The Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts in Aruba has an interesting take on romantic getaways in the wired age -- leave your kids at home, and the resort supplies netbook computers to communicate with friends, family and the office.
The resort, on Eagle Beach in Aruba, began supplying each guestroom with a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 or MSI L1300 netbook computer.
Kids, in theory at least, are allowed (although not encouraged) at the resort today, but the property is getting ready to implement a new adults-only guest policy starting Dec. 23 in a bid to make conditions more ripe for chemistry and romance.
All guests at the resort, which is popular for honeymoons and weddings, will have to be at least 18 years old under the upcoming policy.
The policy certainly may be controversial for some would-be guests who may prefer a family oriented vacation.
Bucuti revealed in March it will be transitioning to the adults-only policy as a way to focus exclusively on its core romance market. It said it provided advance notice of the policy change so travel agents and potential guests could get used to the notion.
All of the netbooks the resort began handing out have video capabilities, including video chat features, so guests can communicate with family left behind, the resort says.
"We understand that sometimes it’s impossible to fully disconnect, even in paradise,” says Bucuti owner and CEO Ewald Biemans. “While we hope our guests are able to achieve total relaxation during their time with us in Aruba, we also want to provide them with the convenience of an easily accessible Internet connection so they can touch base with friends and family, or even the office if need be.”
And, for guests that don't want to fire up the netbooks, the resort says it has a webcam that captures a view of a designated area daily from 9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Guests can make a cameo appearance in front of the webcam to ensure that nonvacationing family members can catch a glimpse of the Aruba visitors during designated hours.
So, at the resort, personal laptops and kids do not need to be packed or toted.
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Note: The author visited Bucuti on a resort-sponsored press trip in 2008.