The views, front and back, are wonderful. Inside, the house is exactly as shown, however, neither the photos nor the satellite shots showed how close the newly built neighboring house is. The development is gated and private but the very steep roads and local construction traffic caused intermittent road noise during the day. The driveway is “crazy steep” and our rental Jeep struggled to make it up with 4 of us.
The proximity of the master bedroom to the neighbor’s parking area made for some early and late sleep disturbance.
Esmee was very proactive in the booking process and Monique was a great help during our stay. The villa was spotless and well equipped.
There is plenty of comfortable indoor and outdoor furniture. Most of our time was spent on the deck watching ships and wildlife. The colorful tropical birds were spectacular and tame. Although there are plentiful books, they are all in Dutch and we could not find a bookshop on the Island – so bring your vacation reading with you.
We were a party of 2 couples and we chose to use the master bedroom and the downstairs apartment giving us a lot of privacy and extra fridge space! The other 2 bedrooms are very small. The master was airy and the breeze made A/C unnecessary but the apartment bedroom got hot and the A/C was essential for sleep.
Poor lighting is a problem particularly in the kitchen and on the deck making it difficult to prepare and serve food after dark.
There is limited space for sunbathing around the pool and the pool is very deep with no shallow end.
Grande Bista sits on a ridge and gets strong winds at the back but the seaward side, deck and pool are well sheltered. We enjoyed the “natural air conditioning” and the view at the back of the house on hot afternoons.
One important point is that, despite being quoted in US Dollars, the rental fee was charged in Euros in Ireland. This caused a temporary problem with our credit card. Also, the renter is responsible for electricity and water charges (including running the pool).and this charge is deducted from the damage deposit. This seems to be normal in Curacao but adds an element of uncertainty to the final cost.
The private beach mentioned has a steep, rough access and the beach is rocky but is a great place to go for a swim. It’s worth the 10 ANG to get onto the beaches Northwest of the house as they are normally quiet and are unspoiled (take your cool box (there are several at the villa), drinks and a picnic.