Curacao Trip Report
Nov 2nd, 2005, 01:09 PM
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Curacao Trip Report
My husband, our toddler and I spent a week in Curacao back in Feb. 2005.
I would have posted this trip report on our return, but at the time I had decided to take a break from Fodors.
Anyway, I'm back and thought I'd post my photos and a trip report to help out anyone who's thinking about going to Curacao.
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcNmThi0atmL_
HOTEL: We stayed at the Hilton. This hotel is a good value if you don't want to spend a lot of money. Plus, kids under 5 eat/drink for free.
The hotel buidling itself is an unattractive structure, but the property and the landscape are nice enough and well maintained. And our room was fine.
HOTEL POOL: It is the best feature of the hotel in our opinion. The designer was imaginative and stayed away from the standard rectangular or star-shaped pool. The pool is very pretty with wavy shapes to it. Some areas are shallow, some are deep. 2 areas have infinity edges. One side has a gradual beach-like entry. There's even some sort of fountain/spray jet in one area. It is just a great pool.
There's also a pool for the little ones. It is star-shaped with 4 spraying jets and a little slide. Our son loved it.
HOTEL BEACHES: There are 2. The one in front of the hotel is small, more like a cove. The water is calm, clear and good for snorkeling. The hotel has a 2nd beach on the left side of the hotel. That one is called Parasasa Beach and is really nice. Again, beautiful clear, blue, calm water with very good snorkeling. Both beaches are a bit rocky.
HOTEL FOOD: We were not impressed. It was not awful, but it was very average.
HOTEL STAFF: Great. Very friendly and very hepful. We actually thought that everyone in Curacao was lovely.
COMPARISON WITH THE MARRIOTT: The Hilton is right next to it. We walked over one evening for dinner. In terms of architecture and landspace, the Hilton does not begin to compare. The Marriott is simply beautiful with its dutch architecture and it is very classy. However, we do think the Hilton pools beat the Marriott's hands down. We had dinner at "Portofino", the Marriott's Italian restaurant and our food was very good.
THE ISLAND: We rented a car for 3 days to see Curacao. We walked around the shopping area in Punda. It was ok, we were not particularly impressed by the stores. We loved driving around and seeing the historical homes with dutch architecture. Really beautiful.
We did the tour of the Hato Caves. It lasted about 40 minutes and was very enjoyable.
We went to PortoMari beach, Knip Beach and Kalki Beach. Scenic beaches with beautiful clear blue water, but again very rocky. Please be aware that most, if not all the beaches in Curacao, are rocky. You should bring water shoes if you have sensitive feet. Fyi, there's a fee to get into PortoMari beach. I think it was $3 or $4 per adult. There's an outdoor restaurant there too.
RESTAURANTS: Besides Portofino at the Marriot, we had dinner at Bistro le Clochard (in the Riffort Village), Fort Nassau (located in an 18th century fort) and Belle Terrace (located at the Avila Beach Hotel). All were good. Bistro le Clochard had the best food of all, Fort Nassau had the best view.
By the way, the Avila Beach Hotel is lovely. If you don't like chain hotels and are looking for a boutique/romantic type of hotel, this would work for you. My husband and I thought it would have been perfect for a little get-away for just the two of you. It does have a beach. The restaurant is actually outdoor, right by the water. Really lovely setting.
We always enjoy where we go and we enjoyed this trip. We didn't fall in love with Curacao. Don't ask why. I think you either feel it in your soul or you don't. And we just didn't. We did love the fact that Curacao did not feel overrun by tourists and that there was an even mixture of European, Latin and American tourists.
I would have posted this trip report on our return, but at the time I had decided to take a break from Fodors.
Anyway, I'm back and thought I'd post my photos and a trip report to help out anyone who's thinking about going to Curacao.
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcNmThi0atmL_
HOTEL: We stayed at the Hilton. This hotel is a good value if you don't want to spend a lot of money. Plus, kids under 5 eat/drink for free.
The hotel buidling itself is an unattractive structure, but the property and the landscape are nice enough and well maintained. And our room was fine.
HOTEL POOL: It is the best feature of the hotel in our opinion. The designer was imaginative and stayed away from the standard rectangular or star-shaped pool. The pool is very pretty with wavy shapes to it. Some areas are shallow, some are deep. 2 areas have infinity edges. One side has a gradual beach-like entry. There's even some sort of fountain/spray jet in one area. It is just a great pool.
There's also a pool for the little ones. It is star-shaped with 4 spraying jets and a little slide. Our son loved it.
HOTEL BEACHES: There are 2. The one in front of the hotel is small, more like a cove. The water is calm, clear and good for snorkeling. The hotel has a 2nd beach on the left side of the hotel. That one is called Parasasa Beach and is really nice. Again, beautiful clear, blue, calm water with very good snorkeling. Both beaches are a bit rocky.
HOTEL FOOD: We were not impressed. It was not awful, but it was very average.
HOTEL STAFF: Great. Very friendly and very hepful. We actually thought that everyone in Curacao was lovely.
COMPARISON WITH THE MARRIOTT: The Hilton is right next to it. We walked over one evening for dinner. In terms of architecture and landspace, the Hilton does not begin to compare. The Marriott is simply beautiful with its dutch architecture and it is very classy. However, we do think the Hilton pools beat the Marriott's hands down. We had dinner at "Portofino", the Marriott's Italian restaurant and our food was very good.
THE ISLAND: We rented a car for 3 days to see Curacao. We walked around the shopping area in Punda. It was ok, we were not particularly impressed by the stores. We loved driving around and seeing the historical homes with dutch architecture. Really beautiful.
We did the tour of the Hato Caves. It lasted about 40 minutes and was very enjoyable.
We went to PortoMari beach, Knip Beach and Kalki Beach. Scenic beaches with beautiful clear blue water, but again very rocky. Please be aware that most, if not all the beaches in Curacao, are rocky. You should bring water shoes if you have sensitive feet. Fyi, there's a fee to get into PortoMari beach. I think it was $3 or $4 per adult. There's an outdoor restaurant there too.
RESTAURANTS: Besides Portofino at the Marriot, we had dinner at Bistro le Clochard (in the Riffort Village), Fort Nassau (located in an 18th century fort) and Belle Terrace (located at the Avila Beach Hotel). All were good. Bistro le Clochard had the best food of all, Fort Nassau had the best view.
By the way, the Avila Beach Hotel is lovely. If you don't like chain hotels and are looking for a boutique/romantic type of hotel, this would work for you. My husband and I thought it would have been perfect for a little get-away for just the two of you. It does have a beach. The restaurant is actually outdoor, right by the water. Really lovely setting.
We always enjoy where we go and we enjoyed this trip. We didn't fall in love with Curacao. Don't ask why. I think you either feel it in your soul or you don't. And we just didn't. We did love the fact that Curacao did not feel overrun by tourists and that there was an even mixture of European, Latin and American tourists.
Nov 3rd, 2005, 06:02 AM
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Thanks for posting. I enjoyed your report. We were in Curacao a few years back and stayed at the Marriott and visited some of the same beaches and ate at some of the same restaurants as you. While we enjoyed our trip I agree with you, in that we did not fall in love with the island either. We enjoyed the beaches and did some snorkelling but I think the place was a bit too crowded for me. I guess we prefer quieter islands.
Nov 3rd, 2005, 09:47 AM
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Thanks for the trip report, caribtraveler. Gald you're back! We have Marriott points to use by Feb. and are considering the St. Kitts Marriott or the one in Curacao. Was the Curacao Marriott pool dismal or just not as nice as your hotel's? We'll be traveling with 2 elem. school aged kids. Thanks so much. Threehearts
Nov 3rd, 2005, 11:19 AM
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Thanks ejcrowe!
Hi Threehearts! Thank you. It is nice to be back.
Yes, mnag is right. The pool at the Marriott is not dismal at all. I don't want to give that impression.
My husband and I just like pools with a little imagination, a little surprise here and there. And to us that pool was just a pool. If I remember right it was more like cross-shaped with a swim-up bar. That was about it. Nothing much more to it.
At the end of the day, the Marriott is a beautiful hotel. I can't speak for the service but I don't think you'd go wrong staying there.
When are you thinking of taking your vacation? We've also looked at the Marriott in St. Kitts and would like to go there at some point. I'm not too keen on how big that hotel is but when you have a small child, big-chain hotels are usually best if you want the big pool and the kiddie pool, if you know what I mean.
Hi Threehearts! Thank you. It is nice to be back.
Yes, mnag is right. The pool at the Marriott is not dismal at all. I don't want to give that impression.
My husband and I just like pools with a little imagination, a little surprise here and there. And to us that pool was just a pool. If I remember right it was more like cross-shaped with a swim-up bar. That was about it. Nothing much more to it.
At the end of the day, the Marriott is a beautiful hotel. I can't speak for the service but I don't think you'd go wrong staying there.
When are you thinking of taking your vacation? We've also looked at the Marriott in St. Kitts and would like to go there at some point. I'm not too keen on how big that hotel is but when you have a small child, big-chain hotels are usually best if you want the big pool and the kiddie pool, if you know what I mean.
Nov 9th, 2005, 07:32 AM
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Well, I guess the Curacao Marriott is out because they have no availability for our dates. We have 5 Marriott GCs and $2400 in American Airlines refunds all to be spent by mid-January and that means Christmas break since we can't pull the kids out of school at any other time. We had to cancel this trip earlier due to illness and at this point it looks as though we'll be not be able to find anything. I can't find any sunny spot Marriotts for that week that are open. Many of the AA seats are filled too(Hawaii etc.). Ugh! Thanks for the pool information, Caribtraveler and have a great week! Threehearts
