans hanging out the entire time.)

We had beautiful weather (sunny and windy) for almost all 14 days with just a couple of days of brief showers..

I posted my restaurant reviews at:
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Some of our favorite restaurants this year – Passions on the beach at Amsterdam Manor (food, ambiance, and service were nothing less than perfect), Screaming Eagle (incredible place and incredible food), Yemanja (great food and Diana and Jorge are wonderful hosts), Sunset Grille at the Radisson (food and service is always top-notch!), Bingo (this place is like my “second home” – casual with great food and a nice place to hang out for drinks). Other yearly favorites: Rumba, Gasparito, Mango’s, Marandi (unfortunately one of our other favorites, Chef’s Tables, was closed for their vacation.)

It’s always such a nice feeling to be welcomed back to Amsterdam Manor year after year and be treated like family. Everyone always seems so happy to see you - the entire staff is nothing less than stellar! We will definitely be back again next year for trip #17.

We stayed at the Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort for 2 weeks in September 2007. We stayed in one of the renovated 2 bedroom suites facing the beach with a lovely oversized balcony which had beautiful sunset views. The rooms were big with 2 large bedrooms , 2 bathrooms (one with a huge jacuzzi), a fully equipped kitchen with dining area as well as a lounge area. We also had 3 large flat screen tvs. The rooms were clean with a lot of storage space and cupboards. The air conditioning worked perfectly throughout and the rooms were cleaned daily (even all the sand we brought in with us!). The rooms have a safe and you can get the key from reception.
The staff were very friendly and extremely helpful and always managed to sort out any questions we had and also booked taxis and activities.
The beach was about 30 seconds across a road which was not particularily busy and did not cause any problems at all. Eagle beach was by far the best beach on the island. It is just pure sand with no rocks or stones and lovely clear warm water. If you get there early you can even see fish swimming right up to the shore. There were thatched sunshades and sun loungers (free to guests). The beach bar was terrific and Diego makes the best Mojitos in the world!. The beach is also kept very clean and there is even a voluntary beach clean up programme.
We were on an all inclusive and the food at the hotel restaurants (Mangos and Passions) was excellent. All the restaurant staff were helpful but especially Diana who always made us feel extra welcome and went out of her way to help us. Part of the AI allows 2 meals per week outside the hotel. Tuesdays is buffet night which includes a Carribean show and lots of lovely food.
Useful tips- Nearly all shops on the island do not except US$50 or US$100. However the hotel will change one note per day into smaller amounts. US$ are widely accepted so no need to take any Florins even on the buses.
Some people get up early to place towels on the sun loungers on the beach and then go out for the day but we never had any trouble getting a sun lounger later on in the day.
If ordering a taxi ask the hotel how much it should be first.
If you want to try horse riding for the first time ask the hotel to book with La Ponderosa. They pick you up from the hotel and give you a horse according to your ability. The ride lasts approx 2 hours and they take you round a rocky trail, to a disused gold mine and along a beach-a great experience.
Overall the Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort was a perfect place to stay and we would definitely recommend it and we would certainly stay there again.