Nightbeat
Nightbeat
Evening Escapades by Susan Campbell Once the fun in the sun gives way to an enchanting sunset, the neon lights begin to compete with the tropical stars to invite everyone to enjoy exciting nocturnal adventures. Sopranos Piano Bar
Palm Beach is party central
The strip is dynamic at night
Welcome the warm nights with spectacular sunsets bolstered by good company, happy hour specials, and lively music at Aruba’s awesome beach and pier bars. On Palm Beach your best bets to begin with are famous hangouts like MooMba Beach Bar that never disappoints, especially Sunday nights when they go all out with a dance in the sand BBQ. You’ll always find a fun and friendly crowd raising a few for happy hour at Bugaloe Beach Bar on its own pier and Pelican Pier Bar. Both places keep it going well into the night, often with live music. For pre-partying cocktails, many resorts have classy lobby lounges – sometimes with live music – such as Aruba Marriott’s Great Room and Ritz-Carlton Aruba’s Divi Bar & Lounge. Or Hyatt’s Alfresco Bar and Hilton’s Mira Solo Bar offer an elegant outdoor oasis to start the evening in style. If strolling along the hotel strip, why not drop by Dushi Bagels & Burgers for one of their fab cocktails and some live tunes. For the best selection of fine rums, the Palm Bar at Holiday Inn Resort is the place to be. For trendy tapas, live music, and great cocktails with comfy couches right in the sand, head to Pure Beach at Divi Aruba Phoenix Resort for an impromptu blowout with live music or DJs that often begins at happy hour and goes to whenever...
After happy hour sashay across the street from the highrise hotels to what locals refer to as “The Strip” – over a mile of shops, malls, dining venues, bars, and cafés lining J.E. Irausquin Blvd. Start in Paseo Herencia’s courtyard to witness the wonderful lit up waterworks show set to music. The magical display goes off four times per evening and a great spot to view it and enjoy fine wines and decadent cheese delights is at the new Melt Away Café. Later, enjoy an alfresco party at the Wet Bar with DJs and a dance floor over water. Right behind the courtyard in Palm Beach Plaza you’ll find Kalin’s Mexican enclave as the ideal spot for a mariachi party with giant margaritas and a “loco” staff. Afterwards, head back to the strip and simply follow your ears to find the kind of music that suits your mood. Feel like belting out tunes with a rollicking crowd? Stop into Sopranos Piano Bar where you can also enjoy fine scotch and cigars. For a heavier music scene, head to the open-air live bands at Hard Rock Café down the street. Then it’s all electric neon beats at Sand Bar & Lounge, plus South Beach across the street has DJs and the longest happy hour on the island: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. every night of the week! They are all outdoors and right off the sidewalk. Then fuel up on excellent coffee, cocktails, E
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Opposite page, bottom left photo courtesy of Dushi Bagels & Burgers
Wet Bar
Dushi Bagels & Burgers
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Nightbeat
Nightbeat
and edibles at Craft, an outdoor café and bar that sometimes has live music, before heading for late-night partying with the beautiful people at the island’s glitziest dance club, Gusto, where the revelry lasts until 3 a.m. on weekends. Right across from them, you can’t miss the brand new Lobby Restaurant & Bar – a chic classy indoor/outdoor lounge for early evening cocktails and later night dancing with the DJs spinning tunes from the eighties and nineties starting at 10 p.m. Off the beaten track escapades
You might have to wander a little to discover more of this island’s best nightlife. Start with heading behind the highrise strip up Route 3 to the area known as Noord where you’ll find local haunts like Café 080, a casual Dutch expat pub, and Barney’s that morphs from a fun and friendly eatery to a karaoke hot spot every Friday night. And if you want to try Schrobbeler, a unique Dutch herbal liqueur especially favored for King’s Day celebrations, the only spot you will find it is at Bingo! Café & Restaurant in a welcoming atmosphere where Dutch expats love to gather and raise a few. Closer to Eagle Beach, seek out Emotions Nightclub – an exciting, pumped-up emporium attracting the younger set in droves. They host terrific events such as the Rumshop Vibes pop-up bar. Also, in that area a new party emporium called Bingo! Café & Restaurant
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Rock’n’Rock that dishes out the best seventies, eighties, and nineties rock music for those who never stopped believing. For a chic soiree beginning, you’ll find excellent craft cocktails at Screaming Eagle, best known for its dining in canopied beds, but their stand-alone bar is well worth a visit to sample the signature drinks of some excellent mixologists. Then, at Alhambra Casino and Shops you’ll find the classy Fusion Wine & Piano Bar with live lounge music and great vintages by the glass. Still in the same area but on the other side of L.G. Smith Blvd, discover Quinta Del Carmen. This beautifully restored cunucu house and its cozy bar make it the ideal place for early or late night drinks. Downtown nights delight
Recent renovations to the historical colonial capital of Oranjestad have spawned a new undercurrent of cool when it comes to nightlife. Trendy festivals and hip, happening outdoor events are now often taking to the streets, so you never know what incredible experience you might encounter, and when! Keep your eyes peeled for pop-up bars like the Apotheek Remedy Cocktail Bar on Wilhelminastraat. For a limited high season time they will be serving up the ideal spirits to cure whatever ails you. And you can always be sure to find lots of live entertainment and an eclectic choice of tippling spots at the Renaissance Marketplace. Quinta Del Carmen
Left to right, photos courtesy of Bingo! Café & Restaurant and Quinta Del Carmen
The lively alfresco mall across from the glam Wind Creek Seaport Casino offers up something for every style of stepping out. Enjoy sultry live Latin music and watching barkeeps muddling up the best mojitos in town at Cuba’s Cookin’. Though you need not dine there to enjoy the music and dancing if you sit at their new Back Door bar, once you see the tempting food, you’ll surely want to sample it! Or retreat to a lovely Asian style indoor lounge nearby, owned by Sushi-Ya, and aptly named NextDoor. You can also join the locals as they sip drinks, socialize, and people-watch European style at bustling Café the Plaza. Check out the new Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar, a massive marina side party emporium with live music and a “radical bar scene,” as they describe it. And don’t miss Eetcafé The Paddock close by, a legendary rowdy watering hole frequented by Dutch expats and ardent football fans. (If the Netherlands is playing you’d better be wearing orange!) Or you can have a progressive party at Renaissance Marina Hotel. Start or end at Blue Bar for amazing cocktails and awesome video walls. There’s also a DJ at L.G. Smith’s Steak & Chop House for after-dinner dancing, and next to it you’ll find The Lounge, Midnight Grill bringing music to the folks enjoying the glitzy Wind Creek Crystal Casino all under one roof. You might have to bob and weave around the downtown core a bit to find more hot spots like 7 West, named after its Weststraat address. It transforms into a neon lit lounge for dancing after dinner, and they have a party palace upstairs called HotShotz, a shooter bar open during high season. You’ll have to hit the backstreets though to find Alfie’s in Aruba, owned by Photo by
expat Canadians (look for the big Canadian flag), for a rocking live band Friday nights and authentic Quebec poutine. Café Chaos, a favorite lively local haunt where musically anything goes, is secreted across from Wilhelmina Park. Hipster haven Maroc is also worth a visit; it’s a Middle Eastern style wine and tapas bar. Bistro de Suikertuin in a beautiful historic building nearby on Wilhelminastraat also has fine wine, craft cocktails, and shareables in their lovely outdoor courtyard. They have a cool concept called “High Wine.” It’s like “High Tea,” only they serve tiered-trays E Blue Bar
Eetcafé The Paddock
Alfie’s in Aruba
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Nightbeat of savory edibles ideal to go with fine wine by the glass. If you want to head downtown early to start the night right by catching a stellar sunset, then head to The West Deck on their own strip of sand where you can watch the cruise ships go by and enjoy great local fare and very creative margaritas. You can even take a dip at a swimmable urban beach at happy hour if you go to Surfside Beach Bar or Reflexions just past the marina, and continue the party there and all around the neighborhood afterward. There’s no better place for a romantic nightcap than the magically lit pier of Pinchos Grill & Bar; they even have a lover’s swing! It’s an enchanting setting for seaside canoodling. You’ll see it twinkling in the distance just past the new Plaza Turismo along the surfside linear park.
You can head to San Nicolas for the weekly Thursday night Carubbian Festival when Mainstreet turns into a gala colorful carnival in high season. And don’t miss a stop while you’re there at legendary Charlie’s Bar for a famous Boozer Colada! Grab some great BBQ and cocktails at very local Grill Time; on weekends they often have a live steel band. Baby Beach also has new nightlife at JADS Rum Reef where a cool infinity pool bar now offers a unique adult-only lounge experience on the island’s southwestern tip. And right below them in the same complex, the new Lago Colony Beach Club is serving up greats drinks and eats for all ages. It’s a double delight! Wherever you decide to head out into the evening, you’re bound to find that this island has something for everyone when it comes to nightlife. Cheers, and enjoy your Aruban escapades! K
Hit the road or get outta town…
The crazy, colorful party buses of Kukoo Kunuku take it to the streets to show you how to paint the town red with a superb choice of evening island adventures: their original Dinner & Nightlife Tour, their famous Pub Krawl, the wine lovers tour Wine on Down the Road, and the new Beer Flights and Bites adventure all rock! They are the party hearty experts of the island. Pinchos Grill & Bar
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Charlie’s Bar
Kukoo Kunuku
Bottom left photo courtesy of Pinchos Grill & Bar. Top right photo by Luis Mejia. Bottom right photo courtesy of Kukoo Kunuku