We've been to Bonaire 4 times now and always stayed at Buddy's. Love the place, but they are full for the time we can go this year. Thinking about staying at the Sand Dollar. The last time we were in Bonaire was 2-3 years ago (after the hurricane played havoc with the leeward side of the island). The Sand Dollar, at that time, seemed run down and lacking in occupants and amenities. Have they fixed the place back up? What improvements have they made in the last few years? Any advice and info anyone can give me would be appreciated. Missing the Bari Reef terribly.

Bon Dia Patricia and greetings on behalf of Sand Dollar. You'll be pleased to know that since the time of your last visit, the dive dock has been rebuilt, along with the gear rental and gear storage facilities. As a result, occupancy has of course improved, as the new dock provides even easier entry to Bari than the previous one. There are tanks out on the dock with benches for easy gear up, gear and camera rinse tanks and showers as well. And there is a drive up tank pick up station and more rinse tanks in the dive shop parking lot, which makes shore diving much easier than it was in the past. As for Bari, it is currently home to several frog fish, as well as a rare batfish - so I hope you are planning on visiting soon! Please contact us at usreservations@sanddollarbonaire.com if we can answer any specific questions you may have. Enjoy your stay on Bonaire.

Patricia,

Four of us just returned from a week at the Sand Dollar at the end of March. We had stayed there once before in '99, before Lenny. As Carol points out, the dock has been rebuilt, the restaurant is now by the pool, and is excellent, and the dive shop at the south end of the property provides all the necessary expertise and equipment - particularly collecting tanks for shore dives is much easier than before. The tennis courts were in constant use in the early morning and evening. The divers in our group did almost half of their dives off the dock on Bari reef because there was so much to see including seahorses (unfortunately although we heard about the batfish, we didn't see it ourselves). We were very happy there and would have no hesitation at recommending it - we will go there again next year.

I guess everything has pretty much been said. My wife (fiance then) stayed at the Sand$ at the beginning of the year and have nothing but good things to say about it. It makes you feel right at home, the pier is so convenient, good for divers and snorkelers, the staff terrific (they surprised us the day of our wedding!) the food and drinks at Mango's are very enjoyable, and at night, I love quiet strolls down the promenade with a cold "Polar". Ahhh the relaxation... One thing I noticed was a construction taking place back then... There were mixed reports as to what it was going to be (some told me a new water front restaurant, some told me a larger dive and photo shop), so I would love an update. One thing is definite... We are going back there! Coach Izzy

I think you're right on each report. We were also curious about this project, and asked about it. We were told that there will be an expanded dive shop, photo shop, casual beachfront restaurant (where you can enter in bare feet) as well as apartments - I think he said 18 in total. The restaurant will be called the Den Lanan (spelling might be wrong), the same as the one that used to be on that site. They expect to be completed this October, and he said that at that point (late March) they were slightly ahead of schedule.

Actually from our experience, a Heineken goes better with a promenade walk!

Leslie

We have not been to Sand Dollar yet but recently booked with them for our group heading down from Alaska in November. I must say that "Carol at Sand Dollar" and Sabah at the US reservations office were a joy to work with. If the facility is half as nice as those folks we will be having a GREAT trip! (By the way, I see that Mango's is for sale. If I just had that spare 1/2 million I left in my other pants....)

The construction you're seeing is not on or by the Sand Dollar property, but adjacent to it (south side), where the old Den Laman (Papiamento for "from the sea") Restaurant used to be. I believe the people who own Aqua Viva apts bought the land, and they are constructing a small hotel. I am not sure of the amenities they'll offer.

The property at the south end of Sand Dollar, where Bonaire Dive & Adventure is located, was bought by the folks who own Yacht Club Apartments and Total Car Rental. We are very excited about their plans, which include not only rebuilding Den Laman as a waterfront restaurant, but also building some retail space, into which Andre Nahr will move the retail area of Bonaire Dive & Adventure. Tim Peters, who is currently operating his photo/video shop out a temporary quarters at the dive center, will also move his Fish Eye Photo into this new area. This is a great move for both the dive shop and photo shop, and it will free up more space at Bonaire Dive & Adventure for other related activities, which translates to improved services for the divers. There will also be about 17 apartments added on top of the restaurant. Construction is reported to be on target, with a completion date of early November.

Hello Carol,
We will be staying at sand$ (well we leave to fly out tomorrow at midnight) and I have a few questions about what to bring as far as towels and such. We will be staying in one of the condo's with four other divers and I wasn't sure if I should bring my own towels or washcloths? as you can tell already I have never been to Bonaire and I am very excited. Please respond thanks susan

Hi Susan, Last October we stayed at the Sand $ in a 3 bedroom. Plenty of towels there and a fully stocked kitchen to cook. Actually, we stayed in 2 condos during the week since a pipe had burst in the living room and there was water on the floor. The first one was decorated modern and the second was owned by a contractor from Ecuador and it was beautiful with great art work throughout. Bring coffee for the coffee pot and any mixes you might want to use in cooking. (We had pancake mix for morning). You can also get great photo lessons and rent a camera from Tim Peters at the Fish Eye photo. Enjoy.

Thanks for the heads up on the towels and the coffee. Do they sell coffee at the store? When we were in Costa Rica the coffee there was to die for,(very smooth). We are about 16 hours from flight. So terribly excited.
thanks so much John see ya susan

Hi Susan and sorry I didn't get back to you sooner but I was traveling myself - and think I might have missed you? But as John pointed out, we have beach towels and bath towels in all units, so you are all set in that respect. And yes, they sell coffee in all of the stores. Good strong coffee from south america can be found as well as coffee from Holland - all very good. Enjoy your stay!!

I'd like to second everything that has been said about Sand Dollar. My wife and I spent a week there last September and loved it. Everything was well maintained and convenient. The dive pier is right there and tanks are available 24/7. Bari Reef is great for snorkeling as well.

We stayed in a studio apartment and found it had everything we needed. We enjoyed ourselves so much we are returning in July with our daughter and her husband - two bedroom. We are definitely looking forward to our return visit to Sand Dollar.