What a terrible experience. I travel internationally about 70% of the time, and this is one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had anywhere in the world.

I stayed at Kura Hulanda on February 21. I booked two rooms and pre-paid my reservations via Expedia.

When we first checked in to the rooms in the afternoon, they were nice and cool. By the time we returned late in the evening, both rooms were not nearly as cool. One of the rooms was very warm and I could not get the air conditioning to work.

I called the front desk and reported the problem around 10pm. A maintenance man came to the room and tried to fix the unit. Soon a woman also showed up at our room, and together the man and woman tried to figure out why the air conditioner was not working. They replaced the batteries in the remote control, but the screen display was still very dim and they had a hard time reading it. After several minutes of trying to figure out the remote, they advised that it was now working correctly and left.

I went to bed around 11pm, and woke up sweating at around 130am. The air conditioner was off and the room was hot. I tried to look at the remote control to see why it was off, but the display on the remote was so faint that I couldn’t read it. I believe that the man and woman who came to my room to “fix” the air conditioner actually made the problem worse by possibly setting a timer, so that the air conditioner went off automatically a few hours after they left. I finally got the air conditioner to turn back on, but I woke up again around 4am and it was off again.

The maintenance man may have also made the room much more humid by activating the “Humid” feature on the remote control. The room was much more humid in the morning than it was when we checked in.

At about 530am I went to the front desk and reported the problem. The front desk agent said he would report the problem to the agent who would be working the front desk at 7am. I saw him write it down in a notebook.

I also advised him that the air conditioner in the 2nd room was not working properly, and saw him write that in the notebook.

I also advised that the hair dryer in one of the rooms was not working, and he wrote that down in the notebook.

I called Expedia to report these problems, and when they contacted the hotel, they were advised that they were unaware of these problems, and I would need to write a letter/email of explanation to the hotel. I did so a couple of days after my stay, and did not receive any response. After one week, I called the hotel multiple times, and was always given the run-around, finally being told to re-send the letter/email to Yoyce Goilo Mendez, the Sales and Marketing Manager.

I did receive a response from Ms. Goilo Mendez, but she referred me back to Expedia, saying that "I can't refund a money that I didn't get directly". She did not even address my problems or offer any explanation/apology.

Expedia says that the hotel manager must authorize any refund.

Every time I called the hotel, I was told that the General Manager, Ms. Monet, was "out of town" and she never called me back or sent a response to my emails. At one point, I did receive a response from Expedia saying that my request for a partial refund was "refused by the hotel".

To date, I have spent nearly 20 hours sending emails, calling, and corresponding with the hotel directly and with Expedia with no result. Very disappointing and frustrating to say the least.

Beautifully restored cottage type housing. Very European simple accommodations. Staff are attentive and friendly. Breakfast offerings were numerous so if you left hungry it was your own fault. Mosquitoes are indeed prolific so bring your spray and spray your outside doors too before entering your room. Take your showers early in the evening if you want warm water; otherwise, cold it is. Enjoyed evening drinks with friends at the outside terrace, 2 pools on premises which were very clean. No swimming towels poolside, so pack your own. Great garden settings and just walking through the property transports you back in time. Enjoy the museum during your visit. It's a MUST SEE! Very quiet at night even though the property is located downtown. Very clean rooms. No coffee/tea makes in room...but breakfast staff kindly made a tea to go for me. Very relaxing place to stay and we couldn't get enough of the peace and tranquility this place offered.

I would recommend to anyone considering staying here that they read the story of the transformation of this property by Jacob Gelt Dekker. He transformed a slum into an interesting and unique place. The hotel is made up of 60 some odd old buildings (200+ years old) to resemble a small, late 18th century village. The cobblestone alleyways, courtyards, pools, and statues make it seem like a time warp. It is in the bustling city and yet it seems removed from the outside world. On Saturday morning, we walked out of the entrance and smack into a street market...The location of this property is excellent within walking distance of everything of note in Willemstad. One thing to remember, these buildings are old and you are in the Caribbean...things may not work (the staff is very prompt in addressing any issues) and the pace is slow. If when on vacation away from the US, you find yourself saying "this isn't how we do it at home" this might not be the place for you.