We spent a week in Curacao in February 2005. We always enjoy where we go and we enjoyed this trip, but we didn't fall in love with Curacao. I can't tell you exactly why. I think you either feel it 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.
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.
~~ POOLS: The big pool 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.
~~ BEACHES: The hotel has 2 of them. The one in front of the hotel is small, more like a cove. The water is calm, clear and good for snorkeling. The 2nd beach is 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.
~~ FOOD: We were not impressed by the hotel's restaurant. It was not awful, but it was very average.
~~ 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 landscape, 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.
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.
THE ISLAND: We rented a car for 3 days to see Curacao. We walked around the shopping area in Punda. It was okay , we were not particularly impressed by the stores. However, 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.
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