I stayed at Aston at the end...
I stayed at Aston at the end of Jun 06 for 1 week. Overall the stay was good but personally I would not stay at Aston again because I don't like Tanjung Benoa. TB is rather desolated with absolutely no place to walk around. There are a dozen or more restaurants and a few convenient stores on the main road (actually there is only one road) but they only offer very basic stuffs. The beach is no good for swimming (beaches in HK are better only that they are always packed). You have to take taxi wherever you want to go, though you can easily find one on the street.
Pros of Aston: rooms are big, esp. bathroom; right on the beach; staff were generally friendly and helpful; facilities are adequate, the jazz band was quite good at the lobby lounge.
Cons: location far away from towns (eg Nusa Dua); limited activities provided for guests compared with other resorts; breakfast was so-so and very limited choices; noise from airplanes even until after midnight though it was not too loud.
My personal experience at Aston: I was given a room on 2/F with the balcony and windows facing the restaurant (about 30 feet away!) so I had to keep the blinds closed all the time. The room is on the same level as the reception and close to a shortcut to the pool. This means I constantly heard the other guests screaming, running, talking, laughing ... from 6.30am till 2.30am. The housekeeping staff always missed something: either forgot to empty the rubbish bin, or replace the towels, or clean the floor. I paid USD20 more than other guests in my group for a rafting trip through the same tour desk inside Aston (I paid USD65 vs. they paid USD45).
Overall: I would recommend Aston to anyone who travels on a tight budget, and anyone who prefers to stay in a quiet area as the base to move around. But make sure you bargain hard with the tour desk staff.
