Downtown Magazine Fall 2018 Issue

Oh, the Places You'll Stay
The island is fairly affluent, clean and welcoming.
It offers up both great accommodation and dining
possibilities. Lions Dive and Beach Resort is a sporty
hotel and its location makes it the perfect starting
point for an active island adventure. The Santa
Barbara Beach & Golf Resort a little further south is
a luxurious 350-room resort with all-encompassing
water views, pristine white sand beaches, three pools,
four restaurants, fun dive, and watersport equipment
and activities. A place you can truly unwind
and relax.
Culture Vulture
For the adventurer, a must-see is the Mount
Christoffel Park, located 1,220 feet above sea
level, replete with local plants and birds, hiking,
breathtaking views and Plantation Savonet – one of
the earliest plantations on the island.
Tour the marvelous Downtown Willemstad, a
UNESCO world heritage site. Visit the iconic Queen
Emma Bridge, and stop by the floating market to meet
Venezuelans selling their fresh vegetables and fish.
Be sure to make time for the Mikvé Israel Synagogue
— the oldest synagogue in use in the Western
Hemisphere. Stepping in is like going back in time,
with sand floors and artifacts that are still used today.
On your way to Santa Barbara, do yourself a favor
and go to the Aloe plantation. The women of the
plantation will give you an in-depth lesson on aloe,
growing it and its many natural healing properties.
One of the women, Dinah Veeris, tours you through
her meticulous herb garden and shows you how to
pick herbs off the stems, how to eat them. and how
they can even be used to brush your teeth.
Taste of Curaçao
Curaçao offers plenty of dining options, too.
Check out Willemstad’s local spots such as Fuoco,
with picturesque views and delicious cuisine to
match, and Karakter, with daytime beach service
in comfortable lounge chairs and a nighttime cozy
seafront atmosphere.
Dine at highlights such as the historic Fort Nassau,
where Chef Thomas Groen from Amsterdam
prepares casual fine dining with 360º views of
Curaçao, or Shore at the Santa Barbara Resort,
where Chef Heinrich Hortencia fires up tasty
concoctions using local ingredients and reinvents
Curaçao cuisine. DT
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CURAÇAO TRAVEL BOARD
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