The Rif At Mangrove Beach Corendon Curacao All-inclusive, Curio By Hilton

Disappointed!!!Curacao was a bucketlist destination for us. I chose this hotel because I am a loyal Hilton Diamond member that frequents the brand weekly. The reviews look great and we booked with points for our stay. Upon our arrival, we were escorted to an exclusive "diamond suite" for check-in and greated with drinks. We were hit with the points only covered one guest and I would need to pay an additional $600 to gain access to the property because they were all-inclusive. It clearly states under diamond status otherwise on every other hilton property. We finally gave in and paid the extra money to receive the news that our room wouldn't be ready for another 2 hours, it was currently 2:30.The property is beautiful and nicely laid out. It is covered in travertine walkways, nice bungalows, tiki bars, private lagoons, and a small water park for the kids (awesome slide). The room was nice and spacious. We had reserved a swim-up room which sounded like a great idea at the time. We had a semi-private patio and direct access to a pool that was on the west side of the building. This meant no sun after lunch and with the wind, was too chilly to enjoy. Our biggest complaint is simple task as getting clean towels, having the room cleaned, and the constant construction noise that started daily at 7:30 am.They offer multiple restaurants across the property. Some are only available with a reservation. The reservation only restaurants are your best choice for food options. However, the food quality is subpar in comparison to low-budget cruise food. I do not suggest the non-resrvation restaurants at all. The buffet offered a ton of options, but everything was cold except for omelets that were freshly made if you chose to wait in the line. Being all-inclusive, drinks are free but limited to choices. We found that a lot of cocktails were impossible because they didn't have the ingredients to make them. The wine is cheap and sweet and beer is pretty much limited to Amstel bright and Heineken. Bottle water was a struggle to get at times as well.The beaches are man-made lagoons and are very rocky. Shoes are suggested. There was a lot of debris floating in the water here and it didn't feel clean like most other beaches we visited on the island. The bungalows were a nice addition, but needed to be sanitized. There are oil/sunscreen stains on most pillows and beds. Our view of the ocean was blocked by an oil rig that docked between the resort and the ocean. (See attached photo) The resort tried playing music to drown out the sounds of fork lifts, cranes and ship whistles everyday.We realized quickly that renting a car and exploring the island for it's many beaches/resorts and restaurants was they only way to truly enjoy this vacation. We found there are plenty of other options that would have been better suited to enjoy our stay. This property has a ton of potential and is severely mismanaged. If I had known about the constant construction noise and port traffic I would have reconsidered my reservation and extra fees.

My most recent stay at The Rif, was disappointing. Check-in was quick, but I was not informed of a problem with the room I originally booked until later. I was then billed extra for an upgrade, which was frustrating. The upgraded room had only one king bed, even though we were three guests, and it took a long time for the additional bed to arrive.The worst part of the stay was the poor food quality and the lack of staff friendliness. The staff at the buffets and restaurants were disorganized, and their friendliness was almost nonexistent. It was so chaotic in the 'restaurants' that we had to bring our own drinks from the buffet bar because service was so slow and inefficient.There were also issues with the room itself—some power outlets didn’t work, the provided steamer was broken and never replaced, and the air conditioning barely functioned, mostly acting as a fan. Room service took nearly two hours to deliver small plates of food.On the positive side, the hotel is clean, the pool is nice, and the beach access was enjoyable. However, based on the overall experience—especially the bad food, unfriendly staff, and disorganization—I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a great vacation. You’d likely have a better experience elsewhere.

The Rif is the latest Corendon hotel in Curacao and is next to the older one. When staking at the Rif you can use all the restaurants and beaches from both. Good restaurants and also very nice cocktails. Free beach towels every day and even in the rooms you have big bottels with shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. Very nice a big rooms. Make sure to book a room on the ground floor facing outside. These ones have a swimming pool.

So I'm currently staying at the riff as I write this review. We arrived 9/16 for my fiance bday and are leaving the 22... we have the room with the walk out pool. Which we currently are not able to use because there's broken glass on the inside and outside of the pool area. I jumped in the pool and after a few minutes cut my toe on very sharp small glass. I've complained multiple times so so someone can come and clean ot and they have not done so. I payed extra to have the pool which I'm not able to enjoy due to the lack of attention to the cleaning of the glass. It's visible on the walk way leading up to the pool as well. Which I have photographs of.

Okay, so this will be a long review as I need to mention many names of the excellent workers at the Rif at Mangrove Beach. We traveled there Aug 5-13 and what a glorious 9 days it was - we sure did not want to leave. First, at the desk, as you check in, you are kindly greeted by the lovely Ella (and I hope she enjoyed her own vacation as we had her almost to the end of ours and then she left to enjoy her time) Ella was kind and pleasant from the moment we checked in and anytime we stopped at the desk, she helped us with a number of requests and things and we thank her sincerely for her hospitality! She should be commended! Next at the desk, we have Yannick, what a cool dude and so kind every moment we stopped by, even with the busy desk and constant calls, Yannick, and Ella, always maintained their cool and stayed professional. Another desk agent who was amazing is Timo, what a kind, young gentleman and always friendly and smiling. Timo also did his best to help us with various questions/needs and we are so grateful for the kindness this desk staff has shown us as first time visitors of Curacao!! Muhammed, our happy, smiling bell boy, what a kind young man and always there whenever we needed a hand. Polite and truly seemed happy to assist! Thank you to the front desk staff all around!Now on to the housekeeping, our lady was Yulis, and she is a gem and a wonderful housekeeper! She was ALWAYS friendly, kind, smiling and so nice to talk to briefly as we passed her in the hall. Hard working and so sweet! Thank you Yulis for your fabulous cleaning of our rooms, they were always perfect! Now onto our food/drink service people: My girl Shardienne at Mondi Cafe! She was phenomenal every time we stopped in, which was often, and she never let you leave without feeling content, she offered smiles, laughter and good conversation. What a lovely soul! Another lovely one from Mondi is Marvy, so very friendly and sweet, each worker as pleasant as the next and since this was our favorite anytime cafe for coffees and delicious cakes, we saw these ladies everyday all day! Mary, Marvy's sister, also works at Mondi and was just as kind as her sister. This really is an all-family and friendly place where you feel at home.At the Otrobanda buffet for breakfast, we had our girl Rachelle almost everyday, minus 2 days when we ate at the Harbor bistro. Rachelle always seemed happy to see us and she was so helpful and pleasant and friendly. I cannot say enough about how friendly each of these workers are, and we are from Boston so we know when people are unkind! Along with the lovely Rachelle, is Miangelica, who served us at Harbor Bistro and I believe, Annika? My apologies if I did not spell it correctly, I literally wrote down all the names I could remember so I could write a glowing review as they deserve recognition for making our stay as lovely as it was! Miangelica and Annika were so sweet and made us feel like family.At the pool bar, we had so so many wonderful bartenders and staff - Omer, the shift manager, was such a cool guy and made my fiance and I some very creative drinks and adjusted them to our liking. He was always up for creating something yummy! Then we have Hamed and Zheno who were so happy to help us and offered great conversation and made sitting at the bar by the palm trees such a fun experience. It was already a magical place and all these people made it so much better!The food was very good and the buffet always had a great variety, the drinks, even non-alcoholic such as smoothies and frozed drinks, were so delicious, and the pool and beach were clean and inviting. The rooms were always clean and AC was cold! We will definitely go back to Curacao and visit our friends at the Rif at Mangrove Beach Corendon, we feel like we left family behind! Thank you everyone for an unforgettable experience and we look forward to seeing you again! xoxo Dushi!!!

The stay was pleasant, the hotel is beautiful and quiet. The beach is small but clean and pleasant. The food and drinks are very good. The staff of Turkish origin are excellent, a 10. Special thanks to Ömer, who was very professional and always with a smile on the lips and available and helped us every time with absolutely everything we needed during our stay in the hotel.Also thanks to the bar staff Giuly, Kan, Emre, Semith.Tiffany from the reception, very nice and who helped us with the check out .I gave 4 stars because when we came, although we had a late check-in around 20:30, there was no towel, bathrobe or slippers in the room. Apart from towels, I didn't receive anything during the entire stay. .And because, although I knew that the hotel was still under construction, it didn't seem normal for me to be woken up by the noise of drilling machines every morning at 8, including Sundays.

As an avid hotel enthusiast, I want to share my experiences at The Rif. Here are my thoughts:Service: A huge thanks to Semih and Ebubekir for their exceptional service, especially Ebubekir at the Sunset Bar. Also, Miangelica at Harbor made our mornings delightful with her smile and delicious mimosas.Location: The hotel is conveniently located, just a 20-minute taxi ride from the airport. You can walk to Willemstad in about 20 minutes. For nightlife, you’ll need a car or an expensive taxi to get to Jan Thiel or Mambo Beach.Construction: Be aware that construction is ongoing. There’s noise from the outdoor gym and work on the 4th floor, starting early. Even the beach has bulldozers and cranes. If you’re focused on your company, it might not bother you much, but don’t expect complete tranquility.Staff: The Turkish staff at The Rif are incredibly friendly and hardworking. Other staff members seem tired but are still polite and professional, though they may not have time for long chats.Food: The food is generally good with plenty of choices. Some dishes might not be worth a second try, but the variety is impressive. The à la carte restaurants could use more ambiance, like candles or tablecloths. The buffet offers a wide selection, especially at lunch. The drinks are great, brands are provided. Cocktails are great and fresh made (even with decorations sometimes). You can sit or have a drink in a lot of places during wide opening hours. Great!Tips: Unlike other resorts, The Rif lacks spontaneous “wow” moments like fruit at your beach chair or surprise pool foam parties. Adding these touches could enhance the experience. And and advice to the management is to be more visible. During a 14-day stay. I did not see a manger overlooking the hotel.Rooms: The rooms are modern and comfortable with beautiful bathrooms and a huge smart-tv. The AC did a great job and the bed was perfect. However, we did experience a few days without towels, which was quite unprofessional.Overall, we had a fantastic vacation. The modern, new building and facilities contributed greatly to our experience. The individual staff members I mentioned earlier made our stay extra special. We are grateful for our time here; it was unforgettable. There is some room for improvement in the initial phase.

The room doesn’t get cleaned and there’s mold in the room. When we arrived there were stains on the pillows and bedsheets. We had to ask 4 days in a row to change them before the sheets actually got changed. Those “new” sheets also had stains. There was hair and dirt on the floor from before we arrived that they just left there for days. We had to clean it up because they didn’t. The towels didn’t get replaced when needed. They also made a fence on our terrace but they just left the pieces of wood on the terrace after they were done. The food you can get at the beach at lunch is almost always cold when you tell them that it’s cold they just laugh at your face. The people at the reception don’t do anything with the complaints. Very good bartender at the beach : Semih.

Overall, a fantastic girls trip! A/C, shower and beds are great and comfortable, although we did have to ask a few times for more towels or for the room to be cleaned. The location is great as you have access to mangrove beach resort as well. There was a large sea drill ship docked in front of our ocean view the whole trip which was a little loud and annoying. The service and staff are the best of the best. Specifically, our favorite bartenders Semih, Kaan, Batu, and Xavior made amazing unique cocktails and were genuinely kind and willing to go the extra mile to make sure we were having a great time.

I had a great time at this resort. I stayed there August of 2024 with a party of 5 people. The Staff are all friendly, happy, helpful, and quick on their feet. The food was good at the buffet and at the restaurants. Lots of choices of food, drink, and snacks. No long wait to get food at the buffet or drinks at the bars. The water in the beach was very pleasant. I wished we had the option of the not so deep pool on the adult side for people who can't swim or afraid of deep water. I also think that if the hotel includes an indoor cooling lounge on hot days, that would be great. Entertainment needs improvements. I will definitely return to this resort again in the future.