Recommendations for place to stay with family in Curacao

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eraodma

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Location
Gothenburg, Sweden
# of dives
200 - 499
I have booked a two week trip to Curacao with family in October and would appreciate recommendations on places to stay. I am looking for resort type accommodation as the 3 kids are young (10,13, and 15). I will be doing some diving, kids will be snorkeling, and wife may do some dives. So I am not after a hard core dive vacation but a lazy family holiday with a mix of activities. Beach is a must, and I don't mind going up market for accommodation. This is our first time in Caribbean.
 
Sunscape is the AI kids resort. It's actually a former Breezes kids resort so there's a kid's program - they used to have a trapeze for kids etc - maybe still do. http://www.sunscaperesorts.com/curacao

A more upscale option would be Lions Dive Resort.
Curacao Hotel - Lions Dive & Beach Resort voor een heerlijke vakantie!
The kid friendly aspect of it is that it's located a short walk from the Sea Aquarium.
Home - Curacao Sea Aquarium

Both places also have an Ocean Encounters shop on-site.
Curacao Padi Scuba Diving - Ocean Encounters Curacao

Much closer to downtown and the cruise traffic can be a factor since the Megaport is there. Plus there are no beaches in town.
Both of these resorts are far enough south so there's no impact.

The Marriott Renaissance is affected by it to a certain degree - and they have a terrible "beach" - actually around their pool only - all rock oceanfront.
Another option could be the other Marriott - Emerald Beach & Casino - in the Piscadera Bay resort area.
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/curmc-curacao-marriott-beach-resort-and-emerald-casino/
Nice pool area, nice beach and Caribbean Sea Sports on-site for both diving and watersports toys.
http://www.caribseasports.com/

2 miles north of downtown and it's a quieter area. The Hilton next door is old and sad. Not a great beach there either.

One other thing about Curacao is that a majority of the beaches are also the better shore dive sites.
Most have an on-site operator and all have some food option(s) also.
 
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My non-diving family and I have been to Curacao - and stayed at the Marriott - three times. Everyone loved it.
 
My 2 cents: go to sunscape. My personal opinion is that neither Marriott or lions dive are any better than sunscape. If you want upscale look at Santa Barbara beach.
 
I just returned from Santa Barbara Resort this past week. This is my second time there. I went in 2011 when it was the Hyatt. It is a beautiful upscale property, and they have an Ocean Encounters onsite. I could write a book about this place, but I'll keep it short... Diving is easy at SBR. The dive sites are all 5-10 minutes from the resort. The boat starts at Lions, picks up at Sunscape, then picks up at Santa Barbara... then goes to the dive sites. So the Santa Barbara guests are the last to be picked up and the first to be dropped off. Normally, you are on the boat at 8:30 and off at 12:30. It is nice because if you have non-diving family, you don't end up spending the whole day on the dive boat and you are back in time for lunch. Book your dives in advance, because the boats fill up. The OE staff are great and the reef is healthy. Can't ask for much more for the diving.

Other than that, the property is really really nice, the food is very good (but expensive). The beach is different... it is a protected lagoon, so the water is clear and calm, but it doesn't go out very far. There used to be shore diving (and it was pretty good) but they stopped that due to boat traffic. They don't recommend snorkelling beyond the lagoon (again, due to the boats) but I don't believe there is any rule against it. We didn't try.

That said... know that the food is really expensive and the resort is waaay out there in the "sticks". It was annoying to sign a bill for $100+ every time we ate. Make sure you budget for food. We had a rental car and used it to eat out whenever possible. The service at the resort was hit or miss. We had some major issues with the Kids Club, and "lost" reservations at one of the onsite restaurants. Both issues were addressed by management to our satisfaction.

Overall, its a nice place, and the easy access to diving is a plus. Despite the issues we had, I'd go again knowing what I know.
 
Thanks for your suggestions. I decided for Lions Dive as they have apartments. I prefer that to having two rooms (even if adjoining). And it seems to be a good place to stay, close to town, and with good beach and diving facilities.
 

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