My partner and I just returned from a Curacao vacation and would like to provide feedback.

We stayed there the first 12 days of September. While the weather report for the island before we left showed rain every day, it didn't rain once, at least on our part of this island. So, don't look at the weather reports!

We had a wonderful stay at the Marriott. We highly recommend this hotel after doing lots of research. The Hilton next door does not seem to compare. I believe Breezes might be an option if you have children, but we didn't check that one out.

The Marriott is absolutely beautiful, with excellent service, nice rooms, very nice beach. We lucked out and got an Ocean Front room, but I think even the Ocean View or Resort View rooms were probably o.k. For us, we were not in our rooms that much, but I guess being on the balcony at night and in the morning with the Ocean Front might make the extra cost worth it. We would recommend staying on the WEST end of the hotel because the EAST end is close to the public beach and it seemed to get a bit noisy.

We ate at the Sea Breezes Bar and found the food very good. While the menu doesn't change much, they do have special theme nights (fish, local food, etc.). The deli at the hotel is excellent...you must try the Chicken Carribean wrap. We got sandwiches there and pizza several times and it is pretty reasonable. The Marriott's fancier restaurant is Portifinos but we didn't eat there because of the cost and many said the food was not that great. We stopped at grocery stores a couple of times to get snacks, drinks for the room. Each room has a refrig. Someone on here said they found a grocery store close to the Marriott...we did not find one. There is really not that much around the Marriott and the city is a mile or two away. But again, we found that we didn't need to, or didn't want to, leave the Marriott that much!

The Marriott also has another nice bar and a casino. The casino is "o.k.", but not much compared to Vegas standards....drinks in the casino were only $1 but they were hard to come by.

The Marriott also has a very nice fitness center, a gift shop, and a salon.

BTW...do not exchange your money...we found that every place we went took US money and I think the exchange was fair.

Unless you plan to spend a lot of time at other beaches, I would NOT rent a car except for perhaps a day or two. While we loved our stay in Curacao, especially at the Marriott, there really is not that much more on this island. You can easily take a taxi to town (about $15) and a day is about all you need there, perhaps two. Don't miss the Slave Museum (actual name is something else)...it is EXCELLENT. We drove around the island (doesn't take long) and inspected a few other beaches, but were a bit disappointed that they charge at each one. The charge is not much, but it adds up if all you want to do is look. The entire island is pretty much desert, no lush parts like Hawaii.

We really didn't try out too many other restaurants. We did eat at Hook's Hut which was a short walk from the Marriott...some recommended it on here and others say it was not much. We fall in the "not much" category. There is a restaurant right next to the post office (sorry can't remember the name)...the food was very good for lunch and there were lots of locals there. There are several indivual booths where they cook food...we recommend the one closest to the door. For dinner downtown, it seems that BLUES in the Avila Hotel (?) is highly recommended. Unfortunately we did not make it there.

We are not that much for shopping, but Williamsted seemed to have mostly junk stores. The city itself is o.k. and the architecture, but there is really not that much there. I guess they do have an aquarium and the Amstel brewry, but we didn't go there. Again, the Slave Museum is a must!

The oil refinery is very near the downtown and it really pollutes the air. You will even see the smoke from the Marriott, but we really couldn't smell it because of the wind direction.

When we made our reservations, we emailed two women in at the reservations desk. I think we got "special" rooms by dealing with them directly. Let me know if you want their emails.

We hope this helps someone, let us know if you have specific questions.

Maybe we just hit in wrong in April 2005 but the Sea Breeze lunch was "fair" at best and the Portofino was not acceptable.
The Manager tasted one of our entrees and "comped" us for the whole dinner. I would have rather paid and enjoyed my meal.

Thanks for the trip report. Glad you enjoyed the Marriott. It is a truly wonderful property. Did you have much of an opportunity to enjoy the beach? Sorry that you missed the seaquarium, Hato caves, Fort Nassau and the Curacao Liqueur Distillery. They are worth seeing. Perhaps on a future trip.

skinholt,

did you snorkle at all?

skinholt - i'm going to the marriott next month for a week and i would love to get the emails of the women you dealt with regarding your rooms. Thanks so much.

Doesn't anyone venture out to the other side of Curacao? We have been there three times and have always stayed over the bridge on the side where most locals have homes, outside the tourist area, Landhuis Daniel is excellent and the food is probably right up there with the best on the island, matter of fact Fort Waakkzaamheid is owned by the owner of Landhuis Daniel, how can one stay on this island for 12 days and not recommend reanting a car and than report on what the island is like, come on people there is alot to see on this island be a little adventuorous.We had the waitress, the chef and two of their friends celebratemy fiftieth birthday with us and took us to clubs and introduced us to so many people it was fantastic, make friends with people, go out see all the island offers do not stayed bottled up in the hotel section and in town.



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stbarts

did u snorkel at all?

Yes we did the waters off Cas Abou, Porto Marie,and Playa Kalki were excellent, almost as good as Bonaire. There also was no problems with these beaches if you were topless, as I always was whether snorkleing or just lying on the beach. My husband also made a few resort dives during our stays, he says the diving was excellent.

Skinholt,

Thank you for the trip report. I have reservations at the Marriott for my honeymoon in two weeks. Can you please send me the contact information for the ladies at the front desk who were so helpful?

The snorkeling on the West End, in our opinion, is better than Bonaire. To be truthful it does not compare to St. John in the U.S,V.I's but not much does.
But on the West End there are 4-6 coves with excellent snorkeling off the beach along the boulders that form each cove. During the week you could be the only ones at some of those coves. But, you do need a car.

It is about 30-35 minutes from the Marriott at 35km/hr. but visiting 2-3 of these beaches can be 3-4 hours of enjoyment.
It is a must visit if easy but beautiful is something you would enjoy.

Boy, you are a popular guy. I akso would like the e-mail of the gals you delt with at the Marriott. When I talked to them at the 800# they sadi they have no e-mail. We are going in Jan/Feb for our 30th anniversary. and I love to read the Marriott was good for you. [email protected]

I'm probably too late with this reply. Someone requested the name of the receptionist at the Marriott in Curacao. You should contact Anelisa or Shulette at [email protected]

It looks like the others were very helpful with snorking advise. To be truthful, I don't last long in the water so I could not recommened the best spots. I can recommend riding the big red hotdog looking device at the Marriott...pulled behind a boat and holding up to 6 adults. Go ahead and tell the driver to go slow so you won't get knocked off...but it won't do any good! I'm sure we provided a good show for those on shore.