This is a hotel review I’ve been eager to write because it’s probably the hotel on Curacao I get asked about the most. To preface this, I will say that the Marriott Beach Resort in Curacao is not a luxury hotel nor a 5-star resort, but it’s a perfectly fine mid hotel and a decent option for the island. I’ll get more into that later.

A few weeks ago, I had a weekend staycation at the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort during one of their busiest spring break weeks. I wanted to see how the rooms were, what the service was like, what amenities I could expect, and overall if it could be a hotel I keep recommending. During my stay, I also tried all of the restaurants on property, visited the boutique shop, and toured a few room categories. Keep reading to find out if the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort is a great hotel option for you!

Table of Contents

• Location
• About the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort
• Style
• First Impressions
• Oceanview Two Queen
• Rooms
• Amenities
• Diving Center
• Restaurants
• The Reef Club Lounge
• Beach + Pools
• Activities
• Service
• Cost
• Who Would I Recommend This For?
• Kat’s Final Thoughts

Location

The Curacao Marriott Beach Resort is located in Piscadera, about a 10 minute drive from downtown Willemstad. The resort is in the same area as Zoetry and Dreams, which is to say it’s not a bad location at all. Because the resort is not quite in town, I would recommend renting a car if you stay here. Plus, the Marriott offers free self-parking!

There’s not a whole lot within walking distance to the hotel, though you can walk about 10 minutes to get to Piscadera Beach which also houses Pirate Bay Restaurant, Tomatoes Pizza, and Que Tapa Tapa. I personally love Pirate Bay for sunset happy hour drinks. My husband and I go at least once a month and enjoy a few cocktails with our feet in the sand watching the sunset. Also, I need to mention that the popular casual seafood restaurant, De Visserij, is right by here as well.

About the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort

This resort used to be a Sonesta Resort back when it first opened in 1992. The resort has been remodeled since it was taken over by Marriott in 2016, and they continue to do regular upkeep every year. I spoke with a team member here who told me that she used to come to the Sonesta when she was a kid before there were even pools put in. It has come a long way since 1992, but it looks timeless!

Style

I want to say the style of this resort is modern Caribbean. Not super high tech modern, but you can tell it’s an older Caribbean resort that’s been given new life. The Marriott has done a great job of making the resort feel tropical from the turtle art piece at the check-in desk to the local painting at Papiamentu Marketplace. The resort also makes great use of the tradewinds having an open air lobby.

Does the resort feel like you’re in Curacao? In my opinion, not really. The most Curacao the resort felt was visiting Papiamentu Marketplace, which is their grab and go cafe. They offer local snacks there in addition to a few local crafts and hot sauces. Aside from that area, the resort mostly felt like a generic Caribbean resort. I’m not saying that as a bad thing either, since I know a lot of people appreciate comfort and consistency when choosing their hotel chains abroad.

First Impressions

When my husband and I pulled into the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort parking area, there was a security person asking everyone who arrived for their name and room number. We then spent about 30 minutes looking for parking as the lot was completely full. Later we found out that there was a one day event taking place that day for the Curacao Tourism Board so that’s why parking was an issue that first day. We ended up parking on some grass all the way in the back and moved our car closer to the lobby the next day.

This is not the type of place where the red carpet is rolled out, you’re greeted by name, and offered a cold towel unlike my recent staycation at Baoase. We lugged our bags from the car to the lobby and waited in a very long line for check-in. Unfortunately, many of the flights from the Netherlands and the US arrived around 3 PM so there was an influx of guests checking in in the afternoon. Also remember that we went during a busy spring break weekend in April so not everyone will have the same experience.

I will say, the lobby is gorgeous. There is a long fountain out front leading up to the steps of the lobby, and from there it’s almost completely open air. Straight ahead from entering the lobby you can see the ocean and the Harmony Pool. The check-in desks are on the right, and Zala Restaurant is on the left. There was a beautiful breeze that was constantly coming through the lobby and keeping everything cool.

Oceanview Two Queen

When we eventually got to the check-in desk, we were greeted by a lovely team member and two plastic glasses of prosecco. I booked a Garden View room with my usual perks, the same ones my clients would get if they booked with me. We were told we had complimentary daily breakfast at JFK Steakhouse, a $100 credit, late check out on request, and a room upgrade. Our room was upgraded on the spot from Garden View to Oceanview, and I was surprised given the high occupancy. We were also given complimentary plastic water bottles to use before being handed our keys.

Our room was on the fourth floor, the highest floor, facing the Harmony Pool and lobby. We ended up loving the location because we got to see the musicians perform at night from the comfort of our balcony. Our Oceanview Two Queen was an average sized room at 431 sq ft. with a balcony. The room was modern with a light blue tropical accent wall where the beds were, a sleek wood closet and bar, spacious glass walk-in shower, and a large Samsung TV. The balcony was furnished with a lightweight metal bistro set and we had great ocean views from our room.

Originally, we were worried that we’d hear the kids at the Harmony Pool from our room, but when the balcony door was shut, we couldn’t hear anything. Our room had a “beverage cooler” instead of a mini fridge which meant it didn’t get as cold as normal. In fact, we didn’t feel it get cold at all, and we brought this up to the front desk but it remained room temperature during our stay. Why are beverage coolers even a thing? Just stick to mini fridges!

Rooms

There are around 336 rooms and suites at the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort, which is a large number of rooms for a relatively small property. The rooms are located along two wings, the West Wing and the East Wing. Room categories range from entry-level garden view rooms to oceanview rooms, oceanfront rooms, and oceanfront suites. There are handicap accessible rooms here, which is rare for the island so it’s definitely a resort I’d consider if you’re traveling with anyone who needs accessible features.

I was able to tour a partial oceanview king room and an oceanfront suite. The rooms for the most part have the same layout. You enter the room and there’s a bathroom immediately to the left or right. The bathrooms all have walk-in showers unless you’re in a suite, then you get a bathtub as well. Past the bathroom is the main part of the room with the bed, wooden storage, a sitting area in the corner, and the balcony. Many of the rooms can connect with each other as well.

The oceanfront suite was my favorite (shocker) and it was by far the nicest accommodation at the resort. There are only 8 of these and they’re on the highest floor right in front of the ocean. The suites are a spacious 1184 sq ft with bright windows dotted throughout. There’s an expansive balcony with a bistro set and loungers in these suites only. Entering the suite there is a large living area with a kitchenette, dining table, couches, TV, and half bathroom. There is a sliding door to close off the living area from the main bedroom. The en suite bathroom has a soaking tub in addition to an extra large walk-in shower and single vanity.

Amenities

I was surprised at how many amenities there were at the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort. For starters, there is a complimentary kids club for ages 4 – 10 that guests can make use of, which is rare for Curacao. There are two pools (one family-friendly, one adults-only), a beach, a foosball table, a ping pong table, a large gym, a lounge, a spa, and three restaurants. There’s also a Hertz car rental and a Curacao Activities desk for tours.

During our stay, we played Connect Four by the Harmony Pool and large chess by the botanical garden wing. We made use of the gym, tried out all the restaurants, and got a few drinks at the lobby bar. The staff cover the ping pong table and foosball table at night, so we saw kids playing in the pool at night. One evening, we asked the front desk if they had any board games and the team member just held up a sad deck of cards and said that’s all they have. That’s okay though, we ended up buying a bottle of wine from the shop and enjoying it on our balcony while watching the musicians perform.

In terms of in-room amenities, they were pretty standard. We had a safe, beverage cooler, and a coffee machine that used Nespresso pods. There was plenty of storage including a clothing rack with hangers inside the bathroom, which I found to be odd placement. No bathrobes, slippers, or anything above and beyond, but I wasn’t expecting that here. Bathroom toiletries were furnished by a brand called “thisworks.”

Diving Center

This resort has a diving center on-site called Goby Divers. The center is set up by the Paradise Beach bar. This is the place guests can come to if they want to rent snorkels and kayaks in addition to learning how to dive.

On Tuesdays, the dive center runs a complimentary group snorkel session to see a nearby coral nursery. I don’t dive, personally, but I had a lovely conversation with a team member at the dive center who was passionate about being in the water. They do shore diving and boat diving here. The first hour of snorkel rentals is free, however you have to put down a $50 deposit.

Restaurants

There are three restaurants at Curacao Marriott Beach Resort, but four dining concepts. There’s JFK Steakhouse by the Harmony Pool, Salty Iguana by the beach, Zala Gastrobar in the lobby, and Koi Kora Sushi which is inside Zala. There is also a grab-and-go cafe called Papiamentu Marketplace where you can buy snacks and coffees. I don’t normally recommend having your meals at the hotel, but we dined at all of these restaurants for research.

Starting with JFK Steakhouse, we had dinner here our first evening. This is also where the breakfast buffet is held every morning. This restaurant is just steps from the lobby and has air conditioned indoor seating and covered outdoor seating. For dinner, the indoor section of the restaurant houses a paid salad bar with multiple pre-made salads and a make-your-own-salad option. The menu focused on meat with classic steakhouse options like crab cake, tuna tartare, filet mignon, prime porterhouse, and more. During our visit, we ordered the crab cakes to share, the mezze penne, and braised lamb shank. The food was not bad, but it wasn’t good enough that we would consider eating here again.

Salty Iguana was our favorite restaurant on the property, not just for their beachfront location but the quality of food as well. For lunch one day, we ordered a conch sandwich and shrimp tacos which were delicious. This restaurant has a section on the beach called Salty at the Beach, and you need to make reservations for this in advance otherwise you’ll get sat at the main restaurant. We had a gorgeous view of the sunset from our table and dined on pork belly, panzanella salad with chicken, and surf and turf. Everything was delicious here and service was perfect.

Finally, we dined at Zala Gastrobar in the lobby. We actually had lunch here when we first arrived, and then dinner here on our last night. The seating at this venue is first-come-first-serve so you can just find whichever seat and a server will come to you. The menu consisted of Asian-Caribbean fusion with some sushi from Koi Kora offered. For lunch, we ordered sushi from the afternoon menu and it was really good and fresh. We had dinner here on our last evening and ordered the tare glazed wings, pork ramen, and sticky tamarind ribs with coconut rice. The food here was our favorite, not only because we love Asian flavors, but the quality was excellent.

The Reef Club Lounge

Yes! There’s a lounge here. It’s called The Reef Club, and it’s free for Titanium and Ambassador Elite status with Bonvoy. Or you can pay $40 per person per day for access. I visited the club on a previous visit for a meeting with the sales team, but I opted not to do the lounge during our stay.

The lounge is a nice, relatively small, air conditioned room with plenty of seating, a coffee machine, a fridge with wine and beers, and a small area with snacks. They serve continental breakfast here in the morning and hot snacks in the afternoon. If I had lounge access, I’d spend time on the lounge balcony with a glass of wine each afternoon. They’re only open until 7 PM so I didn’t feel like $40 per person per day was worth it, but I would take advantage of it if access was included.

Beach + Pools

The beach is by far the best feature of the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort. Going by the Harmony Pool, you’ll pass by the only beach hut where you can collect towels. There’s also complimentary sunscreen and ice cold water here. The main part of the beach is in front of the adults-only Serenity Pool, and there are several rows of beach chairs and umbrellas for people to use. If you keep going down the beach you’ll reach “Paradise Beach” where Goby Dive Center is located. There’s also a bar on this beach, but no seating or shade so it’s not a popular place to lounge.

A lot of people don’t know, but if you get a room in the East Wing (by the botanical garden), there’s another small rocky beach with some beach chairs out front. This area is less crowded than the main beach, so it would be a nice perk if your room was in this area. We did see people leaving towels and their belongings on chairs to save them, but we were still able to find decent chairs every morning. During peak spring break weekend, we saw the beach and pool chairs filling up by 9 AM.

There are also two pools, the family-friendly Harmony Pool, and the adults-only Serenity Pool. The Harmony Pool was active every day during our stay with kids throwing balls around, splashing water, and generally having fun. There are shaded cabanas here that are first-come-first-serve with no additional cost. We attempted to hang out at the Serenity Pool one day but there are significantly less seats there so we missed out. The adults-only pool is a large lap pool with an infinity edge facing the beach. It was much quieter in this area compared to the Harmony Pool!

Activities

The Curacao Marriott Beach Resort offers daily activities, which are posted at the beach hut and at the guest services desk in the lobby. Based on the activity board, we saw options for yoga classes, aquarobics, Papiamentu class, trivia by the pool, Caribbean bingo, bracelet making, dance classes, and more. The activity offerings are comparable to what we saw at Sandals Royal Curacao, though we didn’t actually see a lot of people participating here.

For the kids, there is the Green Turtle Kids Club which takes children from ages 4 to 10. They have a cute indoor air conditioned center, and they also do a few hands-on activities outdoors. If you didn’t do any activity planning beforehand, you could stop by the Curacao Activities booth to see which excursions they offer. They’re a great tour operator with high quality guides and vehicles. I mostly recommend that people who stay here rent a car and go out to explore the island on their own.

For those who like to get some fitness in, there’s a ground floor gym with somewhat dated equipment. There’s also a paved trail outside of the hotel by Parasasa Beach going all the way to Zakito and the outskirts of the Mangrove Beach Resort. It’s a lovely beach side trail with ocean views. You even pass by some fishing huts and palapas where you can have a picnic. I highly recommend making time for this!

Service

Everyone we encountered was pretty friendly but a little withdrawn. Was the service level as good as Baoase? No, definitely not. Service here was closer to island time compared to being proactive. Actually, a lot of the staff members we spoke to in the restaurants were from the Philippines. They’re always so friendly! Of course, being part Filipina myself, we always chatted about filipino food and how it’s tough to find any in Curacao.

Guests do have the option to order food and drinks from the beach and pools. There’s a QR code tag attached to each umbrella which pulls up an ordering website. The service only starts at noon so if you hit the beach or pool before that, you’ll need to get your own coffee. Also, this is a tip-friendly resort and we saw people leaving tips for drinks, food, and even dropping dollars in the tip basket in front of the omelet station at breakfast.

In terms of housekeeping service, I have no major complaints. They came every day and made up the room. On some days, the Nespresso pods and some toiletries weren’t replenished, and on others we were left with a week’s worth. There’s no turn down service here, but that’s to be expected. I have to mention that we had to wait in line every morning for the breakfast buffet. We never waited more than 10 minutes, but the service team could use a little more organization in the morning.

Cost

This is the big question – how much does a stay at Curacao Marriott Beach Resort cost and is it worth it? I booked a Garden View King room for 3 nights, and that came out to $1934.35 total including taxes. Remember, this was during peak spring break season so the nightly rate was much higher. During slow season (summer), you’ll find rooms around the $290 USD per night range. Since made the reservation the same way I would normally book any client, I received exclusive perks during my stay, including:

• A room upgrade from Garden View to Ocean View
• Daily breakfast buffet at JFK Steakhouse for 2 people
• A $100 hotel credit off my final bill
• Early check in and late check out (we didn’t need this, but could’ve requested it)
• VIP in-room welcome amenity
• You can get these too if you book with me!

Here’s the thing, I like this resort for the location, the beach, and the relatively nice modern rooms. I would not recommend eating all of your meals here. Cocktails are $15 USD a pop, and dishes from the restaurant are considerably overpriced and not all that special. We ate all of our meals here, got a few drinks, and our grand total was comparable to 3 nights at Sandals Royal Curacao (and that’s all inclusive!). Besides, there are so many great restaurants in Curacao that it would be a shame to just eat at the hotel.

Who Would I Recommend This For?

I would absolutely recommend the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort for families as this resort has plenty of things to do for kids. This resort is great for people who like the comfort and familiarity of the Marriott brand while being able to explore a new destination. Like I said, this hotel is great if you want to rent a car to see the island and then come back to comfortable accommodations. It’s not a bad place for couples, though I’d recommend spending more time at the adults-only pool to avoid the noise from the family pool.

Travelers who appreciate a nice sandy beach with calm waters and snorkeling opportunities will like this resort. This resort is also great for anyone who needs ADA accommodations with a caveat. There is an elevator and I saw ADA bathrooms by Papiamentu Marketplace. I did not see beach-friendly wheelchairs nor the contraptions that can lower you into the pool. However, there is more ADA-friendliness here than other resorts on the island.

If you’re someone who doesn’t appreciate all the chairs being gone by 9 AM and dealing with people leaving their personal belongings on their chairs, I’d recommend another hotel. If you’re honeymooners looking for a low key quiet place without a lot of people, I’d recommend spending a bit more to splurge for Baoase. If you want to stay at a resort that feels a bit more like you’re in Curacao, I’d probably recommend another hotel. It’s not a bad hotel by any means, but it’s definitely not a luxury hotel.

Kat’s Final Thoughts

Overall, I had an enjoyable staycation at the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort. I’m always grateful that I can live in a place where others vacation, and to feel like I’m on vacation just 15 minutes away from my home is a blessing. You guys know that I’ve stayed in luxury hotels all around the world, and the Marriott here can’t really compare, but speaking as someone who lives in Curacao it’s a decent and comfortable option.

Curacao is a gorgeous island, and even if you decide to stay at the Curacao Marriott Beach resort, I highly recommend going out and exploring its beauty. I’ve advised many clients who I’ve sent here the same thing, and they always tell me how grateful they were to have rented a car and got out of the resort. If you have any questions about this resort and/or want to book with me, feel free to reach out! Until the next staycation 🙂