This Independent Curacao Resort Is Adding 22 Rooms and a Pool You Rarely See in the Caribbean

The Kontiki Beach Resort Curacao is getting bigger. The family-owned property on Mambo Beach is adding 22 new rooms and suites plus a magnesium swimming pool, with the expansion set to welcome its first guests on Dec. 7.

The new Tropical Deluxe accommodations carry the resort's signature "jungle chic" look — open architecture, wood and stone finishes, and interiors threaded with greenery. "We listened closely to what our guests expect from a stay at The Kontiki: space, calm, and quality down to the last detail," said chief operating officer John Veensma.

The unusual centerpiece is the magnesium pool. Rather than relying solely on chlorine, magnesium systems use mineral-based treatment that tends to produce softer water with less odor — a wellness feature still rare in the Caribbean hotel market. It joins the resort's existing saltwater lagoons, which wind through the tropical gardens near many of the rooms.

The Kontiki is not a traditional all-inclusive. It sits along Curacao's lively Mambo Beach district near Willemstad, with guests moving between quiet garden pools and three beach clubs — Cabana, Mood, and Wet & Wild — just outside the gates.

The property opened in 2006, though the van der Valk family behind it has been in Curacao hospitality since 1988. "With this expansion, we're adding something that fits exactly with what Kontiki already stands for," said general director Terence van der Valk, framing the new wing as an investment in the resort's next 20 years.