Baoase Luxury Resort, Curacao

This is for anyone who wants to see what our resort looked like. We booked this resort through Laura Sangster, an agent with The Journey Group, Boca Raton, FL. We gave her tentative dates for our group, and said we wanted to stay in an all-inclusive setting somewhere that was unlikely to be hit by a hurricane during our visit in November. Laura gave us three options on different islands, and we chose Curacao. The island is very close to the northern coast of South America and tends to be out of the path of the big storms.

The Baoase Luxury Resort is on the south coast of Curacao, just over one mile east of downtown Willemstad. It includes 23 units ranging from two person guest rooms to eight person villas. We stayed in a Superior Private Villa with pool and it was perfect for our group.

L-R: Entrance to our villa, our pool, outdoor seating area, outdoor seating area in use

Our villa had a generous outdoor seating area where we sat to play Yahtzee and chat. We did not use outdoor kitchen or the large outdoor dining table for meals since our stay included all meals in the dining room. It was possible to order breakfast delivered to the villa by ordering before 8 pm each day for the following morning, but we preferred to go to the restaurant. We could have hired a chef to come in and cook for us, as well, but we didn’t use that option. When people were at the villa, they tended to sit in the airconditioned indoor living room. It was a bit smaller than the outdoor area, but there was enough room for everyone on the occasions we were all indoors. There was a small powder room off the living area, as well as a rear entrance to the street, though only to exit.

The bedroom and bath on the main floor were for Jonathan and I, as we claimed the “no stairs” option. All the bathrooms had indoor toilets and sinks, with outdoor showers. Our unit had a very large tub in the outdoor enclosure, too. After thinking about it, we didn’t get around to using the tub. It would have taken 20 minutes to fill the thing. If you were in the mood, though, there was lots of space to set candles and wine glasses around the edge, and easily space for two people. Did I mention that the resort regularly hosts honeymooners? Amanda and Jim chatted with a newly married couple.

Upstairs in the villa are three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kids knew in advance that one of the baths would be shared and were ok with it. Amanda and Jim and baby Aurora got the private bath. The upstairs seems to have worked well, as we heard no comments from our group. The showers were outdoor even there, on balconies, so everyone had the tropical bathing experience.

The pool was quite shaded and was perfect for those who needed a break from the bright sun of the beach. (There were a lot of mosquitos around the pool, which was too bad, because we would have liked to lounge outdoors. The resort did provide each guest with a complimentary bottle of bug spray, so they are aware of the issue.) When I called the Baoase in advance to ask about a crib, they also offered to put a barrier between the patio and the pool. It was all in place when we arrived.

The resort encircles an artificial lagoon that created a sandy beach surrounded by rocky walls where little fish swim. Thus, it’s possible to snorkel inside the lagoon itself. Two channels connected with the ocean. When it was calm, we could snorkel out of the lagoon along the ocean-facing walls, and along the shore in either direction. The resort has planted some corals offshore, though it will be years before they spread very far. I was happy there were some corals and fish. Amanda and Jim, our strongest swimmers and divers, saw octopus, squid, a conch, and even a gurnard, a fish that looks like an underwater butterfly when disturbed.

(Internet photo of gurnard)

Along the shore are lounge chairs in groups and under cabanas. Though the Thanksgiving break was a holiday for our group, the resort was not full and we could easily find a cabana with enough shade and chairs for those who were at the shore. I mentioned in a previous post that the weather might be a bit less humid and perhaps a bit cooler during the high season (Dec-April). The resort is likely to be more crowded then.

There are two restaurants at the Baoase, both outdoor. During our stay, the Sunset Deck was only in use twice a week for themed dinners, though I imagine that during high season both the dining area and the bar there are open all the time. That didn’t bother us at all. The first dinner we had on the Sunset Deck was during a dead calm and proved too warm for us. The staff was very accommodating and let us dine at a large table by the water every night. When there was a themed meal on the Sunset Deck, they brought it to our table. I was impressed by their willingness to make us comfortable.

Lunch could take all afternoon, but could also move along. The food was excellent, as I’ve commented on in previous posts. Dinner was similar, either an experience taking up most of the evening, or a bit less than that. The seafood night was a highlight.

Over the course of a week, specials and theme meals change every day, so it’s not until a visitor’s eighth day there that menus repeat. Fortunately for us, the repeated meal were Asian Night, when we could eat all the sushi we wanted. Before we arrived, I was concerned that the young people would want to venture out to try the food in other places, and I was glad we were close to the downtown area for that reason. The food at the resort was so good that no one expressed interest in going out.

Breakfast included hot specials as well as a buffet of yogurt, fruit, juice, and granolas. The juice blend called “Whisper of Summer” was a favorite, and the cut up fruit served in small jars was perfect sized and fresh. The coffee was good too, including cappucinos and lattes. There was none of that tasteless hotel coffee we often get when traveling.

The name of the resort, Baoase, is not easy to pronounce. It seems to be “bow-ah-say”. It’s a hybrid of two words that are meaningful to the owners. There is a decidedly Asian, or perhaps Balinese vibe to the place, enhanced by the sculpture and decorative items all around the resort that reflect an Asian connection. The Dutch, former colonizers of Curacao, were great explorers of East Asia a long time ago.

The result is lovely, and we enjoyed our vacation thoroughly.

Let me know if you have questions, or would like to see other photos