By Jeanine (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #585) on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 5:33 pm: |
Greetings All! We just returned from our second trip to Bonaire and we stayed at the Plaza both times. I have to say that we were shocked and dismayed at how run down the place has become and how poor the service was this time. Does anyone know what is going on there?
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By Laurens van Rijn (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 5:54 pm: |
Just my luck, last november it just kept raining. Now, the weather seems fine but the Plaza is not... :-(
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By Jeanine (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #589) on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 6:11 pm: |
Laurens ~ I'm feeling guilty, your first post and I made it a negative event. Sorry about that. I am truly hoping that all which happened this week was a fluke. We did very much enjoy the Plaza last November (we got there the week after it rained forever) and are hoping that maybe we were in a bad unit or something else was going on that we were not aware of. BTers are very much in tune with what is going on so hopefully someone will be able to explain this.
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By karen gaffner (BonaireTalker - Post #45) on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 6:40 pm: |
uh oh I am not happy...we are due to return to the plaza resort a month from now. it would be our 5th visit and we so far have not been disappointed. well that's not completely true--we had an environmentally friendly room once that wasn't very friendly. the ac would only stay on if you were in the room and would turn off when the door was opened which would have been ok except it got confused at 2am and shut off for good. Within 10 minutes we were given another room. jeanine I am so sorry to hear about your recent experience. I do hope it is a fluke,if not I guess I'll be trying to find somewhere else to stay in Sept.
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By Laurens (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 4:20 am: |
I stayed at the WannadiveHut last year. Basic accomodation but not sufficient when there's a continuous downpour... :-(
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By DIANE AND BEA (BonaireTalker - Post #39) on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 3:21 pm: |
Sorry to hear about your stay. We were just there in April for 2 weeks and didn't have any problem. Actually they were power washing the walk ways when we were there. Can't say anything about the pool, we don't use it , we are out at the beach all day and in the ocean. Our room everyday was clean, A/C worked , TV, etc. The staff was attentive , rooms were clean and the bar was fully stocked . The omelet lady did the best omelets, breakfast was awesome. Sorry to hear of your experience, maybe it was a fluke.
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By Bruce Wallace (BonaireTalker - Post #90) on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 4:07 pm: |
I've been to the Plaza three times now, latest last October and am returning this October. One year the pool was closed I like the big blue salty pool better. Never had any complaints. I've stayed at Buddy's a bunch of times too and like it there. The Lions Dive seemed to have better upgraded places. Larger rooms and such so maybe I'll check it out next July!!! It's still Bonaire^^
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By Dini te Booij (BonaireTalker - Post #33) on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 7:16 pm: |
Laurens, I stayed at the Plaza in May, June, July and just returned from there again yesterday ( I'm just a stewardess, not really really rich ;-)and every time my room looked fine, everything worked, and it was cleaned promptly every morning. Walkways did seem to have a lot of leaves. I always go to the beach so can't comment on the state of the pools. Staff were all friendly, but the pina coladas at the beachbar are definately weak...no matter who makes them. My only real complaint is that messages do not get passed on. I've had several people call me ( including Renee this last trip, to set up an appointment ) and when I'd check for messages I would be told there were none. Makes it hard to get together with people. Really annoying. But other than that, it's a beautiful resort and I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay.
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By Jeanine (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #613) on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 7:37 pm: |
Dini glad to hear your room was fine, but so was the pilot's room (v117) directly above us...and it was serviced by 9:00 am every day - our villa was not. I did receive one email message indicating that the villas are privately owned and that might explain the condition (paint peeling, stains, broken tv, broken microwave, run down air conditioner, broken plates, chipped cups and glasses, broken utensils). However, that does not explain the other problems...pool dirty, broken tiles, employees taking breaks on terraces that were not currently occupied, laundry bags being left in the driveway almost all afternoon - until past 5:00 on one day. It especially does not explain why our complaints were not addressed on site. And, service definitely was not like it was back in November.
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By Jeanine (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #614) on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 7:56 pm: |
Oh yeah I wanted to add that the person who sent me the email about the villas being privately owned also said that maybe we had too good of an experience in November and that our expectations were too high for the return trip. Interesting perspective and maybe the person is correct. Either way...I just want the November Plaza back.
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By Dini te Booij (BonaireTalker - Post #34) on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 5:26 am: |
Jeanine, I hope the Plaza people adress your valid complaints - the cabin crew always stay at the junior or grand suites, not the villas, that might explain the difference in maintenance. I'm hoping to go back again in October and will check out the pools etc. and report back.
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By Diana (BonaireTalker - Post #12) on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 12:19 pm: |
Hi Jeanine,
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By Carl Neal (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #7) on Friday, August 19, 2005 - 11:05 pm: |
We stayed at the Plaza two years ago and had a great experience. We're going back in two weeks for a two week stay and will be back at the Plaza in one of the Grand Suites. It will be a great disappointment if the service has fallen below the level of the last trip. It doesn't take a lot beyond clean and friendly to keep us happy, but fall below that, and we won't be happy.
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By Jeanine (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #677) on Saturday, August 20, 2005 - 11:44 am: |
Hi all! Letter went off today, so we will see what happens. I received lots of comments about the villas specifically and about management in general. Thank you for all of your comments and I understand not wanting to make negative posts. I will post again when I receive a response.
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By Natasha (BonaireTalker - Post #56) on Sunday, August 21, 2005 - 7:54 am: |
Jeanie:
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By Randall J (BonaireTalker - Post #23) on Sunday, August 21, 2005 - 8:36 am: |
Carl:
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By Tom Cousino (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2213) on Sunday, August 21, 2005 - 11:49 am: |
NATASHA!!! Nice to see you posting here!!
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By Natasha (BonaireTalker - Post #58) on Sunday, August 21, 2005 - 11:58 am: |
Hey there Tom!
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By Tom Cousino (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2214) on Sunday, August 21, 2005 - 12:04 pm: |
As much as I would enjoy it, I won't be in Vegas:-{)} I am heading to Bonaire for 16 days on October 11:-{)} It is a priority thing, you know, Business vs Pleasure, pleasure wins in October.
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By Jeanine (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #745) on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 12:29 pm: |
Ok folks...I just had my mind blown, or maybe I was just blissfully unaware of this fact, but did you know that the Plaza is part of Apple Vacations? I just found it on Apple Vacations' last minute sale web page. Has it always been part of Apple?
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By Carl Neal (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #9) on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 2:07 pm: |
Apple Vacations is just a booking agent. They also list Buddy's and Divi.
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By Jeanine (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #748) on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 2:13 pm: |
Carl ~ where did you find Divi? I found Plaza, Harbour, and Buddy's. I only posted this because so many people had commented to me off list about management changes at Plaza. Making it an Apple, even if it is only listed as a 4 Apple, would definitely increase traffic and might explain some of the problems I encountered there.
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By Carl Neal (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #10) on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 2:26 pm: |
Just click on more hotels at this resort at the bottom of the page you are looking at
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By Jeanine (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #751) on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 2:29 pm: |
Thanks! Found it!
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