TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We stayed at the Rif for 4 nights and had access to all the Mangrove Beach hotel facilities and amenities. I am on the fence whether I would return here. It really is a 3.5 hotel at the moment with potential to be better. There are some strong pros and cons (read below). Pros: 1) Nice facilities and environment. Nice pools. Well maintained areas. Everything was mostly clean. Lots of places to grab coffee, drinks, snack. Lots of beach chairs and towels. Plentiful amenities for kids and daily entertainment in the evenings for adults. 2) Rooms are in good condition, spacious, and bed and pillows were comfortable. 3) Beach was enjoyable. The water is super clean and no waves. While the sand isn't great, it was still nice. For the best quality beaches, you need to travel west. Porto Mari is about 30 min drive. 4) Location. 15-20min walk to town worked for us and was a major benefit for us. 5) Value. We came in off season so we felt that the price was worth it. It wasn't too crowded. Not sure how i'd feel with peak season pricing. Cons: 1) Food. Mediocre quality, taste, and options. Limited selection of pastries, fruits, and dishes. Buffet doesn't change much (it changed once for dinner in our 4 day stay). The buffet is decent. For the most part you'll likely find something you like, but variety was lacking. A la carte restaurants were very disappointing. Food not good and completely inauthentic (think corn tortillas instead of pita bread at Turkish restaurant). This was the biggest disappointment and would need to improve for us to consider coming back. Also, lines to make a la carte restaurant reservation were ridiculous and should improve. 2) Drinks. Stay basic and simple and don't expect high quality alcohol and you'll be okay. That said bars were often out of basic ingredients and couldn't make more complex drinks. We didn't drink much though. 3) Service. There is much bigger emphasize on self service here (don't expect anyone to bring you drinks), and that is by design, which was fine with us but at a la carte restaurants service was an abomination. I am not going into all the details, but this was such a turn off. Cleaning staff seems to be doing a good job as I found the areas to be well maintained. Other things to note: o Reserve massages well in advance; they book up fast. o Fitness facilities looked good. o Go to cafe mondi for the best coffee. o Changing facilities for outgoing guests was a nice touch. o Cruise ships park in front of the hotel on some days partially blocking the ocean view. While majestic in their own right, this could bother some people. Not an issue for us. o If they could arrange airport shuttles that would be nice. Taxi cost of $40 seemed excessive for a 15-20 min ride.

The beach at the mangrove side can be improved by removing the rocks there. But the beach is lovely with clear waters. The buffet is perfect for us, I don’t like waiting for food and the choices are almost endless. The staff is very friendly and accommodating.

The resort is absolutely beautiful, food was amazing but the service was horrendous. You actually have to serve yourself wherever you can otherwise your meal will be finished before you get whatever you requested. You cannot get what you want at the bars because most of the time they don’t have it. They do not clean up empty/half full glasses left around the resort. This place has the potential to be a 5 star resort but without the service aspect it is only a 2 star, in my opinion. Service is almost non existent

The Turkish restaurant was so delicious. I have been here a week for a relaxing, stress free vacation and that’s exactly what I’ve had! The food and service have been excellent. There is pretty much any type of food you could want from the buffet to the specialty restaurants. Housekeeping is amazing. The room has been cleaned spotlessly each day. The staff knows several languages and are very helpful. Already planning my next visit. Ray was helpful with navigating the property and very welcoming.

My husband and I went to Curacao for a Thanksgiving getaway (Wed - Mon). We were excited to go and cross Curacao off our bucket list. My husband read reviews in advance of our arrival and gave me the option to change. I decided not to since he could use Hilton Honors points and because of the hotel's proximity so here's my detailed review: HOTEL LOCATION & ROOM Overall, the property is within a mile from Willemstad, which we walked twice without issue. This is one of the reasons we selected this hotel is for its proximity to town. The rooms/bathroom at the Rif Mangrove are big and ours was on the Pool/Ocean side of the property. Rooms are fully stocked daily with wine, water, softdrinks. The issue we had is that our room was not fully serviced before we checked-in. We had bath and hand towels but no washcloths. Also, the carpet underneath our bed was not clearly after the last guest and I saw white strands of hair and sand in multiple areas of the carpet on both sides and in front of the bed. We had other issues with housekeeping Thursday - Friday. After going back to the HH desk they seemed to be resolved by Saturday. TIP: If you're traveling without kids, the RIF side is quieter than the Mangrove side. You'll also see beautiful sunsets on the far right side of the Mangrove side. THE HOTEL APP: If you're HH Gold/Diamond and staying at the RIF at Mangrove, you're taken to a separate HH check-in which was quick and easy. We were informed about the hotel app for reservations and to contact concierge, room service, housekeeping or the front desk with "anything we need". The hotel's app is automated and not closely monitored by housekeeping. I sent a message to housekeeping after we arrived in our room and did not get a reply from them at all. My husband ordered room service late one night - know it is highly limited with only 3-5 options so be sure you're not relying on room service for a meal. Room service ran out of the 1 of the 5 items (which was also on the buffet) and they did respond to him. THE POOLS: I have no complaints about the pools. They have 2 huge pools and 2 smaller pools which are well maintained and clean. Some of the pool and beach chair cushions on the RIF Mangrove side were visibly very dirty and needed extra cleaning but we were able to find some that were just fine. TIP: Near the RIF Pool is a hidden gem, the Mangrove Kayak tour ($25/pp). We did the tour with only the guide on a day there were no cruise ships. Tour took an hour and was extremely relaxing and informative. THE BEACH: The Rif at Mangrove beach entrance is rocky and only reserved for RIF guests. From what we observed, hotel staff were not monitoring if Mangrove guests were coming to the RIF side. Hotel guests staying on the RIF side has full access to both beaches while Mangrove side only has access to their beach. The Mangrove beach entrance also has rocks however, it does have more sand. The beach also has a few photo spots which everyone loved. The swing in the ocean is covered with algae and is extremely slippery. CRUISE SHIPS: Cruise ships pull right up in front of the hotel's beach however, only one 1 of the ships will block the ocean view. We were there Wednesday to Monday and saw 2 ships per day Wednesday - Friday. Monday there was only 1 ship in port which did not block the ocean view. RESTAURANTS/BAR: There are lots of restaurants on the property including the Mundi Coffee shop on the RIF side. The hours of the buffet on the app/hotel marketing differed by 30-mins to an hour compared to what was posted at the restaurant but offered a wide variety of food options. Outside of the buffet the rest of the restaurants are first come first serve. - They promote Turkish, Mexican and a few other restaurants and reserved seating for RIF hotel guests. With the exception of the Sushi, Seafood and BBQ restaurants, they're all in the building where the buffet is, but separated by a wooden wall. When we dined there after arrival, service was very slow and once it arrived, flies attacked our food. The server did finally bring burning coffee grounds to help keep flies/mosquitos away and after we moved to another area. Each of the buffet area restaurants seemed to only have 1 waiter who worked the entire area. A few times we saw empty seats but the tables had not been cleared quickly. Be prepared for the buffet restaurants to be understaffed. - Seafood Restaurant: We dined at the Seafood restaurant as soon as it opened. My husband's dish was served hot while my entree was served room temp. The waiter did offer to have it replaced but it took almost an hour to get the entree and I didn't want to wait again so I declined. - BBQ Restaurant: We saw lines of people and my husband just knew the BBQ was great. We were in line at 5:15 for the first seating. We were seated, ordered the sampler, and quickly disappointed that the meat was tough and lacked flavor. - BARS: All drinks are included at no additional charge however, if you want premium liquor you have to go to the Cigar bar above the Sushi restaurant and pay for them. After two days I stopped drinking their cocktails due to getting headaches. CUSTOMER SERVICE: In the beginning of our visit we found many of the staff were not friendly but towards the end, we found a few friendly staff who went above and beyond. I'm not certain but it seems Hilton acquired the property because staff did not deliver the level of service that other Hilton resorts offer. TIP: You can call the front desk from WhatsApp without issue. Customer service could be improved at this resort if it starts at the top. Because my husband is Diamond with HH, we were invited to a Friday reception from 5-6:30. We arrived around 5:05pm only to find other HH guests waiting for it to be set-up. Appetizers arrived around 5:30. We didn't see any one from hotel management at the HH reception. Other HH attendees were also shocked at the lack of preparation or presence from management. ENTERTAINMENT: There's something happening each night and great effort is made to include the kids which was great to see. FINAL NOTES: Other areas of the property need love & attention and appeared neglected. Huge paint chips on hotel room walls, paint splatter on headboard from ceiling touch ups, broken cabinets visible to hotel guests seated in the restaurants/buffet area. We travel frequently and stay primarily at Hilton hotels. This property has so much potential but it hasn't been brought up to Hilton standards. If you're traveling with kids, a quick girls trip and not concerned about service, great tasting food or rocky beaches, this is the perfect hotel. If you're looking for luxury experience, this isn't it.