Not heard anything regarding the changes at Sorobon lately. Can anyone update me.

There is a new message on the homepage. Andy

From the website:

" Dear naturist friends, In the past few months we have been working on determining the seasons for 2011 as well as on our nightly rates and weekly packages for next year. In the coming days these seasons and rates will available through this website. We are happy to confirm that for our naturist guests we have allocated the period between Saturday September 3 and Friday December 17, 2011 as naturist season! In this period of three months and two weeks, our beach will be a nude beach, the resort’s premises will be cloth optional. In our restaurant The Sugarbird, however, appropriate clothing will be requested since the restaurant will open to the general public. We hope that we have offered our long time guests an acceptable alternative and look forward in meeting you again as a guest of Sorobon Beach Resort."

In other words you are welcome in the off season.

Interesting that the Sugarbird restaurant will be open to the general public, and that "appropriate clothing" is required. Does this also mean the bar is no longer naturist? And does it mean the terrace is no longer naturist? Will guests have to dress to walk past the Sugarbird to the shop?

The resort used to close for maintenance in September, as the weather's generally not good. Will the naturists in September be sharing the place with maintenance people?

Those are all good questions Peter. I had the same thoughts. I guess that means that breakfast, lunch and dinner will require appropriate clothing. I wonder what will be considered appropriate?

I also wondered how close to the Sugarbird you can get without appropriate clothing. There are some seats that can give you a good view of a large portion of the Sorobon.

I'll miss sitting at the bar meeting other guest. Having to dress every time you go the the office for such simple things as towels or beach equipment, or to the computer room will be a pain.

I like the restaurant, but if I have to get dress everytime I'll be more likely to head to town to try different ones.

I think all naturists should just forget the idea of going to Sorobon altogether.

This thing gets more and more ridiculous by the minute.

By by Sorobon, we will fine a new resort. Sad but true, Sorobon was a paradise on earth :-(

Just received an e-mail from Sorobon Beach Resort, trying to get me to book a vacation. Closed for three weeks in the summer, to build a beach bar. Interesting, for all the years we have gone to Sorobon we have never seen more than a few people on the beach at any given time. Why would they need a beach bar? Maybe for the many guest from next door. and why make Sugarbirds clothing required during the three months in the fall, if you can't go nude throughout the whole resort why go there at all. We loved Sorobon but it will never be the same. I will make my reservation for Club Orient for the fall and will truly miss the resort that we came to love.

Greg:

The points you've raised were mine exactly.

We should all consider Sorobon a lost cause and give it up. No one should waste time with people who are trying to use them to make money in the slow months.

After all, isn't it an insult to tell naturists to wear "appropriate clothing" at Sorobon?

Naturists should reject every attempt by the new owners of Sorobon to woo them. People could go there only to find that they have introduced some new rule that is not in accord with the spirit of naturism.

Let everyone just chuck this.

To hell with it!

Any nudist who spends one dollar at Sorobon is a fool. Spend your money where you are welcome and wanted.

Search the internet you will find such a place.

FORGET this place!

I hope a lot of sorobon guests do read this forum !? or they will be disappointed. Andy

My husband and I had planned on returning to Sorobon again this year, but were informed by their web mail of the changes early on. We were greatly disappointed about their changes and have luckily made plans to stay somewhere else at a lower price. We were happy to pay a little more to stay that far out of town and not worry about packing a lot etc., however with all the changes we won't be returning to Sorobon. I agree that they don't really care about the naturalist feel of the resort, they are just trying to bring in some business during the off season. Well, good luck with that when there are other islands to go that don't have the restrictions they are putting in place.

Sadly, I fear that the above posters are right--the spirit of naturism is clothing OPTIONAL. Dining at the Sugar Bird without the ability to go au naturel will definitely not be the same, and how many "textiled" people will be mixed in with the naturists.

The naturist philosophy is so at odds with the "textile" philosophy that I doubt that the Sorobon will be able to fulfill both roles.

Farewell Sorobon.

It will be interesting to see if the bookings from the windsurfing crowd will equal those from the many dedicated naturists who have returned to Sorobon year after year...

"It will be interesting to see if the bookings from the windsurfing crowd will equal those from the many dedicated naturists who have returned to Sorobon year after year..."

If you mean "bookings", the answer's maybe. If you mean "revenue", the answer surely is no. The rates we naturists were paying at Sorobon were way above island rates, for the simple reason that it was an exclusive naturist resort. Will windsurfers pay naturist rates? No way!

Interesting to see that the resort is already offering special deals to try to get people in.

Dear BT Friends,

It's that time of year again....time to start planning the escape from the lab and the shortening days of near winter! Whoooooo-hooo! Why oh why did they change? I agree with the rate statement on windsurfers vs. naturists; The premium was dear but well worth it. I remember an incident when a couple of WS'ers stayed there for King O' the Carib...I liked the scooter job they did on the parking lot at 12am...
With all my 'googling' I have yet to find anything that comes close to SBR. I refuse to go Orient Beach..."I won't go into it here"...lol. Any suggestions? We're divers to boot...
I met the guys who own the place and they seemed plausibly cool. It's to bad that even the 'naturist time slot' is not 100% the experience....,........................, etc, etc.

Maybe if a season or two of reduced bookings goes by, they will realize that the resort's niche really is the "Naturist" model, and re-think their business plan. I can't help but think about all the lost revenue from the many repeat naturist customers. Several years ago, I met an elderly couple that was making their 18th visit to Sorobon! I doubt the windsurfers will generate that kind of loyalty...

My wife and have been going to Sorobon for years also, would always meet repeat visitors. I hope your right Keith and that after a few lean years they will go back to the way it was. As for now we will go else where

The change is very sad.
We booked our, probably last Sorobon vacation, for october this year. We will see, if there are already some modifications were made.
I hope, they will keep the staff.
I also get all the emails from Sorobon, but still don't know what the new concept really consists.
I will give you a trip report.

Why spend any money at this place? Especially in October.

Hurricane Omar passed over Bonaire on October 17, 2008.

This is the rainy season and the island is teaming with mosquitos.

We have have friends that live on the island and say the mosquitos are so bad this time of year that they want to leave the island.

There is a reason they are opening the resort to nudists in the off season.

BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WANTS TO BE THERE THEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are filler and will be treated as such. Look forward to your report.

Every Month is beautiful on this island.
I was on the island in october. And I was there right after Omar. At Sorobon.
I can't remember strong rain. After a few minutes the rain is over anyway. And it is really fun to walk naked in warm rain!
Mozzies? Yes. And? We use repellent and enjoy this lovely place. Incredible island.

Found on TripAdvisor....
Things are changing since the change of ownership in Dec 2009. Shopping trips into town were cut by the new owners to only Mondays to force people to eat in the resturant and not buy food at the market. Cab fare for the 5 miles to town is $20 each way ($40 round trip) and rental vehicles run $70+ a day. The rooms are being renovated to remove the kitchen and leaving only a frig and wet bar. This again to force people to eat on site. There are 7 or 8 kayaks for guest but only 4 paddles. Go figure. The staff are just a helpful and plesant as before but are stressed as to if they will still have a job in the future.
The focus of the converted Sorobon resort will be on windsurfers and $$$$$$$$$$. The new owners are under the mistaken impression that the guest will return after the end of naturism. Few of the guest plan to come back, even the ones with multiple visits over the years.
As for now, it is still plesant with wonderful snorkeling but I have no idea how fast policy changes will take place before the windsurfer conversion of the resort. For my wife and I we will not risk that amount of money for something this unsure in the future.

Mermaid,

Have a great time. You obviously do not mind the changes at Sorobon and will keep putting money in their pockets.

I look forward to your report.

When you have a model that's worked as well as the naturist model has worked for Sorobon over the years, why change it?? We were told that 2007 and 2008 were very good years for the resort, and that bookings were as good as they had ever been. I fear that the new owners have badly misread the situation if they think that the naturists will "settle" for the few scraps that they have thrown to us.
When the resort reverts to naturism due to lack of customers, and the kitchens are restored, I will return, not before.

I had another interesting thought. Over the years of going to Sorobon and also visiting the windsurf place next door, yes I did put my clothes on. The people that we met at Sorobon for the most part are professional people,(doctors, lawyers, a few like myself were airline types and a CEO of a company) All these people could afford to pay a little more the opportunity to say at a naturist resort, now that its going textile I wonder if the windsurfers can support the new place. And as far as it being naturist for the three months they have chosen, I think most of us will choose to go else where. If it ever goes back to the way it was, I will return then to see some old friends. But for now its off to St. Martin

My partner and I will miss Sorobon , I hope they see what a special place they had ....
Any other place s out there that compare?

I also will be looking to the trip report. I have been to the Sorobon in Oct. Nov. and Dec. over the years and found it very pleasant there without too many problems with mosquitos. I too will not be returning to Sorobon after this year unless their policy changes. I liked St Martin, and will be going back there. I too am looking for other places if there are any suggestions.

Always looking for new information about Sorobon, any news?

has anyone seen this?
http://bonairetwitter.com/tag/sorobon-beach-resort/

Interesting link. Look at the comments. My wife and I have been going to the Sorobon for about 10 years and although we heard rumors about selling, we never saw any ads about selling. It basically came as a surprise. Did anyone know about the sale, especially to the current owners and not to any naturist?

There is an archived thread pertaining to the sale which occurred last December. You may find it interesting.

The comments on the bonairetwitter site are interesting but the style the new owners adopted appears to not be that uncommon on the island, at least among the Dutch. If you're familiar with the Jong Bonaire calendar, the photographer who does the illustrations has also photographed what appears to be a very high-end home on the island. It's displayed on his web site. While very posh, it is as sterile as what you see in the new Sorobon decor. What I found particularly amusing was the removal of the wall to the bedroom just as the resort was going textile.

They've updated the website:

http://www.sorobonbeachresort.com/en/

Their naturism specials run from 1st of july till 17th of december. Also june based on availability:

http://www.sorobonbeachresort.com/en/rates/specials

No mention of the supposed naturism only period. The same period seems also available for clothed bookings.

Interesting new website. Shame about the poor spellings, getting "Sorobon" correct would have been nice!

The Rates information does say that 3 Sep - 16 Dec 2011 is Naturist Only.

However, the daily rates seem to have been increased (substantially at Christmas). I can't see non-naturists paying these rates. And maybe my memory's not so good, but isn't $19.25 for breakfast a little expensive??

I see that Carla is listed as "Operations Manager". Does this mean that Rian was asked to leave?

Dear naturist friends, my husband and I were there for 2 weeks in July. It was very conflicting, it was sad and happy. The sad, the place looked very messy. There was a huge tent in the clearing that stood there for the whole 2 weeks, bottles floating and the beach had alot of seaweed. Disappointing. The two weeks we were there we never met the owners eventhough we were told they were there. I guess those days of greeting and making you feel at home is over. Eventhough the place was painted white did not really matter to me but it does nothing for the place it only makes it look depressing. The wall is no longer there, this created a very uncomfortable feeling and non-naturist neighbors were constantly at the raft, we were never able to just sit and enjoy. So forget about the exclusivity that we enjoyed in the past. Also, the second raft was removed, I guess the windsurfers wants and needs were met. Further, the second pier that was built in front of 29 was removed, the story is they were no permits for this improvements, I wonder if the new owners will get those permits. That was very lovely. For the happy. The staff are still wonderful. Karla made us feel like we were coming back home but with some changes. She is still the best. As for the room changes, I took a look at one of the rooms and I liked it, only one of them number nine. It did have a very warm suffistication to it. The Cook, Lucille is wonderful, a big improvement to the past Cooks'. I am definitely not going in those alotted months, I would of considered going if the owners would of shown some interest in their guest. Also, I prefer my vacations in July. Hopefully, the new owners will have a change of heart.

It is sad that the resort we have come to love and want to return to will soon be gone. People that are not naturist will never know the feelings we have, I really don't care. The new owners are really not interested in keeping the resort the way it was, thats obvious, the three months in the fall are typically the slow months. If you choose to go during these times and help support their cause, then don't expect it to be like it has been in the past as experience by the last post. As I have said in my past post I will not return and will only have good memories of the past. Off to St. Martin this fall.

Thanks for the update. Is the wall completely missing? They could have left that in place until December when the change is complete. It seems like they are purposely trying to make sure naturist do not want to go back.

Sounds grim to us...We have res for mid October ..and it sounds as though, for what will probably be our last visit to Sorobon..and in that case Bonaire. We have been going since 1985, and well like everything else in life, one door closes and others open up..

There are about three panels of fence. Now you can see their beach. Hope the place is tended too when you go in October. The one thing I did forget was the plants are overgrown. Such a shame.

To MJ. As you were there in July, did you notice, was the bar up and operating as usual...My husband and I always enjoyed "happy hour" and the opportunity to sit around with others at the bar.

My wife and I with some friends are going for our last trip to Sorobon in Nov. It sounds like there have been great changes since our last visit, last year. I had planned on last year being my last visit to Sorobon so that I would have good memories of the place.

Now that I'm going back I'll try to update as much as possible the changes that have taken place since last year. So far what I've read, it doesn't sound good.

I'm not pleased that I may be adding to the idea by the new owners that naturists are still interested in going to Sorobon a few months a year, but these plans have been in the works for a very long time.

life goes on..... whats about Paya Bay Resort Honduras ? Andy

Honduras isn't perhaps the ideal tourist destination. The British government cautions tourists considering visiting Honduras on a number of counts, including crime, instability and dengue fever.

Id llike to hear more on Paya Bay Honduras...if you will ...

No more wall !!! I will be there with my family at the end of october. I hope there will be not to much "voyeur". Probably it will be the last time we go (it's our 5th visit)

I believe all they have left of the wall is a little on the beach area. It also sounds like there are a lot of people that come over from Jibe City and use the raft. I saw that last Nov. when I was there and there was no attempt to stop them then. Now it seems to be an open beach.

I believe all they have left of the wall is a little on the beach area. It also sounds like there are a lot of people that come over from Jibe City and use the raft. I saw that last Nov. when I was there and there was no attempt to stop them then. Now it seems to be an open beach.

Sorry about the double post.

Go check out the new website. The naturist period is no longer September-December. It's been shortened to simply the month of September. An email went out about this last week from the new owners.

What are we going to do now ? Buying another resort ? Andy

Andy, just wait patiently for about a year or two, then Sorobon should be for sale again. At that time, we can all club together, buy it, and return it to naturism. After all, as a failed business, it should be cheap!

I am not a naturist (just not my thing) so I have never visited Sorobon. My sympathies to those of you who are naturists -- it seems you have lost a very special place.

A few other observations:
a) I suspect the timing of the Sorobon naturist month(s) has as much to do with wind conditions as it being the low season. (I go to Bonaire every Sept/Oct and have a great time at that time of year!)
b) You can rent a car on the island for much less than $70/day -- if you rent for a week.
c) Hard to say whether this will get them more money or less. Yes, naturists spend money. As do some wind surfers. If I were a hard core windsurfer, Sorobon would be at the top of my list. The location is simply ideal.
d) The (new?) rates seem very high by Bonaire standards and when you add on the meal plan...

Again, my sympathies: it sucks for any of us to give up our special place...

(Message edited by bonairetrip on September 26, 2010)

My huz and I have been planning our trip for a couple of years, had to postpone last year, looks like we really made a bad decision! Of course, all is paid for, can't cancel now! Or can we? hmm
We will be there 10-10, and I will definitely share anything I experience! but, I am now worried that my "very relaxing vacation" may be a myth - and as a diver, we definitely will not pay to stay on this side of the island! Looks like Buddy Dive has our business again!

If Insel Air works we will arrive Sorobon the 16th Oct..Based upon what I have read I feel it may well be the last time...Sorobon Resort has always been a very special place for us, and we will miss it.

Based on recent posts, I am glad we booked for St Martin in Oct. when all these changes were announced. In spite of assurances to the contrary, we are very unconvinced about the attempts made by the original owner to sell Sorobon "for over a year." Not a single person who has posted over the months seems to have been approached or seen anything in print. No one records even small or failed attempts to gather interested investors etc. So it looks like a classic case of the old $torie$.
It a personal opinion, but those who pay premium prices to stay at resorts that really don't offer outstanding amenities, are willing to pay the going rates because there is some element of trust and good will. For example, guests trust that their security will be respected; also their privacy; also that return visits will be appreciated and perhaps acknowledged with small favors of gratitude; also that the growing emotional attachment to friends, staff and premises will not be jerked from under them because someone has a chance to make some cash. If there had been a national or island catastrophe, or a crisis in the owner's life that had resulted in an abrupt decision, we might have borne with it. But to neglect any mailing of proposed plans; or solicitation of ideas or connections which might have led to a happy resolution, was to say the least both inconsiderate and selfish. While we do not wish such people ill, we do wonder how much happiness, health and future success will greet their pathway. Thus, and again this is only a private opinion, I don't know if the person who posted above about "waiting until the venture fails" was serious or not, but it would be a great thing if that was more than a wish. One thing for sure, if the place ever did reopen under new management, measures would need to be built in from the foundation to avoid a repeat.

My wife and I haven't been to Sorobon in several years but were thinking about going again this year. We have stayed at Sorobon 7 times over the years and loved it. It was perfect. So glad I found this site before we booked. It is such a shame that such a wonderful little spot in this screwy world is gone. We met some very nice people and always had a fantastic time there. Does anyone remember Karl and Louise, the managers/owners?

Hello and good evening!! Did you knew that fact ? The latest news from Floris an Dirk-Jan. Andy


Dear Jibe City Friends,

After more than 3 fantastic years working at Jibe City the-ones-in-a-lifetime-opportunity came along. Sorobon Beach Resort was for sale and my business partner, Floris Dullaart and me decided to buy this unique resort located next to Jibe City.
Jibe City is now for 100% in the capable hands of Robert & Monique. Gert-Jan came back to take over the management of Jibe City.
As of today I will be fully focused on transforming Sorobon Beach Resort into a leisure/activity resort. Please note the change of contact details below.

I hope to welcome you @ Sorobon Beach Resort,

Is Guadeloupe a acceptable alternative ( Eden Nat and Carribean Nature ) to Sorobon Beach Resort ? Andy

Dear Sorobon,

Is there any sort of event or gathering planned for the end of Sorobon’s naturist days..like a “last person on the beach at midnight” type of thing? A cocktail party, etc…

Best wishes,
(loving Sorobon since 1999-2000?)

My wife and I had our first (and not last) naturist experience at Sorobon in January 2009. I'd hoped to come back every few years. I see that will not be happening. We met several very nice couples during our time there and thouroughly enjoyed our time. Dining at the Surgarbird or going to the bar or the beach or wherever on the resort grounds sans clothing was the key. Now it seems we'd be the entertainment. No thanks.

We were (my wife, me and our three daughters) at Sorobon the last week of october and first of november. It was our third vacations in this resort. It was still very nice, the fence between jibe city is reduce around 1/3 from initial. A bar is in building state on the beach, so i think when it will be finished, the peaceful will disappear with lot of music. The trip to the town is only one time a week now (on wednesday). The restaurant is still VERY GOOD and naturist. Most of people team are the same and still friendly

99$ Opening Special ( Which opening ??) What a comedown........ Andy