We were wondering if anyone knows the status of the penthouse and elevator construction at the Bellafonte which recently referred to on Bonaire Talk.

In 2000 my wife and I had our honeymoon marred (just a bit) by very noisy construction at Buddy Dive. We've like what we've seen and read about the Bellafonte and think it has the sort of ambience we'd like very much, but are anxious to not repeat our Y2K experience (the construction part I mean!).

Also want to say what a great resource this board has provided us as we've planned our trips to Bonaire, many thanks!

Wife and I were in Bonaire for trip 14 in late April and passed Bellafonte every day on our travel between Belmar and Toucan Diving at Plaza. Construction was actively ongoing at Bellafonte on the new penthouse level, but am not able to comment on how noisy it is for people staying at Bellafonte. Pillars are in place and it appeared they were beginning to work on the new roof and walls. As with most construction on Bonaire, EVERYTHING takes longer than expected.

Have you thought about staying at Belmar or elsewhere?

Thanks Dr.

We actually tried to get in at Belmar (based in part on some of your earlier posts) but they were full up for our time period in mid to late June (weren't sure we'd be able to do a vacation this spring due to work/family, and so going at this later than usual)...which led us to Bellafonte.

We've emailed a bit with Marcel at reservations in Bellafonte who said that the construction had reached a "soft phase" that would hardly create any noise to disturb us....still, 'twould be nice to hear that confirmed before we committed a deposit.

Any other thoughts? We only tried the regular condo pool at Bellafonte, are there any private (or otherwise) condos there that do rentals? Harbor village is a bit more than we'd like to spend for our 2 weeks there. Den Laman?

The Bellafonte is also very close to the airport runway, early am take offs are a trip!

Jack hammers, skil saws, hammers banging away should not be part of your vacation, keep looking Joe.

Give www.infobonaire.com a hit.

Only places we have stayed were Harbour Village (first 5 trips staring in 1997, until they renovated and priced themselves above what we were willing to pay, although we have recently seen their dive package at comparable rates to others), Plaza (next 2 trips), and Belmar (last 7 trips). Harbour Village and Plaza are mostly single hotel rooms, with HV nicer than Plaza, although each also has larger multi-room suites available at higher prices. Belmar is a 2-bedroom condo, which better suits us now.

Various folks have posted favorably on most other places on the island, usually depending on their personal preferences. Suggest looking through all of the recent accommodations postings to see what is said about each.

Joe,
My husband and I just returned from a 9 day stay at the Bellafonte. We were very impressed with the condo (305) and plan to return to the Bellafonte in September. Regarding the noise and construction, the elevator progress is going very slow. Our first morning there, we awoke at 7:30 am to jack hammers. We specifically requested 305 and were the only visitors in that tower. I'm not sure it would have made any difference because it was noisy on the other side of the complex as well. We spoke with Marcel and asked about the early hour the workers started and for the remainder of our stay they didn't start until after 8:00 am.

That said, we will stay again at the Bellafonte even with the inconvenience. It is such a beautiful site and the snorkeling in front and around the pier is some of the best on the island.

I would think they have a few more months before the elevators will be completely installed. If you like to sleep late it will be a little annoying but the accomodations are so worth a little annoyance.

Hope this helps with your choice!!

My wife and I stayed at Bellafonte in may. The construction did not spoil our trip at all. We were on the third floor just below the work. We occasionally heard the workers (sometimes singing). They were working primarily when we were out. They are done fairly early and didn't work weekends. We had a great time and really didn't even remember the construction until we saw this posting. We have plenty of pictures at dave-lori-home.com

We were gratified by all who took the time to help us out and answer my post in forum and by email.

Based on all we read we decided that the Bellafonte construction probably wouldn't bother most folks, but my wife reminded me of my recurring insomnia (which dictates my sleeping during the day when it strikes) it wouldn't be optimal for us until the construction was finished.

It turned out that Belmar had an open condo via Bonaire Partners and we opted for that. Marcel was very gracious about canceling our just made reservations.

... and after some of the glowing testiments to the Bellafonte we received, we promised to make the Bellafonte on the top of our list for trip number 4 (as soon as 3 is out of the way which by the by is just a few days away!)

Our thanks again to all. Much obliged!