Reviews of Magical Garden

The room was comfortable and the bed was nice and soft. It's a great place to chill out for a day or two away from all the tourists and you can see a more local side of Aruba. Ac and wifi worked really well and you could use the kitchen for coffee. Jay and his dog were really helpful and friendly.

Jay is super welcoming & gives you fresh fruit every day! He also gave us the bigger room (no extra charge) because we were the only ones staying there at that time.

The neighbors are pretty loud at some annoying hours of the day & night. Make sure to bring cash to pay Jay with, we were unaware of this when coming to the property- we were told about it on our 3rd out of 4 days there.

The bed is so comfortable

Good location to go to San Nicolas and Baby Beach areas. Very kind host. Magical Garden sign on outside wall when arriving. Off street parking. Air conditioning! I felt very safe as a solo female traveler. Clean and comfortable room. Large accommodation with closet and storage areas. Standard USA outlet at foot of bed. I actually slept at bottom of bed to have access to my phone and alarm when charging overnight.

Very clean and Good location. Jay gave lots of great info about what to visit and places to eat

Need bug spray for little noseeums. When I go again I would like a better setup kitchen

It’s far from the tourist area. The host very unappreciated and unprofessional. Asking if I could find the girls to have sex with. To be specific black girls . Making flirting comments expecting me to engage. I didn’t like when he insist of me buying a wine just because I went back to pick my staff.

Woke up every morning and ate mangos that Jay gave me from the tree. Then biked down for fish dinner on the water each day. Was quite nice.

Breakfast was plenty to start the day. The host Jay was the best part, as he provides a wealth of information.

Lovely place helpful staff. Beautiful grounds.

Nothing

The owner was very friendly, nice and helpful. Was a good location to explore San Nicholas, baby beach, Mangel Halto. The beds were comfortable, good AC, good water pressure in shower. Refrigerator. Ample storage space. Table and chairs to sit outside. Can park your car there.

I think some new outside chair cushions and new soft towels and a couple of beach chairs would make the place even better.

I like that it wasn’t in the touristy area up north. I liked the plants and that there was AC.

CASH ONLY HOMESTAY It was not clear to me that the host needed to be paid in cash. They could probably do a better job of highlighting that. This was very inconvenient as of course the guest is then on the hook for ATM fees and the work of finding an ATM that can provide this much cash on a small island. It took me half a dozen tries to get the money out, and I paid over $15 in fees. Why can’t I pay through booking.com, which is way safer and more convenient? Another reason is that I felt like I constantly had to report on my trip to the host. The whole purpose of travelling by myself is so that I don’t have to answer to anyone. He always had questions and opinions about where I would go to eat, my activities, my appearance, … He called me affectionate names which is not okay with me. He made me feel very uncomfortable. Every time I was in the shared space, I had to have small talk that interrupted my reading or research. I did not want to leave my room when I was at the homestay because I just wanted to be left alone. The host told me upon arrival he is lonely, hates his life and wants to leave Aruba. That’s all good and well but I came here to have a good time, not to be your therapist nor the recipient of your attention/affection. Lastly the place was dirty. There was sand in my room, in the shower and on my bed (!) when I got there, before I myself went to the beach. There were other people’s hairs in the bathroom. The furniture was sticky and there was a dead cockroach behind the door. There were no towels or soap provided. I decided to leave as is, considering I did not want more interactions with the host. It’s a shame I have to leave such a long and negative review. The host is an old man who did not keep pace with the zeitgeist of how to treat other people. His behaviour was not acceptable to me. He might not have been aware but it is not my job to educate.

Jay was a fantastic host. He treated us like family (we think of him as family as well). He helped plan our days in Aruba and told us all of the best spots. Magical Garden was right next to the cutest beach bar. The room with the patio was totally worth it and it was so beautiful. Jay puts a lot of work into his house and makes it feel like home.

Just keep in mind transportation options. Jay recommends renting a car but we got around with the bus and taxis just fine.