Bonaire Accomodations

[jhall]

Hey, all. My wife and I are going back to Bonaire in August. We stayed at the Plaza our first time and are wondering what are some good second ( or first ) choices. We're looking at Buddy Dive, Capt. Don's and a few others, but have no strong preferences. Don't want an AI, 'cause we love trying all the restaurants on the island. Thanks

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Depends on what you're looking for. My wife & I like more intimate, smaller places. We stayed at the Bellafonte in May 2004 and if we go back I'm sure we'd stay there again.

http://www.bellafonte-bonaire.com/

We were the only divers staying there that week, so we had the rinse tank & gear room to ourselves (as well as the deck / dock to ourselves for day or night dives).

 

[jhall]

really, we're open to anything. we like quaint, low-key style, but we want it to be pretty diver friendly / convenient. thanks for the recommendation of Bellafonte. I'll check it out.

 

[Martha]

We stayed at the BelMar in Dec. and loved it. It was nice having a kitchen. We usually ate breakfast and lunch at the condo & then went out to dinner each night. They partner with Buddy Dive for tanks/boat dives, which worked out fine. Tanks were available 24/7. We did mostly shore diving, but we saw a lot of people going out on the boats each day (picked them up right at the BelMar dock), so it couldn't be beat for convenience. We're going back in March (too bad it's so far away) and we'll be staying at the BelMar again.

Here's the link:
http://www.belmar-bonaire.com/

 

[Tamas]

When I was there in Feb/March we stayed at www.goldenreefinn.com , nice little private "resort" off the beaten path, very friendly owners and good prices. Rooms/place was clean and well appointed....no 5* hotel with concierge service and mints on the pillow, but if you are looking for a quite comfy little place then perfect.

 

[herman]

On water Buddy is my preference and off water it's Golden Reef Inn.

 

[jhall]

So far they all look good. Would you stay away from divi? It was recommended by a friend. I'm sort of leaning towards the "on water places"
Thanks

 

[Martha]

I've never stayed at the Divi, so I can't comment on that, but I would highly recommend staying on the water. Can't beat sitting out on the balcony, drinking an Amstel Bright, and watching the sunset. Oh, and one day watched a pod of ~ 10 dolphins swim by. Doesn't get much better than that! You can also get more information on accomodations by going to http://www.bonairetalk.com

 

[mjh]

Another vote for the BelMar and a trip report....

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=97803&highlight=bonaire+a+la+carte

 

[jhall]

well thanks to all. we decided on the divi for convenience and another recommendation. The belmar looks great but I think we wanted the "lazy american" breakfast included. I'll let you know how it looked.