Papagayo Beach Resort is a four and a half star property in the Jan Thiel area on the south coast of Curaçao, a short walk above Jan Thiel Beach. You stay in a stand-alone villa rather than a hotel room, each with a full kitchen, so you can self-cater or add the all-inclusive package, served at Papagayo Beach Club. Suzy Visser styled the villas with the Dutch collective Moooi. It suits families, groups and longer stays.

Villas run from two-bedroom homes sleeping five to a five-bedroom Presidential Suite sleeping ten, with garden or partial ocean views. Two- and three-bedroom villas measure around 140 square metres and have air conditioning only in the bedrooms, though the balcony doors open the living room to the breeze. Deluxe villas and the suites are air-conditioned throughout, and the Royal and Presidential Suites add a private pool. Every villa has a kitchen, dishwasher, Nespresso machine, safe, private porch, daily cleaning and free Wi-Fi.

Fundiving Curaçao, next to the Beach Club, runs try dives and PADI courses. Blue Coast Watersports covers jet ski tours, tubing, ATV rides and buggy trips. Beach tennis courts are at Jan Thiel. Buladó Charters takes up to ten people out for around three hours through Spanish Water, Santa Barbara, Fuik Bay and Caracasbaai, or on a sunset cruise. The front desk books dolphin experiences and jeep tours, and Jan Thiel Beach runs live music and happy hours.

Three pools are open daily from 7 am to 7 pm. Everyone staying can use the resort pool, which includes a separate kids' pool. Beach service and VIP cabanas are located at the infinity pool, which faces the Caribbean Sea. A third pool is reserved for the hotel. Your beach pass covers entry to Jan Thiel Beach. At The Challenge, one of the largest fitness centres on the island, you get group classes, personal training, a sauna and an infrared cabin.

The resort area holds five places to eat. Papagayo Beach Club Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner beside the infinity pool from 7 am to 11 pm. Sakura by Papagayo covers sushi, sashimi and wok dishes. Papagayo Beach Bar handles drinks and light bites until 11 pm. Frietboetiek serves fries and snacks, and Mojitos and Bites at the Plaza offers burgers, pizzas, and live sports. The Van der Tweel supermarket at the hotel stocks your villa kitchen.

Jan Thiel Beach is on your doorstep, and the beach clubs, restaurants and shops along it stay busy into the evening. Papagayo Beach Plaza holds boutiques, a casino, a spa, car hire desks and a snack bar. The Van der Tweel supermarket opens daily from 7:30 am to 9 pm. Willemstad, with Punda and Otrobanda, is about twenty minutes by car, and the airport is 35 to 45 minutes away. A bus stop is in front of the resort, and the front desk books taxis.