LUXURIOUS AND QUIET
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| Willemstad |
We are at the extreme
eastern end of Sandals Royal Curaçao in a cluster of walk out bungalows with a
little patio and a view of the ocean beyond a golf course fairway. This is our
fifth visit to a Sandals resort, an all-inclusive adult couple only family of resorts
scattered across 7 different islands in the Caribbean.
Invariably as one travels
in this Sandals world comparisons are made between the different resorts. Which
resort has the nicest grounds? Which resort has the best restaurants or evening
entertainment? Where is the best diving? And, which island is the most
interesting destination, resort notwithstanding?
I can spend the time
here and go over the trace differences between any of our past Sandals resort
visits and contrast them with our time here in Curaçao, but that would be
boringly tedious. So, let me just talk about Sandals Royal Curaçao.
IT’S A BIG WORLD OUT
THERE
Your favorite wandering
wackos have a mantra: It’s a big world there,
someone has to see it, which means returning to someplace is anathema to our
psyche.
On all five of our visits to a Sandals resort we ask each other would
we like to return to that particular resort for a future visit. Up until now
the answer has been “no” because there's so much more in this world to see, but Curaçao is different.
Between the charm of a
brand spanking new resort, which opened just last year, the incredible diving,
the manicured grounds, little things like food trucks for snacks and a full
slate of evening entertainment, as well as the Dutch island of Curaçao itself
waiting patiently for you to explore her glorious beaches and colorful buildings
of the capital of Willemstad have Janet and I considering a future return.
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| Willemstad, Curacao |
As we planned for this trip we learned that the diverse culture of the island nation of Curaçao is alluring, where signs are printed in Spanish and Dutch. We learned that the diving here is world renown making Curaçao a highly sought after destination for this underwater sport. Knowing all this and wanting to do it all and not feel rushed we booked an extra day, for eight days total. Yet, now, at the end of our trip to Curaçao we STILL feel like
there is so much more to do and see and experience.
LOGISTICS
Not wanting to get in
late to the Sandals Royal Curaçao and pay for a truncated day, we flew in the
previous night of our check-in, staying in a modest hotel near the airport. The
taxi driver we flagged down after we landed was a godsend.
It is quite possible to
never leave the resort and not be aware you are in a foreign country, but Ida
not only drove us to Sandals the next morning, two days later she took us on a
full day of Curaçao. The world of Sandals is beautiful and luxurious, but the
island of Curaçao is fascinating and well worth the time to explore.
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| Grote Knip Beach |
On our tour with Ida she
first drove us through Willemstad and showed us sights like the floating Queen Emma
bridge and the Locks of Love display (which Janet and I added to with our own keepsake
display of affection). Outside of Willemstad Ida stopped so we could see pink
flamingos and then at several of the beaches along the west coast as we cooed
over the beautiful vistas and white sand beaches, going for a swim in the crystalline
waters of Cas Abao Beach before dropping us off in the capital again where we could
linger over drinks and some snacks before getting a taxi that she arranged for
us to take us back to the resort.
If you are traveling to Curaçao and are interested in hiring Ida please write me at: greg.dunaj2@yahoo.com for her contact information.
We arrived at Sandals that
first day around 10 am. Though our rooms weren’t ready until much later in the
day we were able to take advantage of the resort and even did our check-in dive
with the dive masters at the aqua-center, and we even signed up for a dive
before we even got into our room! It was like getting another day free.
THE RESORT
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| Double Infinity pool |
There isn’t an actual
beach at Sandals Royal Curaçao, which might be a drawback for some, but there are
three large pools on the grounds and several “tepid” hot tubs. (This IS the
Caribbean). Every Sandals has a massive main pool with a swim-up bar, but here
at Curaçao this is an impressive two-tiered infinity pool. The lower one has
the swim-up bar, and both offer one a view of the ocean. There’s a smaller,
quieter pool nearby where they play volleyball in the afternoon. There’s a bar there.
And, at the extreme eastern end of bungalows where we are there is a “quiet” pool,
with no bar or entertainment, though they fill a cooler with drinks. It is very
tranquil. 
The dive shop is a
half-mile away and at first the distance seemed daunting, but at least we get
our steps in for the day. There are plenty of Dutch Bikes scattered around the resort for a grab and go ride if you need to get somewhere quickly. None of the diving sites are more than 10 minutes
from the resort and they are currently using two boats.
There are some serious
divers who come to Sandals Royal Curaçao with all their own equipment, etc. We come
with nothing but our own scrape shirts and Sandals provides all the equipment like
vests, masks and regulators. Despite the influx of “elite” divers (not us) the
dive-masters are patient and helpful and each dive we’ve been on is better than
the last one!
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| Our Cottage at Sandals |
We’ve had some great
meals while here. There are 8 restaurants offering everything from sushi to Mediterranean
cuisines as well as a unique feature of three food trucks offering quick snacks
like Spanish tapas and gazpacho and Bitterballen a Dutch-style tapas.
CIRCLE BACK
So, what we have experienced
here at Sandals Royal Curaçao and Curaçao itself has us yearning for more even
as we pack our bags for the return trip. But, before we can even consider a
return to Curaçao we are first traveling to the Sandals Resort in Barbados this
December and we booked a trip to St. Lucia the next year. Whether or not we
return to Curaçao this has been a wonderful trip.
It may be a big world
out there, but as they say at Sandals: “Welcome Home”.
Thanks for reading.
Love Janet and greg
© 2023 Gregory Dunaj
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