Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino Reviews

We had an amazing experience planning our wedding in October 2023. Zulaika was our planner and from day 1 she was so incredibly helpful. Having never been to Aruba prior to our wedding, she was able to provide me with ample options for all of the planning details such as catering, flowers, decor etc. We had 40 guests at our wedding on Renaissance Island and it was A BLAST!!! Everyone had an amazing time between the private ceremony on the beach, the amazing food, and DJ Ruuben. Every part of the planning process was made easy and they truly know how to make everything come together to have the most fantastic experience possible. I would 100% recommend the Renaissance for anyone who wants a private ceremony, amazing views, incredible food, and a beach party.

We were just married in Aruba on 8/7/21 at Renaissance Island. This review won't come close to describing how truly magical our day was. Gabriela Garcia was our wedding coordinator, and we began planning in November 2020. To begin, I am extremely detail oriented and very particular, so deciding on a destination wedding where I wouldn't have as much control of the situation was very scary for me. Working with Gabriela and everyone at the Renaissance was hands down the BEST DECISION I could have made. Gabriela was 110% involved, communicative, easy to reach at any time, for any reason and just an all around awesome and thoughtful person. It was crazy walking into our ceremony and reception after months of planning and not knowing what to expect. My jaw dropped, I was speechless and literally felt like I was in a slow motion movie. I still don't have words to truly describe how stunning everything looked. The reality far exceeded my expectations. I will be forever grateful to Gabriela, the staff at Renaissance and all of our vendors for their dedication to making our wedding day feel like a real-life fairy tale.

Separately, the resort itself is amazing. We stayed on the Marina side and it was great. Ambassador Suite was perfect for a group of 7 bridesmaids getting ready. The service is phenomenal - from the front desk, to the waitstaff, the Cabana guys, boat drivers and everyone else. Our group of 60 guests were all very impressed with the resort and finally understood why Aruba is called One Happy Island.

Our vendors (reviewed separately and all equally amazing)
-DJ RUUBEN
-Demian Gibbs Photography
-Little Island Stories (Sebastian Hofer) Videographer

After nearly one year of planning and another year of postponement due to the global shutdown, we finally had our dream wedding take place at Renaissance Private Island last month. My friends and family were absolutely floored by our wedding and all the small details in-between that were all made possible by the entire Renaissance team! Throughout the entire planning, postponing, and replanning our wedding I cannot thank Gabriella and Zulaika enough for their professionalism, wealth of knowledge, and organization.

We had our wedding on Renaissance Island and could not be happier with our experience. The venue is stunning, and it just feels extra special to have it all to yourselves. The wedding planning services offered by Gabriela and Zulaika are top notch. We felt well taken care of every step of the way. Although we were given agency to make decisions big and small, we told them that we felt so comfortable with them that even if we made zero decisions we were confident we could show up and have a picture-perfect wedding.

The Renaissance is also such a perfect resort for the wedding weekend, outside of the wedding event itself. There is so much to do within a few blocks— restaurants, nightlife, shopping, etc. Having the pool just off the lobby made it so easy to serve as a welcome party when guests arrived, and a place for new arrivals to gather after the afternoon flights came in. There is also variety of ways to spend days- at the hotel itself, over at the ocean suites pool, out on the island, etc. Truly there is something for everyone and for all ages! All of our guests LOVED IT and many are planning to now bring back their own families on future trips.

Renaissance Island was everything we dreamt our wedding would be and more.

Gabriela Garcia provided us with amazing support and guidance throughout the entire experience from planning through to the co-ordination of the day. Working with Gabriela was a real pleasure and I would certainly recommend the Renaissance Island and Gabriela for an intimate wedding venue.

My husband and I had never visited Aruba before the wedding but Gabriela made us feel at ease right from the start. Finding someone you trust and feel understands you is important when deciding on a destination wedding.

Venue: The venue was amazing and picture perfect. We trusted Gabriela with the entire set up and she did not disappoint. We only had a small party of 25 people in total and decided one long table was the best for our group. It was indeed perfect overlooking the beach and with the medium light package. It was everything we envisaged it would be. We opted for 2 flower arrangements on the arch for the ceremony and it just added to the backdrop of a stunning private cove.

Celebrant: Rev. Andrew Osbourne was our celebrant and he was just perfect. We had a non religious ceremony and the words he used were so aligned to us that he could have known us our entire lives.

Music: We had a steel pan drum player for 2 hours. After reading a number of reviews we opted to extend the steel pan drum for whilst photographs were being taken. We are so glad we did this as it meant we could enjoy the music after the nerves of the ceremony. We also had a DJ and he was amazing. the dance floor always had someone on it and the selection of music played catered for everyone in our group. We couldn't fault the selection made by Gabriela.

Food & Beverages: We opted for the Just Around Buffet and sushi station and cheese station. The quality of the food was amazing, everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. There was so much food I just wish I could have eaten more. We also had the deluxe drinks package. As our guests had all travelled a fair distance to be there we wanted to ensure they were well looked after. The staff were amazing. The bartender always made sure you had a drink and the staff assisted my elderly relatives with their plates for dinner taking the pressure off of our other guests. The staff became a part of the wedding and we had the best time with them.

Hair and Make Up: Bruce Stamper did my hair and make up and my mothers and sisters hair and make up. Bruce is the most amazing stylist and such a beautiful person to be around whilst you are getting ready for the main event. I generally don't wear much make up but Bruce made me feel at ease with what he was doing and delivered an elegant natural look that was perfect for the occasion.

Photography: We selected Crooze Photography to capture the memories of the day. Marc and Quinton were fantastic. They made us feel at ease. We received some teasers the very next day and although we are still awaiting the final images based on what we have seen we are so glad we selected them.

Would we change anything???? No everything was what we imagined it would be and more, I just wish it could have lasted longer.

I cannot day enough great things about Gabriela Garcia and the team at Renaissance Aruba! From day 1, Gabriela was quick to respond and thorough with her answers to any questions. She made planning my destination wedding from outside of the country a breeze! She didn’t miss a beat, suggesting items and decor based on my guest list size as well as the vision I had. When we got to meet with Gabriela in person months prior to the wedding, Renaissance allowed us to do both a food tasting and tour of the island. We also were able to meet with all of our vendors and do a rehearsal to make sure everyone was on the same page. Gabriela made sure our experience and our guest experience was fantastic until the very end!

The wedding day itself truly could not have been more perfect. Seeing my vision come to reality in the setup and decor took my breath away. Everything was executed exactly to plan and we had the time of our lives! Our private ceremony on Coral Beach felt so intimate, the food was great, and then the party came to life on Iguana Beach with DJ Tino! To make it even better, the bartenders and servers at Renaissance were SO much fun, dancing and engaging with our guests while providing incredible service- there was never a line at the bar! My guests couldn’t stop talking about how amazing everything was! There is no venue more unique than Renaissance Island and no better coordinator to work with than Gabriela!

Food: Buffet Style
Cake: Bright Bakery
Photographer: Crooze
DJ: DJ Tino
Hair/ Makeup: Jennifer Croes Veeris

We had our wedding on Renaissance Island in October 2019 and would hands down recommend this venue to anyone wanting to get married in Aruba!

Our planner: Gabriela Garcia was absolutely amazing! I have never worked with someone so patient, kind, organized, and dedicated to her craft. She put a wonderful amount of detail and care into our wedding. She had several other weddings the same week as ours, but we never felt like she was too busy; we always felt like a priority to her! She recommended amazing vendors, was very flexible, and helped us really put on our own personal touches into our wedding day. I can’t recommend her enough! I’d recommend her to anyone planning a wedding. Everything went so smoothly, all thanks to her.

Our DJ: DJ Tino was fantastic! He utilized some playlists we had put together and also mixed in some of his own music. He was good at reading the crowd, and everybody literally danced for the entire reception.

Food: we went for a buffet menu for 80 people, and couldn’t have been happier with our choices. We were able to customize our buffet menu to accommodate guests with different dietary restrictions, and everything turned out fabulously. We had many guests rave about the food at our wedding!

Venue: The venue is absolutely breathtaking. Choosing Renaissance Island was a no-brainer for us, as this is the only location in Aruba where your beach wedding can be guaranteed 100% private. We had a gorgeous sunset ceremony overlooking the water on Coral Beach, and then moved to Iguana beach for the reception. The décor for both the ceremony and reception was even more gorgeous than we had imagined! We couldn’t have been happier. Added bonus: our guests really loved the boat ride to the island!

Photographer: Victor Winklaar – Victor was great! We are still waiting to get the majority of our photos back, but he did send some as a sneak peek and so far they are absolutely gorgeous! He was professional and lovely to work with.

All in all we were thrilled with how everything turned out. If you are thinking about booking with the Renaissance for your wedding, don’t hesitate – it was fantastic!

Gabriela Garcia was our wedding coordinator and I worked with her for ten months to make our wedding week happen. She was so responsive, knowledgeable and sweet. I couldn’t have gotten paired with a better person. We got married on Renaissance’s private island, so it become our personal oasis. The weather is always perfect in Aruba and our wedding day didn’t disappoint. The day prior, we held a welcome reception at the Sole Bar on-site which was also perfect. The staff and leadership were attentative and kind. We had a small issue with welcome bags as I struggled to get them delivered to all the guests staying at the hotel, but after a few discussions, all guests received their welcome bags. I highly recommend the Renaissance Resort and Casino to anyone looking for a destination wedding with all the details carefully thought out and photos that are magical!

This was a great experience for my wedding. If you go with Renaissance you have to request Marsh as your wedding planner.

Marsh was understanding and helpful, I loved that she didn't try to force any extras or frills on me and understood that I just wanted to have a great party. ...elegant but not over the top!! She was helpful with all of the things that I wanted to bring from the states and SO flexible with all of our last minute issues and requests.

The Rennissance horel was a great venue for our wedding we wanted something to be close enough together where all of our guests would be interacting with one another. I also looked at the hyatt and while it was beautiful and a little more high end, I thought my big group would all get lost in the shuffle. I didn't eat much of the food but the supervisor on the night of my wedding realized that the package I had didn't include champagne... and he went and got me some, and continuously made sure my glass was full. My friends were a little rowdy and the renaissance crew took such good care of them. Everyones already talking about when we should plan a trip back.

I would HIGHLY recommend planning a beach day with your travel group on the island and trying to get cabanas. (we also did ATVs with family our second day there and then rented a catamaran for the day after the wedding to help people cure their hangovers ;) ) We also opted to do our welcome party next door at Lucys and it did not disappoint!

SHOUT OUT TO MARSH, THE PERSON ASSISTING HER, and THE AMAZING EVENTS MANAGER THAT NIGHT.

(If you have any questions I'd be happy to explain more... find me one Instagram at @maegan_q)

**** I hope to update with more pictures soon***

I had my wedding at the Renaissance in early December 2015. I chose the resort primarily because their ceremony space (including the flamingos) but with the all-inclusive ability (or not) of the resort, access to downtown, and shorter stature of the "high-rise", the
Renaissance Aruba was a perfect fit for our wedding and vacation.

I loved the wedding space and it was perfect for our group of 14. I'm not sure how well it would work for groups larger than 30 or so (although they likely have it figured out). We chose a package that included our ceremony, a reverend, bouquet and boutineer, and a cocktail hour and half with premium open bar and hors d'eourves.

I think a lot of my family was skeptical of doing an intimate destination wedding, but between the few days vacationing together ahead of time, various dinners together at some of the fabulous restaurants, and then the sunset ceremony, everyone was exclaiming how perfect the whole thing turned out. The cocktail hour and half was so nice (albeit somewhat mosquito-y)- we had passed hors d'eourves, tables, a steel pan player duo (which was extra) and a champagne toast. Everything was incredible and I would highly recommend.

Early on in the process I started working with one coordinator and then was switched to another coordinator which was a little annoying because I had to restate all of my requests and it left me feeling concerned that certain details were going to fall through the cracks, but nothing did. I was also worried about language being a barrier, but since everything turned out so nicely and so smoothly, that didn't appear to be an issue either!

We had our wedding here and it was truly magical!!! The hotel is beautiful and the island is really a dream. The food was realllyyyy good - I would say the best I've had at any wedding (I could be biased but I don't think so!). The wedding planners, Randolph and Milayne, are very friendly and helpful. The only thing I would caution against is that they are a little slow to respond to e-mails and sometimes there is a communication barrier. However, once you get to the island and speak to them in person, everything will go much more smoother!