I have another Curacao hotel review for you! This time, I stayed at one of the more popular beach resorts on the island: Avila Beach Hotel. If you’ve been researching where to stay in Curacao, you’ll likely have come across this hotel known for being close to downtown Willemstad while also having sandy beaches and a resort feel.

It’s important to note that Avila Beach Hotel is not a luxury hotel. Even though I am a luxury travel advisor, and I like to keep my blog focused on luxury hotels, I felt it was topical to share my experience at Avila since I live on the island.

In this blog post I’ll talk about my experience staying at this hotel, showcase some of the rooms I saw and the one I stayed in, talk about the restaurants on site, and share my opinion on whether I think Avila is a great option to consider. Keep reading to find out!

Table of Contents

• About Avila Beach Hotel
• Location
• Vibe
• Style
• Check-In Experience
• Rooms
• Oceanfront Blueswing Room
• Restaurants
• Bars
• Beaches and Pool
• Service
• Amenities
• Activities
• Walking to Punda
• Cost
• Who Would I Send Here?
• Kat’s Final Thoughts

About Avila Beach Hotel

Avila is the oldest running hotel on the island. They are so proud of this history and heritage that they published a timeline of the building’s entire history in the lobby. For this reason, among others, I would say the hotel is beloved by both locals and repeat travelers alike. The hotel hires a lot of local staff, as opposed to importing workers from the Philippines like at the Marriott. This means there’s an air of authenticity at Avila that you don’t get at other hotels.

Location

Avila Beach Hotel is located right in Pietermaai about a 20 minute walk from the famous swinging bridge in Willemstad. The hotel location is excellent, in my opinion. Not only do you have great restaurants right outside (Cafe George, Soi 95, Mosa Caña, Serafina, BKLYN, Rozendals, etc.) but you’re not a far walk from the main downtown area.

In terms of exploring the rest of the island, you’ll definitely want to rent a car. The rugged west side of the island is about an hour drive from the hotel. You can, however, walk the entirety of Punda and Otrobanda from your hotel in a day.

Vibe

The vibe at Avila was chill. It felt like a low key Caribbean holiday during my stay. People largely kept to themselves and enjoyed the beach. With the exception of an event one evening, there wasn’t any loud music playing or parties happening. I saw a lot of couples soaking up that chill Caribbean vibe.

I didn’t see a lot of families here, but the kids I did see were relatively quiet. Everyone seemed to be on board with the relaxing atmosphere. Love to see it!

Style

Even though there are several different buildings that make up the Avila Beach Hotel, they all have a similar feeling. The architecture is distinctly Caribbean while inside the rooms are somewhat generic and minimalist. Many of the buildings have the classic Curacao terracotta roof shingles and white crown moulding.

Is this a modern hotel? Yes, but it feels like an old hotel that’s been modernized. The lobby has been updated with lovely ambient lighting and automatic sliding glass doors. There are elevators in most buildings. The gym holds Technogym equipment. The rooms don’t have any modern high tech features, but I don’t think people who stay here care for that anyway.

Check-In Experience

My husband dropped me off at the front entrance of the hotel, and there was very little fanfare. There was just one single security guard standing out front stoically. I carried my bag into the lobby and was pleasantly surprised with how modern it looked inside. The wall behind the check-in desks showed a timeline of the history of the hotel from its conception and various identities to the hotel it is today.

I waited in line to be checked in, but it wasn’t too bad. Check in time is at 4:00 PM, and similar to my experience at the Marriott Beach Resort Curacao, that’s around the time the planes from Europe and the US arrive. A few minutes after standing in line, a friendly gentleman came around with martini glasses full of non-alcoholic fruit punch as a welcome drink. I like that this was in actual glass instead of the tacky plastic glasses at the Marriott.

The check-in process was slow but smooth since I pre-checked in online before my arrival. My room was ready right at 4:00 PM. They gave me a room key and a towel card along with two large paper pamphlets with information about the hotel and the island. The pamphlets were full of advertisements – really old school! There was someone bringing bags to the rooms, but since I came with just a weekender, I took my own bag with me and headed to my room.

Rooms

There are 158 rooms and apartments at Avila Beach Hotel, and they’re spread out across 3 wings. Room categories range from entry level Octagon Standard rooms to mid-range rooms like La Belle Alliance Oceanfront, and the premium Oceanfront Blueswing rooms. The higher categories belong to oceanfront and penthouse suites and apartments which have the best locations and views.

I was supposed to do a full walkthrough tour with the guest engagement coordinator I had been in touch with, but she cancelled on me last minute (while I was in the lobby waiting)! Instead, I had a tour with a member of the concierge team who regretfully wasn’t as knowledgeable about the property. That said, I still saw a handful of rooms and got to see the entire property.

After touring the rooms in almost every building, here are my thoughts:

• Octagon Building: This is the largest and oldest of the buildings. There is a large empty plaza in the front of this building, and many of the rooms overlook the dome of the Octagon Museum. I think I was shown the worst rooms, because I thought they were barebones, and not at all like the ones shown online. The unique shape of the building meant the rooms I saw didn’t get a lot of sunlight, especially at the lower levels. If you can get a room on a high floor, you may have a partial ocean view. The building is not far from the beach at all.

• La Belle Alliance Building: This building is on the opposite side of the resort from the Octagon. They have garden, partial ocean, and ocean view categories spread over 30 rooms. The style of the building is a little more traditional Caribbean, but the room interiors look the same. Instead of an empty plaza, the building is surrounded by lush foliage and a lovely part of the beach out front. This seemed to be the more buzzy part of the resort with a massage gazebo and benches overlooking the beach, and a small garden area to walk through. This wing holds the apartments and suites, with the apartment buildings having their own beach area right out front.

• Oceanfront Blueswing Building: This is an adults-only (18+) building located in front of the Octagon area. The building is made out of wood on a pier and has rooms directly over the water. The rooms in this building were renovated in 2025 so they’re the most “modern” looking rooms I saw. There is a lookout point at the end of the Blueswing hall that give a lovely view of the ocean, resort, and rest of the island. The rooms in this building are geared toward couples.

Oceanfront Blueswing Room

I booked an Oceanfront Blueswing room as I wanted to experience some of the best that Avila has to offer. This category promises beautiful ocean views in a renovated room. The room was around 323 sq ft. which is a perfectly adequate size for two people. My room (number 188) was on the bottom floor facing the resort partially with mostly sea views in front. I wasn’t a fan of being on the bottom floor, if I’m honest. The view didn’t feel as open since I could see the planks from the second floor above my balcony. I requested a top floor room but they weren’t able to honor that due to high occupancy.

Other than the view, the room was pretty decent. The walls were freshly wallpapered, the floors had a lovely herringbone pattern, and the furniture was a generic modern design. The tile at the bar area had a massive crack in it, and the bed was pretty firm. The bathroom was nicely designed and furnished with Ritual toiletries. Finally, I have to mention that the walls and floors are very thin and creaky since this building is made out of wood, so keep that in mind if you stay here!

Overall, I’m glad I stayed in the Blueswing instead of another wing. However, it’s a quirky building and if you stay there you’ll need to know the following:

• There is only one category in the Blueswing (Oceanfront Room) and they’re all the same size and layout.
• There are only 16 rooms in this wing, and they only have double beds. No kids are allowed in this wing, only 18 and up.
• The location of your room is the most important! Ask for a room on the top floor if you can. The even numbered rooms face the resort on the left side, and the odd numbered rooms face the right side toward The Pyrmont, Pietermaai, and the rest of Willemstad.
• Rooms 290 and 291 are the rooms on the top floor the furthest out, meaning best ocean views and most privacy. I would request either of those two rooms, personally.

Restaurants

I’m going to come right out and say that dining is not Avila’s strong point. They have 2 restaurants on site: Blues Restaurant, and The Pen Restaurant. I ate at both during my stay having breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I can confidently say the food is just okay. There are several fantastic restaurants within walking distance from the resort and I would just eat there instead. That said, I promised a full review so let me tell you about my dining experience at Avila.

I had breakfast and lunch at The Pen. This is their open air restaurant facing the beach serving classic beach bites like burgers, pizza, salads, etc. They do a BBQ buffet on Saturday nights, and pasta on Wednesday nights. For lunch, I had a chicken quesadilla served with guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream for about $20 USD. It wasn’t bad! The dinner buffet later that evening looked unimpressive, so I went to have dinner at Blues instead.

On my way to Blues, I saw a lone guitarist playing on the beach for diners at The Pen. I’m glad they have some nightly entertainment, because they didn’t have anything like that when I stayed at Baoase! Blues is their open air restaurant on the water serving Caribbean cuisine from Thursday to Monday (dinner only). The restaurant was almost empty when I went for dinner, and the decor was reminiscent of a Caribbean TGI Fridays. I ordered the arepas with cheese and the fish of the day, which was Mahi Mahi. The arepas were unusually oily but tasty, and the mahi mahi was rubbery and overcooked. The dinner came out to around $40 USD for one person which is not bad for hotel pricing, but I wouldn’t say it was great food.

Breakfast the next morning was a busy affair. They serve breakfast, buffet style, at The Pen for $26.95 per person. I had breakfast here on a Sunday morning, and there were groups of local church ladies dressed to the nines and having a great brunch. There was also a large group of locals celebrating a birthday with brunch here. I like that Avila is a staple in the community, and it’s a place where locals can enjoy as well. The buffet had a handful of hot dish classics (sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, mini pancakes, chicken fajitas, beef strips), pastries (some gluten free!), cereals, and cold cuts, yogurts, and fruits. They also had a live omelette station but the line was always long. Not bad for breakfast with an ocean view!

Bars

There are two bars on property: Schooner and Pool Bar. I didn’t drink during my stay, but I did pass by the bars and see what kind of liquors they carried. It looked like they had standard bottles, nothing fancy. This wasn’t like a stay at Sandals Royal Curacao where people are always crowding around the bar and lining up for drinks. Since this isn’t a traditional all-inclusive resort (though they do have full board options), the bars end up being fairly chill and low key.

I happened to stay during the last Sunday of the month, and there was a special monthly event by the Schooner Bar. It was advertised as a Piano Party on the Beach which happens on the last Sunday of every month. Live music starts at 5 PM, and there are supposed to be beach bites and drinks on the beach. I didn’t see any bites, and you could buy drinks at the bar. The event was surprisingly full of locals who wanted to enjoy the live music and entertainment by the beach. I didn’t stay for long, but the energy was high and people looked like they were having a great time.

Beaches and Pool

The highlight of this hotel is their beach area. They have two beaches spread out among the length of the hotel property. Both beaches have breakwaters so the water is calm. There are plenty of beach loungers and cabanas along both beaches. They’re not the most comfortable chairs, but they get the job done. Under the walkway leading to Blues Restaurant is where you’ll find paddleboards can be rented from. There is also complimentary mineral sunscreen available throughout the property.

I mentioned this before, but this is not a hotel for pool lovers. They have one modest-sized infinity pool overlooking the beach. There are also a handful of pool loungers and umbrellas around the the pool. There weren’t a lot of people using the pool during my stay as most seemed to prefer the beach.

Service

I wouldn’t say service was above and beyond here, but it was good enough for a standard hotel. Most people I encountered were friendly but kept to themselves. The server I had during my dinner at Blues was lovely and we had a long conversation about living on the island. I didn’t encounter anyone taking drink or food orders at the beach, but that’s probably because there’s a QR code ordering system.

For housekeeping, I left my room available for cleaning from the early morning to around 4 PM each day, and my room didn’t get cleaned. I could see the cleaning cart nearby, but they never made it to my room by my return. At that point I was going to be in my room for the rest of the day so I went without cleaning during my stay. I did, however, receive a call from the concierge desk shortly after I checked into my room letting me know they’re happy to help with any requests, so that was a nice touch.

I do have to mention that there is no room service option at Avila. When I called to ask concierge about room service availability, they told me I could buy some snacks at the resort shop. They also have an online chat option to ask concierge questions, but I received no reply when I asked through that channel. Overall, I would say service here wasn’t memorable but it wasn’t bad either. Then again, I’m completely used to island time since I’ve been living here for many years.

Amenities

There are surprisingly a lot of amenities at Avila. Firstly, this is not a hotel for pool people. Yes, there is a pool, but it’s relatively small. The beach is the main star, really. Avila has standard hotel amenities like a gym, spa, pool, shop, restaurants, and bars. The gym, which is open for local memberships as well, is full of Technogym equipment and has ocean views. They also have a separate spin room with air conditioning. I didn’t feel enticed to get a massage at the spa this time. Their spa is pretty small and there are no views from their treatment rooms.

Then they have other amenities like a shuttle to get to/from Punda, free airport transfers, free parking, yoga classes, a museum, and a social work consult office for families. There is no dive center at this hotel. For that, you’ll need to walk about 10 minutes to the Pietermaai Dive Center. You can, however, rent paddleboards for free. Snorkel sets and fins are $9 for a half day and $15 for a full day. There is also a Budget Rental Car office in the lobby for convenient car rentals on site. Finally, the hotel has a small unimpressive departure lounge for anyone needing to shower after checking out of their room.

In terms of in-room amenities, all of the toiletries are furnished by Ritual. The Oceanfront Blueswing rooms in particular also come equipped with plush bathrobes. I didn’t receive any welcome amenities in my room, but I wasn’t expecting to – it’s not that kind of hotel.

Activities

The Guest Journeys desk is able to make arrangements for guided tours and activities. They don’t have their own in-house guides like they do at Baoase, but they do use local guides like Corine Seket for the walking tours. The hotel also partners with Irie Tours, Mermaid Tours, and other local companies you can easily book through Viator on your own. At the hotel, there are complimentary activities such as yoga classes, pilates, and paddleboarding.

There isn’t any programming for kids at Avila, so that’s something to keep in mind. They do partner with E Mucha which offers more of a social working workshop for kids who struggle with their emotions. It’s definitely not a kids club. Compared to the Marriott, the activities at Avila are slim. The Marriott has daily programming including beach volleyball, dance lessons, dart competition, board game hour, etc. They even have a complimentary group snorkel session on Tuesdays. Avila doesn’t have that, and instead focuses on relaxing at the beach.

Walking to Punda

I mentioned there is a free shuttle from Avila to Punda and back. Can you walk there and back instead? Yes, you can, and I timed it for you. The walk from Avila to Punda took about 20 minutes at a leisurely pace. There is a sidewalk on the route, and you’ll pass by a bunch of restaurants (many with sea views), boutique hotels, and some formerly colorful buildings in need of TLC. Eventually you’ll reach the large Curacao sign and see a bunch of shops. Keep following the road to get to the swinging bridge into Otrobanda. It’s a safe walk, though very hot during the day.

The free shuttle picks up at the front of the hotel twice a day at 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM. The ride to Punda takes about 5 minutes, and you don’t need to sign up for the departure. The shuttle returns back to the hotel from town at 11:30 AM and 4:30 PM, and you need to advise the concierge desk if you need a pick up. I was told the shuttle does not bother picking up from downtown if people don’t call to indicate they need a ride.

What did I do in downtown Willemstad? I walked through Punda and crossed the bridge to Otrobanda. If I hadn’t seen all of Punda already, it would’ve been a great opportunity to walk around, enjoy the street art, and do a little shopping. I had a date with my husband at Starbucks, however, so I made my way across the bridge and through the Rif Fort until I got to the cafe. The Rif Fort has a lot of shops and restaurants, mostly catered for tourists and cruise passengers. The weekend evenings become very lively with live music and dancing the middle of the fort. My husband and I grabbed some coffee and Starbucks before getting lunch at Cafe George across from my hotel. He wasn’t able to stay with me on this trip because he had to watch the dogs, but it was nice to see him.

Cost

I think you’ll be surprised at the cost of my 2-night stay at Avila Beach Hotel. I stayed over a weekend at the end of May so I wouldn’t say this was peak travel season for Curacao, but still pretty popular. The Oceanfront Blueswing room is one of the higher priced single rooms without getting into the multi-room apartments and suites. For my 2-night stay, I paid $908.39 USD including taxes and fees. I did receive a $50 credit which I put towards my lunch and breakfast.

The nightly rates at this hotel can vary depending on the season, and this is a popular hotel during the winter holidays. They have a strict 7-night minimum stay rule during the week of Christmas and New Years. Rooms here can range from $209 USD in low season to $859 USD for a suite during high season.

My particular room cost $379 per night without tax in May, and it’s listed at $639 per night without tax in December. Is it worth it? I’d be more inclined to say definitely yes if I had a room on the top floor with more open ocean views and more proactive service. Considering this updated oceanfront room is cheaper than you could get at the Marriott Beach Resort, I would say it’s somewhat worth it. I would just say the service isn’t as strong as the Marriott here.

Who Would I Send Here?

I’m always getting questions about whether I would choose Avila or Marriott in Curacao. They’re often the two hotels that are compared against each other. My response is always to tell people that Avila is for a particular type of traveler. I recommend Avila if you’re someone who needs a beach not far from the town and other restaurants, if you aren’t picky about service, don’t plan on eating at the resort much, and don’t need a hotel that’s family-focused.

The Marriott is more for families, in my opinion. There are multiple pools there, programming for kids, and a kids club. Avila seems to cater to an older crowd and honeymooners. Above all, I would look elsewhere if you’re a luxury traveler, as even the nicest room at Avila is not quite luxury. For luxury, I recommend Baoase Luxury Resort instead.

Kat’s Final Thoughts

It took me a long time to write this blog post! I stayed here at the end of May and now we’re into September. There was so much to unpack over my 2-night stay, and I’m glad I finally got it all in writing. I hope this blog post helps you decide whether or not Avila is the right hotel for you.

The Curacao hotel adventures are not done yet! I actually stayed at the Sandals Royal Curacao for the third time in June, and I’ll be writing a blog post about updates that I’ve seen since my last stay. Thanks for reading!