TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Excellent location. Great food options. Great pools and beach. The site is beautiful and well staffed and maintained. As a Diamond member, the welcome was nicely done and a we received a nice upgrade. We enjoyed the different restaurants located in the property. The events were great for families and the location seemed safe. We explored the island on our own in a rental car which I would advise someone to do. It’s easy to get around and tour the island.

First of all I already published a review that was far more positive, but that was because I was having dinner and was a bit influenced by other people at the table the the customer satisfaction officer that was standing by our table until the review was posted. Now comes my real review (I have not found a way to remove my previous one unfortunately). When we arrived at the airport our name was not on the list for the bus. Fortunately my father had printed out proof of payment for the hotel transfer and the bus hadn't left yet. We got an envelope at the airport containing our room key: no check-in at the hotel, but also no explanation at the hotel, such as "where is breakfast, restaurant, how to reach your room, ..., nothing". We had some trouble getting into our room as it was a ground floor room with only a sliding window door, the knob of which came off when I first touched it. It is also not intuitive to open anyway... So after the long flight and transfer issue, my first job was to run back to the reception desk to get some help with the room door. Two maintenance ppl came to help open the door, but I cannot say that I was impressed with the friendliness of either the receptionist or the maintenance. First impression of our room: it smelled damp and there was humidity coming out of the floor and ceiling. The bathroom smelled especially damp. Furthermore, we were at a room that looked like we had been naughty children and put in the corner...we were facing a wall, were directly next to the laundry and delivery area and the beats of a disco at The Rif could be heard into our bathroom. We decided to get another room the next day (it was already late and we had had a +10h flight) As it was already 10pm by then we wanted to get some dinner (the food on the flight was .... well...). The staff at the snackbar near the pool was cleaning up and not very forthcoming with information, but we ultimately found the restaurant and could sit in the dining area of The Rif. Most of the food was gone already, but some was left, but unfortunately not very warm anymore. At the time I blamed the late hour, but I learned later that this lukewarm or even cold food is a constant at this hotel, unless you come to eat immediately after the restaurant opens. Another thing we leared over the next 9 days of our stay is that cleaning is not the strong suit of the restaurant staff, nor is friendliness (with the odd exception). The tables and seats were nothing short of gross. Pigeons and all sorts of birds attacked every uncleaned table and of course dropped poop on the floor, chairs and even tables. Tables were cleaned very slowly if at all and the staff in general looked bored and uninterested. They used a cleaning cloth that never once saw clean water with detergent after its first soak in the morning...Also, only the table top was wiped mildly if at all: you could pour anything over the edge of the table, and you would still find the driptrail days later. The underside of the tabletops was gross and sticky. The food itself was -in my opinion- very good in taste in general. But why they are using food warmers is beyond me, because they clearly do not work: either they use cold water, do not connect them to electricity, or they are malfunctioning, but finding warm food in this Mangrove Beach is next to impossible. The only exception being the food they are just bringing in from the kitchen. For our second room I specifically requested a room in the opposing building, at the backside, on the first floor: I had quickly concluded that this hotel had been built on what had always been a mangrove forest, and was not build to withstand rising damp. This hotel is only a few years old (I think there was a petition to protect the mangrove forest in 2018, but the hotel got built nonetheless in 2021), however, it looks almost 10 years old... there are major electrical issues, there are mould issues (you can see mould in multiple locations like the nailsalon, the storage room for luggage and spare beds, ...). This is a major construction fail and an indication of the true goal of the owner: it is not about making money offering a luxury experience to guests, it is only about making money...and as much of it as possible. Our second room was much better that the first one: calm location, great view, and most importantly, no humidity. The cleaning lady doing our room was also very friendly, and much more thorough than the one on the other building where my parents were still staying. I am assuming that each building has its cleaning crew and each such crew has its manager. In the rooms, the showers work great, there is always warm water and there are shower products, so no need to bring soap and shampoo or conditioner. Drinks at the bars are in general good and they usually pour enough of the rum, or vodka in it so that you know you are drinking a cocktail (I have had some other experiences in the past). Also, in this hotel I never once spotted a bartender drinken alcohol. This is also something I have seen more than I care for in other hotels. The design of the beach and pools are properly done and give you what you expect from a tropical destination like Curacao. There were 5 water slides of which one was not functioning during our stay. The staff at the Aqua Bar should be fired instantly as they are only interested in their smartphone and are even visibly annoyed when you ask them for a drink. There were 2 water turtles in the sea area of the hotel. The pontoon was also a super nice touch. The beach is in general clean, but I have also seen "cleaners" using a rake to rake dirt (napkins, cigarettes) onto a small pile, and then leave the pile for the entire day. Also in late afternoon you can find beds where there is a vast mountain of cocktails glasses (empty or not): not all guests return their glasses like we do, and it seems cleaning up is really something they are not fond of in Curacao (check out the sides of any road on Curacao ... oh my god!!!! Never seen that level of ecological ignorance since I was in Sri Lanka and Senegal 24 years ago). Location of the hotel is not too far from Willemstad, but during our stay it was so hot, that walking to the Queen Emma Bridge was a challenge. The walk is also nothing to look forward to either: you walk next to an ugly road, with a (again) dirty roadside, in extreme heat. At least the roadside of the hotel should be kept clean, but it isn't. The mangrove can also be visited, for $15 per person...what a rip-off for such a small piece of nature. The BBQ restaurant required reservation...this could be done via the app of the hotel. As we did not receive any check-in explanation, this was not clear to us. The app turns out to the be portal of the hotel you land on after the wifi authentication (on my iPhone I needed to "Forget network" and reacquire the connection multiple times per day btw). Once I knew it was the portal you needed to turn to, I tried fruitlessly to make a reservation...you can only reserve a day in advance and only starting at 10am.... I went online at 10am and the app did not work...a few minutes later it worked and the restaurant was fully booked. So I went to the lobby at 10am the next day...only to find a row of 50 ppl there...I did not bother to queue. Every day I tried booking via the app, but we did not eat at the BBQ restaurant once...it was simply impossible to get a reservation. On our last day we had an evening flight so I inquired about extending the room until the end of the day. I have NEVER been to a hotel where that is charged per hour per person!!! If I extend a room, be it for 1 person or 5....the room is not vacant, is it? So why do I need to pay per person? That is a rip-off unlike ANY I have ever seen...also the hourly fee...it is ridiculous. I have some experience working in hospitality and so does my wife, and we came to the conclusion that this hotel needs a new general manager who takes charge and starts making changes, beginning with a good healthy talk with the staff and appointing the right division managers. This hotel can be a five star but it will take A LOT of work, and it won't last for long, because the building is simply flawed by construction: the humidity problems will only get worse and in 10 years time this hotel will start falling apart. Despite this review, we did have a good vacation thanks to the excellent beach area, good cocktails, and the 4 out of 5 working water slides that our son really enjoyed. The food was also good in taste in general and when you go eat as early as possible mildly warm. Of course you must be able to ignore the hygienic conditions.

Fun place with great staff. Only complaint for me was that they didn’t have much for gluten free. Many results on the island are now making gluten free pizza, pancakes, muffins, and pasta. If there are any signs we did not see them. At dinner there were about 4 options but no labeled gluten fee desserts or bread. Bummed I couldn’t experience snacks as well. That was my only complaint. Rooms are spacious and clean and resort itself is constantly being cleaned. Free parking and within shopping and all that Willemstad has to offer

We have tried all week to get reservations at one of the specialty restaurants. We were using the hotel app. I went to front desk to see how we could get reservations. He send me to a desk that was closed for the day. When we walked by one of the restaurants it was half full ,so we asked if they had room to fit us in and they said no. If you want to eat at the buffet every night this place isn’t bad. I will never come back. Avila was soo much better. This place can súck it !

Bad service from most of the staff. They were not friendly and neither were the bartenders. The hotel is beautiful. Food was good. Room was clean. Bob Marley Cocktail is a must try! We had much fun despite the bad service from the staff toward us.