Sandals Royal Curacao: Everything You Need to Know

I’ve seen countless ads for Sandals vacations – the images of happy, beautiful couples clasping hands, clinking glasses, and barefoot toes in snow-white sand – and I would always say to myself, “Someday, we’re going to do that.” In this case, my travel dreams turned into a reality and I had the opportunity to visit Sandals Royal Curaçao with my husband.

Was it everything the advertisements made it out to be?

The writer was hosted by Sandals.

Getting to Sandals Royal Curaçao

• The Curaçao International Airport (CUR) has flights to and from North and South America, Europe and other Caribbean islands.
• We flew on Delta with a stopover in Atlanta. Our flight from Atlanta took about four hours.
• Complimentary airport transfers included; there’s an easy-to-find Sandals desk in the airport. Just check in there and you’ll be directed to your bus.
• The return trip is equally straightforward, although with a more sad trombone feeling.

Where is Curaçao Anyway?

• Located 40 miles off Venezuela’s North coast, Curaçao is part of what’s known as the “ABC Islands:” Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.

• All three ABC islands are constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, so if you speak Dutch, here’s your chance to practice it.

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Accommodations

• We stayed in a spacious club-level ocean-view room with a balcony.
• The club-level amenities included a mini bar, room service and a dedicated lounge with access to special concierge services for making dining and spa reservations.
• The big perk of club-level was having an expedited check-in and check-out. We did not take advantage of any of the other services but we enjoyed the room, which was spacious with light and airy tropical-themed decor.
• Wanna splurge? There are swankier, more spacious and more secluded rooms on the property, many with swim-up pool patios or private pools.

SheBuysTravel Tip: If you’re looking for seclusion and some extra sizzle, consider upgrading to one of the butler suites. You’ll enjoy enhanced service and your own pool area.

Dining

• Sandals Royal Curaçao is an all-inclusive resort and yes, all-inclusive really does mean all-inclusive when it comes to dining.
• There are eight restaurants, numerous bars – we never had to look far to find a drink – and a food truck park. We did our best to sample everything in a five-day stay but didn’t quite hit all the eateries.
• I cannot recommend the food truck park enough and I’d happily eat the shrimp tempura bao buns every day if I could.
• No reservations needed, except for Butch’s, the resort’s chop house, and Vincent, named for Vincent Van Gogh.

Favorites

I didn’t have a bad meal during my stay but aside from the shrimp bao buns at food truck Toteki, I had a couple of other favorites:

• The pizza at Pietra Italian was delicious. It’s only available during certain hours and yes, it is worth scheduling your day around.
• Kanaal wine bar/cafe serves Starbucks-style coffee, gelato and pastries but what I loved best was the cheese case. They had a stellar selection of Dutch cheeses, some I’d enjoyed before and some fun new-to-me cheeses.

Eating Downtown

• Sandals Royal Curaçao has a partnership with a handful of restaurants in Willemstad that allows resort guests to experience the culinary talents of local chefs – it’s a fantastic way to get a sense of place.
• A dining credit plus transfers come with certain room categories, so check when you reserve to see if you qualify for this perk. Sandals staff can also make recommendations on what to try off the resort.
• The resort food was excellent but I recommend making some time to leave the bubble and sample some local flavor.

Amenities (AKA What’s Really Included)

• Aside from the food, pretty much everything is included at a Sandals Resort! I’m always sort of suspicious of all-inclusive packages because I’m waiting for a bill at the end for stuff I thought was free but there was no catch here.
• All alcohol – yes, really.
• Activities, like lawn games, pool games and pickleball.
• Snorkeling and equipment.
• Scuba for certified divers – more on that in a minute.
• Bikes to explore the resort.
• Fitness center.
• Nightly entertainment, such as music and dance parties.
• Airport transfers.
• Taxes and gratuities.
• Wi-Fi – the resort WiFi was very fast and reliable.

Not included:

• Spa treatments
• Boutique/gift shop
• Photos
• Excursions/tours

Scuba diving at Sandals Royal Curaçao

• Diving (+ all equipment) is included at all Sandals resorts for PADI-certified divers.
• Certification and additional dives available for an additional fee.
• They also offer SNUBA – sort of a cross between snorkeling and scuba – for a fee. We didn’t try it but I’m kind of curious about it now.

Diving Instruction at Sandals Royal Curaçao

• My husband and I got our scuba certification while staying at the resort.
• There’s an online component that must be done at home before the in-water training can happen at the resort.
• It’s doable to get certified during a resort stay if you’re prepared to make diving instruction the focus of your trip – some adjustment of departure times might be needed since there are restrictions on flying after a dive, which you’ll learn in training!

Overall Impressions and Would I Go Back?

• A pretty easy tropical couple’s getaway that met or exceeded expectations.
• Zero hidden charges.
• The food and accommodations were A+ and the resort had a quiet, relaxed energy that I found restful and dare I say – romantic?
• I would stay at a Sandals resort again and I’d stay at this resort again. Warm weather and relaxed energy where I don’t have to make too many decisions is my jam.

Potential Negatives

• I found the nightlife vibe of the resort very chill. I loved that for me but those who crave major party energy may find Sandals Royal Curaçao sleepy. I saw mostly couples who kept to themselves and things got quiet after 9:00 pm. but all it would have taken was one super partylicious group to fire things up.
• The beach isn’t super beachy. There’s a scenic area for photo opps – small but pretty to look at. The swimmable beach is more inlet with a protected dock than a wide open beach. For us, it got the job done.

SheBuysTravel Tip: If you consider yourself a foodie, stay at least four nights to give yourself a chance to do some serious sampling and if you want to eat at Butch’s or Vincent, ask about reservations early on in your stay.

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