Breezes Resort -- Curacao

We decided to go to Curacao for our first wedding anniversary.  Truth be told, I knew very little about this place.  All I knew prior to this trip is that they filmed "The Bachelorette" there.  Curacao is a small island next to Aruba.  It is about 40 miles north of Venezuela. 

It is very diverse in culture.  The people on the island speak Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, or even a blend of all these languages.  

We stayed at the then all-inclusive Princess Beach Resort and Casino, now called Sunscape Curacao Resort, Spa & Casino.

 lobby

We booked the deluxe garden view.  The room was spacious but it had a water/moldy like smell.  It wasn’t horrible, but it didn’t smell like flowers either. :P  It reminded me of the smell of an indoor pool.  The design and layout of the room was very simple.

Picture credit: expedia

I mainly lounged by the beach.   A little warning about the beach--it went from 4ft deep to 30ft deep (at least it looked that deep to me) quickly.  There were lots of hard rocks and shells in the sand.  If you have swim shoes, wear them.  I managed okay without it, but at times I did manage to hurt myself in a minor way.

There were many pool sections and that was nice.  One of the pools had a swim-up bar, but that was empty, because it reeked of old alcohol. 

They had many activities to keep us occupied.  The resort provided free snorkeling gear daily (tip: get them early b/c they do run out).  There was rock climbing, trapeze, kayaking, pedal boating, and parasailing.  At night they would show movies on the beach.   The movies they showed were more kid-friendly/family movies that have been newly released on DVD, however we still enjoyed it.

Foodwise--nothing really stood out.  Overall, the food was good and decent, but nothing really amazed me.  I give them credit for creating a good atmosphere to eat in.  At breakfast we would eat at their main buffet restaurant.  For lunch we would get food at the grill that was located on the beach.  They had basic food such as hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, and nachos. There were many dinner choices to pick from, such as the Italian restaurant, Japanese hibachi, and a restaurant on the beach.  The dinner by the beach was nice because you would enjoy your dinner as the sun was setting.  Not all of these restaurants open every day.  There’s no reservations needed—it’s a first come first serve.  You can always eat the buffet if the lines get too long or if you want a second dinner. :)  My one complaint is that the cups were tiny.  I would usually ask for two cups at a time. 

The hotel provided free airport transportation.  They also provided free shuttles to the city of Willemstad.   Definitely do this if you have time.  Check out the Queens Bridge and the surrounding shopping areas.  The shuttle dropped us and returned after a few hours to pick us up.  We didn’t spend a long time in the city, so we took a bus back for about 3 dollars a person. 

Overall, it was a nice resort that provided plenty for us to do.  It’s very kid-friendly and would make a nice family vacation.  Don't expect anything over the top and you would be fairly satisfied.