I'm visiting Curacao in APril 2015 and can't decide between the Marriott, Hilton, or Renaissance. I am somewhat of a "hotel" snob and like clean, up to date rooms with great room service and other food options.
If anyone has had any experience with either property can you please advise!
Post by wanderlustfoodie on Sept 8, 2014 13:16:55 GMT -5
If you are a hotel snob, then you will want to avoid the chain hotels and stay here - www.baoase.com/
We stayed in a 3 bedroom pool villa, and it was heavenly. We have referred several friends since we went a few years ago, and all report back positively.
I debated a ton between the two marriotts and ended up choosing the Renaissance because it was in walking distance to multiple food places in town (we like getting take away and enjoying dinner with a bottle of wine on our balcony). We enjoyed it, though I paid for an ocean view and our room was on the second floor barely overlooking the pool area that blocks the ocean view. The other Marriott has a real beach while the Renaissance had a fake infinity beach (I liked it more than DH).
We ended up regretting not renting a car because taxis were so expensive (and we barely used them). Our day trip to Klein Curacao was the highlight of our trip.
Anyway, if you want a real beach where you can swim, then don't choose the Renaissance (but if you do, you'll still enjoy it).
Do not stay at the hilton - it's right next to the Marriott, and it is really old and run down looking. I loved the Marriott - gorgeous grounds, great room, the pool is excellent, and the beach and snorkeling are fantastic. For the money, it was a great deal.
The only downside was that the hotel food was bad - like, really bad. And the property is far from other food choices, unless you have a car.
I was leaning toward the Renaissance. I'll just stick with that. Thanks for the advice.
Double check on any lobby bands and their schedule at check-in and make sure to be on floor 3 or higher if you will be bothered if they play till 1am. It was only one of our nights, but happened to be the night before our 7 am tour departure.
There is a minimart in the fort next door that has wine, screwtop and cork, so you might bring a corkscrew.
If you do a little Klein tour, remember to reapply the sunscreen. This is the best place ever that we got sea turtle pics, so an underwater camera would be great. Curacao is also a top scuba destination if you're certified.
The other cool thing about the renaissance was seeing the pontoon bridge open and close a bunch of times, especially for the huge barges that come in at night. The school kids hung out in the square during lunch.