Where to stay? Best house reef? Dilemma

[AdivingBel]

https://bonairebeachcombervillas.com/pdf/reviews.pdf

Beachcomber Villas

This is where we like to stay. The reviews and website describe it pretty well. Feel free to pm me with questions if it looks interesting. Better yet contact Walther & Nicole directly. They're really nice. Have fun.

 

[scubadada]

https://bonairebeachcombervillas.com/pdf/reviews.pdf

Beachcomber Villas

This is where we like to stay. The reviews and website describe it pretty well. Feel free to pm me with questions if it looks interesting. Better yet contact Walther & Nicole directly. They're really nice. Have fun.

Thanks for the recommendation, what is the house reef?

 

[wwguy]

Thanks for the recommendation, what is the house reef?

Beachcomber Villas

 

[AdivingBel]

Thanks for the recommendation, what is the house reef?

The Cliff

 

[Trailboss123]

+1 for Den Laman- a definite big step above Hamlet Oasis in terms of comfort and quality of accommodations. Easier entry and exit from the house reef also. Hamlet is a nice budget choice, but not that much less expensive than Den Laman, actually. I think the recommendations you have been getting so far are all great options and have small nuances to them that will fit better for some people rather than others. We all have some little things that float our boat and make the difference for us; and coincidentally, all of the choices so far are within about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile from one another on the north end of town.

 

[diversteve]

Bari Reef is arguably one of the best house reefs. Den Laman probably the nicest resort mentioned so far - except no pool. They have a restaurant at times - IDK who is currently occupying the space.
Literally next door is Sand Dollar condos - Eddies is a poolside restaraunt there. Next to it is Buddy Dve then Habitat - both have at least one restaurant option. There;s also Between the Buns streetside. Dive Friends has the dive shop at Den Laman now, - they do boat dives from their dock - there's 25 sites across the channel at Klein Bonaire so maybe do a few of them..
There's also another DF at Sand Dollar on the street side and an ATM. You can also access Cliff from Habitat's dock - we did. Plus the LaMachaca wreck but don't make a special trip - spend 5mins. on it after Cliff.

South of Den Laman is the Coco Beach Club - south of it is Eden Beach - they have sort of a beach club/restaurant there - Spice Beach?.All these properties are adjacent and easy walking distance - most oriented perpendicular to the water so if the west ocean view is of interest - Den Laman's is best. Some of the Habitat units have a garden view - only the newer ones are actually waterfront Same with Buddy's the right units have the view but some are blocked by the resort buildings.

You can get a sense of a lot of it by using Google Earth at the right zoom level. There's even a plug-in that maps about 60 of the dive sites so you can get a sense of those. South of town, food options are very limited - afaik only the new Delphins resort has a restaurant. Or the Courtyard but it's on the lagoon and set back - no dive there. We like Belmar Condos which are a more upscale property but food is literally a 5min. drive to town from there. And not the best house reef but the 30+ shore dive sites start 5mins. south. Buddy Dive is also on-site there and they keep a boat there Hotel Roomer nearby has a restaurant - we ate breakfast there once. It's a pretty small property though - and a block inland.

I'd stay around Den Laman somewhere - there's enough dfood choices nearby and you can see from the pictures - it's a nicer property. The only downside there is no pool and the studios face inland - the bigger units all face the water.

The Divi is in town. Near the cruise dock (Town Pier) which only sees day traffic. Divi's house reef is not the best - the shallows were pretty beat up some years ago in a storm. The advantage it has is walking distance to all the good restaurants downtown. The disadvantage is only one other dive nearby other than their house reef - at another Dive Friends location at Yellow Sub on the north end of town. It's farther than I'd want to walk with gear. If there's cruise divers in - that;s often where they go - the Divi does not allow walk-ins.

I know a lot of people like Hamlet but I'm not one of them. It's fronted by a row of private villas so the view is obstructed. No food there - at the south end of the neighborhood is Habitat. Rumrunners was decent but service (like most fo Bonaire) was slow. Fun to watch the tarpon feed at night in the resort lights.

I sort of catered this post based on your desire to walk places for dinner plus a good house reef.

 

[Jersey]

+1 for diversteve post above. Google earth that section of Bonaire - you can see all the properties, all within a very reasonable walk, good restaurants, great stretch of reef. None are what I would call 'corporate' properties. A bunch are privately owned. You can also find everything from hotel rooms to multi-bedroom units within here.

Doubt you can wrong.​

Please don't limit your food choices to what is close. Go into town, have a mojito at Cuba Compagnie & watch the world go by, get the hummus at the Mezze, seek out Mi Banana for Tres Leches cake and try some of the other fantastic restaurants available. I'm always kind of disappointed when we talk to others who never leave the resort for food. SO many options!

 

[Kksmama]

This is all getting much clearer thanks to all of you. Can anyone address the dive logistics at Den Laman, Sand Dollar, Coral Paradise? I love shore diving (dislike being time limited by boats), but I read elsewhere and I agree that sometimes it is like camping - the schlepping and hot sun and logistics. I think I read that at Den Laman they have tanks on the pier, and then you just jump in from there? That sounds more like a live aboard, and we will dive more if hauling tanks is minimized.

 

[Kksmama]

Please don't limit your food choices to what is close. Go into town, have a mojito at Cuba Compagnie & watch the world go by, get the hummus at the Mezze, seek out Mi Banana for Tres Leches cake and try some of the other fantastic restaurants available. I'm always kind of disappointed when we talk to others who never leave the resort for food. SO many options!

You had me at mojito! I don't want to be a "corporate resort" person, at least not 24/7.

 

[drbill]

I enjoyed my stay at Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn, but I have no clue as to how its house reef compares to others. It probably wouldn't meet your needs since it had no dining facilities, but I didn't mind the walk to the grocery store.