We went to Curacao in June, for our honeymoon. Our flight was late coming to Curacao and we didn't get there until like 1030, and the front desk was very accomidating, they upgraded us to a corner ocean view room. We felt the hotel was clean and the grounds are very well kept. Everyday there was workers outside on the beach cleaning it up from high tide. Everyone was so kind and helpful. We felt very safe at the resort and this island.


We had a taxi driver by the name of Eddy pick us up from the airport and he was fabulous! He took us on a day trip and we went around the whole island. We were picked up at like 9 and we were not dropped off until like 5 or 6. He gave great tips on where to eat, and he was determined for me to get a picture of the cool green parrots that are on the island, that I wanted a picture of. He is an all around great taxi driver, so if you are going to the island, we suggest having him show you around, you will not be sorry. Tell him, Paula and Chad from Wisconsin sent you. :)

It is a beautiful and very clean island, the water is the clear, turquoise color that you dream of. We definately want to go back.

The Curacao Marriott was a beautiful resort. However, the employees at the Marriott are not what you would typically expect from a Marriott in the US. Upon arrival, we had to wait an hour before the room we requested 2 months ago was ready. We arrived at 10:30 p.m. and were told our beachfront room was not clean yet. We stood in the lobby and waited and were promised it would be ready soon. That did not happen. The man behind the reception counter then took a 15 minute break after I asked him if our room was ready yet. Upon his return another guest asked him about transportation back to the airport that she had pre-paid for. He could not help her and disregarded her question and told her she'd have to come back in the morning to ask someone else. We were given a regular room which was fine, but not worth the $500/night stay. We were promised the next day we would have our beachfront room. That did not happen either! The restaurants (2) were okay. Everyday when we ate in one of the restaurants the server would come to our table and give us a list of items that they had "run out" of! This was frustrating. Be prepared to sit for 2-3 hours while dining anywhere in Curacao. Portofino's was fine, but the service was extremely slow (there were only a few other couples eating at the time). Overall, I felt the staff at the Marriott was rude and not friendly at all. I would probably never go back to the island. Although English is spoken on the island, many of the employees at the Marriott were difficult to understand and had a hard time understanding us. We only noticed a few families from the US while were at the Marriott. Definitely not a US friendly island!! If you're thinking about heading to any of the ABC islands, consider ARUBA!!! It's beautiful and the Marriott in Aruba is by far one of the best places we've ever stayed!

Nice, clean hotel, for relaxing 5-6 days. Rooms are spacious, and well maintained daily. Very comfortable bed, with great pillows selection. Interior furnishings are soft "colonial style"
but slightly outdated: painted nightstands, TV and the armoire is outdated for this level of the Hotel, and requires update. Hotel has European influence, with many guests from Netherlands
( as it is very convenient with straight flight by KLM from Amsterdam) probably many guests will find uncomfortable not finding extended shower heads or bidet in thebathrooms. Food was mid average and too highly priced, for quality presented. I had a conversation with great personell, and we understand each other meaning Hotel policy : "Rob the Tourist" We have dined at five different recommended restourants at Otrobanda, and find the best we would like to highly recommend "GOUVERNEUR 'DE ROUVILLE" exellent. Great: shef, food, prices, service, view - BEST in Curasao. For $10 taxi will give you a 5 minute ride.
We really don't care about cazino's but in regards of entertaining the guests, probably managent need to revise their policies or schedule.
During 8 day stay it was only one evening with music performance. Evenings were boaring, if you stay in the Hotel. Also as Hotel claims to be "a resort" it is not offering standard entertainment, or services as non motorized water equipment for free. Meaning that, simple Fangs and snorkeling set, will cost you $ 17 per day - meanwhile all "resorts" in Jamaica, Dominican republic, Mexico or Costa Rica are offering snorkeling equipment for guests free.
Overal experience GOOD: this is the better hotel than any at the beautiful Curacao so far, but it will be better for business if the management will consider some comments mentioned above.
Thank you very much,
George.

My husband and I travelled with our twenty year old son to Curacao for a mid-winter vacation. We chose Curacao because (a) it is relatively painless to get to from Texas compared to other Caribbean destinations; (b) it has good snorkeling; and (c) it has casinos. I chose the Marriott because of the reports of good snorkeling immediately off shore of the hotel beach, its location near to Willemstad and its on-premises casino.
The Marriott was truly lovely. We booked a direct beach front suite that was perfect for the three of us. It had a refrigerator and coffee maker that allowed us to eat breakfast and lunch at our own leisure. The room had a very large balcony with a lovely view, a bedroom separate from the living area and a large bathroom. The room was very clean and beds very comfortable (king in the separate bedroom and pull-out in the living room). I agree with some of the other reviews that the rooms are relatively "uninspired" but we were very comfortable and slept very comfortably. The view from our room was fantastic.
I also agree with the reviews about the friendliness and helpfulness of the Mariott staff - from the bellman, front desk to waiters and bartenders. They were all - without exception - super: friendly, courteous and helpful! The Casino staff were also very friendly and we enjoyed playing (and even losing!) in the Casino.
The grounds of the Marriott and its beach are superbly maintained: flowers and trees just lovely, the common areas of the hotel are spotless, and the beach was immaculate with plenty of clean beach chairs and palapa huts or umbrellas. The snorkeling is super just off shore and we snorkeled every day and saw wonderful schools of colorful fish.
About the only negative comment I can make are these: the food at the Marriott - both the beach and the main dining room was only average. We ate nothing remarkable and one of the buffetts was truly indigestion-producing (the American BBQ buffett - we should have known when in Rome....!). On the other hand, the chef, Sylvia, cooked two barracuda and a tuna that my son and husband had caught on a fishing trip and it was SUPER! This was a real treat and she could not have been more pleasant and helfpful.
The other negative comment, that really is only negative in the sense of wanting to have more accessibility to Willemstad, is the location of the Marriott. You really can't walk anywhere from there. It is a $10.00 cab ride into Willemstad (each way). Marriott does run a shuttle, but I found that its schedule was not particularly convenient. A fabulous restaurant, Sjalotte, is just across the street and we ate there twice but other than that, it is difficult to conveniently walk to anywhere else. (The Hilton is immediately next door and we went over there one night to its casino - we would not return. The staff were extremely unfriendly to the point of being rude and the place just gave off weird vibes - I cannot imagine staying there - saw its "beach" area and what the Hilton has for a beach is teeny, tinsy shared with a docking area for dive boats, the pool is small and crumbling and even the Hilton's beach chairs were dirty and nasty looking. ) Even though the Marriott appears on the website to be within walking distance of Willemstad and other casinos, with the exception of the aforementioned dreadful Hilton casino and the lovely, lovely Sjalotte Restaurant, the location of the Marriott is not conducive to easy access to other hotel properties or the Punda and Otrobanda area. Although advertised as such on its website, the "disco" at the Marriott was sedate to non-existent during our stay. This might change during the summer months - I do not know.
We booked a tour through Yellow Tours at the Marriott for a nearly full day tour of the island and Christoffel National Park. The representatives at the lobby desk were delightful and helpful. We had a super tour guide, Tico, who was so obviously in love with his native island, that it was infectious. He was very knowledgeable about a variety of plants and wildlife. We would all highly recommend him as a guide and the tour.
We ate one night at Steak & Ribs at the Rif Fort. It was pretty decent and our waiter was wonderful.
Weather-wise, despite the fact that December is "high season" on Curacao, it was pretty rainy. We endured one truly torrential downpour that apparently was unusual. It pretty much rained at least for an hour every day. (Again, we were told that was unusual).
All in all, we enjoyed the snorkeling, the lovely Marriott, the beautiful birds and passionate tour of the Island. I definitely would recommend this destination. We definitely would consider returning (perhaps during the spring or summer months when it is not as rainy).
I would strongly recommend this resort to couples (particularly those for whom dining will not be a high priority). For those looking for a disco night scene, stick to Aruba. Otherwise, the Marriott is a lovely alternative.