Shelby,
You are in for a great vacation. My wife and I spent two weeks (lots of marriott points
) at the Marriott Last month. The house dive shop, Carribean Sea Sports, is run by a great group of people(Oliver, Raul, Mariam, Candy, etc.) . They run good dive trips. The bonus is, you have a GREAT house reef right in front of the Marriott, which you can dive any time day or night. I could have the minority opinion, but I liked it every bit as much as the reef at Habitat, and you can be sitting pool side with drink in hand 5 minutes after taking off your BC. I am not exagerating when I tell you my wife and I have been in withdrawl since we left the Marriott and Carribean Sea sports.
Restaraunts:
1) The Seabreeze "grill" which is also the swimup bar at the Marriott is great for lunch. They make the best cheeseburger I have ever had outside the states. The Seabreeze does themed buffets at night. Some were quite good. Get your afternoon drinks from Edwin, a kinder man you will never meet.
2) The Old Market in Willemstad is where the locals eat their main meal (bewtween noon and 2:00pm) . It offers a number of individually run "kiosks" which serve stick to your ribs local cuisine. Try the "Carne Stoba" (stewed beef) and you will not be dissapointed. The Old Market is anything but Fancy, but the local color and food is a bargain.
3) Landhaus Daniel is located about 15 minutes from the Marriott (Marriott will get the rez for you). A very enjoyable higher end european style dining experience.
4) Dine with "Captain Goodlife" at Playa Santa Cruz. The good captain is quite the charachter. Cap Goodlife runs a water taxi to the Mushroom forest. Simply drive to playa Santa Cruz and his business and restaraunt are on the left side of the beach. Along with priceless local color you will get the freshest (and in my two week stay - the best) seafood on the island. Oliver at the Marriott dive shop reccomended the place, Raul can tell you stories about Captain Goddlife back in the day.
5) To avoid stuffing yourself at the daily b-fast buffet and heavy lunches at the resort and save a few bucks you might consider hitting the grocery store that is about 5 minutes from the Marriott. It is a great supermarket with all the American brands and the Euro brands as well. The Hotel room has a small fridge that will hold whatever you need for b-fast/lunch.
6** If you get the chance, head out to westpunt and stop into the Kura Hulanda resort. The openair restaraunt has tremendous ocean views and ambiance. We did not eat there due to a power outage, but the menu looked great and the view was untouchable.
7 Portofinos at the Marriott has surprisingly good Italian.
Rental Car:
We rented from Budget at the airport. The car was fine, a little toyota Yaris hatchback. Plenty of gear for you and your gear. (I go about 230 and my wife is 5'11"). You can also rent cars at the Marriott which a lot of people seem to do. If you are only going to need the car for 2 or 3 days you might be better off renting at the Marriott. I believe they rented for about $50 a day including taxes/fees. My Yaris ran for 2 weeks on less than a tank of gas!
Diving:
All the diving is Great. Hit Porto Maria. Habitat is neat as well. Take advantage of the guys at the diveshop, they will give you the straight scoop. (Oliver and Raul are very knowledgable)
Tanks:
You can get tanks at the Marriott (air/Nitrox). Be mindful that Habitat does not allow any outside tanks on their premises. So, if you want to dive Habitat (which is nice), rent your tanks at Habitat.
FYI:
Tiny Mosquitoes come out at night on the beach. Bring insect repellant and use it liberally if you plan on dining outside at night.
Best dive trip ever. I've stayed at bigger, fancier hotels but never stayed at one with a more sincere, genuine, and kind staff.
Have a great time.
Bill
