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LOCAL Thursday 14 November 2024

Aruba Tourism Authority honored loyal visitors at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort!

The Aruba Tourism Authority recently had the Woonsocket, Rhode Island, United States.
great pleasure of recognizing Distinguished Vis-
itors of Aruba. The honorees were respectively Ms. Marouska Heyliger representing the Aruba
honored with a certificate for their years of visits, Tourism Authority, and staff members of Bucuti
loyalty, and love for the island of Aruba. & Tara Beach Club Resort bestowed the certifi-
cate upon the honorees, presented them with
The honorary certification is presented on be- gifts, and thanked them for choosing Aruba
half of the Minister of Tourism as a token of ap- as their favorite vacation destination, as their
preciation and to say “Masha Danki” to guests home away from home.
who have visited Aruba 10, 20, or 35 years or
more consecutively. The top reasons for returning to Aruba provided
by the honorees were:
The three levels of honor are as follows: • It’s become our second home
Distinguished Visitor (10>years consecutively vis- • We made so many friends here
iting Aruba) • It is how we celebrate our anniversary
Goodwill Ambassador (20>years consecutively • The Bucuti staff are part of our family
visiting Aruba) now
Emerald Ambassador (35>years consecutively • The beach is beautiful. We love Aruba
visiting Aruba)
On behalf of the Aruba Tourism Authority, we
The honorees were: would like to express our sincere gratitude and
Distinguished Visitors appreciation to the honorees for their contin-
Mr. Michael & Mrs. Pavlette Ceccofiglio from ued visits to the “One Happy Island”.q

The Bali Restaurant: a touristic hot spot and lost gem on the island

(Oranjestad)—Once located in what is now the its official (re)opening in 1972.
Renaissance Marina, the Bali Restaurant was once After 1972, when Ronny Schmand took over, the
both a touristic and local hot spot, and nowadays restaurant saw yet another expansion; this time
it’s considered a forgotten gem on the island. complete with a long bar and dance floor, where
guests enjoyed live music from legendary Aruban
Known as “the floating restaurant”, Bali first musician and composer, Toti Arends.
opened in 1955 by Willem “Bill” Strijland, who
had experience in Javanese cuisine. At the time, After 1989, the restaurant was again handed over
the restaurant was pretty exclusive—with space to other owners, and since then suffered from
to host only 25 guests. Yet, 4 years later, it was unstable pillars underneath the foundation, result-
named the best restaurant in the Caribbean by ing in various leaks and overflowing of water into
the Caribbean Tourist Association. the restaurant. And as most great things come
time. The restaurant saw three different owners to an end, so did the survival and maintenance
The restaurant was probably most iconic for its during its existence, during which it underwent of the Bali Restaurant. However, folks today still
Javanese-inspired exterior with its pointy, slanted various renovations and rebranding. reminisce its legacy, and it’s now considered a
roofs. However, the first version of Bali did not look lost monument.
like that at all but was still considered as one of In 1964, the restaurant was taken over by Karel
the most popular restaurants on the island at the “Carl” Schmand. Over the years, the restaurant Be apart of the conversation: if you or any fam-
needed constant renovation and repair, mainly ily member of yours have a memory of the Bali
due to its vulnerability to leaks and the unstable restaurant, whether it be a picture or just a story,
pillars underneath the foundation. However, the share it with us! We would love to see this legend-
biggest change made to the restaurant hap- ary hot spot through the lens of our visitors!
pened in the year 1970—still under the ownership
of Schmand, when it got its iconic pointy roofs. Source and pictures credit to: “De Kolibrie op de
The restaurant was also expanded to host a total Rots (en meer over de geschiedenis van Aruba)” by
Evert Bongers. q
of 85 guests. This was “The New Bali”, who had