Has anyone stayed at the Sand Dollar, I understand they were going through some renovations. I stayed at Den Laman and though the rooms were very nice, there wasn't any place to relax after diving ie: beach or pool to lay back and read a book or whatever. I know Sand Dollar shares BDA and I liked them for the diving and Bari reef was my favorite for the ease of getting to it especially for night dives.

find lots of quiet time areas at Sand Dollar...the patio area right on the waters edge with lounge chairs...the pool area..and of course your own rooms porch offer shade and close to the dive shop too..the snorkel spots close to shore filled with all kinds of fish and check out the reef balls..have fun!

Been to Sand Dollar 3 times and we are going back in 9 days. Love Sand Dollar. Very quite and relaxing place. Cannot wait to go back.

Sand dollar is currently having roof repairs and exterior painting redone. We think It is a great resort with lots of open space and the largest waterfront of any Bonaire resort. Bonaire Dive and Adventure is next door. Sand dollar has a restaurant, pool,tennis courts and lots of patio areas. all units have porches or patios that face Klein Bonaire. All of the units are individually owned and unique-they have studios, one, two and three bedroom units.. We have stayed there many times(in full disclosure, we own a studio unit there) and continue to love it for its informal, laid back lifestyle and friendly people.. It is convenient to everything, having a bank, ice cream shop, small food market and of course Michael Gaynor's Chat n Browse adjacent.
Vann Evans.

I have stayed at Sand Dollar at least fifteen times and have never been disappointed. I think the large balconies in the 2-3 bedrooms are especially nice. The staff are always nice and very careful around camera gear. I even asked one day about where I could get a few pieces of clothing washed. I placed then on a couch and went diving. Upon returning from a day of fun I found the clothes clean and folded on the couch. I'm not saying they will always do that but they did on that day and wasn't even asked. I would highly recommend Sand Dollar.

We've stayed at Sand Dollar twice and I was disappointed the second time. The (free) Sand Penny club was a big attraction; they may not be offering it anymore.

Our unit seemed rundown and I had requested to be closer to the ocean. The pool was not nice when we were there; I've heard that might have changed. It's not bad, but I don't think we're going back.

pool was renovated in 2008, opened again in August of 2008, Sonias and Eddies place next to the pool got overhauled, too. Turned out very nice, lots of locals came for breakfast on weekends when we were there (8/08 and 4/09, we are not SD owners)

I am an owner at Sand Dollar and just returned from a three week stay. Eddie's restaurant was recently painted and the pool area was renovated some time ago and is well maintained. Each condo at Sand Dollar is individually owned so no two are identical, but all have large kitchens and bathrooms. Also ALL units are oceanfront with views of the water and Klein. The grounds have been cleaned up but it is a brown resort, that is we do not waste precious water on the lawn, just the plants. The complex sits on several acres so you do not feel crowded and the oceanfront promenade that is the length of the complex is a wonderful sunrise and sunset walk. We have security from 6pm to 7am every day.

I have NEVER had a problem with BDA in general or with any staff member both now or before I was an owner at Sand Dollar. The DM's are a good bunch of diverse people who care about the guests but also the reef.

The roof on A building was just replaced and there will be work done on other buildings to a lesser extent. SD reservations will not book guests in any building that has ongoing maintenence and all work "should" be completed in a few weeks.

Patrick

Our unit was burglarized during our stay in March 2008. The second unit we occupied had such bad mildew in one bedroom that we slept in the other room. Much nicer accommodations exist on Bonaire.

Ken, do you really think it is fair to report the incident more than one year after the fact!!! Most of the SD owners take great pride in keeping their units clean and in good repair. I am not defending the property but......

Our Sand Dollar room safe was secured to the wall joist with three 6" lag bolts, yet it was extracted from the wall without any marks of prying or tampering ---- a feat worthy of Harry Houdini. Police could find no evidence of forced entry into our apartment. We concluded from these facts that the robbery was likely an inside job by someone with a pass key to our apartment who had pre-loosened the lag bolts and maintained surveillance on our apartment waiting for us to leave for dinner. We had $3000 worth of photographic and dive equipment stolen, as well as our passports. So yes I think it is relevant posting, but everyone will have to reach their own determination. The Sand Dollar staff and unit owner could not have been nicer or more empathetic. They allowed us to stay for free, and offered us a free week should we choose to come back. We are in fact returning to Bonaire in March, but have decided to lodge elsewhere.

Hi Ken...sorry for the quick reply...I remember how gracious you were when you were here. They never did solve the "mystery" break-in. I do know that security has been improved. I know how much you enjoy local food..lunch is on me in March...Keep in touch..info@chatnbrowse.com

Hi Ken

We have never had a theft problem on Bonaire, and have been there more that 10 times, knock on wood I guess... Half of our stays were at Sand Dollar the other at The Plaza. We had fiends staying at Plaza who had a similar issue you had at SD. The difference I see from your posting is these guys got a week "sorry" and that was it. Never offered anything like you said Sand Dollar did, that's great they did that.
I did hear from the manager they fired an employee suspected of going in the rooms and beefed up security, so hopefully it will not happen to someone else.
At any rate, sorry to hear about your issue and hope your next visit is event free!