Just back from Curacao

[snorkelgeek]

:dazzler1: We spent April 12-April 26 at the Sunset Waters Beach and Dive Resort in Curacao. Though we are not divers, we are avid snorkellers and chose this resort partially based on reviews and suggestions from this forum.

We cannot recommend this resort highly enough.

First of all, if there are any Mann Overboard people out there, we'd like to thank-you for making us feel welcome when we first arrived - 4 ladies from Alberta, Canada.

The resort is not fancy, but we neither wanted a large mega resort, nor were we expecting one. The staff were incredibly helpful and friendly. The food was excellent. Our Superior Oceanview Room was relatively large, the only disappointment was the lack of a balcony. We also viewed the Gardenview rooms which were very nice and the Junior Suites, also very nice with extra long balcony with two sets of french doors opening on to them. The resort seems to have endless room configurations, none seeming the same. So don't be afraid to make special requests.

We snorkelled off the beach and saw enough that we never really felt the need to go elsewhere. Saw a dozen morays, octopus, lobster, porcupinefish, balloonfish, trunkfish, cowfish, flounders, scorpionfish, oodles of fireworms, squirrelfish, flamingo tongue, filefish, barracuda, gar, large parrotfish, black jack, and of course the ubiquitous tangs, grunts and doctorfish.

Though we didn't dive, conversations with two dive groups that were there while we were there indicated both groups (one group was 12 from Illinois, the other 53 from Washington, DC) were extremely happy with their experience and I overheard one of the divers tell the dive shop staff that it was their best trip ever, after going places annually for years. Because we didn't dive, we didn't have the opportunity to meet all the dive shop staff, but were treated to humour and friendliness by Steve. And for that we were grateful.

One of the highlights was seeing about 6 "tuna boils" indicative of an underlying whale shark. We did see what we thought was the underside of one whale shark. And all this from the beach and restaurant of the hotel. Something not mentioned on this forum was the fact that the dive shop there is actually conducting whale shark research and keep tabs on any whale sharks in the area. To come so close to seeing one was an unexpected bonus.

As for Curacao itself, it is a beautiful, friendly place. It's status as a World Heritage site gives a hint as to the fascinating history of the island, more history than the other ABC islands I'm told.

Anyone wanting to see pics of the resort and parts of Curacao are welcome to visit my photo page at: http://community.webshots.com/album/334021721UVGFbd and feel free to ask me any questions about the resort. I'd be happy to answer them and will also be happy to highly recommend this resort.

Brenda

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

:dazzler1: We spent April 12-April 26 at the Sunset Waters Beach and Dive Resort in Curacao. Though we are not divers, we are avid snorkellers and chose this resort partially based on reviews and suggestions from this forum.

We cannot recommend this resort highly enough.

First of all, if there are any Mann Overboard people out there, we'd like to thank-you for making us feel welcome when we first arrived - 4 ladies from Alberta, Canada.

The resort is not fancy, but we neither wanted a large mega resort, nor were we expecting one. The staff were incredibly helpful and friendly. The food was excellent. Our Superior Oceanview Room was relatively large, the only disappointment was the lack of a balcony. We also viewed the Gardenview rooms which were very nice and the Junior Suites, also very nice with extra long balcony with two sets of french doors opening on to them. The resort seems to have endless room configurations, none seeming the same. So don't be afraid to make special requests.

We snorkelled off the beach and saw enough that we never really felt the need to go elsewhere. Saw a dozen morays, octopus, lobster, porcupinefish, balloonfish, trunkfish, cowfish, flounders, scorpionfish, oodles of fireworms, squirrelfish, flamingo tongue, filefish, barracuda, gar, large parrotfish, black jack, and of course the ubiquitous tangs, grunts and doctorfish.

Though we didn't dive, conversations with two dive groups that were there while we were there indicated both groups (one group was 12 from Illinois, the other 53 from Washington, DC) were extremely happy with their experience and I overheard one of the divers tell the dive shop staff that it was their best trip ever, after going places annually for years. Because we didn't dive, we didn't have the opportunity to meet all the dive shop staff, but were treated to humour and friendliness by Steve. And for that we were grateful.

One of the highlights was seeing about 6 "tuna boils" indicative of an underlying whale shark. We did see what we thought was the underside of one whale shark. And all this from the beach and restaurant of the hotel. Something not mentioned on this forum was the fact that the dive shop there is actually conducting whale shark research and keep tabs on any whale sharks in the area. To come so close to seeing one was an unexpected bonus.

As for Curacao itself, it is a beautiful, friendly place. It's status as a World Heritage site gives a hint as to the fascinating history of the island, more history than the other ABC islands I'm told.

Anyone wanting to see pics of the resort and parts of Curacao are welcome to visit my photo page at: http://community.webshots.com/album/334021721UVGFbd and feel free to ask me any questions about the resort. I'd be happy to answer them and will also be happy to highly recommend this resort.

Brenda

Thank you for a great trip report. The pics are very nice as well. You have an excellent eye for composition. Some of the ocean/cliffs shots are awesome.

 

[smokey braden]

snorklegeek,
my wife, son and i were at sunsetwaters last july.
my son earned his ow cert.
my wife snorkled and i dove.
we also thought the resort was great as you stated in y'alls trip report.
a group of 53 divers from dc?
did any of them say they saw the statue on the house reef?
thank you for the trip report and photos.
regards,

 

[sharon]

Is there a statue underwater at Sunset Waters now? I haven't been there in a few years. I know that there is an under water statue of Neptune that is very cool to see very near the Allwest Apts in Westpunt. I believe that they now have pictures of it on their web site. Can you send me any more info on a statue at Sunset Waters, we are planning to return to Curacao later this year and we would love to see it?

snorklegeek,
my wife, son and i were at sunsetwaters last july.
my son earned his ow cert.
my wife snorkled and i dove.
we also thought the resort was great as you stated in y'alls trip report.
a group of 53 divers from dc?
did any of them say they saw the statue on the house reef?
thank you for the trip report and photos.
regards,

 

[smokey braden]

sharon,
the statue is on the house reef at sunset waters.
when you go straight out you will come to the plane wreck at about 35ft.
go down the wall to 80ft.
on your right you will see a sand shute.
she is a greek goddess about 4ft tall.
she might have fallen over and you need to fan the sand away to find her.

when my son and i were there july '04, we could not find her.
suddenly we see this lady's face staring at us thru the sand.
so we stand her up, wipe her clean and then took her picture.

the dive shop, sunset divers was glad we did this because she had been "missing"
for a while.
the next day some divers from canada saw her standing up the way we left her.

she is at 80ft and if you don't see her right off, she might have fallen again and needs to be stood back up.
regards,

 

[Scubagal]

Thanks for posting this! We're planning our first trip to Curacao and Sunset Waters. Nice to see a positive review. Looking forward to viewing the pictures (blocked website from work). Thanks again!

 

[snorkelgeek]

snorklegeek,
my wife, son and i were at sunsetwaters last july.
my son earned his ow cert.
my wife snorkled and i dove.
we also thought the resort was great as you stated in y'alls trip report.
a group of 53 divers from dc?
did any of them say they saw the statue on the house reef?
thank you for the trip report and photos.
regards,

I didn't hear any talk of a statue on the house reef, but then most of the discussion seemed to be centred around videos they'd taken of each day's dive (btw - the resort happily sets up a TV in the restaurant bar to show your vids if you wish). Most of the dives off the shore seemed to be reserved for night dives only. Very few went out during the day. Most of the ones that went out during the day were testing equipment or were taking a lesson from Steve.

We did get a kick out of it when the water had been stirred up by some wave action and winds and the divers out on dives that day kept missing the entrance to the lagoon. One fellow exited at the nude beach and got an eyeful, the other came up around by the pier!

I was a little perturbed one day as we were snorkelling along the outside of the breakwater over to the elkhorn coral head. One of the guests was doing his best to show off in front of us. We were swimming a safe distance from the breakwater (safe for us, and safe for the fishes) and he was splashing around between us and the breakwater, diving down, deliberately scaring the fish (gee thanks *********!). To get away from him we continued on to the coral head, but he followed us there and proceeded to swim into the coral head. I saw him kick off the coral a couple of times and was getting very irate at this maniac. If you see anyone doing this please say something to them or to management or the dive shop. My only consolation was that the way he was swimming and the way we were swimming, we saw a hell of a lot more things than he did!

One thing I did forget to mention was that on weekends, the beach and lagoon can become fairly busy with locals and day trippers. So if you are there over a weekend, plan to be out on a dive or a tour if you can.

Don't be afraid to make any strange requests. The hotel staff bends over backwards to try and accomodate all requests. There is a free daily shuttle in to town (except Suns), but you can also make arrangements for extra trips and if YOU work around THEIR schedule, you are usually not charged. Otherwise it is a measly $5 charge to go into town off their schedule. At night they charge more ($35) as the drivers have to stay late, but costs can also be split between a group. When the large group from dc wanted to go into town the day before flying out, the resort even arranged an extra van to take everyone that wanted to go.

Brenda

 

[smokey braden]

snorklegeek,
i think it is a compliment to the resort when the locals come there with their families on weekends.
for a flat fee they may enjoy all the amenities, food, drink, the pool and the beach.
this allowed me as a tourist to interact with these fine folks which is one thing that is normally missed when staying at an ai.
the week we were there, there were only 8 divers for the week.
compared to your 53 divers from dc we basically had the whole place to ourselves.
as to your comment about the kitchen, my wife and son are allergic to all wheat products. (gluton)
the kitchen staff spoiled them with great food that was specialty made for them.
regards,

 

[snorkelgeek]

snorklegeek,
i think it is a compliment to the resort when the locals come there with their families on weekends.
for a flat fee they may enjoy all the amenities, food, drink, the pool and the beach.
this allowed me as a tourist to interact with these fine folks which is one thing that is normally missed when staying at an ai.
the week we were there, there were only 8 divers for the week.
compared to your 53 divers from dc we basically had the whole place to ourselves.
as to your comment about the kitchen, my wife and son are allergic to all wheat products. (gluton)
the kitchen staff spoiled them with great food that was specialty made for them.
regards,

Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed meeting some of the locals too. The second weekend, however, the lagoon was filled with people splish splashing. Visibility for snorkelling in the lagoon was zero and palapas were all gone....we got the rusty one and all my stuff got rust stains on it I did find it very interesting that so many local groups and families came to Sunset Waters. I think that is a testament to how welcoming this resort is. One of our tour guides said she comes on the weekends all the time, and that they love the resort and appreciate that it is off Santa Martha Bay which is the most natural of all the bays.

Brenda

 

[snorkelgeek]

BTW - for those of you wanting to get a good deal on this resort, keep checking hotels.com We booked our hotel portion of our trip through hotels.ca and were able to get a deal of almost half price. Think the resort sells off blocks to hotels.com when they are in between dive groups.

Brenda