Hi All,

I found a lot of archived mention of Carib Inn, but am looking for recent feedback on it.

We neither need nor want a fancy 5-star resort; that gets too smothering for us. We like smaller, more relaxed places that are clean and functional and reasonably priced. (As comparison, if anyone is familiar with Grand Cayman, we stay at Harbourview Apartments, a small, family owned place.) Daily maid service is optional; we'd actually rather have it weekly rather than daily.

We are divers and are looking for a place to eat, sleep and relax between dives. We'll rent a vehicle, but walking distance to groceries and other shopping is always a plus. Beyond that, we have few needs other than a steady supply of nitrox.

Thanks for any feedback.

DS

Carib is timeless (meaning the positive feedback in the archives is still accurate). Bruce runs a wonderful establishment and it is perfect for anyone wanting to get away from the hordes yet still have oceanfront dive access. The rooms have all the amenities you need at a very fair price. I had no complaints the time I stayed there.

It can be as social (or not) as you want it to be. The staff is very friendly and helpful, and everyone goes out of their way to ensure you are pleased with your stay.

Many evenings we spent enjoying cocktails at the waterfront waiting for the green flash and chatting with other guests. Other times, we would chill by the pool and be left alone. Nobody intrudes on your space and everyone had a healthy respect for privacy. It was great.

Even when we aren't staying there, it is a safe bet that we will visit the dive shop at least once per trip to pick up some piece of gear or have something worked on while we are on island. I think we were there three times on our last visit.

My biggest beef is that there are never rooms available when I am on the island. Carib is THAT popular.

Hi Lizard0924,

Thanks! Sounds like the kind of place we like.

We actually saw a green flash on Grand Turk. We were at the waterfront and everyone was lined up in chairs like for a parade watching the sun drop. We had no idea what was up. We glanced west just in time to see a wonderful, magical flash. Everyone was excited, as were we once we understood it!

Thanks again for your thoughts,
DS

Carib Inn doesn't offer nitrox (unless that has changed in the past year). We like the resort so much we always try to stay there anyway, even though we go without our geezer gas. -Nancy

+1 on the positive comments about Carib Inn. I've not actually stayed there, but I stop in every trip, and more than once Bruce has saved my bacon and my trip! The lack of unlimited nitrox has kind of been a deal breaker for me, but love everything else.

If you don't like the "smothering" of the larger resorts and enjoy the smaller I would suggest checking out the Golden Reef Inn. (www.goldenreefinn.com) I've stayed there four times and had a great experience each time. I think they have about 8 units, and do their diving arrangements through WannaDive. Small quiet, and great value...

Nancy and Tom,

Thanks for chiming in! The no nitrox thing might be a deal breaker; we'll have to email and ask if they can get some.

We'll also check on the Golden Reef Inn.

Thanks again,
DS

Just one more comment re: nitrox. No, they didn't have it when we stayed there, so we just got air thru Buddy Dive. Not a huge deal, since we dove all over the island so hitting up the drive thru at BD was not a big deal, since we were driving around anyway (and the island isn't exactly huge). The only downside is that since we didn't get our air thru Carib, we couldn't do boat dives with them. (But we don't boat dive generally in Bonaire anyway, so it wasn't a big deal for us.)

(Message edited by lizard0924 on February 11, 2011)

Not having Nitrox right at Carib Inn will not slow you down. Do your dives through Buddys. They have 4 sites to pick up tanks from north to south and you can even do the drive-thru at the resort. You will have to drive by at least one Buddys site to get to any diving, so it's on your way.

Enjoy and have a great trip !!

There are several places like Harbourview on Bonaire. I have stayed there and discovery point many times . Once we discovered Bonaire I have only been back once. Check with sunbelt realty.