Sun Reef Village on Sea

Sint Michiel, on Curaçao's west coast, is a fishing village built around a small bay, and Sun Reef Village on Sea sits on a low limestone clip just above the waterline. From the terrace, the Caribbean Sea runs unbroken to the horizon. Bungalows and houses are ranged along the clip in walled tropical gardens, each with its own stair down to a lower platform where the water is calm enough for swimming, snorkelling or diving straight off the rocks. The Barracuda and Dolphin bungalows keep to two and three bedrooms, furnished with mahogany or walnut beds, Italian tile bathrooms and Mexican sinks, and a covered sitting area with a table for six. The Grouper house stands apart from the main complex, with its own entrance, parking and an outdoor shower under a tree. Fishing boats still work out of the bay. Dolphins pass close to shore often enough that several bungalows carry a small bell to mark the sighting. A house reef sits just offshore, and the property runs its own dive school, taking divers out in small groups either there or to nearby sites. Wooden armchairs, working fireplaces doubling as barbecues and hanging lamps furnish the outdoor rooms. It is a quiet, low-built stretch of coast, closer to a village than a resort.