Nightbeat
Nightbeat
Let’s Hit the Town! by Susan Campbell Whether you’re seeking classy lounges, barefoot bopping, dance emporiums, sports bars, or a friendly happy hour, we’ve got the goods on where the people are ready to party. Let’s go!
Start slow and catch a stellar sunset at surfside spots like The West Deck while enjoying their classic upside down “beerritas,” or at romantic Pinchos Grill & Bar where you can cozy up in a lover’s swing on a gorgeous pier while enjoying their trademark sangrias. Also surfside for day and evening VIP-style enjoyment is Reflexions beach bar.
Surf and sand bars
Actually, parties here don’t wait for the sun to set, barefoot bar hopping in bathing suits can begin as early as 3 p.m. when the happy hour crowds start rolling in to places like Piet’s Pier Bar, The Pelican Nest, and Bugaloe Beach Bar. And sometimes the revelry lasts all night! Sand Beach Lounge at Brickell Bay, though not right on the beach still has that barefoot party vibe with VIP lounges, entertainment, bottle service, and crazy Sunday pool parties.
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Fun and friendly watering holes
Looking for fun and friendly folks to raise a glass with? Then head for popular local haunts like the aptly named Local Store for music, craft beers, and burgers. The Dutch-style pubs and cafés dotted around the island are also great places to make new friends and try new drinks. Visit Café 080 during their famous beer bucket deals or ladies’ nights, or Café Chaos that’s more of a bar than a café with live bands
Photo by Steve Keith
and funky music. Eetcafé The Paddock is as Dutch as they come with lots of zany drinking parties. But be forewarned: if you show up while the Netherlands is playing futball on television you’d better be wearing orange, as their fans are fun, but fanatical! Getting together for drinks, food, and good company? Bingo! Café & Restaurant is another local favorite that sometimes adds live music to the mix as well. There are other bars for sports watching too. Many have big screens and cool offerings like Bros & Beer Aruba that serves a constantly rotating line-up of !
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Nightbeat craft and microbrew suds, and Champions Sports Bar at the Marriott is another ideal hangout during whatever important game might be on. Amp up the heat
Oranjestad after dark can really rock. Start at the Renaissance Marketplace, an open-air piazza always chock full of locals and visitors, which offers all kinds of cool happenings like Crazy Wednesdays when dance and music troupes entertain the crowds on their open-air stage. It’s also lined with an eclectic array of cafés, bars, and restaurants that all have their own unique takes on entertainment and imbibing options. Check into hot spots like Sidebar Bistro for craft bourbon cocktails and sometimes live bands, and Cuba’s Cookin’ for the best authentic Old Havana fare and mojitos in town accompanied by hot, sultry Latin music. 7 West is another cool dining room in downtown Oranjestad that morphs into party central later in the evening, especially at their wild and crazy sister shooter bar, Chupitoz, located below.
Nightbeat The Palm Beach strip is also full of lively get-together emporiums like Sopranos Piano Bar, Señor Frog’s – a wild and crazy party place – and many more, such as Gusto, which opens late and keeps the dance floor hopping till the wee hours, with the island’s hottest DJs. For a prime people-watching spot with an evening lounge atmosphere on Palm Beach, don’t miss Craft Coffee & Bar. It’s the place to go for your favorite craft beer and beautifully crafted cocktails. And if you need a pick-me-up, they also have wonderful coffees and sweets to help you refuel for further night adventures. But if rock and blues is more your groove, then the Hard Rock Cafe is always pumping out the best classic tunes – inside and out! Craft Coffee & Bar
Sometimes you have to head off the main drag a bit to discover the action. Places like Sweet Peppers Restaurant & Bar tucked away in the Caribbean Palm Village becomes a karaoke hot spot every Wednesday, and the same goes for Barney’s, typically a rib feast place just off the strip, it transforms into a karaoke hot spot on Friday nights. On the Rocks Café in Oranjestad has daily happy hours and live bands on Fridays! In fact, many spots that are better known for their food should also be known for their killer good cocktails and entertaining bar ambience like Iguana Joe’s, Smokey Joe’s, and Iguana Cantina. (Don’t miss their legendary Pink Iguana cocktails!) Screaming Eagle
Classy stepping-out spots
When you want to shake the sand off your toes and go more glam for sophisticated signature cocktails in an upscale ambience, there are many stylish escapes to choose from. The hip South Beach style lounge at the legendary Screaming Eagle bar with excellent craft cocktails and special Wine Mondays for bubbly and vino at discounted prices. (And after drinks, you can even dine in a canopied bed!) The new +297 on the Palm Beach strip also fits the bill with their avant-garde open concept design, hip vibe, and top DJs. Or NextDoor is an Asian style escape in Renaissance Marketplace. A happening place in Oranjestad for chitchat and socializing is Blue bar in the Renaissance Marina hotel; it’s as chic as they come, attracting the beautiful people from happy hour till late night. Fine wine by the glass can be sampled at Fusion Restaurant, Tapas, Wine & Piano Bar in the Alhambra Casino and Shops, or you can sip cool libations beachside at Mira Solo Martini & Wine Bar at the Hilton Resort. !
Gusto
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Bingo! Café & Restaurant
Top to bottom, photos courtesy of Craft Coffee & Bar and Gusto
Photo by courtesy of Screaming Eagle. Bottom photo by Mayo Stoppels, courtesy of Bingo! Café & Restaurant Top photo
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Nightbeat Hotel lobby bars, lounges & casinos
Celebrations and explorations
Aruba’s finest resorts are also ideal places to sleuth out for pre-dinner or late night cocktails, and you need not be a guest to enjoy them! A prime example is the Great Room at the Marriott Resort, which also stays open late for eclectic snacks. How about sampling fine rums and cigars at Holiday Inn’s exclusive Palm Bar? The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba’s Divi Bar & Lounge is a lovely glassed-in seafront oasis ideal for watching sunsets and enjoying signature cocktails and sushi. The Alfresco Bar at the Hyatt Resort is a lovely lush garden deck for outside indulging. And they all usually offer some form of live music. The glitzy casinos are optimum nightlife emporiums – often with their own bar and entertainment venues like the Stellaris Casino’s Lounge 101. Of course, these hot spots are all open till the wee hours for high stakes excitement and late night drinks: Hyatt Regency Casino, The Casino at the Ritz-Carlton Aruba, Orchid Casino, Tropicana Aruba Resort & Casino, Alhambra Casino and Shops, The Casino Aruba at Hilton, and the Crystal & Seaport Casinos.
The nightly Waltzing Waters show at Paseo Herencia’s courtyard is always a best bet for unique outdoor, after-dark entertainment, and now they have local night every Wednesday with special dance, music, and dining and shopping discounts. Another weekly cultural celebration worth attending is the Carubbian Festival every Thursday in San Nicolas; it’s like a mini carnival. And if you really want to see where the locals gather for a drink, hop aboard the crazy party barhopping bus Kukoo Kunuku for a lively tour of off-radar haunts. You can also opt for a barhop and dinner tour that stops at cool Casibari Café under the odd rock formations in the middle of nowhere. Surreal! " Stellaris Casino Lounge 101
Kukoo Kunuku
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Left photo courtesy of Kukoo Kunuku. Top photo courtesy of Stellaris Casino Lounge 101. Bottom photo courtesy of Tropical Bottling Company