Old Reviews – Lodge Kura Hulanda & Beach Club

Dominican Republic – Punta Cana – Bavaro Beach Resort & Casino(Barcelo) – 1992 Cuba – Varadero – Melia Varadero – 1994 Dominican Republic – Sosua – LTI Sol de Plata(now Breezes Puerto Plata) – 1996 Mexico – Cancun – Oasis Cancun – 1998 Sint Maarten – Philipsburg – Great Bay Hotel – 1999 Cuba – Cayo Largo – Pelicano – 2000 Cuba – Cayo Coco – Tryp – 2000 Dominican Republic – Punta Cana – Natura Park -2001 Cuba – Holguin – Brisas Guardalavaca – 2001 Mexico – Riviera Maya – Bahia Principe Tulum – 2002 Mexico – Cancun – Gran Melia – 2003 Turks & Caicos – Providenciales – Allegro – 2004 Mexico – Akumal – Akumal Beach Resort – 2004 Mexico – Puerto Vallarta – Solare Vallarta – 2005 Mexico – Riviera Maya – Iberostar Paraiso Beach – 2005 Finally took time to make my report after a wonderful trip to Curacao. It is long and detailed, just like the ones I like to consult on the web, so here we go… We booked the whole trip, that is, the flight portion with the accomodation(all inclusive but no transport to the hotel included) through expedia.ca and everything went smoothly. Flew in from Montreal(6:12am) with a stopover in Miami with American Airlines. Basic service on the airline with food for purchase but relatively good leg room and efficient/ontime flying. Arrived in Curacao(2:45pm Atlantic time) and went quickly through customs and then to the car rental counter(AVIS) within the airport. Got a Toyota Corolla in good shape, packed the suitcases,( three in the trunk and one on the backseat) and the four of us. Shortly after we were on the roads of Curacao heading out to the Kura Hulanda Lodge. We had bought two excellent maps(www.berndston.com and Carribean Cartographics) that really served us well throughout the week. The Lodge is located in Westpunt, a small village in the northwest end of the island. This is about a 35 minutes drive from the airport and about 45 minutes to the capital city of Willemstad. When we decided on Curacao for our winter vacation, the main purpose of the trip was snorkel and this guided us to book the Lodge instead of other resorts. We almost booked the Sunset Waters but we liked the Lodge, being remote and the rooms seemed to be newer and better equipped. It was also closer to the numerous snorkeling beaches giving access right from the shore.

Arriving at the Lodge, we were greeted with cocktails as they were expecting us. Staff was very nice and we were in our room within 15 minutes. We drove the car right to the door of our room as each ocean front room had a parking space. We booked a oceanfront studio(all inclusive) and we were extremely pleased with the room, as it is very spacious with two double beds covered with a feathered bedspread, nice wooden furniture and plenty of storage room. This room was also equipped with a kitchen table with four chairs with a "kitchenette" close by, fully equipped with refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, counter top stove, glasses, plates, ustensils, but no pots and pans that you may rent from the reception. The room opens up with French doors onto a covered sitdown area with loveseat, table and chair, and this area continues to a patio areas equipped with table, umbrella, 4 chairs and 2 lounge chairs. Our unit had lots of vegetation surrounding the patio area so we didn’t have a clear view of the sea. Most of the other ground level units as ours had a better view of the sea and the magnificient sunsets but we didn’t bother as this vegetation made for more privacy. The room had a huge bathroom , well equipped with plenty of towels and linen. Everything was spotless(just built in August 2005). Maid service was excellent, as every morning they would come out and open the patio umbrella, and everything night, they would undo our beds , leaving a chocolate and a "card thought" . Very classy! There were ice machine all around the grounds, air conditioning was excellent with minimal noise and the room offers complimentary high speed internet access. The Lodge is a small scale hotel accomodation when we compare with other places we have been. It has around 75 rooms and we had rooms 120, a oceanfront studio, located in a four unit building running along a cliff. The couple of friends that were with us, had booked an eco room, but were upgraded to a one bedroom suite on the second level of the first unit beside the restaurant and reception area. They could not believe their luck. They thought it was to good to be true! On the second level, you get a much smaller patio, but a much better view of the ocean. We did get a short power outage of about 2 hours at the end of one afternoon.