This will our second trip to Bonaire. We have booked an Deluxe Ocean View room from 3/4 to 3/11. How are the rooms and restaurant? We previously stayed at the Divi.

Hi and welcome Richard, I think you can find all you want to find out about Habitat by using the Bonaire Talk search engine.. go to the bottom of any page on Bonaire Talk and click on the keyword search icon.. and while you are at it you might check out the other icons down there they are all very helpful..

We stay at habitat in the oasis cottages and we love them the restaurant is great too as is the decostop bar.. you will have a blast.. do the search to find out more..

Dick,

Restaurant is quite nice. They have upgraded the menu and quality recently and the setting is lovely. Seaside under a tent-like structure. Call for a res in advance and ask for a seaside table on one of the lower levels. They also have pretty good pizza though not the New York style stuff. There are also restaurants at the adjacent properties - Barracuda Club, Lion's Den and Den Laman are all within a short walk. Lion's Den has good English ale on tap.

Stop by Bonaire Dive and Adventure and book a "dive with the naturalist" with Jerry Ligon (on the Sand Dollar property 2 hotels south).

Talk to you soon.

David

Richard, We've never stayed in those rooms but they look very good from the outside . I'm positive you will find your vacation something you will dream about until you make your next trip.
Before our first trip to Bonaire I read about all the great restaurants around the island, so our plan was to eat the first and last evening meals at RumRunners because it was so convenient. We did eat there the first night and decided that there was no reason to travel off the property the other nights. The food was delicious. This also made night diving from Don's a lot easier.I also strongly recommend Rum Runners for breakfast (it's expensive but worth it)PS. We have also eaten at other restaurants and some are as good as others state. The island is filled with excellent chefs!

Hi,

We stayed in these type of rooms (no 92) and they're very fine, the beds are terrific, facilities are ok and the garden/porch is nicely dressed. I have to mention that the housekeeping ladies are doing a great job, so give them a tip once in a while! They appreciate that! Have a nice time at Capt. Don's Habitat!

The Rum Runners restaurant is very good! They got a very nice choice of breakfasts and the dining is even more excellent! Go NANNY!

(Message edited by jaypee on January 30, 2006)

My wife and I were at Bonaire last year (Nov. 2005). Stayed at Captain Don's for 8 days. We had a second floor room that was up the curved stairs. Did not like that. I'd recommend the oasis cottages over the other rooms. The stairs to the second floor rooms are narrow and no handrail. While descending, my wife fell and bruised her hip on the last day (it was a rainy day). One of the beds in our room was very squeaky and not comfortable. As to the food at Rum Runners, some was very good, some not so good. We had one dinner and the fish was just too dry. Our dive package included breakfast and that buffet gave you all the food you could eat and it was good food (eggs, bacon, pancakes and the like). Diving is the major plus. The tanks are just there a waiting. Get full tanks from the green area, put the empties back in the red area. Dive all you want. But we're not sure I would stay at Captain Don's on our next trip to Bonaire. We think we want to try some other resort.

The food at Rum Runners is average at best. The service is even worse. But . . . the setting is so beautiful, and the owners so nice, that we ate there on a regular basis. I must say, it annoys me that they refuse to let customers sit at the tables situated on the area that extends out near the water. I know, they say, "You might get wet with ocean spray." So what? That's my choice. I believe the reason is because it's a longer walk for the food servers. Last time I asked they said numerous others had asked to sit there. As someone who coaches companies about customer service I'm convinced restaurants should let people sit where they want and make the servers adapt. If you stay at Capt. Dons the food at the Lions Dive is among the best on the island and it's right next door. You can access it through a gate so it's a short walk.

Bill when was the last time you went to Rum Runners? Floris and Nannie are now the owners and they have made really good changes to the place. Bonhata awarded them the food and beverage award for 2005 (from last weeks Bonaire News). They do use the lower seating area for special meals that you can book with them and we also sat down there several times in December. They are still our preferred place to dine in Bonaire.

Les

Sounds like you had one of the upstairs Junior Delux Suites which we prefer. The balcony area is great to look out across the ocean and pool.

Sorry to hear about your wifes fall. The steps are slippery when wet but they do have gripper strips on each step and the wall also has a hand hold cut into it rather than a rail. There is a warning sign about being careful when the steps are wet.

We stayed at Lions Dive last December 10-26th and ate at Rum Runners on several occasions. I agree that Floris and Nannie are great people. I just don't think the food compares favorably with Lions Dive, Mona Lisa, It Rains Fishes and other good places--just my opinion. I think the service is poor. They never allowed us to eat at the lower seating area and I never saw anyone there, except, as you mentioned, for special occasions. I could give specific examples of the poor service but don't want to get into a spitting contest. I would never tell someone not to eat there--I did so in spite of the bland food and poor service. I did this because I like the setting and the owners. And yes I'm courteous to food servers (I worked my way though college as a waiter) and am a generous tipper--20% is standard. When we return to Bonaire we'll continue to eat there and enjoy our visits--we don't expect exceptional food or service. We expect a beautiful setting, nice owners, and okay food--and that we always got. I'm glad to hear you like it so well--I hope they overflow with business.

Brian, yes, the balcony of the room was very nice. The lump they call the hand rail is worthless. The metal step grippers are only fair when wet. My wife is in good athletic shape. She was carrying one suitcase and her feet went out from under her four steps from the bottom. Her bruise on her hip was larger than a grapefruit. Very bad way to end eight wonderful days of diving is all. We e-mailed Captain Don's regarding the steps and they never responded to say sorry or anything. I thought the service at Rum Runners to be only fair at times.

We've always had great service at Rum Runners. Do you suppose it's because of my teenage daughter??!!! She calls one of the wait staff "The Stalker" .....very attentive!

We've also sat by the water many times with no "ocean spray". I don't think the spray is possible in the Spring when we're there.

Food is fine...not my favorite...but either is Lion's Den where we've never been made to feel welcome. That said, all the restaurants and staff change so we'll give some on our "poor" list another try this year. AND we look forward to Rum Runners and my daughter will add, the GREAT pizza!