Capt Dons- or BuddyDive ???

[Dgsmith]

I am going to Bonair the 4th of Dec. and not sure which resort. Buddy dive of Capt Dons. Has anyone stayed at both that could give me opinon?

 

[Mossman]

I've stayed at both. Might as well flip a coin. I prefer Capt. Don's, where I've stayed twice, but mainly because my rooms there were less crappy than my room at Buddy.

Buddy's shore entry is a bit easier, as you don't have the extra set of steps to negotiate between the dock and the gear room. Capt. Don's has lockable lockers while Buddy's gear room is open to the world (until 5 p.m. at which point it's only open to all the other Buddy guests and anyone else who knows where they hide the key). I preferred Buddy's breakfasts. Lion's Den at Buddy is good for dinner, but it's not as easy to charge to your room because it's separately owned. Capt. Don's has pizza. I didn't like Buddy's car rental arrangement, especially the group shuttle back to the airport when we had to wait outside in mosquito hell for the late stragglers and they forgot to make coffee.

Do you have to pick one or the other? There are plenty of other options on the island.

 

[Dgsmith]

It is my first time in Bonair. I am also traveling alone this trip. I figured the house reef was a mafor selling point to me.

 

[BDSC]

I have not stayed at Capt. Dons but have stayed at Buddys several times and found it to be pretty nice overall. The drive-thru for the tanks is nice. The rooms can be hit or miss but even the "miss" rooms have been OK for the most part.

Another place I would look at is Sand Dollar next to Buddys. Generally, you can save yourself a few hundred compared to either of the other two resorts and they have a great house reef. Actually, it's pretty much the same reef all along that area. A few hundred yards separate the resorts.

This is the place I use to book my trips to Bonaire. They have a nice website and you can look at a lot of the options available.

Bonaire - Bonaire Travel and Bonaire Information : Bonaire Pros

Andy can hook you up.

 

[Mossman]

It is my first time in Bonair. I am also traveling alone this trip. I figured the house reef was a mafor selling point to me.

Got it! Both resorts are good for individuals or for large groups. They're also good for first-timers.

BDSC raised a point which I forgot: The drive-thru tank station at Buddy is far more convenient than getting tanks to go at Capt. Don's, but unless you're going to be driving yourself to solo dive on other sites around the island, ease of getting tanks "to go" might not matter much to you.

The house reef is good at Buddy and at Capt. Don's because they're right next to each other and the fish don't discriminate much. Personally, I prefer Den Laman/Sand Dollar's house reef (Bari) and a studio at DL would be great for an individual, but I definitely prefer the boat diving setups at Buddy and Capt. Don's over the cluster-f&$# at BDA (the house dive shop for Sand Dollar/Den Laman). If you're there alone and will likely be doing boat dives to get to other sites around the island rather than driving yourself, I believe it will be much easier for you to make friends (and buddies) at Capt. Don's or Buddy Dive. As for picking between the two, either pick the one with the better price, or like I said before, flip a coin. The similarities between the two resorts outweigh the differences, though if you like cats, Capt. Don's is probably a better bet, or go to Buddy if you don't like cats (Capt. Don's serves as the local "cat sanctuary" - they have more furry felines running around than iguanas).

 

[scubacat1]

I stay at Buddy's. I have tried Sand Dollar, and a private house as well. When I go to any island for the first couple of trips, I do try different options. However, after the first 2 or 3 trips, I settle on 1 for future visits.

Somewhere where you are familiar with the rooms, the level of service, the convenience, and the price. I like Buddy's for all 4. Terry and I don't need a Hilton Hotel to sleep in when we go diving.

I say Buddy's for your first trip.

 

[Mossman]

I stay at Buddy's. I have tried Sand Dollar, and a private house as well. When I go to any island for the first couple of trips, I do try different options. However, after the first 2 or 3 trips, I settle on 1 for future visits.

Somewhere where you are familiar with the rooms, the level of service, the convenience, and the price. I like Buddy's for all 4. Terry and I don't need a Hilton Hotel to sleep in when we go diving.

I say Buddy's for your first trip.

But the OP's question was whether to do Buddy or Capt. Don's, addressed to those of us who have stayed at both places. Why would you choose Buddy over CD, I'm curious? (especially since I lean the other way after actually having tried both)

 

[Dgsmith]

Capt Dons also will have the brand new Jr suites ready by December. So I can get a brand new room for the week. The price seems between the two are very close. I really am torn. I will give it few more days. I might have to flip the coin.

 

[Altamira]

Only stayed at CD's but was very impressed by the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone I met at the resort. Will definitely go back there next time. Another plus for CD's is that their boats appeared to be faster than Buddy's, and on a couple of occasions we seemed to be racing against them to get to our crew's choice of dive sites: We got there first each time, and as a result we dove the crew's first choice of dive sites. While the drive through tank operation is likely more convenient, it was no big deal to carry the tanks to the parking lot--it was a short walk.

 

[Mossman]

Capt Dons also will have the brand new Jr suites ready by December. So I can get a brand new room for the week. The price seems between the two are very close. I really am torn. I will give it few more days. I might have to flip the coin.

If they're brand-new, that would be a big plus. My Buddy experience would have been much better if we had had one of the renovated rooms, though I believe the bathroom ventilation was such poor design that no renovation would have prevented the bathroom from becoming a sauna with extremely slippery floors every time we took a shower. Those slippery floors caused both of us to fall several times, she wrenching her leg after a particularly nasty one. Then there was the loose moulding which caught my toe and caused it to bleed into the perpetual puddle of water we had in our kitchen due to a leaky refrigerator. The beds were so saggy that my back went out on the last day of the trip, just as I was trying to hang up our gear to dry. On the other hand, we talked with others who were staying in a renovated room on the Lion's Den side and they loved it. I'm just not so sure that you can easily request whether you get a new room or an old room; it's the luck of the draw.

My first time at Capt. Don's was on a group trip - we stayed in one of the 2BR cottages. I believe those have been renovated since, or at least they painted the outside, since they looked much prettier on my second time there. They were rustic, but at least everything worked (firm mattress) and nothing was dangerous like our Buddy room of horrors. My second time at CD, we stayed at one of the "hotel rooms" near the pool having moved there from Den Laman after my wife broke her ankle and couldn't make it up the DL stairs. CD has ground floor rooms that are practically wheelchair friendly, good to know for the accident prone. Our supposedly deluxe room was definitely in need of a rehab and the mattress sagged badly, though not as bad at the one we suffered at Buddy, but my wife sure appreciated that they had a bathtub since showering in her cast would have been really difficult. I didn't use their dive op on that trip since I had already paid to dive at BDA, but the pool is nice and they have pick up volleyball where you can get to know the friendly staff (and Moogie) better.

While there on my second visit, they were already constructing the new dive shop and I saw the plans for the new Jr. Suites. If I can talk my wife into a return trip to Bonaire and risking another broken ankle (the left is much harder to break now with a plate and six screws, but the right one is still vulnerable), I'd take a serious look at the new Jr. Suites.