I was in Curacao in Nov 2003 and we split our time between the Kura and the Marriott. It was nice staying in town for a few nights, but if we had to do it again we would stay only at the Marriott. We prefer the beach location and the Marriott had just as good of service as the Kura. The Marriott also provides free shuttle service into town.

Hope this helps.

Nancy

As you say, they're very different. I've never stayed in either, since we usually stay in an apartment, but I have visited both. The Kura Hulanda is a very interesting place, with excellent restaurants (Jaipur is our favorite), right in the middle of town. The Marriott is more a classic Caribbean resort hotel; excellent service and food there as well.

Kura Hulanda is in Otrabanda; the pretty seafront of Willemstad, that you always see in pictures, is on the other side of the water; there's a pontoon bridge or ferry, when the pontoon is open to let ships through.
In the Kura Hulanda, you are quite close to the oil refinery.

I noticed while driving around the island in January that Kura Hulanda have a beachclub on Westpunt; very pretty, but quite a drive along not so good roads (45 minutes I think).

Only you can decide which you prefer! Kura Hulanda is definitely not a stereotypical resort.

i'm aching over the same decision for june, my coworked has been down twice and said he loved the marriot. he also said that kura hulanda looks gorgeous. he recommended me staying their if i wanted a more romantic feeling. but he loves the marriot.

how are you looking for accomidations packages? finding any good deals?

i'm using applevacations.com and other sites like orbitz and expedia.

also, tulips, what is it like getting an apartment there?

bradykp; we had an apartment at Beau Rivage, right next to the Avila Beach hotel. There are no hotel facilities there, but Avila is right next door. It's a residential building, where some residents let their apartments. There is a pool, and it's right on the beach. The apartments are beautiful, modern, nicely furnished. We rented through friends who live there, but if you search for Beau Rivage, Penstraat, Curacao, I'm sure you'll find something. For us, with three children, this is a far better option than a hotel.

bradykp,
We decided to go with the Marriott because we found what I think is a fabulous deal. We are going the last week in May and the qouted rate at lowestfare.com was $129 per night for a resort view room. The rate on the Marriott webpage was $135 per night. However, Marriott will match any lower published rate, plus an additional 25% off. So the final rate for a resort view room booked through www.marriott.com was $95/night. That rate made the decision between the Marriott and the Kura much easier. Plus, I too have a coworker who has stayed at the Marriott many times and strongly recommends it.

bradykp,
I booked our flight with Travelocity. American had a Caribbean sale recently. Travelocity had the best rate (even after calling American).

Have seen both - Marriot is a very nice beach resort location - Room were typical - needed updating in my opinion. But they were clean. Kura Hulanda is a boutique hotel - rooms were nice - romantic feeling - but a bit on the dark side - Nice bathrooms. Kura Hulanda is an interesting place to walk around - it is more an adult-couple place. Marriot is a resort.If you can split your time between both - at Kura you will be closer to town. I thought Curacao was charming.