Trupial Inn

Trupial Inn is a pleasant property named after the Troupial, a brightly-colored bird native to the Caribbean and South America. Sightings of this namesake bird and many other types of birds are common on the property’s verdant grounds. Stone pathways lined with greenery curve between low-rise guest room buildings with cheerful pastel facades. The inn’s tidy, contemporary rooms and facilities offer a good value, though the location is set apart from the beach and downtown Willemstad. (The inn does offer free shuttle service to both.) As with many properties on Curaçao, guests here are generally European -- you’ll mainly hear Dutch being spoken. The vibe is unhurried and peaceful, with most guests heading off property during the day to sightsee. While there is a casino on-site, families and couples will fit in equally well here.

Trupial Inn is set down a nondescript side street, just under a 15-minute drive from Punda, Willemstad’s main downtown shopping district. While the inn is slightly removed from the action of downtown, there are two major shopping centers (Promenade Shopping Center and Zuikertuin Mall) found less than a 15-minute walk away, giving guests lots of shopping and dining options. The nearest beach, Mambo Beach (also known as Seaquarium Beach), is a 10-minute drive away -- the hotel provides free shuttle service to and from the beach once a day and shuttles also run to downtown. This busy, man-made beach is a popular choice for families. The inn is about a 20-minute drive from Curaçao International Airport.

Trupial's guest rooms are clean and modern with tiled gray floors and platform beds. Teal blue or deep green accent fabrics pop against dark wood furniture and white bed linens. Wall-mounted flat-screen TVs hang above long desks, and all rooms include free Wi-Fi. In Deluxe Rooms, which are the most basic room category, narrow wall niches hold mini-fridges, one-cup coffeemakers, and microwaves. Superior Rooms and Suites have larger kitchenettes with hot plates, sinks, cutlery, and a few pieces of cookware like frying pans.Long vanities with square sinks and wall-mounted hairdryers are set just outside tiny bathrooms. The bathrooms have simple showers with glass walls or white shower curtains. Bars of soap are the only bath products provided. Each Deluxe and Superior Room has a shared front patio furnished with a pair of chairs and a table, while Suites open onto more private back-facing patios. All patios overlook the hotel’s pretty, garden-filled grounds. Suites also add separate living areas that include dining tables with colorful plastic chairs as well as daybeds. The layout in the Suite we viewed was somewhat awkward, with the daybed set in a corner, facing away from the TV. You might spot a few small maintenance issues -- for example, in our room, the sliding closet door was off its tracks and one of the flush buttons on the toilet was missing (but it was still functional).

Trupial’s line-up of on-site amenities check all the boxes you would expect from a mid-range property. The inn has a picturesque fresh water pool, with an eye-catching, built-in planter at its center. A row of stones separates a small, shallow section of water, which serves as the kids’ pool, from the main pool. The wooden deck bordering the pool is lined with cushy blue loungers and a couple of daybeds. A row of submerged seats along one side of the pool connects to Rosso Restaurant, which provides swim-up bar service. Rosso Restaurant also has a roomy dry seating area around the bar and a big interior dining area. The restaurant sports a modern, cheery, industrial look, decorated in a metallic gray color scheme with distressed woods and fire engine-red accents. Black-and-white portraits of Vespas and a vintage Fiat painted the colors of the Italian flag pay homage to the restaurant’s Italian menu. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner -- expect to pay for breakfast -- and occasionally has Happy Hour specials and live music performances. Trupial Inn’s casino is quite large considering the inn’s modest size. Over 100 slot machines and a few table games, including black jack and roulette, extend through its two rooms. The inn provides free shuttle service at fixed daily times to and from downtown Willemstad as well as Mambo Beach. Free Wi-Fi is offered throughout, and there’s free self-parking on-site.