Where to stay in Bonaire?

[wwguy]

Bottom line is that there aren't many "bad" choices on Bonaire. It's a matter of finding what best matches your desires and going for it.

This has been our experience too, and the primary reason we've had a lot of fun over the years looking for new places to stay.

Only a few made our short list for repeat visits:
- Buddy Dive (back in the late 90's, before Bart left to start Wannadive, and before BD took over the Lion's Dive property.) We still stop by to visit with Murph at happy hour.
- Yachtclub Apartments (before the change in ownership and addition of the restaurant) was a great value and offered a shared outdoor BBQ/eating area.
- Beachcomber Villas, for the reasons mentioned in my post above.

I'd still recommend all of the other places we've stayed, like Belmar Oceanfront Apartments and Happy Holiday Homes etc. But with so many other quality options we didn't feel that they warranted repeat stays. We feel that Beachcomber Villas is something special. The reviews on their VRBO site echo our experience and enthusiasm.

Occasionally I read posts that say something like "XYZ Resort is absolutely the best place to stay, and we wouldn't ever consider staying anywhere else. We've stayed there all 99 times we've been to Bonaire." How do these people know their choice is unarguably the best if they've never stayed elsewhere???

The above reviews are all great!

 

[lmorin]

Check out the Sand Dollar condos. They are nicely situated overlooking Bari reef. Check them out on VRBO.com

 

[joel.boswell]

I am a huge fan of the DiveHut. It is not waterfront or with a house reef but it is quiet, considerably cheaper than other resorts and 24hour tank access on site plus 3 other Wannadive Locations. It is no 5star accommodation but that is not what I look for. The owners and staff are super friendly and helpful, great breakfast, thrus night bbq is awesome and not on a main strip. The have three different size rooms and they are clean and in good working order. It is all about what you are looking for and what type of accommodations you like as there is so many different choices.

 

[bnelsonpublic]

I have stayed at Buddy Dive 6 times over the past 5 years. Always have a fantastic experience. I can't say I know for sure it is the best "value" in terms of the price tag, but the dive operations is top notch. The apartments are well appointed, and they have an cool bar to have lunch or watch the sunset each night. Make sure to get the breakfast included rate as it makes it very easy to get your day going before diving. However, I would not recommend eating at either of the two restaurants onsite (the one at the resort and the connected Lions Den) for dinner. Overpriced for what it is. Dozens of awesome restuarants in town.

The drive through air station on site is also very convienent.

The people at Buddy Dive have always been very friendly and good to us. I travel a lot and can honestly say I've never had any complaints

 

[highlandfarmwv]

I've never had a bad place in Bonaire....wait a minute--the hotel room at Buddy's. Condos there are fine tho. Bonairetalk.com has a whole section on accommodation reviews, and they are quite explicit.

 

[Chasin' Tales]

Check out Coral Paradise. We stayed there back in May and have reservations there again over New Years. Nice clean rooms. The owners are very nice and helpful. It's right behind Capt Dons. While it doesn't front the water, it's a convenient location and has some great diving only steps away. Check it out. If it looks like it suits your needs, it's definitely worth considering. This place consistently gets good reviews.

 

[Paulmal]

I've been to Bonaire twice and have stayed at Buddy Dive, great place can't recommend it enough. I looked at other places but like Buddy best, the others looked nice I just liked Buddy's better.
For full disclosure I was specifically looking at all inclusive hotels, I did not look at others.

 

[vladimir]

I can recommend the Harbour Village Beach Club. It has the nicest beach on the island, perhaps the nicest restaurant setting (La Balandra—dine there once, even if you stay elsewhere), very nice accommodations, a well-run dive operation, convenient lockers, and good security. You do need to swim a little to find good diving out front.

 

[TheOnlyRae]

Stayed at coral paradise for a week in may-was awesome! The owners are really nice and live on property. www.coralparadise.com
Clean, access to cap dons and buddy. Little kitchenette so we saved $ by cooking our own.
Read the reviews on trip advisor.

Enjoy Bonaire!!!!

 

[otavio]

hi Chauncy. I've been there once, and stayed at Harbour Village. Excelent but out of my possibilities. In YOUR very well defined parameteres (the same as what I want from a hotel) what would you advise for my next trip? Small, water, pool, restaurant, dive shop near..
regards, Otavio.