The Reef At Blue Bay Golf & Beach Resort

“We loved Curacoa and its people. The comments above are limited to The Reef. We'll return and stay somewhere else.”

High expectations met with disappointing, mediocre experience. The pluses: great views with beautiful grounds, golf course and pool. Although we didn't golf, it was obvious the course was lovely. Better than good location, but we definitely needed and used the rental car. The availability to u… more

High expectations met with disappointing, mediocre experience. The pluses: great views with beautiful grounds, golf course and pool. Although we didn't golf, it was obvious the course was lovely. Better than good location, but we definitely needed and used the rental car. The availability to use the Blue Bay resort beach was a plus, but we found the entrance and exit to The Reef ridiculously complicated. We'd been told ( by the check-in-person) we only needed to tell the gate that we were guests. Turned out we needed codes on our phones to get in and out. How about just a printed guest pass for the car?! Our condo #32 was clean with a beautiful view. Be ready to climb stairs -- 3rd floor and no elevator. The beds were comfortable, and the air conditioners were greatly appreciated. As directed, we turned them off when we left for portions of the day. Waiting to see if what they told us about our electric quota being "plenty" turns out to be accurate. The deck veranda was clean, if you don't count two dead plants. Cushions could stand a good laundry. We're experienced travelers, having been "pretty much everywhere", and have come to expect better than the minimum amenities. This didn't meet that. Some of this may be management issues, some may be owner issues. No directions for the use of anything -- tv, oven, washer, etc. And we looked. Wasted valued vacation time trying to figure out everything. We're 4 experienced cooks, including one engineer; so, this wasn't ineptness on our part. No grill, though they seemed to be allowed on the bottom floors. Poorly equipped kitchen. 4 dinner plates, really? Yet, they want us to conserve water... Terrible, beat up cookware. Either the owner doesn't cook or thinks no one else does. There was no dish soap or paper towels and two rolls of toilet paper for 4 people for 8 days. So, yes, we bought more and left it. Plus a couple kitchen utensils we needed. Two towels each bathroom, but no bathmat and one each dishcloth and towel. We asked for additional shampoo after a couple days and were told "no" -- one per visit. (Yes, I always pack some "just in case".) We did appreciate the beach towels provided upon request. Check-in and out comments: We waited over an hour at the airport for the prearranged tax service to Coral and Coco office. The young man checking us in was polite and helpful. There was no golf cart available to take us and our bags -- we're in our 70's and not up to climbing 3 flights of stairs with bags. Thankfully, true to his word, he brought them up later. We were told, "if you need anything, just give us a call". The last bit of good service we got. Our prearranged rental car was delivered 2+ hours after the appointed time, despite my husband calling repeatedly. Based on that, was asked for an addition of those hours onto our departure day, as we two couples were leaving on different flights - and we paid for those lost hours, after all. Offered 30 minutes more. We asked for a late-checkout and were told no. Understandable but just a "heads up".

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