Sandals invested 72 million dollars into the Sandals Royal Curaçao to create a stunning and modern resort. Only the initial Sandals Curacao reviews have been mixed, so we’re offering our detailed 29-point review as expert travelers.

We’ll tell you straight-up what we saw, what we liked, and what they could have done better so you can decide if Sandals Royal Curaçao is for you.

Why You Need an Expert Review of Sandals Curaçao

A 72-million-dollar facelift goes a long way, and every photo you’ll see from Sandals Curaçao looks amazing. One of the most popular mentions from TripAdvisor reviews is “beautiful resort.” However, “growing pains” and “supply chain” are also on that list. It turns out that refurbishing and opening a resort during a pandemic isn’t easy.

Another thing that isn’t easy is changing a long-standing egalitarian culture where no one is better than anyone else, including the customer. As Americans, we expect the customer to have a temporary higher “status” over the service provider when engaging in business. That is to say, the customer is always right, which doesn’t always fly in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Caitriona Rush of I Am Expat presents a compelling explanation of this phenomenon in her article – Dutch Customer Service. What Customer Service?

I’ve been a travel writer for almost a decade. Before that, I was a five-star trainer for Ritz Carlton, concierge at a luxury hotel, and spa lead at the Southwest’s highest Condé Nast-rated spa. I know customer service, and even though Sandals hosted me, they paid for my time, not my opinion.

One of the most important aspects of Sandals Royal Curaçao reviews is when they were written. The resort opened in June 2022. We visited in August of 2023. So, it’s worthwhile to compare our review to older reviews you might find to see if the things you care about have changed over time.

Resort Location

Sandal’s Royal Curaçao is located in a private gated community about 30 minutes east of Willemstad. There are pluses and minuses to this. Since transportation to and from the airport is included with the stay, you don’t have to worry about the logistics; however, you’ll need a plan if you’re trying to get into town, which we’ll get into later in this review.

The aspect of the location is that you’re on the mouth of the Spanish Waters Bay. It’s an excellent location for scuba and snorkel trips, and the beach is very sheltered. On the downside, the beach is very sheltered, and there is a fair amount of boat traffic in and out of the bay, so you can’t take Sandals’ personal watercraft out of the protected marina.

One final element of the Sandals’ layout is that the bay entrance provides a beautiful backdrop for sunsets over the water – something to remember for weddings and resort photography.

Adult-Only Property

All Sandals are adult-only properties, including Curaçao. This is something we love about the brand, and if you don’t like it, there’s always Beaches for family-forward fun. We love that there’s a place for adults to be grown up without caterwauling of children and little-uns underfoot.

All Inclusive

We love that Sandals is all-inclusive, including drinks and activities. It helps you relax and not worry about being nickeled and dimed throughout your vacation. This includes diving and gear rental.

A few add-ons aren’t included, like Butler tips, spa services, and off-property excursions. They are very clear about what’s included and what isn’t, and you can have a fantastic vacation without getting any of the add-ons.

Room Categories

There are 24 room categories at Sandals Curaçao, ranging from ocean bungalows with private pools to garden-view rooms with private balconies divided across three room categories (2023 pricing PP/PN):

• Butler Elite: 10 rooms ranging from $1675 – $546
• Club Sandals: 11 rooms ranging from $426 – $318
• Sandals Luxury: 3 rooms ranging from $329 – $304

The highest level of Butler Elite rooms are: (Rates for reference only from October 2023)

• Awa Seaside Butler Bungalow with Private Pool ($1675)
• Kurason Island Poolside Butler Bungalow with Patio Tranquility Soaking Tub ($1,123)
• Amante One Bedroom Oceanview Swim-up Butler Grande Suite with Patio Tranquility Soaking Tub ($831)
• Carisia One Bedroom Swim-up Butler Suite with Patio Tranquility Soaking Tub ($762).

What this means to the consumer is that the top-tier rooms are stand-alone bungalows. After that, you pay a premium for butler service, ocean views, and semi-private swim-up pools. You don’t get certain amenities like the signature soaking tub or suites in the lowest-tier rooms.

Elite Butler Service

What is Sandals butler service, and do you really need it? Elite butler service perks start before you even arrive on-property because you can book dining at Butch’s or Vincent’s ahead of time. You get private airport transportation, expedited check-in, a welcome glass of champagne in your room, and the all-important butler phone.

After you settle in, your butler is just a call away for anything reasonable, moral, and legal. We loved having our butler claim a palapa on the beach for us with a cooler filled with our favorite drinks. Having a lazy morning breakfast brought to our room and drinks delivered poolside was pretty lovely, too. They also brought us rubbing alcohol to try and resurrect a water-logged dive light that was above and beyond the call of duty. If your love language is acts of service, butler service could be for you.

There wasn’t anything “wrong” with butler service, but we didn’t need a specialty bottle of liquor brought to our room or midafternoon snacks at an all-inclusive resort. Plus, having your butler walk you to dinner added an extra layer of complexity to mealtime, even though it was essential to coordinate the activities for the next day. We didn’t fully utilize the service as experienced travelers with a diving-centric itinerary. However, if we had more beach/pool days, I could see how it would be a fantastic amenity.

Pools

There are two primary general access pool areas. Dos Awa Infinity Pool is a twin-level infinity pool with all kinds of energy, including a swim-up bar and rocking midday entertainment. Cabanas and shade are available around the pool, and an oversized whirlpool on the pool deck.

If you want a more relaxed fresh-water experience, there’s a second “quiet pool.” It has a poolside bar and an optional private cabana service. It’s harder to find midday shade at the quiet pool, but by late afternoon, it’s in the shadow of the main building. A couple of smaller whirlpools are also available between the pools and the beach.

Beaches

There are two distinctly different beach experiences at Sandals. The rocky beach that opens to the ocean is where you’ll find the beach bar, private cabanas, and beachfront dining experiences. Notice a theme here? You’re not getting in the water.

Sandals also has private access to Santa Barbara Beach just inside the channel to Spanish Waters. The sand is soft, the water is quiet, and it’s easy to find some shade. Combine all that with the floating platforms; this is the perfect place for an adult beach day.

Restaurants

There are eight different restaurants to choose from and three food trucks. That’s enough variety, so you don’t have to repeat on a week-long visit. We agree with reviews that said that dinner service could have been faster and the food sat too long before reaching your table. This may be because we always scheduled dinner after sunset at the end of service.

We had a friend who said he booked as soon as the restaurants opened and thought that Curacao had the best dining of the dozen or so Sandals he had been to. I could see this as being another example of growing pains with the resort where the kitchen gets backed up, or the servers lose track of orders, so keep looking at the reviews to see if this situation improves, or maybe just plan an early dinner and have plenty of time to catch the sunset with a cocktail and to grab a good seat for the shows.

Below are thoughts on each of the Sandals Curacao restaurants we ate at:

• Butch’s – Sandals’ iconic white glove chop house. Word to the wise, book your dinner at Butch’s when you check-in. (Resort Evening Attire Mandatory)
• Vincent – We actually like Vincent better than Butch’s for white-glove dining (again, make your reservations early). The mushroom bisque was phenomenal, and the steaks stack up to Butch’s. (Resort Evening Attire Mandatory)
• Zuka – A Latin fusion restaurant with yummy drinks and fun, festive atmosphere.
• Strand – Beachside dining that’s perfect after a morning of diving.
• Kannal – We started every morning with a vanilla latte from Kannal (and many evenings with a Baileys latte)
• Aolos – The Mediterranean menu and open-air restaurant with coastal views made this a favorite for sunset dining. They were also our favorite for breakfast with a delicious a la carte menu.
• Gatsu Gatsu – One of our surprise favorite restaurants. We loved the variety of fresh sushi and exotic menu choices like Ishiyaki hot rock cooking at your table.
• Pietra – Pietra has a centrally located breakfast and lunch buffet with an Italian menu for dinner. The buffets had plenty of choices, but don’t overlook the fresh tropical fruit for breakfast and oven-fired pizza for lunch.

Food Trucks

The Sandals food trucks were a pleasant surprise. They were really, really good, with an excellent view and service that was fast enough to make up for the walkover. If bikes are available, lunch is a no-brainer; grab some wheels and cruise to your meal.

We loved the char-grilled sirloin steak with chimichurri at Toteki and the chicken teriyaki bowl at Kishi. We didn’t try La Palma, but it looked excellent. Do yourself a favor and try the food trucks early and often.

Bars

With beach bars, pool bars, and in-room bars, it is easy to find a drink at Sandals. This section is really about unique places to wet your whistle throughout the day. We started all days with a vanilla latte from Kannal and had them add a shot of Bailey’s on non-diving days. We always wanted a “Dirty Monkey” (blended mudslide with banana) for pool and beach time. We made a point to try the drink of the day at least once and the specialty drink at each restaurant. Other drinking opportunities were the sunset toasts and karaoke in the lobby bar.

Island Inclusive Dining

Island Inclusive Dining is a program that’s currently only offered at Sandals Curacao; it’s a game changer. With a week’s stay or longer in qualifying rooms, you can get a $250 dining credit at some of the best restaurants in Curacao and transportation to and from the resort.

We chose to go to Kome for tapas night, and it was off the hook good! The truffled mac and cheese stole the show, but it was excellent from top to bottom. We planned Willemstad time into our trip, but I could imagine a way to combine the Island Inclusive Dining with a Willemstad fun trip for a great afternoon off-property.

Mini Cooper Experience

The Mini Cooper Experience is another perk that comes with qualified stays at higher room levels. Currently, that’s only the Awa Seaside Butler Bungalow and the Kurason Island Poolside Butler Bungalow. This is one experience that sounded better on paper.

The biggest reas