Resort For A Day?

[trivia addict]

What are the roads like on the way to the Santa Barbara Resort? I’m not a fan of narrow, and windy, hilly roads! Are the van drivers careful? I have been with some crazy ones in the Islands. If I am going to travel for 30 minutes, I prefer not to have to clutch the back of the seat!

[LadyDivot]

So did anyone end up going to the Hilton? I understand you can snorkel at the Hilton? First time in Curacao. Is it really $60 to Cas Abao Beach? Wow.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Pam

 

[bup1224]

12 hours ago, LadyDivot said:

So did anyone end up going to the Hilton? I understand you can snorkel at the Hilton? First time in Curacao. Is it really $60 to Cas Abao Beach? Wow.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Pam

 

Pam - I live in Curacao and always stayed at the Hilton before we moved here.  Yes you can snorkel at the Hilton and it is good snorkeling.  Here are the current taxi rates from the port to various places on the island.

[LadyDivot]

Thank you, Bup! Really looking forward to experiencing your island. 

 

Pam

[bup1224]

11 hours ago, LadyDivot said:

Thank you, Bup! Really looking forward to experiencing your island. 

 

Pam

My pleasure!  Enjoy your day here!

[donnachipper]

On ‎10‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 8:39 AM, bup1224 said:

My pleasure!  Enjoy your day here!

Do they have any Catamaran, snorkel , opportunities here that anyone would recommend?  We will be there in Jan, and would love to do this. 

Donna

 

[bup1224]

21 hours ago, donnachipper said:

Do they have any Catamaran, snorkel , opportunities here that anyone would recommend?  We will be there in Jan, and would love to do this. 

Donna

 

Blue Finn Charters,  Bounty Adventures, Curacao Dreams, Curacao Actief.

These are a few.

[donnachipper]

34 minutes ago, bup1224 said:

Blue Finn Charters,  Bounty Adventures, Curacao Dreams, Curacao Actief.

These are a few.

    I will look into some of them.  Does anyone have any experience with doing this?  Bounty Adventures does not pick you up.  

It seems everything is away from the port.  I think I had better look at Google Maps.  

 

[bup1224]

Just now, donnachipper said:

    I will look into some of them.  Does anyone have any experience with doing this?  Bounty Adventures does not pick you up.  

It seems everything is away from the port.  I think I had better look at Google Maps.  

 

Donna - I live here and have not used any of them but have heard great things about all of them.  

[kerryw29]

On 5/7/2018 at 2:35 PM, Banks822 said:

Just wanted to say we ended up going to the Santa Barbara Resort and had a fabulous day!! The pool was great, the water was beautiful, service was top notch, and we really enjoyed the food. None of us are drinkers, but the bartenders made us several drinks with no alcohol that were really tasty! It was well worth the money spent.

sealed the deal for me.  Just booked.

Thanks!

[SteelCityCruiser10]

On 11/24/2018 at 5:35 PM, kerryw29 said:

sealed the deal for me.  Just booked.

Thanks!

We also booked Santa Barbara beach resort for next month!  Looking forward to it!!

[SeaPete]

We went to the Hilton last week and got it thru resort for a day.  Beach was small and rocky.  Chairs and umbrellas ok but not enough for hotel guests and the 4 of us.  We couldn't sit together and we arrived early.  Women's bathroom had terrible odor, but looked clean.  Food was just ok, rum punch-think they forgot the rum.  I wouldn't go back.

[queenkathryn]

On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 10:36 AM, adellel said:

We have been to the Santa Barbara Beach Resort twice, and we loved it! There was never a big crowd, unlimited drinks, unlimited food. Pools were amazing, nice beach. Just a gorgeous place. https://www.resortforaday.com/Curacao-Santa-Barbara-Beach-Resort-p/cursbba.htm

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Do you remember how far from the ship  and how long to get to this resort?

[DrivesLikeMario]

On 10/5/2018 at 3:53 AM, trivia addict said:

What are the roads like on the way to the Santa Barbara Resort? I’m not a fan of narrow, and windy, hilly roads! Are the van drivers careful? I have been with some crazy ones in the Islands. If I am going to travel for 30 minutes, I prefer not to have to clutch the back of the seat!

The roads are all excellent - well-paved, well-marked, and well-used.  They can get congested getting in and out of town though.  It's quite a long ride out to the Santa Barbara Resort.  The roads wind around but aren't really curvy.  More like big sweeping curves for only part of the drive.  The drivers all seemed very competent and safe (and I notice).  It's not a scary drive in ANY sense at all. 

The lagoon isn't very appealing and was rarely used by anyone.  I think I spent a total of 45 mins. in the water (rare for me-I usually spend all day in it) and the others spent about 10 mins. max.  The real beach area is rocky and not really used at all.  There are a lot of little white crabs in the sand by the lagoon so put your stuff on the chairs and not on the sand. 

It wasn't the nicest day pass we've done IMHO.  The food was great and it's a beautiful property but the time there was short due to the really long drive and the drivers were super unfriendly.  They acted like it was a chore for them to drive us to/from the resort.  A smile and a "welcome" would've gone a long way.  They could've even told us all about the resort on the drive so that we didn't have so many questions once we were there.  Next time, I'd go with the Hilton simply because I know what the SB is like.

Edited January 23, 2019 by DrivesLikeMario

[trivia addict]

Thank you DrivesLikeMario. Very informative.

We ended up going to Avila Resort. Not a Resort for a Day, but a small hotel with a small beach and facilities. $10 per person for entry, chairs and umbrella. Very clean and quiet. Short drive from port.

[trivia addict]

Thank you DrivesLikeMario. Very informative.

We ended up going to Avila Resort. Not a Resort for a Day, but a small hotel with a small beach and facilities. $10 per person for entry, chairs and umbrella. Very clean and quiet. Short drive from port.

[LadyDivot]

On 1/24/2019 at 6:17 AM, trivia addict said:

Thank you DrivesLikeMario. Very informative.

We ended up going to Avila Resort. Not a Resort for a Day, but a small hotel with a small beach and facilities. $10 per person for entry, chairs and umbrella. Very clean and quiet. Short drive from port.

Trivia Addict (me too!),

 

Did you just drive up and say, "hi, we'd like a day pass?" or did you get something for Avila before you left? I assume with the $10 entry that included only the chair and umbrella? All food and drink was a la carte at the hotel? Reasonably priced? The beach on the hotel website looks like a protected lagoon. Was the water nice?

 

TIA for any assistance...Pam

 

[trivia addict]

Thank you DrivesLikeMario. Very informative.

We ended up going to Avila Resort. Not a Resort for a Day, but a small hotel with a small beach and facilities. $10 per person for entry, chairs and umbrella. Very clean and quiet. Short drive from port.

 

Yes, you can just come to the resort and request a day pass. We took a taxi from the port. No reservation is needed.

We did not try any of the food or drink so don’t know about the pricing.

The water was nice, but it is a  small contained lagoon. No waves and not good for snorkeling.

[kerryw29]

We did Santa Barbara in Curacao in December- and LOVED it....

[BundlesofFun]

Is there a consensus on which resort has the better beach area? They seem to have good reviews online, but there are comments in this thread about both the Hilton and the Santa Barbara saying that the water wasn't that great/the beaches were rocky. Any insight? Has anyone been to both? Thanks. 

[TTEllis]

There are no rocks on the beach or in the water at Santa Barbara, the beach and water at this resort were the nicest we encountered on our 14 day cruise. We did this resort last month and it was awesome. I would never go anywhere else when I was on Curacao. Later Todd