Most of the action spins around the island's casinos: the Marriott Beach Resort, Piscadera Bay (tel. 599/9-736-8800); Holiday Beach Hotel & Casino, Otrabanda, Pater Euwensweg 31 (tel. 599/9-462-5409); Plaza Hotel & Casino, Plaza Piar, in Willemstad (tel. 599/9-461-2500); and Breezes Curaçao Resort, Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. 8 (tel. 599/9-736-7888).
Emerald Casino at the Marriott is especially popular, designed to resemble an open-air courtyard. It features 143 slot machines, 6 blackjack tables, 2 roulette wheels, 2 Caribbean stud poker tables, a craps table, a baccarat table, and a minibaccarat table. The casino at the Breezes Curaçao is the liveliest on the island. These hotel gaming houses usually start their action at 2pm, and some of them remain open until 4am.
The landlocked, flat, and somewhat dusty neighborhood of Salinja is now the nightlife capital of Curaçao. Club Zen/K-Oz Bar, 129 Salinjastraat (tel. 599/9-461-4443 or 599/9-696-7145), is one of the hottest clubs in Curaçao, drawing the bump-and-grind after midnight crowd. On most nights you pay a $10 (£5.20) cover to enter. On Thursday and Saturday nights, techno prevails at Zen. On Friday, the action switches upstairs to the stylish rooftop retreat K-Oz, where DJs rule the night. Among the other venues is Blues, in the Avila Beach Hotel, Penstraat 130 (tel. 599/9-461-4377), a restaurant with a hopping bar that's packed every night except Mondays. Live jazz is offered Thursday from 7 to 10pm and Saturday from 9pm to midnight, with no cover.
Club Façade, Lindbergh 32 (tel. 599/9-461-4640), in the Salinja district, is one of the most popular dance clubs on the island. Spread over several different levels of a modern building, it has a huge bar, three dance floors, and live music nightly. It's open Thursday and Friday from 8pm to 3am. The cover is $5 to $10 (£2.60-£5.20).
On Monday, Friday, and Saturday nights the place to be is Ole! Ole!, Salinja (tel. 599/9-461-7707), offering live jazz music. If you like to party on the beach, head for Hook's Hut, Piscadera Bay (tel. 599/9-462-6575). Jazz is a regular feature here, and it's also known to book the best local music on the island.
A pontoon boat, Mi Dushi, Baya Beach at the end of Caracas Bai St. (tel. 599/9-747-4489), is a floating club with a dance floor, three bars, and a full barbecue. Mi Dushi sails every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday 1 to 5pm, costing $60 (£31) for adults and $20 (£10) for children 12 and under.
