Just returned from Curacao Marriott

[tridacna]

I just spent 10 days in Curacao with my wife. We stayed at the Marriott. We picked Curacao because my wife is not a diver and wanted to do "stuff" topside. It was a very good decision. I dove with the shop at the Marriott. A great operation. Reefs were as good as Bonaire - dives were longer than an hour each - and their attitude was superb. Tom runs a great operation. On day one, I take out my BP/W from the case and the inflator hose was broken. I'm pissed. No problem. JJ at the shop replaces my hose in 30 minutes at no charge! And unbelievably good attitude. I can't say enough good things about this operation. Diving was superb; Water temp 84-86. Vis > 75 feet. Reefs and animals in good health. Customers are treated like guests. I came away with such a good feeling.

Curacao is a very pleasant island to explore. We rented a car and drove everywhere. The Park is way better than that on Bonaire. Beaches are excellent. Make sure to visit Playa Porto Marie (A beautiful shore dive - fills and rentals on the beach), and take a trip up on the West side. We will definitely return.

It's nice to able to write a positive review. I had no issues whatsoever with this trip. I strongly recommend this location AND operation.

 

[cheddarguy]

We stayed at the Marriott for 2 weeks last year and it was great. Tom and everyone at the shop are the best.
We went back to curacao this last March for 2 weeks and stayed in a condo, but used the shops tanks. We also got Nitrox certified through them.

 

[fisheyeview]

Curacao is great. We were down there for 10 days earlier this month. We stayed at Habitat. I have heard good things about the Marriott.

 

[mikerault]

Stayed at the Marriott last year while I got my AOW with the Dive Bus, had a great time!

Mike

 

[GaTT]

Hey, Mike. We were at Sunset Waters, 7/22-29 and had a wonderful experience. I'm curious if you did any diving (on any of your Curacao trips) along the SW coast, from Porto Marie westward -- and how that diving compares to Bonaire's. I particularly liked Watamula on the far west point of the island. For next summer, we are contemplating a week each on Bonaire and Curacao to do some "comparison shopping." tom t. (Canton, GA)

 

[irie1029]

Yes caribseasports is awesome... I will be back in march.

 

[xXxDivingDeetjexXx]

I'm glad that you guys had a good time on Curacao!
I'm Living here,and not leaving for anything in the world!

Salty Greetz!

xXxDivingDeetjeXxX

 

[mikerault]

I dove PierBaal, Carpile, Superior producer and the Marriott house reef. I liked all of them. As I was doing AOW I was kind of limited where I could dive (instructors choice) I would love to go back and just spend a week diving where I want!

 

[leadweight]

tridacna,

I am happy for you that your experience with the dive shop at the Marriott was satisfactory, however, my experience was quite the opposite. I was treated very rudely for supposedly not following their proceedures, which had not been explained in advance, and which are by no means universal. In subsequent discussions with the owner and hotel management, no one would admit to making a mistake. I could not recommend this dive shop to anyone. You are simply lucky nothing went wrong on your trip. They are also very expensive, charging about 20% more than most other dive operators on Curacao plus a mandatory 10% service charge. Their service was below average cattle boat at best with unreasonable amounts of time spent waiting in the water at the surface at both the start and end of the dive.

 

[maryjuno]

I just spent 10 days in Curacao with my wife. We stayed at the Marriott. We picked Curacao because my wife is not a diver and wanted to do "stuff" topside. It was a very good decision. I dove with the shop at the Marriott. A great operation. Reefs were as good as Bonaire - dives were longer than an hour each - and their attitude was superb. Tom runs a great operation. On day one, I take out my BP/W from the case and the inflator hose was broken. I'm pissed. No problem. JJ at the shop replaces my hose in 30 minutes at no charge! And unbelievably good attitude. I can't say enough good things about this operation. Diving was superb; Water temp 84-86. Vis > 75 feet. Reefs and animals in good health. Customers are treated like guests. I came away with such a good feeling.

Curacao is a very pleasant island to explore. We rented a car and drove everywhere. The Park is way better than that on Bonaire. Beaches are excellent. Make sure to visit Playa Porto Marie (A beautiful shore dive - fills and rentals on the beach), and take a trip up on the West side. We will definitely return.

It's nice to able to write a positive review. I had no issues whatsoever with this trip. I strongly recommend this location AND operation.

Did the dive operation at the Marriott stick to shore dives or did they do some boat dives?
How larger were their groups. I generally stay away from hotel operations because they are usually over-priced, crowded boats, and cater to beginners. But from your comments it seems this place is different???