I’ve travelled for 30 years, a lot of stays at all inclusive resorts throughout the Caribbean, so after reading the mixed reviews on this site, thought I had a pretty good idea what to expect. I was very happy to find the resort far outweighed my expectations! We were there for two weeks from Apr.5, and enjoyed every minute. I had contacted Valerie and requested a ground floor room in a quiet location, which we received in the Flamingo building. It was wonderful to have the pool, never crowded, right outside our patio door, and incredible snorkeling just steps away off the beach! Never had to fight for loungers, and often had the pool to ourselves for long periods throughout the day. Our room was fine – the toilet ‘howled" a bit when flushed, and we did have mosquitoes in our room most nights to some degree, but nothing major, and hey, that can happen at home too! I also made the suggestion to the resort that a mirror be provided in the main living area so if the bathroom is occupied, the other person can carry on with doing hair, make-up or whatever – small thing, but would be a nice convenience. The grounds are lovely, with lots of palms and other vegetation, and were well maintained. Liked the fairy lights along the walkways at night – attractive and provided extra lighting when moving round the resort. We found the property to be kept fairly clean, and it would help if guests had the courtesy to return glasses, etc. to the bars. We also made the suggestion that the resort provide drop-off areas (bins, baskets, whatever) near the pools and along the beach for this purpose – could encourage people to do their share. Enjoyed the macaws housed along the walkwaysand chatted with them in passing. They appear well cared for. Also enjoyed the local birds – bananaquits, yellow/green finches, troupials, tropical mockingbirds, and the various lizards scooting around.
We were happy with the buffet restaurant, breakfast, dinner and lunch. Typical all-inclusive buffet with a good variety of meats prepared in a variety of ways – chicken, turkey, fish (generally very good!), goat, lamb, steak, roast beef (surprisingly good, and we’re from Alberta!). Mashed or roasted potatoes, rice, veggies, variety of salads, fajitas, tacos, cheeses, cold cuts, breads. Desserts ranged from various cakes, cheesecake, flan, cookies, and the most wonderful ice cream you’ll ever eat! Breakfasts were typical AI – pancakes, eggs, omelete bar, bacon, sausage (link or patties), fruit bar (pineapple, papaya, watermelon, cantelope), pastries, croissants, toast, cereals.
The two snack bars at main pool and at Pelican building had hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, cheese sandwiches, grilled chicken on buns, fries, potato fritters . And popcorn or nachos for snack attacks. Top shelf booze – Canadian Club, Seagrams, Johnny Walker, Drambuie, Grand Mariner, Galliano, Bailey’s etc. as well as lovely frozen pina colada and strawberry daiquiris (and others) – delightful either virgin or hard. And of course rum, vodka, etc, domestic and imported. Never tried the beer on tap, but seemed to be popular! Soft dirnks (soda) for kids or those who preferred them. We did the Japanese and Italian a la cartes once – preferred the Italian, but both were good. We passed on the Starlight dinner around the pool (or on the beach). The entertainment we saw was good – loved both sax players. But found after a day snorkeling and around/in the pool we never made it to the later shows which started at 10 p.m. There was a circus performance one evening, and wanted to hear the reggae band but just couldn’t make it that late after a day in the sun! 🙂 Most staff were friendly, helpful and polite – just remember that they live a slower life style than we do, so practice patience if things don’t happen "right NOW!". The beach was lovely with the new addition of sand, and we managed to find entry into the water at "our" end where we didn’t have much dead coral to cross barefoot before putting on fins . It was wonderful to be able to snorkel in calm water whenever we wanted, regardless if the sea was a bit choppy! Snorkeling off the beach is a priority when we’re chosing a destination, and Breezes provided that in spades! The variey of fish and sea creatures we saw was wonderful – sergent majors, varieties of parrot fish, surgeon fish, grunts, squirrel fish, schools of tangs, one large fire worm, one small octopus, 3 different moray eels – two swimming freely along the sand! – puffers and various sized trunk fish, schools of tetras, wrasses, blennies, flounders – you name it, it was likely there! Oh, and one barracuda. A few days the water was a bit cloudy, but other days crystal clear. The fish are so habituated to humans they don’t even seem to be aware of you! A bit of coral and anemones here and there – good to see!
The free shuttle into Willemstad was a nice extra, and the alloted time was perfect for us. We also took the local bus (van) to the Seaquarium (too hot to walk!) and to a nearby supermarket for $1.00 each way.
We did the Seaquarium snorkel encounter ($49 includes admission to the Seaquarium) , which we’d done 4 years ago and enjoyed. On our previous visit we were given rubber pouches of sardines to feed the fish, sharks, turtles, but they no longer do that since they have dolphins in an adjoining pool and the quality of fish isn’t high enough for them. You can still see the sea turtles and lemon and nurse sharks through the chain fence or plexiglass viewing area, swim above rays, encounter large tarpon (?) and other fish, including a large puffer, and watch and interact with the dolphins through a plexiglass area (if they’re willing!) . Other than those creatures, not a lot to see – we saw more varieties of colorful fish in the resort lagoon. Were it not for the dolphin and shark "close encounters", this wouldn’t be worth the cost, but that just my opinion from this year, and I did enjoy being close-up to these incredible creatures!. We also took a snorkel trip with the resident dive boat – to Tugboat site about 20 minutes along the coast. ($44 plus tax, plus $15 if you use their equipment). We didn’t see a large number of fish there, but swimming along the drop-off to deep water and watching the divers and their bubbles was fun, but again, saw more sea life in our "home" lagoon! There was more coral in that area, but not a large amount, and seeing the tugboat wreck was kinda neat., but not sure it was worth the cost – again, just MY opinion! Breezes gave us everything and more than we wanted and expected for this vacation. I wouldn’t hesitate to return or recommend this resort to anyone. Just be aware and realistic of what your expectations are – don’t expect more than what you’re paying for. I would compare Breezes Curacao to Sunscape Casa del Mar in Bayahibe D.R., for anyone who’s been there (prior to it becoming a Dreams resort this year). Snorkeling was better at Breezes. Both these resorts are on my "will return some day" list.
Our previous Curacao trip was to Sunset Waters (2005). We were pleased with our stay there, albeit , it wasn’t on par with our usual AI experiences, although we did enjoy the food there at the time. But it compares in no way to Breezes, in all aspects, including snorkeling. More corals there, yes, but I enjoyed the larger numbers and variety of species of fish at Breezes more.