I’m the first to admit, I am not an all-inclusive resort girl, I usually hate the food and feel very trapped and far removed from the culture of a locale. Don’t get me wrong, I know how to chill, and chill very hard at that; every once in a while, I need a beach vacation that’s truly that. Most recently, Curaçao, was that place. “A weekend of just beaching,” my mother suggested. Maybe one day we’ll go into the capital, Willemstad, but other than this, it’s relaxing resort time at Santa Barbara Resort in Curaçao. This was a strange concept to me, but I dove into it head first. I did go on a weekend trip to an Barceló Bávaro Resort in Dominican Republic last fall… my mouth still waters at the pernil in the buffet, so I was game. Here’s a little photo and video diary of my 48 Hours on a resort in Curaçao (punctuated by that aforementioned trip to Willemstad).
When staying on a big resort one of the first things I like to do is get the lay of the land. Usually they give you a brief tour while escorting you to your room, but naturally, my mother and I skipped the escort, because we couldn’t be bother waiting. And one of my favorite things to do in any new place? Wander and get lost. You never know the cool scenes you’ll stumble upon.
One of my favorite parts about vacation? Sleeping in. The room was a comfortable corner room with a balcony. There were ocean views, as well as views of the hotel. Trust me, people watching at a resort is better than any thing on tv…
Activities. You know what’s pretty cool about big resorts, the activities that you can opt into. Biking, hiking, I signed up for it all. Santa Barbara resort’s property includes a quarry, golf course, marina, so there’s tons to do. You can rent a bike or take a guided tour. Here are my views from my hiking guiding tour where I learned about the unique and arid landscape of Curaçao as well as saw some very cool caves and rock formations that were ages old and once below sea level!
Water sports.
The Marina (one of several in the area was bumping on Sunday)
Beach. Hard.
And after beach sunset by the pool.
And the sunsets here are beautiful
