Curacao - favorite resort ??

[torontoscubagirl]

Hello All !

Going down south this November with some friends, one of whom is a non-diver/weak swimmer who wants a nice resort and topside things to do. Any suggestions on where you would stay in Curacao that has great diving, beach snorkelling and 4star+ accomodations ??

Also, I've heard amazing things about Bonaire - would you go there instead of Curacao ??

I'd really appreciate any advice !!

Thanks and happy diving

 

[ronscuba]

Marriot

 

[gangrel441]

Only one I stayed at was Sunset Waters. Resort was ok, but house reef was outstanding! When we were there, Easy Divers was the dive op. They have since moved to Habitat Curacao, and I know little of the op that has taken over at Sunset Waters.

 

[diversteve]

I've got to go with the Marriott also. At Sunset Waters, Habitat Curacao or Lodge Kura Hulanda, the three dive resorts on the west end, your non-diver will likely be bored to tears. There's nothing not on the resort that isn't a 20-40min drive. And only Sunset has a decent beach, the others are coral rubble. If you are looking for 4 stars out on the West End, the only place would be Lodge Kura Hulanda, Habitat and Sunset Waters looked a little tired last April...it's a 30-45min. drive to town from LKH though.

At the Marriott they'll have the casino, restaurants, a great beach, a couple local restaurants (try Hook's Hut) and a 10-15min. drive downtown. The old part of downtown is a short ride away. And not too far from the Sea Aquarium, the other big tourist thing to do in Willemsted. They have some (albeit slightly tacky) snorkel/fish feeding options there, including one with dolphins. And the Marriott is really nice. The Hilton next door - not so much...and the reef off the Hilton is trashed.

Downside is that the good shorediving on the west end is 15-45 mins. from the Marriott. I've heard good things about the Marriott's diveop. And there's the DiveBus farther east, they make shorediving easy. And I think they'll pick you up - not sure about this. E-mail Suzy, they're good people...

Bonaire is mostly for divers. The downtown area consists of a couple dozen stores and some restaurants. If the non-diver is into other sports, there's hiking, a couple caves, windsurfing, landsailing, kayaking in the mangroves and other diversions. But really the resorts revolve around diving. I wouldn't take a non-diver there, they'd be bored. And most of the dive resorts - Plaza, Divi, Eden Beach and Harbour Village being the exceptions, are built on ironshore so they don't have any - or very limited - beach areas. Otoh, the snorkeling is really good off most of the resorts as a lot of them sit on named dive sites. 4 stars on Bonaire would be Harbour Village - 3.5 stars would be Plaza - maybe...

 

[torontoscubagirl]

Thanks for the replys ! Looks like Curacao it is then ... Mariott or Breezes I guess ?

 

[ronscuba]

If your friend wants to relax and doesn't mind being by themselves while you dive, pick Marriott. Breezes will have more planned activities and opportunites to meet and socialize with other guests, but may also have more kids and adults taking advantage of the all-inclusive alcohol.

If your friend likes the beach, book a trip with the Dive Bus on the day they go to Porto Marie. It's a great dive site and a great beach with full facilities including restaurant, bathrooms, lockers and showers.

 

[carib_traveler]

The dive op at the Breezes is Oceanencounters (www.oceanencounters.com) and the one at Marriott is Caribbean Sea Sports (www.caribseasports.com). Both outstanding operations!
There's more to do near Breezes, but the hotel itself is not much. The Marriott is one of the best on Curacao (together with Kura Hulanda).
If you go to the Marriott say hi to Tom (owner), Shaani and Ed (instructors) for me

 

[Damselfish]

I would expect much fewer people on the boats on average at the Marriott, if that matters to you.

 

[tridacna]

Marriott for sure. The Dive op is great and the hotel is excellent. Seldom more that 6 divers on the boat and the DMs are great. Look out for JJ and Sheni. They are very good divemasters.

The dive ops on the West side are WAAAAY out of the way.

 

[ronbeau]

Only one I stayed at was Sunset Waters. Resort was OK, but house reef was outstanding! When we were there, Easy Divers was the dive op. They have since moved to Habitat Curacao, and I know little of the op that has taken over at Sunset Waters.

The new Dive Op at Sunset Waters is Sunset Divers. My family did a two-tank dive at the Mushroom Forest with them this summer and we were very happy with the dive operator.

We were staying at Breezes Curacao so I can't comment on the Sunset Waters resort itself.