Den Laman vs. Sand Dollar?

[gpatz]

My wife and I stayed at DL last year. Agree with all above, hard to beat the convenience of being above the dive operation and gear storage (not exactly directly above) found it to be pretty quiet on the 3rd floor, we were facing the parking lot. The air compressor does run all day, but you should be awake and ready to hit the dive sites by the time they open for business (what else are you in Bon for, but to dive). I have one complaint though, every morning about 6:30am we could hear what sounded like people rearranging furniture in the next room (wood furniture being dragged across tile flooring, very annoying). Another complaint I have is the entire week we were there the Dive Op would only give each couple 1 wooden peg to hang you'r gear on! I noticed after a few days that there were always quite a few Pegs unused ( yes I did check this every night before they locked up the gear room, because I do realize that people will remove there gear during the day to dive) I asked the Dive Op if we could have a Peg each and was told they needed to leave the extra pegs available for new incoming divers who were checking in at the SD and DL (which they do cover both hotels) if I am not mistaken, the majority of people fly in to Bon on the weekend only. I noticed half the pegs never used at all thru the entire week! Kinda P#**~! me off. It is nice having the restaurant right below you, but we found that the breakfeast were a little expensive there. The security there can't be beat. The last complaint I have about DL is the parking there, you better be back from shore diving fairly early in the afternoon or you might not find a place to park or end up close to the turn circle (a long way to haul you'r gear from the truck) a lot of the parking is taken by day only divers to the house reef (Bari, which is the best twilight dive in my opinion in Bonaire).

I agree with all who said to book a Oceanfront room if there is 4 of you. We considered on booking a OC front room this year for 2 weeks ( we also are going with another couple this year for 2 weeks) but I did more research on available villa rentals closer to the south dive sites (our fav dives, so far) and found a villa called Dream Bonaire which is a 2 bedroom, 1100 sq ft upper flat with its own private ocean entry, private dive gear lockers, fresh water rinse tanks, a large area to relax on the back ground level off the ocean and a outstanding view of the ocean from the balcony. The Belmar apartments has a dive operation which is right next door and they have Nitrox at no additional cost, can't be anymore convient then that. I hear from others that you also beneifit from the Belmar's 24 hour security. If you are looking for privacy and quiet, I don't think you can beat Dream Bonaire. To top it off it is slightly cheaper a night then DL and they even give you more of a discount if you rent for 2 weeks. Check www.dreambonaire.

 

[DiveMaven]

gpatz, what time of year did you go to Bonaire last year? I agree about the 1 peg each for gear storage, though we wound up simply putting our BCs on the peg, fins and booties on the floor, wetsuits, on the hangers, and everything else went upstairs to our condo with us. It worked out okay, but I agree that each person should have a peg, not each couple.

We were at DL in July this past summer and did not have the same experience as you with the parking lot, though I can definitely see how it could get crowded. We found it pretty easy to drive up to the tank room, drop all of our stuff off, then go park, but rarely did we have to park much farther out than half way to the traffic circle. Our condo was right above Fish Eye Photo and we never heard the air compressor, but we also never had out windows open since it was too hot.

 

[gpatz]

DiveMaven, we were at DL the last week of Feb. and the air temp was very mild and breezy. In fact never got overheated when we had our 3mm full wetsuits on like further North in the Carib.

We were located above the photo shop also. We did enjoy setting out on our balcony in the later afternoon. There were always divers coming and going all thru the day.

We would also hang our BCs on the peg, but got pretty cluttered when we also added our Regs with integrated Octos and instrument consoles. Our peg was located just across from the door where there was a lowspot on the floor and all the water dripping from everybodies rigs would settle in a never drying puddle.

Another thing that I was wondering about, did you'r shower have a door to keep the water in the stall? Our's did not and there was no drain on the bathroom floor. It was little tough to take a shower in the corner of the stall so that you did'nt flood the whole bathroom, but we did manage with little mopping with a towel.

 

[Rescue Diver68]

We stayed at DL in October and loved it. The only thing that needs improvement is the living room furniture. Very uncomfortable.
I thought that I had heard that only the bedrooms at Sand Dollar had airconditioning. That would scare me away in the hotter months for sure.

 

[Papa Steve]

We went to DL in mid-September and each diver had their own peg. Wet suits went on the center wetsuit area, we each put our BC and dive bag on our own peg. Regs, computers, and cameras came upstairs to our room. I agree about the living room furniture. Not real comfortable. On my post-visit survey, the furniture was the only negative thing I had to say about our visit.
I think the only time the parking was a problem was the night the restaurant had "lobster night". We backed up to the rinse tanks, dropped off tanks and all our gear and then went and parked so lugging gear was a non-issue.
Gpatz, I'm looking forward to hearing how your stay goes at Dream Bonaire

 

[DiveMaven]

DiveMaven, we were at DL the last week of Feb. and the air temp was very mild and breezy. In fact never got overheated when we had our 3mm full wetsuits on like further North in the Carib.

Ahh, there's a big difference between July and February for temps! :blinking: We definitely had to strip our wetsuits off during SIs, otherwise would have risked cooking. It sure would have been nice to be able to use our lanai, but it was in the sun nearly the entire time, so impossible to use.

We're definitely looking forward to being on the front of the building next year so that at least part of our lanai is shaded most of the time. I think it'll be fun to watch divers enter and exit Bari on the pier too.

Another thing that I was wondering about, did your shower have a door to keep the water in the stall? Our's did not and there was no drain on the bathroom floor. It was little tough to take a shower in the corner of the stall so that you did'nt flood the whole bathroom, but we did manage with little mopping with a towel.

None of the showers have doors, they're built European style. We found that the trick is to simply lower the shower head so it's slightly lower than the top of your head. That eliminated most of the splashing, and required only a tiny dip of the knees to rinse hair. By doing that, we had very little splash on the bathroom floor. I agree that it's a strange design though.

 

[b1gcountry]

If you go with SD, request a first floor condo. To get to the dive shop from the second floor, you need to go through the parking lot. The first floor lets you just walk out the back porch.

Tom

 

[gpatz]

We will be in Bon in Feb. again this year Papa Steve, love the mild temps. The 79 degrees water temp was a tad bit cool for me after 3 or 4 dives a day, My new 3mm Wetwear suit should take care of that. I will let you all know how it goes at Dream Bonaire. The other couple we are going with is my best buddy I have known since high school and he just been certified. He has only dived out of Cancun with us twice and has no idea what good Carib reef diving is. My wife and I are very excited about introducing him and his wife to Bonaire shore diving. That is why I searched for a special place to stay like Dream Bonaire. I can't get over the fact that this place has private gear lockers and 2 fresh water rinse tanks. Diving right out of the backyard of this place is going to be awesome.
I would like to say that the 2 ladies that manage Den Laman are the best, my wife and I enjoyed our stay at D.L. and the several complaints that I stated before were not significant and I do recommend Den Laman. I do agree about the wicker furniture, the cushions would after time have you sliding almost onto the floor. Wicker furniture seems to be the norm in Bon though. One of the things I love about Bon is the variety of choices you have for lodging and dive ops, if you compare it to Little Cayman you can't beat the cost.