Hi all, Sand Dollar used to be the place to stay in BON years ago. While I haven't been back to BON in 6 years we did stay there 3 or 4 times previous (pre-hurricane). I've stayed at Cpt Dons- not impressed. Love Village but going with boyfriends kids 11 & 16 this time so too much $$. Wish Plaza was up north- won't stay south.
Need 2 bed, 2 bath, kitchen, need pool (kids), prefer fully ac (SD I know not), prefer beach if can. Kids will dive.
Buddys a consideration thought not fully ac but curious why Sand Dollar is not mentioned/stayed at much anymore?
Tanks!

Lydia, welcome to Bonaire Talk! I stayed at San Dollar in 2001 on my first trip to Bonaire and really loved it. I rented the Zale's condo (bters). 2 bedroom 2 bath. AC in both bedrooms and a fully screened in porch facing the ocean. there are very few places on Bonaire that have AC throughout. Den Lamen, a small condo complex next to Sand$ has AC throughout in their units. Go to www.infobonaire.com and click on accommodations to find it. Lions Den was also redone a couple years back, and some of the units have AC throughout. Those are the only one's I know of that have AC throuthout the units.

The pool and restaurant at Sand$ are now near the road, not on the water anymore. But I think the units are very nice

Hey Grasshopper- I did a search and did see your post about this. Den Lamen- no pool otherwise that would be it! Sand Dollar I stayed at quite a few times -possibly in 2001! - the pool and food acroos street is a negative point - pool was always there and not big on that but it's for the kids anyway.
Lions Den now part of Buddy's and that's in the running.
Was just curious why SD not stayed at more- I know they needed some work way back when- could be they have not upgraded like other places.
Tanks again!

Lydia, I think the units at Sand$ are nice. Since they are privately owned (but in a pool) folks keep them up-to-date. There have been quite a few BT'ers who have stayed at Sand$ and posted reports Let us know what you decide!

Lydia, have you considered Eden Beach? Not sure about the AC, but there is a pool, beach, and they do have 2BR, 2 bath units.

Hey Becky,
Actually was pretty set on Eden Beach till boyfriend asked why not Sand Dollar again- we stayed there 3 or 4 times in the past. Also was considering Buddy's cause think it may be more kid friendly than Eden.
There are too many choices!!!!

You stated you weren't impressed by Capt. Don's but....have you considered the two bedroom, two bath Oasis Cottages at Capt. Don's? We absolutely love having AC throughout, kitchen, convenient pool and the big plus for the teenagers is the Pizza Oven at the restaurant. If you look at my profile, cut and paste the trip report for details.

We did stay in the 2 bed/2 bath cottages. They did not have ac in the kitchen/livingroom.
I guess they didn't have the Pizza Oven when I was there last. Perhaps they are now fully a/c'd?

Thanks Linda

oh- maybe we stayed in the Habitat Cottages as opposed to the Oasis? No- we had a 2 bed 2 bath place and that is Oasis description- the LR and Kitchen were most definitely not a/c's. ??????

I am being offered the Flamboyant Apartments at Capt Donds- anyone ever stay there? I have no idea where they are in the complex.

Lydia, I believe they are in a tall building by the front of the main road, Capt. Don's on one side and Hamlet Oasis on the other? Someone can correct me if I am wrong here...

Oh sure Lydia, you take my advice and then go looking for more . One thing to keep in mind on the Sand$/Capt Don's there's no beach, but you knew that.

Oh Cecil- so many places, so little time and money. Just want place kids will be happy and boyfriend suggested Sand Dollar again till I reminded him pool is a walk -he does not know how ;-)

I'm voting Eden Beach! Will be there in December with two teenagers in tow (15 and 12). Love the beach, love the web cams, love Bongos, love Wannadive...... I'm in love with Bonaire - can you tell? Come on December 26!

You could have fooled me? , no?

What... Tribs excited to go to Bonaire?? Say it isn't so ;-)

we are at sand$ now will be back in xmas 23rd -
we want to stay somewhere comparable to the condos ....the dive oper did not fit our needs .
i will leave it at that for now ...we are leaving tomm on A . J . ...i will post a trip report ...when i get home ..we will have a large group with us again ...we would like to stay on the same boat and keep the cost down too any ideas ?

Gary for many years I went with a group to the Divi - they had a boat planned for us all the time, and only when our group got a little small did others join our boat. This was really good because most of us were at about the same dive experience level and our own dive instructor arranged the trip and was with us, so the boat went where we wanted to go rather than having to always end up on the easiest of dives to accomodate the absolute newbies. No offense to anybody - we were newbies once too. The Divi responded to our expectations, which were made clear when booking ahead of time, and when anything new came up during the trips. We had the same two DM's all week. A couple of years we even requested ahead of time which DM's we wanted. The DM's tell us our dive instructor, who runs the trips, is very demanding and they know what he expects. They respect him for his safe diving, and know he tips well for the group. The Divi has most of the things you would want from a resort, yet is not brand new and snotty. (ha!) OK everybody will now say nobody is snotty on Bonaire - probably true. It is close to town and has a small beach and good reef. It has a variety of choices of rooms, a bar, restaurants on the water, a small casino, and two nice pools. I don't know if the cost will be what you are looking for, but it is worth checking it out. Good luck with your X-Mas trip. I only suggest that you let the dive operation know ahead of time when booking the trip exactly what your expectations are and confirm that they can and will meet them.

Yes, I do love the Divi !!! :-)

Denise

Hello everyone - I am inquiring about the accommodations and diving at Caribe Inn, Captain Don's & Divi Flamingo. I have stayed in 3, 4 & 5 star resorts, so I am familiar with the different levels of accommodations. I am going with a buddy and the hotels/resorts need to be safe as we are both females. Where are the best places to eat? What is there to do in the evening?

What are the best dive sites? Which side of the Island have the best boat and shore diving?

Thank you in advance for your information.

Been to Sand Dollar twice and thoroughly enjoyed their condo and dive operator. The dive crew was fantastic with our 14-year-old son (already certified diver). Very accommodating and fun dive crew. The condo is spacious, quiet, with lots of privacy. Don't let the modest looking gate fool you, the rooms are very nice. You never feel cramped, both in the condo and on the dive boats. No cattle diving here. The "house reef" is fantastic for diving and snorkeling. Buy the condo-dive package through their booking agent, who can get you air, condo, diving, truck, and a fantastic breakfast package. Their on-site photo service is also great.