Has anyone stayed recently in the Crown Ridge houses? I'm specifically looking at #6, but any comments on that area?
I read a couple reviews that mentioned the iguanas getting in the pools daily and leaving their "business", which made the pools essentially unusable! Anyone experience this?
While not "recently", we enjoyed staying 3 weeks at Crown Ridge #12 over the Christmas and New Year holidays in December 2015. The 16 unit seaside Crown Ridge complex is pretty much unchanged since it was built and all units are essentially identical in size, layout, and amenities like pool size and shape etc.
We really liked the easy private access to the sea and dive entry at nearby Andrea I dive site. Sunset views were amazing too.
It was particularly rainy that December, which was generally overdue and welcome for some much needed vegetation green-up at the time. But the rains also made for a temporary explosion in the local mosquito population, which tended to congregate in the west-facing outdoor dining area that was sheltered from the trade winds due to the layout and proximity to the surrounding villas. Worst mosquito conditions we've ever experienced on the island. It was fun to experience the local bats feeding on them over our dining table after dark though.
We've enjoyed 50 weeks on the island, spread over 21 trips, since our first visit back in '97. Iguanas are ubiquitous on the island—including at resorts and rental villas—and avoiding them or fencing them out is pretty much impossible. They're territorial creatures of habit that enjoy basking and pooping on sunny pool decks, and sometimes in the pools too if entry/exits are easily accessible to them.
We've had issues with what you describe—iguanas pooping around or in the pool— at several Bonaire properties over the years, but I don't recall that being a problem during our particular Crown Ridge visit. This might be in part due to the design of the pools. They're rectangular in shape and have a short drop from deck to water line that looks like it might be tough for iguanas to exit from. But I'm just speculating about that.
I do know that at the two properties where we had iguanas pooping in the pool, the pools were designed in a way that it was really easy for them to get in and out of the water.
If the possibility of iguanas in the pool is a non-negotiable deal-breaker for you, I suggest seeking a villa with a second-story pool, such as
this or
this for example.
The only true swimming marine iguanas are in the Galapagos islands.
I fixed it for you.
The Galapagos marine iguanas are unique in that they're the only lizards that have adapted and evolved to forage for food in the sea.
But the land-based green iguanas, such as found on Bonaire, are well known to be great swimmers and have been observed holding their breath underwater for 30 minutes or more. Rather than swimming to forage for food though, the green iguana's primary motivation for swimming seems to be to cool off, escape predators, and apparently even drop a lizard load sometimes.
Here's a pic of one swimming with the tourists at 1000 Steps (photo credit Tishanya Keller, 2023.)
