This 9-room hotel is ideally situated right on the shore with a small sandy beach to launch snorkeling and kayaking adventures in a cove protected by one of the Commandeur's bay islets, nicknamed Sea Glass Island. We saw sea turtles, crabs, fish, eels and many birds right from the breakfast dock. 

The friendly family that runs the hotel kept us supplied with everything needed to enjoy a day on the beach, including complimentary breakfast, snorkel & mask, towels, beach chairs, water cooler and kayaks. They even have a car available for rental, and other extras such as the Serene Floating Massage and private sunset dinners. 

There's a hand painted sign on the wall when you arrive, that says: 

We were two couples traveling together, and had originally booked the Ocean Front Family suite, as that was the only room available on their website for our travel dates. But when I read a Trip Advisor review and learned that that you had to cross through a bedroom to get to the bathroom, we decided we wanted more privacy.  Fortunately, a phone call to Reno, the hotel manager, revealed that they had two Oceanfront Rooms with queen beds available, and he transferred our deposit to these two rooms. 

Upon arrival, we discovered ample off-street parking in a dirt lot shared by Serene and adjacent businesses, including the exclusive Aruba Ocean Villas with their grass-thatched huts over the water. Serene had a warm and welcoming tile-decorated entry plaza.

Our two Oceanfront rooms, #1 and #2, occupied one small building with a shared front porch overlooking the bay and breakfast dock.

The inside was clean and tastefully decorated, with colorful floor tiles and ocean themed artwork. 

Besides the bed, there were comfortable arm chairs arranged to take advantage of view through the glass door. Two bedside tables with drawers, a chest of drawers with snorkel gear and towels on top and guidebooks in the top drawer were conveniently located.

There was a small refrigerator-freezer with plenty of space in both compartments. Wine glasses, water pitcher and a portable water cooler were arranged nearby. The tap water in Aruba is desalinated water, which is not only safe, but also had a better, cleaner taste than bottled water. 

The bathroom had a shower, and plenty of hooks and bars to hang towels, swimsuits and miscellaneous items to dry. And the closet had ample space for two.

Many of the Aruba beaches either have no facilities, or as in Arashi Beach and elsewhere, you have to either be a guest of a high rise resort, or pay money for use of chairs or to visit the bathroom. If you are staying at Serene, there are many comfortable lounge chairs with your choice of sun or shade to use on the property.

Plus, if you ask Elise, Reno or Desiree, they can provide you with beach chairs, each in a handle carrying case, and even umbrellas to borrow when you drive off site to explore the beaches.

Our rental car company indicated that if we brought the car back with too much sand, there would be a $100 cleaning fee. Not being sure what counted as "too much," we asked Elise to borrow a broom/dustpan, and he let us use their vacuum cleaner. 

This restaurant and bar are nestled amidst the thatched huts of Aruba Ocean Villas, and share the same large parking area with Serene. Of all the places we visited on this trip, The Old Man & the Sea provided the most romantic setting for a meal imaginable. We had no reservations, but were able to order anything we wanted from the bar. The drinks were fantastic, particularly the restaurant's namesake, but the food varied in quality.

This restaurant is on the north side of Serene, with possibly another small hotel in between. We did not eat here on this trip, as Google reviews were mixed concerning the quality of the food. 

Zeerover was a place that I really wanted to try, but we ran out of time.  It is a 5 min walk from Serene.

Friends that we met at the end of the week said it was fantastic, well worth the 40-minute wait.

This is a local, fast-food place that is less than 1000 meters from Serene, headed away from shore. It has burgers, pizzas, Mexican food, wings, various platters and some interesting local appetizers. We did not eat here, but looked at the menu on our way to the little market next door.

We went to the Startpoint Foodmart for snacks and some bottled water (before we learned that the tap water throughout Aruba is safe to drink). The nice man at the register saw the pack we were trying to buy and told us those were the expensive bottles. He hurried off to show us the lower price pack with larger bottle that we had not seen. He also advised us that using a credit card incurs a 3% upcharge across the island.

A 9-minute drive from Serene, this was our favorite restaurant among the 10 that we tried over the week. In fact, we had planned to drive all the way back down from our meeting in Palm Beach to enjoy it one more time, but with the evening traffic, we decided to try another "local flavors" place recommended on Reddit. 

But we should have taken the time to drive back to San Nicolas -- the food at O'Niel is that good!!

Click here for an Instagram preview.  Check back in a few days for a detailed review with photos in a new post on Exploring Aruba: Food & Drink. 

Although pricing varies with the season, in March 2025, our oceanfront rooms ended up at $225/night including taxes.  For comparion, I had booked one of the lower cost hotels in the Palm Beach/Eagle Beach area before I found Serene. The hotel was under renovation when I booked it, and became TRYP by Windham upon completion; it would have come to $447/night due in part to higher taxes. TRYP backed directly onto a noisy, congested strip with mediocre restaurants, so we were glad we did not stay there. On the plus side, it is right in the heart of the shopping and dining area of Palm Beach, with convenient access to the Gelatissimo Bus for gelato.

We met the rest of our group at the end of the week in the Aruba Marriott on Palm Beach. Here, we had beautiful view from spacious, lovely rooms with balconies, cute straw-thatched palapas on the beach, and from 1-4 hours of included paddleboard, floaties, snorkel + mask, kayaks, etc., although you had to stay within the roped off area. 

There were numerous food shacks along the beach, and it was only a mile walk to the Gelatissimo Bus in one direction, and a 1.5 mile walk to Tres Trapi and Boca Catalina in the other. 

While we enjoyed the location and appearance of the property, it came in at a whopping $743.75/night with taxes added in. For that price, you might expect complimentary breakfast. Or that they would make an effort to fix the broken elevator that meant long waits for the one working elevator. 

Even with the rental minivan factored in, Serene was a much better value and atmosphere for our tastes. We definitely felt welcomed by our gracious, yet unobstrusive hosts. And we left as friends looking forward to our next visit whenever that might be.