Curacao The Hilton Reviews

My partner and I stayed at the Hilton for 2 weeks, and were in particular impressed with the friendly atmosphere. Overall it is not yet quite up to the Hilton standard here in Europe, but the rooms were clean and staff were exceptionally friendly.

Check-in was quick, barely giving us enough time to drink the served welcome drink. We were given a room on the second floor with a spectacular view (right in line with the beach), unfortunately it also had a very mouldy smell and was very damp, which during the first night proved unbearable, inparticular as I am very allergic to dust mites. Also it turned out the room had no hot water. However when we complained the following morning, we were quickly given another room with hot water and no smell.

The breakfast buffet was great and staff during the week was very attentive. Unfortunately this is not true for the staff during the weekends, we did not manage to get any coffee during the two weekends we were there. We were not so impressed with the food at the Cielo restaurant, although it was OK and entertainment was great, the service there was lacking somewhat and the quality of the food was not quite what we expected. The strawberry smoothies from the beach bar, however, quickly became very popular with us.

The grounds, pools and beaches are fantastic! We preferred the Parasasa Beach, but both beaches had plenty of loungers. The adult pool was just amazing and at times we would be the only ones there. Although be aware that the pool functions more or less as a public pool, open for anyone to buy a day ticket (although many did not bother paying), which we are all for, but it does mean that it can get very rowdy during the week-end.

As we were there for two weeks, we hired a car from Budget for the second week. It is possible to walk to places like Willemstad from the hotel, but it takes about an hour because of the heat. If you have to take a taxi, Mrs. Amorella is great. She can usually be found in her white mini-van in the parking lot. I would publish her tel. no., but I'm not sure if she would want me to. Be aware that contrary to information published both by Hilton and Avis, Avis does not have an office at the Hilton anymore. Stay well clear of Avis is my advice. We had booked a jeep with them before the trip with delivery and return at the Hotel. An hour before they were to deliver the car, they called to say that they would pick us up at the hotel and we would then have to drive them to their office in Otrabanda. We were so disgusted by the condition of the car they were offering, their lack of service and the attitude of the woman who picked us up that we cancelled the booking and walked out of their office. Budget, while more expensive, do have an office at the hotel and more importantly a great service and simi-decent cars.

We had a fantastic time driving around the island. Christoffel Park, the Ostrich Farm, the flamingo area and Boca Table are not to be missed.

All in all we had a great time on the island, and can recommend the Hilton even if there is room for improvement.