Curacao: This Dutch Treat is a Rhapsody in Blue

Curacao: This Dutch Treat is a Rhapsody in Blue
Located less than 50 miles off the coast of South America, Curacao, A Dutch commonwealth, is a hidden gem largely known to Europeans, specifically those living in the Netherlands. In fact, the architecture of Willemstad, the main town, parallels the quaint designs of Amsterdam, with exquisite 17th and 18th-century Dutch colonial buildings.

Curacao enjoys year-round 80-degree weather and an annual rainfall of only 22 inches. Divers, snorkelers, sailors, kayakers, windsurfers, swimmers, sport fishermen and sunbathers will all be glad to call this sunny place home. Scuba Diver magazine rates Curacao as the healthiest marine environment in the entire Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea – and one of the top three in marine life. More than 60 spectacular dive locations provide invigorating contact with wildlife and a genuine, colorful adventure.

For an awe-inspiring scene, visit Klein Curacao, an uninhabited desert island off the southeast coast, which is perfect for divers, snorkelers and sun lovers. It's also the site of the Tugboat – a wreck that sunk more than 25 years ago that is a distinctive photo-op below the surface. If you bring your own yacht you can even participate in organized races throughout year, held by the Curacao Yachting Association. And if you're a foodie, you're in luck – Angelica's Kitchen invites travelers to come for a four-hour cooking class and creation of a meal of your own making – everything from plantain soup to salt cod stew. Golfers will revel in the one championship course – Blue Bay Golf and Beach Resort, an 18-hole, par-72 encounter with iguanas, flamingoes, ducks and egrets; several of the fairways even drop abruptly over the sea cliffs.



By far our favorite hideaway in this divine destination was the Lodge Kura Hulanda and Beach Club, offering 74 suites and guestrooms set on 300 acres. Our oceanfront suite was just steps from a small beach (very pretty but rocky), and featured a small kitchenette with refrigerator and marble bathroom. The accommodation that everyone raves about at this coastal resort is the Treehouse Mansion – actually, the owner's house – which can be rented for anywhere from $1,000-$1,500 per night, depending on the season. The huge two-bedroom complex features canopied beds and is decorated in an animal theme. Other amenities? You can have massages on the beach, in your room, or in the spa pavilion. There's also a 24-hour gym; fully equipped dive shop; tennis court; hiking trails; and a beautiful large pool.

We dined one night with general manager Delno Tromp in the open-air restaurant Watamula, where you can dine on such fare as ostrich carpaccio, whole Caribbean lobster, and cashew-nut grouper. Mr. Tromp is very experienced in satisfying his guests' discriminating tastes – "right down to putting an actual Christmas tree in your guest room, during the holidays, if that's what you want." The Lodge also offers another restaurant, the Christoffel, and the Kalki Beach Bar and Grill.

The lodge is about a 40-minute drive from town. While you're in the area, check out some of the lovely beaches – our favorite was Cas Abao. It has a $6-per-car entrance fee, but there's a nice white-sand beach, and you can also get a massage for $30 and take advantage of banana boat rides. Pack a picnic lunch and have some fun in the azure waters. Rates range from $165, the summer value rate, to $810 for an oceanfront two-bedroom suite, from April 13-Dec. 23rd. Modified American Meal Plan (MAP) is also available at $75pp. www.kurahulanda.com



If you're looking for lodgings in town, look no further than the Lodge's sister property – the Hotel Kura Hulanda, a member of Leading Small Hotels of the World and four-diamond-rated. Located right in Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage City, the Hotel Kura Hulanda is a great choice is you wish to take time to enjoy some great shopping and restaurants. The hotel (the name Kura Hulanda means "Dutch courtyard") offers 80 rooms that include air conditioning, cable TV, phones, high-speed Internet access and marble bathrooms. There's also a spa offering a wealth of services, plus a fitness center, a secluded yoga area, and two swimming pools. Restaurants include the Astrolab Observatory (fine gourmet dining); Jaipur Restaurant (Tandoori oven and Asian specialties); the outdoor Jacob's Bar, overlooking the "Village Square," and the Kura Hulanda Museum Restaurant for lunch and dinner.

A few words about the museum – it is a must-see for everyone – an incredible experience that takes you through the tragic world of the slave trade on the island. Curacao is situated on what were the strategic shipping lanes between Africa and the Americas. This is a sobering experience (in fact, many people have been known to cry through it), but it ranks as one of the most interesting exhibits we have ever seen, anywhere, about the horrors of the profitable – and thoroughly regrettable -- industry that enslaved human beings. In fact, what's especially poignant is that the very land on which the hotel is situated is the former slave yards. Rates range from $180, the summer valure rate, to $715 for a one-bedroom suite, from April 13-Dec. 23. Modified American Meal Plan (MAP) is also available at $75pp. www.kurahulanda.com



About 15 minutes away, by car, is the Dolphin Academy, where we strongly recommend that you schedule a dolphin encounter. We've done dolphin encounters before but this one lets you get up-close-and-personal with the dolphin for at least an hour, along with being able to kiss it, and watch it perform all kinds of stunts. ($79pp). Put it on your to-do list. www.dolphin-academy.com. Two minutes away, we recommend signing up for a terrific snorkel trip with Ocean Encounters, which will take you out to calm waters to explore the blue depths.

Hungry? Curacao is a melting pot of 65 ethnic groups – African, Spanish, Latin, and North American, and everything, including the cuisine, reflects this. Right around the corner from the Kura Hulanda Hotel is the Hotel Otrabanda where you can get a lovely lunch of everything from steakhouse salad to grilled chicken to pizza. Right nearby is the Gouverneur de Rouville, a lively eatery where we recommend sitting outside on the balcony, or in the courtyard. (You'll get a great view of picturesque Willemstad, with its charming architecture decorated in pastel Caribbean colors.) Here, you can dine on everything from Cuban banana soup, chicken quesadillas, Antillean beef stew, and the local specialty: stuffed cheese with chicken and prunes. Entrees range from $13-$28. By far the most luxurious restaurant we visited was the elegant, candlelit Fort Nassau, situated at the top of a large hill, with an extensive wine cellar. Escargot, grilled scallops, a medley of Caribbean fish – they were all on the menu, served in what we thought was the most romantic restaurant of them all. Entrees range from $22-$30. Other restaurants that we heard rave reviews about are The Wine Cellar, and Villa Elisabeth.



If you book your trip to Curacao between May 1 and July 1, or between Aug. 15 and Dec.15, 2009 the island is offering a wealth of incentives that include:

• $100pp airfare credits
• Additional nights free on packages booked (at the Kura Hulanda Lodge and the Hotel)
• $140 food and beverage credits to be used on hotel property
• FREE shore or boat dive day
• FREE car rental day
• Shopping discounts in downtown Willemstad
• And more.
Visit www.curacao.com/now for details.

Little Island Offers Big Bailout
It's a stimulus package that would please anyone: A free trip to the island of Curaçao and a chance to win HALF A MILLION DOLLARS. Beginning March 16, 2009 Curacao will be giving away a trip for two per day for 70 days on the site www.curacaotreasure.com (the site will not go live until March 16th) In addition, each person that registers on that site will be eligible to become one of 10 finalists that will compete in a treasure hunt on the island with the grand prize being a personal bailout of $500,000.00. The Treasure Hunt will take place in August 2009. Start your hunt March 16th on www.curacaotreasure.com and enter to win daily.

As the campaign begins Curacao will be the first Caribbean destination to launch an iPhone application. The Curacao Treasure Hunt iPhone app will allow users to send buried treasure to other users and discover the island of Curacao – the Caribbean's Hidden Treasure. The app will be available for FREE at the Apple iPhone store and on www.curacaotreasure.com

Some might say that Curacao's ambience is so wonderful – they ought to bottle it. Well, you're in for a surprise, because they actually have. You can find the orange Curacao liqueur in a rainbow of colors, and not just blue anymore. That way, you can always sample some of this wonderful island, whenever you want. Visit www.curacao.com for more information.

Photos courtesy of the Curacao Tourism Corporation and Kura Hulanda.