TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The Riff at Mangrove, Curacao was awesome. The accommodations were perfect, comfortable beds and easy to get around. The food at the buffet was really good and the few restaurants we ate at were good as ...well. The pool was huge and refreshing, however, it's the ocean we prefer. The beach was beautiful, but you need water shoes to enjoy the beach. The staff were fantastic, but especially accommodating were Batu and Kaan. Always smiling and pleasant. I highly recommend Curacao for a vacation. The Riff was perfect with a short walk to the floating market. Cruise ships docked in front of our beach most days and added some entertainment watching them.

Visited the RIF for 5 nights, Oct 31-Nov 5, 2024. I send an apology for the delay to anyone who went there between then and now. ? We have been loyal Hilton Honors Diamond members since 2008. We have hundr...eds of stays under our belts. The RIF was by far the worst resort we have ever been to, Hilton or otherwise. A big waste of my money, time and HH points. The good: -The property is newer and looks very nice. Pool at the RIF was large and very nice, but the pool at their sister property the Mangrove was disgusting with hair and garbage floating on top the one afternoon we visited there. The bad: -There is zero service from the front reception, services or concierge. There are buttons to reach them on the phone but they never, ever answer and when they do they tell you to come to pick up a bar code from the front desk and use the WHATSAPP phone to request anything. Staff’s extremely indifferent at best and it’s obvious they just don’t care. The place is completely mismanaged. Zero smiles from anyone except the one bartender on the first day we were there. ?-Big black 30 gal garbage bags lined the hallways most of the day. -They were out of adapters and if we wanted one we had to keep checking back at the front desk. We had to give them a $10 bill to “rent” one once they had some on hand.?-Plan on bringing absolutely everything you need with you because there are ZERO toiletries in the room except for wall dispensers of soap and conditioner. Gift shop was a ripoff, $50 for a 3oz tube of eco sunscreen. -There were only two types of beer available and they kept running out of that. Heineken was one and the other was an awful light beer. The specialty drinks were not good.They partially refilled our mini bar one time in the 5 days we were there. We had to walk to the bar to get bottled water. -It was really hot and humid when we were there. I’m from Florida so I’m used to it but it seemed like everything outside was bright white (building, flooring, pool deck, etc.) and it was blinding at times. There was literally no shade except for umbrellas and the limited seating at the bar. -Restaurant seating and service was very slow every time. It seems most of the food they serve actually comes from the buffets and they were pretty lame. One night we waited in line for well over 30 minutes to be seated while a dozen or so plates of Caprese salad sat out in the heat. We decided it might be dangerous to consume food that had been sitting out so long so we left and went to the bistro to have dinner since there were open tables. There, they deliver the stuff from the buffet to your table…ridiculous! The only time you see a menu is when you are seated. -All the seating in the eating areas were hard wire chairs and very uncomfortable. There was no luxury at this place. -They blocked NFL football which really frustrated my husband. Tv stations were in and out. -There were a couple times when the shower would only get warm and the place was noisy at night due to the echos of talking and doors slamming in the open air hallways and carts of room service being delivered over the block tile hallway floors. -Guests must use whatsapp on their phones for any services including room service which consists of 6 adult items and 5 for kid. Continental breakfast, Caesar salad, cheese burger, spaghetti, club sandwich, fruit platter. -There are no fans at restaurants and no breeze. The heat was horrible. -To top it all off. They NEVER EVER answer the phone (services button or reception button). I tried both several times but it would just ring and ring and then hang up. After 10 or so redials someone finally answered, I asked why they were not answering and the woman on the other end said they are doing check in. I said at 12:30? and she said yes. My room was real close to reception check-in so I went there to see for myself and there were absolutely zero people waiting to check in, so she had lied to me. I notice that Quenton Panneflek’s (the GM) responses to bad reviews are standard cut and paste.

Not Adults only. If you want a family vibe with lots of children, this is your resort! Also, service at bars is very very slow and lacking in general. Tips don't motivate. Bring your own adult beverages. N...ot expecting 5 star quality or amenities, but expected better than 3 star.

Not a Hilton. Maybe a 3 star. The experience for us was very mixed. We paid top dollar to be here and the Buffet experience was like being at a feeding trough every meal. Sharing a Buffet with anothe...r hotel with limited hours causes chaos. Not once was I ever offered a drink from staff at the buffet, which is fine but advertise it is “serve yourself”. The a la carte restaurants were impossible to book through the app and were often booked up within an hour (you can only book for the next day). As travellers who aren’t fond of buffets this was very disappointing. The Turkish restaurant and Seafood were pretty good, the Mexican option was awful and all the guests had to get their own drinks from the buffet as the restaurant appeared to be very understaffed. The staff were very pleasant but the service was not what I expected for what we paid. The “towel game” is much at play and it was very hard to get a chair at the pool. Most hotels monitor this and remove towels after several hours of no use. One day we saw a couple towel off 6 chairs and not use any of them. The location was great as we could walk into town within 10-15 min and the as very safe. Our room was clean but our “garden view room” was of a filthy car park and highway. Would I return? Not for what I paid, but maybe half.

Amazing staff !!! Dejeanira, Evans, and Ece make the best drinks. They’re also so friendly I do wish that food was available more frequently—most all restaurants were closed between 2:30pm and 7pm and ...11am-12:30pm. But room service is available 24/7