Lodge Kura Hulanda Curacao has closed

[jdcpa]

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but the Lodge Kura Hulanda in Westpunt, Curacao has closed as of October 30, 2013. No plans to reopen at this time.

Nothing has changed for Go West Diving. They are open for business and dedicated to providing the same great diving experience they always have.

 

[edclee]

Wow, what a surprise...I have my travel agent checking for availability and pricing for March right now at Kura Hulanda!
Ed

 

[CT Sean]

Dang - that sucks. We enjoyed going there

 

[Curacao Sunshine]

I was thinking of you and your clan, JD; just grateful the closing wasn't during one of your stays.

 

[Damselfish]

wow, that's a surprise. The obvious question - any idea why?

hmm
Hotel Kura Hulanda closes - Curacao Forum - TripAdvisor

Kura Hulanda - Curaçao Chronicle

 

[t4e]

they filed for bankruptcy, unless someone else buys that place it will not open anytime soon

 

[Bryan.]

Good morning all you SB'ers!!!
Please know... and to back up what JDCPA said... GO WEST Diving is here to stay, to dive, to serve our guests with the same awesome service as we always have... this will not change!!
The sudden and unexpected closure of the Lodge came to all of us by surprise and it is most certainly a loss to Westpunt, Curacao.
Will it re-open? Time will tell but we believe that it is too good of a property with amazing potential for it not to re-open!! With the right management, the right focus and the proper dedication it can be resurrected to be an awesome "dive" centered property on the BEST part of Curacao!!
So... don't lose hope and come WEST for the BEST diving on Curacao!! GO WEST will be here... see your bubbles soon!!

BTW... Remember about all the other fantastic accommodations in the WEST!!!
All West Apartments & Diving!!
Nos Krusero Apartments
Sunshine Getaway (aka. SOL FOOD)
Marazul Dive Resort
WestHill Bungalows

 

[scubadada]

Breaking news: No restart Sandton Kura Hulanda Lodge Banda Bou - Curaçao Chronicle

Very sad. My wife and I stayed at Lodge Kura Hulanda and dived with Ocean Encounters West (Go West Diving) in November 2010. It was a great trip. This was before the Hotel and Lodge were taken over by Sandton. There was a lot of grandiose development in West Punt associated with the Lodge, I wonder if that is what did them in?

During our trip we had a day of very high seas and docked at the old Sunset Waters resort. You could tell this had prevously been a fantastic location. By the time we were there the place had been entirely pillaged, destroyed, and covered with graffiti. It had only closed since July, 2009. You could tell, it would never be reopening. Sad state of affairs.

Without Lodge Kura Hulanda, you have to wonder if Go West Diving will be able to continue. All West Apts and the other smaller residences get good reviews but you have to question if they have the number of divers to support the operator. If it were not for Go West, the West end would generally be closed to full time diving, that would be very sad. I'm very glad I visited and dived in 2010.

Are the number of divers travelling in the caribbean decreasing to the point where 1st class destinations will not be able to support themselves?

 

[Damselfish]

AFAIK the dive shop predates KH Lodge. It used to be All West Diving (before the Ocean Encounters West period.) The closure of KH won't exactly help the dive shop, but it's not a situation where it's part of a dedicated dive resort either. I'm not sure what percentage of guests at the lodge were actually divers or how much of the business they supplied, but the dive shop parking lot was often full and I don't think it was full of lazy divers driving from KH next door. At least I like to think not.

Sunset Waters may have been a nice location in some ways and had many fans, but I didn't get the impression it was ever a high end place and it seemed to have some physical issues since at least the first times we stopped there back in '96. (Never stayed there, but Habitat fueled their boats there back then, from barrels brought down in a truck.) We were told they built some of the buildings without permits and couldn't occupy them. There was a half finished wreck of a building on the water that IIRC was supposed to be a casino, and that was while the hotel was still in operation. So it seems there were long term issues there of other sorts.

 

[scubadada]

Hi Damselfish, hope your're right, I would love to have the opportunity to dive with Go West again. Who knows, maybe LKH will actually emerge from bankruptcy and reopen. Based on reviews in TripAdvisor, many visitors dive, including frequent larger groups