Sunscape Curacao Resort Spa & Casino

We returned from Sunscape, Curacao, May 13, 2017 after spending a week at this resort. It' s very difficult to decide how to review this resort based on a most horrific incident that happened on our very first day there. This property and hotel has lots of potential but is 50 years old and is showing it's age. We chose it for it for its value, knowing it wasn't a 4 or 5 star resort. I will start first with the pros and cons of the resort and then tell about the unfortunate incident and the disappointing response by management, the resort and AM Resorts. We stayed in the Flamingo building which is the furtherest building from the lobby and main pool but the property is not large enough to be problematic unless you have medical issues. Keep in mind there are no elevators except in the tower building. Pros: The resorts was a short drive from the airport. Easy to get through customs. Amstar transport was average- long wait and then for some reason once we left the airport they went back. It's not a huge property, sits near the water and most rooms appear to face or have an ocean view. The beach is protected by a rock barrier which allowed for calmer water for swimming. The water past the rock wall appeared rough for most of the time we were there. The beach area in front of the Flamingo building had a lot more coral near the shore when going in. It starts shallow but readily drops off for those with children. There is a inflatable climbing iceberg that seemed to be a hit with the kids. I forced myself to don my snorkeling mask the very last day to see what I had missed all week and was grateful I did. It's a perfect place for new or beginner snorkelers as the water was calm, the rocks allow you to stop and stand if needed. Fish plentiful for beginner experience. Was amazed at the sea life so close to shore. Rooms: Are average and outdated, but clean. Similar to photos but older, more tired Did like color scheme though. Tile floors look discolored, no ventilation in bathroom and because it was humid it smelled musty and condensation was noted on the inside walls anytime balcony door opened or air conditioner turned off. Balcony door was retractable which would have been cool if it actually worked and was not rusted and damaged. Very poor lighting in bathroom. I loved the location of the Flamingo building- quieter, furthest away from the activity pool/ lobby, but not adult only. Sunscape Club- Paid extra but found no real advantage. Internet in room fair. Separate check-in actually took longer than when we were in the wrong line at the front desk. Check in was not efficient, room cold. Given map of resort and you find your room yourself. Gym- Do to circumstances, did use gym almost daily for at least an hour. Room very warm considering temperature in other buildings. Equipment was older but functioned fine although another guest mentioned one of the weight machines were strung wrong. Wished there were more open space for stretching/yoga. Fitness center is only opened until 8, no classes, unsupervised and since it is a family resort I'm not sure why a lot of the music had the F word in it. Did like the fresh fruit (apples and bananas) found there and around the resort. There were 2 shuffleboards- saw no sticks, chess set, climbing wall and tennis courts. Racquets were ok. Courts ok. Dive shop: My husband felt they were attentive and conscientious. First 2 dives he found unimpressive. Did do two all day dives- thought the mushroom dive was very interesting as well as dive to Klein Curacao but both involved 1 1/2-2 hour boat ride and wasted time on a beach that he and other divers didn't want to do - they would have rather had a 3rd dive or returned to resort earlier. He also did the Lion Fish Hunt but said he's seen more lion fish in general dives than he did during that dive..glad he went but wouldn't do it again. Felt diving was average but said he was spoiled after diving in Roatan. Restaurants: Food was average. Buffett restaurant was repetitive but always had salad, fruit, omelet station at breakfast and pasta station at lunch. At least twice there were nachos/fixings for lunch.Had hot dog, hamburgers, kid friendly foods. Birds frequently in restaurant which is inherent, but the bread was never covered and several meals I noted birds eating bread right off counter- it really needs to be covered. My husband enjoyed the Italian restaurant and I liked Oceana and the Bluewater Grille. Ribs and Filet Mignon at the Bluewater Grille were the best. Again food decent but nothing special. Italian restaurant had outdoor seating which looked out onto entertainment area The nights they had the trumpet or sax players it was an ideal place to be. Japanese was your traditional hibachi meal- nothing special. Dress very casual but many did dress more for dinner. Drinks- Bar tenders seemed attentive, nice looking bar list..didn't drink but they kept my ice bucket full. My husband said drinks were of good quality. Special shout outs to Norma, main bar and Kenneth, SunClub. There was an ice cream stand open from lunch till 5( I believe) and a coffee/pastry shop opened all night that also had fruit and yogurt. Did notice on our last day there, the main restaurant was completely soaked after a rain storm. Appeared roof did not keep water out- flooring became very slippery and cushions wet. Walked through casino but didn't use- looked outdated but can't really comment. Can say it was very smoky. Dutch island, many europeans- staff appeared to speak multiple languages to accommodate all, including english. Most places took US dollars. Location was great. Would have been my kind of walk to city ( approx. 1-1 1/2 mile) Resort offered shuttle twice daily and local bus could be picked up outside resort for two dollars. Small plaza,small aquarium and another public beach also within walking distance near Lions Dive Resort. Cons: Large quantity of smokers and it seemed every time I got settled somewhere, someone lit up. You can't smoke in most places in NY so I don't tolerate cigarette smoke. I believe rooms are no smoking but acceptable everywhere else. No non-smoking areas that I noted. Like all resorts, people tend to get up early and place towels on the chairs under umbrellas and never really use them. It was very hot, humid and sunny while we were there and it appeared more umbrellas or covered areas would be helpful. Normally I would not be looking for one. As a result of my injuries and lack of covered seating I was forced to spend the week on my balcony. Thank you Tammy H from Cheap Caribbean for that awesome view. Entertainment- Did not spend any time by activity pool so I can't comment on staff or activities. Evening activities- loved the trumpet player and the first sax player. Second was good but first was phenomenal. Other nights were your typical hokey resort entertainment. Did not like the band that played more pop music. Amstar tour to Hato Caves, Osterich Farm, Aloe Farm not worth it. Could have been a nice trip but to much crammed into it. We spent the time riding the bus with poor to no air conditioning. It appeared to be stops to get you to buy local items not to educate or site see. Way behind and most people bailed when bus returned to let a couple of guest that had evening plans off. Ruddy did make it a lot of fun though. Management was my biggest disappointment with this resort. We arrived Saturday evening and by lunch the next day and my first trip to the pool, my sandal hit a raised board on the warped decking leading to the SunClub pool, hurling me forward, down two steps doing a face plant onto concrete pavers. Guests rushed to my aid, management escorted me to the nurse. I was given an ice pack which management said they would refreeze and retrieve on my request but when I tried at 3:38 am was told there was only one person at the front desk and she couldn't leave. I was forced to walk to the lobby and find the women at the coffee shop to fill my ice bucket. I never saw or heard from management, but the next three days they spent ripping up the decking and pouring concrete. Unfortunately it took my face plant and a ruined vacation for them to do the necessary maintenance! I am disappointed and outraged that no way reached out to me or checked on me except for the marvelous bartender at the SunClub, Kenneth. He sought me out daily asking how I was or if I needed anything. He was the ONLY one that showed any concern. By Wednesday, my face still looked like it did in this photo and still no management. During our Unlimited Vacation Club presentation, I had a complete melt down due to the headaches and pain where they expressed concerned and disappointment for poor handling and said they would look into the matter. They also said that corporate would reach out to us, which again never happened. They did try to offer me a massage which was humorous since I couldn't put my face down or let any one touch my shoulder even if I wanted to! Management was suppose to meet with us Thursday, five days after the incident at 4 pm. We waited in our room for 1 hour and 45 minutes and finally left for dinner. Management never called but showed up after we left the room and was off for the remainder of our stay- poor customer service! We had committed to signing a 5 year trial membership with AM Resorts but after no one would meet with us you lost a client. How could we even consider being part of this organization. To date I am still having neck pain and headaches and doing the necessary testing now that I'm home. Over all this resort has potential but property is in need of updating and repair- beware there are more wooden walk ways with warped boards. It is more of a family resort and no real quiet area for just adults. Again special kudos for Kenneth, SunClub bartender who did show genuine compassion and concern and checked on me daily.

I would give this resort a solid 3 stars. The common areas and outdoor areas were clean and maintained well. The rooms had new decor but were a bit shabby and dusty. Had problems with no hot water on one occasion and leaks in the bathroom ceiling. Everything was addressed by the staff but it took multiple phone calls. The pool is average. There was no one working in the swim up bar the week we stayed. You had to get out of the pool to get a drink. The beach area however was nearly perfect. Plenty of chairs available, sometimes a struggle to get a shaded spot. Beach is clean and beautiful. No seaweed. Some rocks and stones but walkable without water shoes. Water is crystal clear. Very nice area sectioned off for swimming and water activities. Snorkelling is great!! No bartenders on the beach, have to walk to pool area for drinks. Service at breakfast and lunch time were very slow at times and rather unorganised. Dinner ran much smoother and had a better quality food. Good amount of dinner options for the size of the resort. Resort is a $40 taxi ride from the airport and a $1.50 bus ride to downtown. Nice location. Overall, a decent value. I have experienced better quality and service in other destinations. Loved Curacao, but probably wouldn't return to sunscape.

Its been a week since our vacation and Im still on cloud 9! Curacao was the best island weve been to yet (vs. Jamaica, P.R, Bahamas, Cancun). The water is stunning, the natives are so nice & it was a super bonus that we stayed at the only ALL INCLUSIVE resort on the island. The restaurants were amazing! They have a steak restaurant, seafood, japanese hibachi, italian & ALL you can eat buffet. The food was amazing. You're reading from a NYC girl so we know good food! The steak was stunning, the seafood ceviche and red snapper and mahi mahi was amazing, the hibachi was yummy, the italian did not skimp on their serving, the buffet breakfast and lunch (didnt have dinner for buffet) was good and I dont typically like buffets.They DO NOT SKIMP on the alcohol either! You think that with all inclusives they give you a little BUT they made really good drinks (from different bar tenders). ONe thing I suggest is treat them nice! NO ONE EVER ASKED US FOR A TIP OR EVEN SUGGESTED IT.... but I feel that if you're getting a cheapcarribean deal and not paying full price, be nice for the good service cause they truly do deserve it. The staff was friendly and I felt very secure with the different security keeping an eye out. A very family friendly place. Lots of activities for kids, music and games by pool side every minute of the day. But also relaxing enough wehere my hubby and I enjoyed our 15 yr anniversary. NOW LETS BE HONEST - the only one thing that could use help BUT WOULD NOT KEEP ME FROM GOING BACK is the rooms. The older building has BIG rooms, HUGE but the AC wasnt working properly and had a musty smell. As soon as I called frontdesk they didnt even give it a second thought, they said come get a key to another room and see if you like it better. I did get moved to a newer building with great AC but the room was smaller (go figure) slightly bigger bathroom. So I had the choice and I went with the good AC because it is HOT in Curacao! Laslty, the guided tours they sell. WE took 2 on a bus and took the free shuttle downtown. Tour #1 was to all the West beaches. Our tour guide RUDOLFO was amazing! Makes you feel at home and good entertainer. The beaches were beautiful and you do get to swim in the last beach of the tour. But beware, if you're an antsy person you do spend alot of time on the bus. Tour #2 all day tour to a private island WORTH EVERY SINGLE PENNY! You get breakfast on the catamaran, 1.5 hr to the island, ocean was amazing, we swam with sea turtles and tropical fish!, the crew grilled lunch on the boat for us and it was great!, then swam more and finally went back. Still arrived back around 4pm so you still have time to enjoy the resort and have dinner. If you have to pick 1 do the second one please- its a chance you wont get again. We also took the shuttle to downtown.... this I could skip if I go again... you do get to experience the downtown area but it was eh. And lastly we walked to Mambo beach which is 5b min from resort and those shops were very good, IF YOU NEED EVERYDAY PERSONAL ITEMS GO TO THEIR PHARMACY ON THE LOWER LEVEL CHEAPEST PRICES FOR SUNSCREEN, DEODERANT, ETC. This is where you will get good souvenirs or clothing. and theres a Starbucks! good restaurants (but why eat out when you have free food next door?). I never ever write reviews but this was one trip that I felt was worth sharing some tips and thoughts. Enjoy if youre looking to go to Curacao!

I haven't been on a real vacation from work in about 5 years and this was everything I needed. Overall I was pretty happy with the booking. The photos of the resort you see on here is exactly what you see when you get there. The rooms were decent size (we went for the Sun Club Ocean View upgrade and I reccomend doing it), good amount of storage and surface space, decent bathroom and decently comfortable bed. The hotel is set up more like a motel with different buildings rather than one large building which we loved for the walks with great scenery. I think the only complaints I really had was the food and room service. The food wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. I was a little sadden on the first night when we went to the Italian restaurant to receive a sub par dish and to realize that the food I would eat for the rest of the trip would just be average. The buffet was also pretty good for breakfast. Decent amount of options to choose from. There is a little ice cream window tucked between the buffet and the Italian restaurant, the cookies and cream is the best!! Room service was a little aggravating. We used room service for lunch most days because we were on the beach late and didn't want to leave. Every day when I would call them directly I would never get answer, ever. Luckily because we opted for Sun Club we were able to call their extension to place the order and then would call back and confirm. We generally waited around 45+ minutes from the time we called until we got the food and 50% of the time the food was incorrect. We ate what we got though because we were hungry and thankfully it was all things we liked anyway so it wasn't a huge problem (I do not reccomend the Cesar salad). Overall I give the place a 3.5. The workers were all super friendly and knowledgeable, the grounds were great, the beaches were nice (especially the far end sunclub beach - so quiet) and Curaçao is just a beautiful place.