Golden Reef Inn questions.....

[robint]

Hi,
We are looking at heading back to Bonaire in the next year and wondering where exactly Golden Reef Inn is located. I have read several diffferent descriptions, but never what it is near. One thing I read says walking distance to large oceanfront resorts. Which resort?
Also, it says on their website that they have an onsite dive op, Wannadive. But on the Wannadive website it doesn't mention it. So is it just a room there with tanks? Do the boat dives with Golden Reef Inn meet at one of their Oceanfront sites to get on the boat?

We stayed at Buddy's in 2007 and loved it but are thinking of trying another place, no decisions yet which one.

robin

 

[dvrliz1]

Hi Robin..

If you have stayed at Buddy, then it is easy to get to our place. If you make a left out of Buddy heading north, you go about 1/4 of a mile, make the first left and a quick right and we are right there on the left side! You will pass Captain Don's Habitat and Hamlet Resort on your left (the right turn is right after Hamlet).

Our onsite shop is a large secure gear storage room with rinse tanks and fresh water showers. Wannadive delivers tanks daily, depending on how full we are 2/3 times a day. We also have dive related items such as masks, snorkels, hoses, dry boxes, o-rings, etc in our front office (guest services). The Boat Dives are arranged and taken out of Wannadive's main facility (where the compressor is) at Eden Beach Resort. You can also access your tank here at GRI 24/7. Bascially pull up to the dive area and load up and go!

Hope this helps.

Liz

 

[robint]

thanks Liz!!!

 

[DiveMaven]

We spent an evening at GRI last summer enjoying Gibi's buffet and found the resort to be really clean, quaint, and well laid out. If I didn't like the convenience of staying oceanfront, we'd be booked there in a heartbeat.

 

[stortecky]

I was also wondering where it is but I have not been to Bonaire. So is there a map that shows where it is at.

 

[dvrliz1]

I am at home now, but I will go ahead and scan a map as soon as I get to the Inn and post the map.

Thanks all and you are welcome Robin!

Liz

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Beat you to it Liz! Shortecky try this link: http://http://www.bonaireislandinfo.com/town_maps_enlarged.html Look near bottom left under "Hato" and GRI locations are marked. Robint, Liz iz too gracious to say it but her and Ed do have a swell operation at a great price. The main location w/ the tanks, pool etc. is swell but we've stayed a couple times at the villa a block & a half over and to the north and enjoyed it a lot. Buddy's etc. are nice but you still sort of feel like a tourist. Stay w/ Liz & Ed and you'll feel like a local!

One thing we like is quiet & the Hato District is that. Do the drive & dive pkg and you'll find you can always have tanks in the rig 24/7. It's also great to know you'll get attention if you need something. I still remember Ed knocking on our door to explain about how to return the truck when we flew out early the next morning--and this was on Christmas Eve! Ah jeez, I gotta stop, I'm getting all misted up. Shoulda used defog before posting. Dang PBD relapse... // ww

 

[farsidefan1]

Just back from week at Golden Reef Inn (last night). Excellent operation. We stayed in the 2 bedroom unit on site, #8 (there were 4 of us) and had a daily breakfast of eggs to order, pancakes, bacon, sausage, juices, oranges, mango. Just what a growing body needs for a day of diving. There was an issue with the sliding door but when we mentioned it to Ed it was fixed in an hour. Since you have your truck it takes about 1 minute to be at Buddys or Captn Dons but at MUCH more reasonable rates. It was my first time at Bonaire and we had a great time. We went with Bas Noij on his famous ultra violet night dive. WOW. Amazing. He provided each of us with a uv flashlight and a filter for our masks. Also important was his very detailed briefing of what we would see, how to use gear, as I said, it was very detailed. I was with 2 fairly new divers and with his guidence they had what they described as the best dive yet. He also took us to Alice in Wonderland and pointed out things I would have surely missed. The seahorse, and a small octopus hiding in plain sight. Bas is amazing. Kind of short, at 6'4" he said he is only average size for his countrymen. He has an even bigger sense of humor. I would stay in the car if he wants to stand in the jetwash at the airport. He liked it better than I did lol. Ed and Liz know all the ropes and can help answer any questions you might have. I highly recommend their operation.