Sunscape?

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Billg68bg

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My wife and I are going to Curacao in August. We have a time share and booked at the Sunscape.

The Trip Adviser reviews are all over the place. Being that there is time, if needed, to change reservation location, I am asking for input from anyone who has stayed there recently.

Also, booked my first night dive followed by a two tank morning dive through Ocean Encounters, which is on premise, if anyone has input regarding them.

Thanks
 
You may not consider 2019 recent; my old trip report might at least offer you some idea what it looks like, and some idea of what a trip based there is like. Curacao Trip Report with SB Surge Jan. 2019.

I was happy with the dive op. I liked the resort grounds and was content with the food - the onsite restaurants wouldn't last in the U.S. if they had to compete as free-standing independent eateries, from what I experienced, but they were fine for A.I. food. Didn't try the area shore diving. If it's good to know, the Dive Bus was nearby and the public aquarium was walking distance.
 
My wife and I are going to Curacao in August. We have a time share and booked at the Sunscape.

The Trip Adviser reviews are all over the place. Being that there is time, if needed, to change reservation location, I am asking for input from anyone who has stayed there recently.

Also, booked my first night dive followed by a two tank morning dive through Ocean Encounters, which is on premise, if anyone has input regarding them.

Thanks

I addressed your questions in two threads, one of which was your's in Dec 2022 and another in my trip report below. Ocean Encounters and The Dive Bus are excellent, and have dived with both ops on other one day stops in Curacao. I have never had a bad dive with either of them, and will use one or both during my next visits. My wife and I loved the Sunscape for convenience to dive ops (Ocean Encounters and The Dive Bus), the grounds, the sheltered lagoon, and the beach. The food at Sunscape is OK if you are not a foodie, but that is one area that could definitely use improvement. Main complaints on food: Generally overcook the meat and fish; have not yet figured out how to keep the hot things hot, and cold things cold; restaurants are mostly open air, so flies can be an issue; and menus in each restaurant do not change from day to day.

Trip Report Sunscape Curacao, Ocean Encounters, and The Dive Bus

 
they have timeshare at sunscape? thru RCI or II ?
 
I was there in December and am returning in May. Sunscapes is ok, OE was fantastic. They're part of the reason we're returning.
 
As a former timeshare owner, I'm sorry for your loss (of all your money). I stayed at Sunscape in December 2021. I don't know if that's recent enough for you, but I would not return. It's a big property, so if you want quiet and a long walk to the dive shop, choose the Sun Club rooms. If you want late night noise from the pool and bar and loud music, stay in the tower right next to the dive shop. We stayed in the Sun Club area. There's 3 floors and no elevator. The A/C is very poor, especially on the 3rd floor. We were initially told the Sun Club had elevators, so we didn't mind the 3rd floor, but we got bad info, then got moved to the ground floor. Still poor A/C but tolerable. The room was not clean and the mattress pad had holes in it. Our feet turned black just walking around barefoot doing the unpacking. The Sun Club rooms get you a "private" check-in desk in the lobby, but it took us over an hour to check in. The other folks checking in at the regular desk were waiting an hour and half and longer. You might have an RCI/timeshare owner desk for check-in.

If you go to their website, https://www.amrcollection.com/en/resorts-hotels/sunscape/curacao/curacao-resort-spa-casino/, you'll see the property on the home page. The farthest left U-shaped building is the Sun Club building. The farthest right tall tower building is the noisy one but very close to the dive shop. All the bars and restaurants are located in the main complex located on the far right too.

The breakfast buffet was not open early enough to accommodate divers and non-diving early risers. If I remember correctly, check-in at the dive shop was 8 a.m., but the restaurant didn't open till 7:30. The quality of food was barely edible and the service was super slow. Since the menus don't change, it gets boring. We left the resort a few times to find better, local food within walking distance.

I'm in Curacao as I write this and it's busy here in February. I've inquired and the slow season is June through August, so you've picked a good time.

I'm staying in Lagun (north end) this trip and diving with Go West, but since they don't offer night boat dives, I made a 2-hour round trip to do a night boat dive with Ocean Encounters a couple of days ago. They are a great operation and we had no complaints in 2021. Good staff, nice facilities with rinse tanks and outdoor showers, hoses, and all you need to clean up. The boats are big and roomy, and everyone gets their own mask bucket. They are more than willing to help with any request you have. Sunscape is their second location with Lions Dive being their primary and bigger location. For the convenience of diving, I would recommend Lions Dive. The dockside restaurant, Hemingways, was bustling with lots of people, and they were still open when we got back to the dock about 8:30 p.m.
 
As a former timeshare owner, I'm sorry for your loss (of all your money).

Lagun (north end) this trip and diving with Go West, but since they don't offer night boat dives, I made a 2-hour round trip to do a night boat dive with Ocean Encounters a couple of days ago.
curious about your timeshare comment. pls explain.

are you in paya lagun? why drive to town for night diving? you can dive the reef right outside your bay. we stayed there. the diving was really good there. isn't Bahia diving avail if you beed a guide?
 
I stayed at Sunscape Curacao for the 2nd time in July of 2022, and I would return. I'm already tentative planning a return trip. I would echo some of the others' comments on the food, it is good, but not great. Ocean Encounters is great! Don't miss out on some fantastic diving by not shore diving from the resort either day or night dives.
 
we loved the shore diving aspect of our last trip with OE. Their very "laissez-faire" attitude is what is taking us back for more.

I stayed at Sunscape Curacao for the 2nd time in July of 2022, and I would return. I'm already tentative planning a return trip. I would echo some of the others' comments on the food, it is good, but not great. Ocean Encounters is great! Don't miss out on some fantastic diving by not shore diving from the resort either day or night dives.
 

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