Going to Bonaire and can't decide between Plaza and Divi. Need your help and advice.
From what I understand from this board, and the web sites of the above mentioned hotels, Divi is walk to town/restaurants, good house reef, good dive shop.
Plaza looks more luxurious, with lounge chairs, and better beach views. Is Plaza walking distance to town/restaurants. Even though I will likely have transport, I wont drive after drinking thereby need to walk. What about air traffic noise at Plaza, is this a concern?
I think we will most likely get transportation and do a few boat dives but mostly shore. Does Divi or Plaza have a better set up for this, drive in pick up tanks, hours, availability? Which place has a better house reef?
Both seem to have great bfasts? What about other restaurants/bars? What about security? Too much theft and breakin...which resort is more secure?
What about service and amenities of the property? Which resort has better staff?
Is it better to get the car/truck from the hotel or shop around, main considerations are rates/convenience?

My main criteria is to stay at a nice place, with great service, secure, good dive shop, variety of food/bars close by. Pls advise. Thanks.

The Divi is closer but he Plaza is within walking distance from town. Both have nice setups for shore and boat diving. Have only dived with Toucan diving at the Plaza and would dive with them again. Even though haven't dived with Divi a lot of other BTers have and have only good things to say.
Andy

I would guesstimate that Plaza is at least a half hour walk in to town. Divi is about a 10 to 15 minute walk to town. I have not heard of anything stolen from Divi as I have from the Plaza. Plaza is more spread out with beautiful grounds as Divi is more intimate which is my preference. The Divi's house reef is really nice and there are plenty of lawn chairs on the small beach and cement pier. The snorkeling is wonderful around the the cement pier! I think they are both nice resorts and it just depends on your preferences

I forgot, if you do a search on this board there has been many discussions on this topic.

i would prefer Plaza.

K -

Bon bini na Bonaire Talk!

On our four trips to Bonaire, we have stayed only at the Plaza. Why?

Excellent snorkeling right in front of the property.

Very good, diverse (for the island) breakfast buffet.

Air conditioning that will freeze a side of beef.

Unexpectedly (in the suites) large rooms.

Nice grounds, some sand at the beach, easy entry into the water, improving service.

With the A/C on and after a full island day, the traffic at the airport is not an issue to us.

Each has their own, but we are very happy with the Plaza.

Charles Poteet
Dallas

Thanks everyone for the advice, if anyone else comes back from either resort and has anything to add, pls chime in. thanks for the help

K-

My husband and I have stayed at the Plaza resort twice and loved it. In fact we just returned from our last trip June 3rd and I'm suffering unbearably due to the post Bonaire trip decompression. I can't comment on the other resort since I haven't stayed anywhere else on the island, but this is what I can tell you about the plaza.

Food - The breakfast buffet is good and if you like animals you will get a kick out of feeding the iguanas that wait for you after you leave the restaurant. Tip- they like cucumbers and LOVE bananas. Both times we stayed at the resort we opted to include the breakfast in our package. For lunch we bought some staples at the Cultimara (grocery store) and just kept them in the fridge. For dinner I must recommend that you try several of the restaurants in town. There are so many wonderful places not to miss. Our tops were Will's Tropical Grill, Casablancas, and Pasa Bon Pizza. You should also try to take one night and plan to eat dinner during sunset at the Tipsy Seagull on the resort property. The ambiance can't be beat. I would definitely recommend making a reservation there even if the resort is not crowded, then you can make sure to get an ocean front table.

Diving - The staff at Toucan diving are great. They are friendly, helpful, attentive, and just make the whole experience fun. Also if you have any inexperienced divers in your group they will make you feel very safe. The shore diving set-up couldn't be easier. They have tanks and rinse pools at 3 locations - one next to the pool where you can easily walk to the beach, one next to the Tipsy Seagull where you can enter by the steps on the dock, and one at the dive shop. The tanks are available 24hrs as are the lockers if you choose to rent one. Just pull up your truck to the dive shop, load up, and go!

Resort Amenities - As one poster mentioned, the AC is kickin'. Which I desperately needed after spending the day in the sun. The rooms are very spacious. If you tend towards wanting a quieter area for your room I would suggest a room near the Tipsy Seagull. All of the staff at the resort are very friendly.

Security - The resort has a guarded gate at the entrance that is manned 24hrs. I have never felt uneasy about security during either of my visits.

Well, now after recalling how nice it is I'm really depressed. If you choose to stay at the Plaza I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Kirsten

i guess it is really what you like. we have been going to bonaire since 1985. love flamingo beach and the people at divi dive shop. if you choose divi please say hi to poppy and tell her i'll see her in august. the food is very good and the view beautiful. there are plenty of choices for different rooms. they are very helpful since i can no longer just stride in but need help with my tank and entry.
es

we stumbled upon plaza while looking for photo tours dive shop next door and decided plaza looked nice and toucan dive shop was right in front of us.

great shop, great house reef with the easiest entry we had in bonaire. right by the entry is a sandy beach, rinse tanks, showers, bench, tiki bar, pool. we did not stay at the resort, but would like to.

it is a very small area, travelwise. richard's is right around the bend for dinner; i heard good things about the tipsy seagull at the plaza. whether you stay there or not, do the house reef, 18th palm, and you will see a nice slice of what the resort has to offer.

My husband and I have stayed at both the Plaza and the Divi twice each. We stayed at the Plaza first and loved it. Went back 6 months later and loved it again. But we started to get picky. Whaaa! the grounds are too sprawling, The beach is tooo far from the dive shop. The parking lot is toooo far from the room..Crap all of it, but I gave in..The
Divi comes to the rescue..Small property nicely maintained. The regular rooms that is. Great Dive shop, super convenient to town for a nice stroll in. Great breakfast and dive combination..We loved the the Plaza...But we are now Divi devotees.

Jane,
I can't wait, we leave Sat. and we are staying at Divi. Everything I have heard and read about it sounds nice. 12 of us from our dive shop will be checking in Sun. after an overnight in Aruba.

Greetings All!

I wanted to chime in, even though I am a novice compared to some of you. Everything about the Plaza stated so far is right on with my experience except...the Banana Tree restaurant on the property was by far the slowest place we have ever eaten in all of our travels. Tipsy Seagull - great! Breakfast - perfect for loading up for a day of diving! Toucan Diving - INCREDIBLE! Grounds are not too big for us, but we are also a family of hikers, so don't take our word for it. Oh yeah...Coconut Crash on the beach is a great place for happy hour and sunset. The Plaza also hosted some evening festivities; movie on the beach, and a BBQ on the beach. For us Americans, they had a Thanksgiving menu as well.

Divi actually houses one of our favorite restaurants, Chibi Chibi! We ate there several times and will be going there again in August.

Both are within walking (again caution, we hike) distance of town and if memory serves me correctly there are a few restaurants between them and then those in town.

Good luck on your trip and whichever one you choose, you should have a great time.

I PREFER DIVI-CLOSER TO TOWN AND FINE DINNING-PLUS A GREAT DIVE SHOP

Of course Plaza is within walking distance of town! We walked it daily with our 3 year old daughter.