By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
CJ Travel Editor
If you’re like us, all your recent beach reading has been done on mobile phones or e-readers. And while these devices are convenient ways to take our reading material on vacation without lugging a tote bag full of tomes, they do have their drawbacks, glare and depleted batteries to name just two.
Which is why we’re particularly tickled by a new amenity at the Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino, their “Waterproof Library.” Say what?!
Now when you want to get some light reading done at the hotel’s Lively or Quiet Pools or on the talcum sands of Palm Beach, all you have to do is head to the poolside Activities Center and check out a waterproof book, the pages of which are guaranteed not to be ruined by splashes, spills or even drops into the drink.
We recently tested “Beach,” a collection of travel-themed short stories from publisher Melcher Media, which includes work from authors such as Roald Dahl and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And we’re happy to report that after taking the book into the sea with us, dropping it into the water, and even allowing it to get tossed around by the waves at the water’s edge, moisture simply beaded off the pages. In fact, the book needed more than a vigorous shake and quick swipe with a towel to be good as new.
In our increasingly digital world, this decidedly analog amenity is the coolest we’ve come across yet.
(The Hilton is on our list of the top Aruba hotels).