Den Laman vs. Sand Dollar?

[windycitydiver]

4 of us are planning a trip to Bonaire for late June. We are trying to decide between the Den Laman and Sand Dollar. We like the smaller, quieter places. Anyone been to both or have advice on this? Sand Dollar has a pool, and I believe DL doesn't... and SD has bfast too.... any other differences or reasons to stay at one over the other? We will do the unlimited shore diving package with 6 boat dives included for the week.

 

[diversteve]

fwiw, the pool at Sand Dollar is in the parking lot. Behind the condos...

 

[herman]

DL is smaller and recently renovated, really nice rooms. DL and SD are side by side, sharing the same dive op/boats/house reef so location is not an issue. You can do the same breakfast at SD if you like. All in all, unless SD is a good bit cheaper I would go with DL.

 

[Papa Steve]

DL is smaller and recently renovated, really nice rooms. DL and SD are side by side, sharing the same dive op/boats/house reef so location is not an issue. You can do the same breakfast at SD if you like. All in all, unless SD is a good bit cheaper I would go with DL.

What he said . . .

There are no rooms on the first floor at DL and the entry to the stairwell for the rooms is access controlled. I would think that both places would be a good choice but DL would be "smaller and quieter" and I like the added security.

 

[lmorin]

If you stay Sand Dollar, you will have to walk 25-200 yds to your room. Quiet is not an issue in either place, unless there is a bunch of rowdy divers coming in from a late night dive (that would affect DL residents). Personally, I don't think the "smaller and quieter" criteria really distinguish SD from DL. SD is bigger, sure, but it consists of several two-story buildings, with each unit fairly private with its own entrance. Also, there are many more people around DL daily because of the dive op than there are around SD. I don't think that's an issue either.

 

[DiveMaven]

We stayed at Den Laman for 2 weeks last summer and loved it so much we're spending another 2 weeks next summer. We loved the proximity to the gear room, tank room, parking lot, and pier. Our studio was right above the gear room and we never heard people below us. We really liked being able to leave stuff on our lanai and not worry about it walking away.

Next year we're "upgrading" to a 1-bedroom ocean front and are looking forward to having a great view of Klein and being able to watch divers on Bari.

 

[DiverVince]

Out of the two, I'd chose Den Laman..
1. It's newer. Only about 3 years old v over 20 for SD. Everything inside is fairly new
2. A/C throughout the entire unit
3. Personally, I'd chose the oceanfront rooms at DL.

 

[DeputyDan]

Out of the two, I'd chose Den Laman..
1. It's newer. Only about 3 years old v over 20 for SD. Everything inside is fairly new
2. A/C throughout the entire unit
3. Personally, I'd chose the oceanfront rooms at DL.

What he said !!!

 

[NDH]

We just made reservations for the 4 of us at DL for Oct. 2009. We were told that we are able to use SD pool if we wanted. Also breakfast is served over at the SD restaurant for $14. The restaurant under DL is not open for breakfast right now but could be next year. What reports I have read is that the restaurant downstair is open for lunch and dinner and is very good.

 

[dukeh20]

We have stayed at Den Laman twice and would certainly go back again. The units we stayed in were spacious and all the appliances, TV's etc. seemed to be brand new.

Here is my Trip report from our stay in 2006:

Den Laman/Bonaire Dive & Adventure Trip Review
We just got back last night from a week's stay at Den Laman Condos. They are located just south of Sand Dollar (which is just South of Buddy Dive). It is a much smaller operation that Buddy Dive or Captain Don's, which also made it quite peaceful. They have a nice restaurant/bar on site and free rum punch on Monday night.

DEN LAMAN
We got a great package ($534 per person including a free nitrox upgrade and truck rental inclded). We had one of their two bedroom units that faced the water. Each bedroom had its own bathroom and to our surprise, daily maid service with fresh towels and sheets. The unit had a complete kitchen with brand new appliances including microwave, refrigerator with icemaker and dishwasher. The staff was pleasant and very willing to answer any questions/requests that we had.


BONAIRE DIVE AND ADVENTURE
The package we got from Den Laman included the dive package from Bonaire Dive and Adventure (BDA) which is the on site dive center located on the Den Laman property. The package included a free nitrox upgrade. Sand Dollar and Den Laman apparently share BDA, but since it is actually on Den Laman's property, it was extremely convenient. They actually have a separate fill staion on their dock for both air and nitrox which was also quite handy for the dives on the "house reef', Bari Reef. They offer three boat dives a day. We stuck to the shore diving. The divers that we saw after they came back from the boat dives seemd to be completely satisifed with their experience. We got in about 20 dives while we were there including three night dives on Bari Reef. This was my wife's first dive trip since she she got certified in July. I am not including a review of the diving as there are numerous reviews alreay posted here. The vis was great and the water temp was in the mid to upper 80's the entire time.


This was our second trip to Bonaire. We stayed at the Plaza last year and we were looking for an alternative to eating all our meals out. We found this to be great place to stay and would not hesitate to recommend them.

We did stay at Golden Reef Inn in October of this year (2008). We found Liz and Ed through Scuba Board and got a deal on the dive package and air travel that Den Laman could not beat.

Hope this helps

Duke