Anyone been to Curacao or Nevis?

My wife and I are the lucky recipients of a couple of free round-trip tickets to the Caribbean. We wanted to go somewhere that lacks U.S. tourists/high-rise beach resorts/chain restaurants/etc. Anyway, we have it narrowed down to either Curacao or Nevis.

Now on to the LTH question. Has anyone been to either and, if so, do you have any food recommendations?

Thanks!

Josh

I've been to Nevis and really enjoyed it. Of course, it could be because I was at the Four Seasons . Yes, it was redonkulously expensive, but since you've got free air fare, maybe it'd be worth the splurge. This was several years ago so I can't recall any specifically remarkable meals but I don't remember any BAD meals at the resort either. We didn't leave the resort, honestly, there's not a whole lot going on on the island outside of the hotels. If you're looking for an experience that is more than laying on the beach and relaxing, I'd suggest going to one of the bigger islands that are a little busier.

I've only been to Nevis on day trips from St. Kitts (30 minutes by ferry, 5 minutes by air), sometimes to the Four Seasons for golf. St. Kitts/Nevis are beautiful islands -- you will not find more picturesque spots. I've been to St. Kitts four times and can help you out more there since I never stayed on Nevis.

St. Kitts is my favorite of the Caribbean Islands, next to St. Barths . . . and of course far less expensive. There are not a heck of a lot of visitors to St. Kitts/Nevis period, although with the addition of the Marriott to St. Kitts, you will find some more US tourists than there used to be, but still not many and they tend to stay on the grounds of the Marriott. I find that most people have never heard of St. Kitts/Nevis. In any event, be it St. Kitts or Nevis, you will not find traffic or crowds anywhere you go, whether it be the beach or a fine restaurant. I find it such a relaxing place to be. You will also find nicer people than anywhere else in the Caribbean. That's why I keep returning.

In terms of things to do, there are many nice beaches, an old fortress several hundred years old, a rain forest and volcano, all making for some spectacular views and hikes. Needless to say, I cannot say enough great things about St. Kitts.

Also, while I heard so many great things about the food on St. Martin, I find the food on St. Kitts to far surpass that of St. Martin, and it was far less expensive. There are several outstanding restaurants serving great examples of Caribbean cuisine. I have only dined twice on Nevis so I cannot help as much with their dining scene.

Asking again, 4 years later...

We finalized our trip details today for 6 nights/5 days in Curacao in February. As much as we loved our most recent trip to Prague and Vienna, we decided it was time to plop ourselves on an island and just relax. Although I'm sure we'll do some exploring too. I want to check out the floating market and the Marsche Bieuw (old market) in Willemstad. Perhaps we will do some cooking as we will have a full kitchen.

Anyone been that can share some recommendations (or places to avoid?)

Thanks, Lynn

The tour of the place that makes Blue (and orange and green and white...) Curacao liquer is fun. I seem to recall a good rum producer, too...

We went to Curacao on our honeymoon! After that trip, I went out and got a grilled sandwich maker because I was addicted to tosti!

Marche Bieuw is great. There are local food stalls there and as I recall the one closer to the entrance is the best one. There was also a pub like restaurant on the street directly in front of the bridge, called Plein Cafe. It is next to the KFC. Their daily specials are well priced and very good.

We stayed at the Renaissance and rented a car to go around the island. There is an awesome seafood place near the Breezes resort called Sea Side Terrace. I think we went there almost every day for their conch in garlic... It was very reasonably priced. Near Seaside Terrace is a local place called Golden Star. Also really good.

Avoid Scampi's and all those restaurants by the Waterfront... overpriced and mediocre...

Let me know if you are planning on renting a car. The place we rented from was pretty reasonable and friendly. If you are scuba divers, diving there is pretty easy too.

Thanks!

Glad to hear the market will be worthwhile. I love conch so will definately follow-up on that tip.

CrazyC - Our hotel is slightly off the beaten path so we do plan to rent a car. They have a Hertz rep on-site, but when we get closer to departure I'll PM you if you don't mind - won't hurt to "shop around."

Guess it wasn't Curacao for the rum, but here's the info for the distillery tour for the Blue Curacao

http://www.curacaoliqueur.com/

We loved Curacao! I highly recommend it for a relaxing vacation, if you're looking to snorkel or dive, and/or want someplace with a little less tourist traffic.

We stayed at the Floris Suite Hotel and were very pleased with our choice. It's not on a beach, but there is free beach access a 5 minute walk away and a very nice pool area.
Floris Lobby:

DSCN0717 by MsLynnB, on Flickr


DSCN1029 by MsLynnB, on Flickr
The hotel has an open-air fine dining restaurant called Sjalotte. As we didn't get settled-in until 9pm, we opted to have a couple of appetizers there as dinner. The tuna tartar with curry aioli and peppery mixed greens was very good. Slightly less successful was the bacon-wrapped scallops. The bacon needed to be crispier and the scallops didn't have much sear. The greens, vinaigrette, and especially the heirloom tomatoes served on the side were quite nice. 4 glasses of wine with the two apps brought the bill up to $73. Worth it for the convenience that first night and the lovely atmosphere, but we would only dine here one more time during our stay.

Floris Suite Hotel
Sjalotte Restaurant
http://www.florissuitehotel.com

We slept in on Saturday and eventually wandered down to the beach for some sun and lunch. Hook's Hut is a fun place for a casual lunch, some drinks, and just to hang out. It is located at the beach access I mentioned (accross the street from Foris, just east of the Hilton and Marriott.

Hook's Hut:

DSCN1027 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

We had a couple of Tosti sandwiches - Tomato, Leek, Mozzarella, and Pesto for me, Ham, Cheese, and Pineapple for Jonathan.

Getting into vacation mode at Hook's:

DSCN1028 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Hook's Hut
http://www.hookshut.com/eng

This was a lazy day for us. For dinner, we took a cab to Willemstad without any sort of plan. After wandering around for a while, wound-up at the very place CrazyC said to avoid - Scampi's.
Foodwise, it was exactly as she described - overpriced and mediocre. Atmosphere-wise, it was lovely. Too dark for photos, but picture the waves lightly crashing in, live music, lots of people-watching... Service was good. We had a nice time.

I didn't do a lot of research/planning for this trip. The idea was just to go, relax, and wander. However, this lead us to making the mistake of cabbing it back to Willemstad for lunch on Sunday. There was almost nothing open. Shops being closed didn't surprise me, but I was taken aback by the limited options for food. We wound up at a cafe that was great for watching ships go by, but pretty lousy for food. I didn't even write the name of place down.

"Crab" Sandwich:

DSCN1030 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

As I was eating this, I started having my doubts as to weather or not it was even real crab. Oh, well - nice view and cold beers. Plus, entertainment:

DSCN0753 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Sunday dinner was at Floris. A flyer in our room advertized Sunday BBQ Buffet featuring foods cooked on our Big Green Egg. Sold! This was one of our favorite meals of the trip.

DSCN1032 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

The fish parcels were served in the foil. I know it doesn't look like much, but man, these were so good! I had 3. Peanut sauce was the perfect companion. The grilled corn on the cob was brushed with cinnamon butter.

Jonathan also sampled the chicken and beef skewers and the house-smoked sausage.
I sampled a small piece of the sausage and concured it was quite good.

DSCN1034 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Proof of Big Green Egg (taken the next day:)


DSCN1048 by MsLynnB, on Flickr
Monday morning we picked-up our rental car and headed to the grocery store to stock up on breakfast items, beverages, and a few snacks. Another plus for the Floris - ample kitchen space.

DSCN0726 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Now that we had the car, we decided to seek out CrazyC's rec of Sea Side Terrace. Looked promising:

DSCN1046 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Unfortunately, it was very closed and looked like it had been for some time. Windows boarded up, street signs removed and leaning against the side of the building... We were bummed but there was a open restaurant right next door so we headed there instead.

DSCN1047 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

We both got the garlic shrimp. One order with a side of rice, one with Funchi (polenta,) and then split the sides. The shrimp were wonderful and the garlic sauce was addictive. Setting was very picturesque.

DSCN1042 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

DSCN1043 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Surf & Turf
http://www.surfenfurf-curacao.com/engels

Valentine's Day Dinner - wanted to keep it casual. Thanks, CrazyC for the head's-up on Plein Cafe - a great spot with amazing food for the price. It was really dark when we ate, so none of my pics turned out that night. I had a local fish prepared sort-of "veracruz" style with tomato sauce, onions, and peppers. Jonathan enjoyed a well-prepared tenderloin.

Plein Cafe Wilhelmina
19-23 Punda
no website

Tuesday morning we breakfasted en suite:

DSCN1055 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Next, we headed to the markets. I always enjoy strolling around local markets whenever we travel.

DSCN0740 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

It was a fairly hot day. Spotted this and had to grab a couple (beverages, not the guys ):

DSCN1057 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Pineapple and Strawberry:

DSCN1056 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

We enjoyed our dinner at Plein Cafe so much that we decided to go back for lunch and were not disappointed.

DSCN0759 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Jonathan's "Gyros":

DSCN1058 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

My Goat Cheese Salad and Tomato Soup:

DSCN1059 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

DSCN1060 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

It was a day of "repeats" for us with dinner at Hook's Hut. They advertized live jazz on Tuesday nights which influenced our decision to go back. The dinner menu is a little more upscale than at lunch.

Hook's at night:

DSCN1072 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

I started with the Escargot (which tasted way better than it looks in my lousy photo.) Jonathan went with the crabcakes. We both were pleased with our entrees - amazingly fresh Snapper for me, Chicken Satay for Jonathan. Appologies for the particularly bad job I did with the photos.

DSCN1075 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

DSCN1076 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

DSCN1077 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

DSCN1078 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Wednesday morning we took a driving tour of Christoffel Park. I highly reccomend doing this. The terrain is beautiful and we saw lots of birds, iguanas, and even a deer. Lots of cactus too:

DSCN0780 by MsLynnB, on Flickr


DSCN0779 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

On the way back, we spent a couple of hours at Cas Abou.

DSCN1082 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

It was mid-afternoon by the time we got back to Floris, so we decided to cross the street and hang-out at the Hilton pool bar, grab a bite, and have a few drinks. We were highly amused by the "resident" iguanas. Not so much by the food, but we weren't really expecting much in that department.

Super-bland Hilton tuna salad sandwich with what they called a "side salad:"

DSCN1086 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Jonathan's Chicken "Caesar?"

DSCN1085 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

They do make a decent Margarita:

DSCN1089 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

I could watch these guys all day. Seriously.

DSCN1090 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

DSCN1088 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

We topped off our vacation with a blow-out dinner at Bistro Le Clochard in Willemstad. Our experience was top-notch in every way - atmosphere, service and food. We were served a lovely amuse of fresh tuna and avocado. I started with escargot again as I was intrigued by it's being served atop saurkraut. It worked for me. Jonathan began with tuna carpaccio. Our entrees were both from the specials menu. Red Snapper with risotto, fresh vegetables, and saffron sauce for me, beef tenderloin with bleu cheese fondue and tempura vegetables for Jonathan. A dessert of banana "croquettes" was slightly less successful but that didn't stop us from polishing it off.

DSCN1094 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

DSCN1095 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

DSCN1096 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Bistro Le Clochard
Riffort Otrabanda
http://www.bistroleclochard.com

An aside, picked this up at the grocery store. Based on it's location, I assumed it was some kind of cheese spread. Got some crackers to go with. Hmmm... doesn't really taste like cheese. Crab spread?

DSCN1068 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

DSCN1067 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Finally came to the conclusion it was potato salad.

I had hoped to have more creole-type cuisine during this trip, but it didn't work out that way. We tried for lunch in Westpunt on Wednesday, but every place we went was closed. Not sure if they are seasonal or just not open for weekday lunch. Phone first, or be prepared to roll with it and move on as we did. I was thrilled with all the fresh fish and seafood I was able to enjoy (even the conch I had at Scampi's was good.) Overall, we ate well and had a great time.

Farewell, Curacao...

DSCN1051 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Never been to Curacao, but Nevis is incredible. Sounds like you can't go wrong with either though...

LynnB, looks like you had a great time! Happy my recs came in handy! I agree about Scampi's though, the view was amazing! Sad to hear about Sea Side Terrace! I really loved that place and still remember it fondly!