Curaçao's western coast has a big new all-inclusive. TUI BLUE Curaçao has started welcoming guests in Groot Santa Martha, a 297-room beachfront resort built on the old Coral Cliff Hotel site (later Sunset Waters Beach Resort). The phased opening began October 20, with the first bookable stays from November 16 at rates starting at $268 per night — a competitive price point for the island's all-inclusive market.
The draw here is the room mix. Alongside partial ocean view, ocean view and oceanfront categories, there are swim-up rooms whose terraces connect directly to a shared pool — step out and you're swimming before breakfast. Ocean view rooms run about 430 square feet with a king bed, sofa bed and balcony. Note the fine print: both swim-up categories require guests to be at least 13, so it's adults and teens at the pool edge. Families with younger kids can book ocean view family rooms with a sliding partition, or splash out on swim-up junior suites and suites with private pools.
The all-inclusive program covers meals, snacks and drinks including cocktails, wine and beer. Right now dining means buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner plus rotating pop-up à la carte dinners, with IVO Beach Restaurant & Bar on the sand, Thea's Reserve for coffee and light bites, and a Snack Court and Grab & Go in between. The full lineup — including signature à la carte restaurant Culinarium and Mesa Caribe with grilled meats, seafood and meze — is still rolling out. The permanent spa, gym, Sunset Pool & Bar and kids' splash pool are slated for December, with the opening-phase schedule running through February 1. If you book a November or December stay, check which facilities and restaurants are operating for your dates.
The real argument for Santa Martha is location. This is the quieter, hillier side of Curaçao, and the resort sits within about 15 minutes of Cas Abao Beach and 20 minutes of Christoffel National Park, with the Blue Room Cave — famous for the electric blue light at its sea-level entrance — also in easy reach. Willemstad is roughly 40 to 45 minutes by car. A rental car makes the most sense here: head out after breakfast, hit a beach or the park, and be back poolside by mid-afternoon.
Who it suits: travellers who want the ease of meals-and-drinks-included pricing but would rather base themselves near the west's coves and snorkelling spots than in the resort hubbub near the capital. It's family-friendly (with the swim-up age caveat), and it arrives just as Curaçao's all-inclusive scene grows — Marriott's adults-only Pyrmont recently opened in Willemstad, so the island now spans both ends of the spectrum. If you go during the soft-opening window, book flexible rates and confirm facilities ahead of time.
