Just returned from week at Sand Dollar. The best thing about it was the new restaurant, Mangos, as well as the easy access to the water from the new pier and the ladders. The warm outdoor showers were also nice. The condo itself was nice and was kept clean. The maintenance crew came and fixed the broken screen doors and windows promptly when asked.

Just to warn you of a few things that were a little bit suprising: Most of the staff was very blaze and bored and didn't really seem to be at all excited to see customers, even though we were virtually the only folks staying there out of 85 condos!!

You can begin to see the evidence of the lack of business there, the garden areas are not as well taken care of as they could be etc..

We were suprised to not have air conditioning except in the bedroom, but maybe we should have guessed this ahead of time. But anyway, with having to close the windows every time you leave due to theft, it was hard to keep the main rooms at all cool. Air conditioning is very expensive on the island, so I quess I can understand why the condo owners don't have it in most of the condos.

Most of the the dive shop staff appeared bored and not too thrilled to help, so I basically went elsewhere for the most part.

We still had a great time and enjoyed the wonderful island - but will probably stay elsewhere next time!!

good luck on your vacations!!

jennifer, that's too bad. when we were there a year ago, we had air conditioning in the bedrooms only as well. i'm not sure, do other places have AC throughout the condos? i think it is pretty typical to only have it in the bedrooms.

good to hear nice things about the restaurant. maybe an email to andre, the manager at the dive shop with your comments may be helpful to get the crew in shape....they were fabulous when we were there...

Cynde, I know that Plaza has A/C everywhere.. not sure about other places though...

Buddy Dive Resort has AC only in the bedrooms also. We always had a nice breeze blowing through the rest of the condo. We kept the bedroom doors closed to keep the cool air in and the mosquitos out. Debbie

Jennifer,
Caribbean Court has A/C everywhere too... it's located next to the Plaza. The onsite dive operators, Photo Tours, has always offered us GREAT service! I am planning to go back to Bonaire in Jan 2003 and Jun 2003. I will stay with them again.

Jennifer,
Our only experience with Sand Dollar was when we did our site inspections last April. We also felt the lack of guest relations. Sand Dollar seemed vacant but the new pier was just being started at the time. I'm sure it's much nicer now. We loved the staff and services at Capt. Don's and plan to return there. Buddy's also had a great, friendly staff. Customer service is very important to us. After all, the guest is paying the staff member's income! Hopefully, Sand Dollar will read your report and make the improvements.

Plans have all ready been in place at Sand Dollar for improving the guests experience. Sand Dollar recently hired a new sales and marketing director, Carol Bradovchak who will be staying on site for the first four months of 2003. Two important aspects of her job involve meeting guests to make sure their stay is enjoyable and the second is working with the staff to enhance customer relations.

It looks like the folks at Sand Dollar are trying to turn it around. I imagine that time will tell.

Jennifer, the comments by the Zales and by Michael Gaynor are right on. I know that Carol, the new marketing manager, is very capable and has started an intensive effort to improve the environment at Sand Dollar as she previously did at Buddy Dive. I own a condo at the Sand dollar and on my recent trip, I could see that things are beginning to turn around. It takes a while to recover from the loss of a pier, but now that the new one is in place, the new Mangos restaurant has opened, and another is being renovated dockside, everything points to the return of the thrilling resort Sand Dollar has always been. Guests who have recently stayed in my apartment always write favorable reviews in my guest book.
As far as air conditioning, all studios are fully airconditioned. Many two bedroom apartments are as well. Take a look at my apartment to see a 2BR unit that is fully air conditioned, including the living room at: www.RentACondoBonaire.com
Gloria and Milton

Hi Jennifer

I communicated with you a while back when you had some questions about a possible Sanddollar rental.
It was my understanding that you and your husband were snorklers, not divers.
I am also a non diver, but the diving members of my family and all the diving guests we have had with us at Sanddollar have always been treated with the utmost care and courtesy by the dive shop that is connected with Sanddollar.
My son dove with Sanddollar from the time he was 12 years old and has brought many other young people with him to share in the diving experience. Some of the very personable and highly trained professional dive masters who worked with these beginning divers are still part of Andre's operation.
I can assure you that no one who is employed by that dive shop is "bored" when it comes to the safety of the divers in their care.
.
Sanddollar is in a phase of regrowth and redevelopment and the outlook is very positive .
Just watch our bubbles rise!

Thanks for your comments. I never once said anything about the Sand Dollar dive staff being bored about guest's safety. That is taking my comments way out of context and trying to make me sound ridiculous. This site is supposed to give travelers a place to write honestly about their experiences in order to help other travelers. Let's not get petty now.

I am glad that the Sanddollar is going to put more energy into guest relations. I only met the staff in the dive office. If they don't act excited to see you and help you plan your trips, you don't want to make it beyond that!

Good luck, the Sanddollar will hopefully return to it's former glory!!

Jennifer,
Thanks for your honest comments. You're right..this site should list both pros and cons regarding each resort/accommodations. We all have different lodging requirements and all we can do is say it as we see it!
I checked out Milton's condo site and his unit looks great! The unit we were shown at Sand Dollar certainly was not as nice. Obviously not all owners provide such a nice "home away from home"! With the new leadership (and these comments) I'm sure the guest services at Sand Dollar will improve very quickly. :-)

Each Condo is privately owned and must meet a minimum stadard. The ones to the south are older than those on the north side, so some of them have been upgraded while others have not. I had dinner in one on friday and it had airco throuhout and I about froze! Yes, this forum is for objective comments and relating personel experiences and the fact that we don't always agree with each other is why it works so well.

Anyway, back to what I originally said - the good things remember?? The Sanddollar has a wonderful site right on the water, and great ladders and a pier to get into the crystal clear water. The restaurant is exceptionally wonderful!! And my condo was nicely kept up and well cleaned during my stay. The security guards were nice and seemed to be watching out for us!! The old pier next door to the left - that used to be at the old Sunset Beach hotel - has lots of great fishes!! Obviously, there is less coral since the storm Lenny and things have changed in that way.


In terms of guest relations, I think that the main thing that is important to me is that the staff seem interested and helpful and somewhat enthusiastic about our vacation. I think that the staff in an ideal world, should act as if they care that you have a good time, and check in with you once or twice. My husband says that condos are different and you are on your own. I think that it is probably different for condo owners and regulars who are recognized by the staff and treated differently. I think some Bonaireans are very shy and they don't smile quickly at strangers, so they may come across as unfriendly at first. And many tourists like myself never get beyond being a stranger in a week's trip. So, I try and not expect as much and take this into account.

It would be nice if when you went to the condo front desk if they knew something about the restuarants etc in the area too - or at least if they had tried the Mango's right there on the site! I know that this is hard, because the front desk folks don't get out to eat much maybe. Claire at the front desk was great, but that is not her normal role she said!

When I walk up to the dive office and say I just arrived and want to hear about the various trips - it would be nice if they acted glad I was there and went over the trips with me. Not just stared at me and then said, which trip do you want? I quess I am one of those types who want someone to help me with the decision making! And many tourists are like me I imagine.

The air conditioning is not an issue of right or wrong, I just was suprised and will look into this issue better in the future that's all. I agree that the air can get really cold too, but when you are in your own condo, you can set it how you want of course.

One thing I was concerned about was how much we would be bothered by looking at the abandoned hotel next door. You don't see the terrible run down building next door (of the sunset beach hotel) as much as I feared. Only some of the hallways leading to the condos near the dive shop - you do see the old hotel from this angle. NOt from the condos but just as you walk to your doorway outside. I hope that this abandoned hotel will be fixed up someday and that sad sight will be taken care of!! But that is a diff. discussion all together!! And this has been discussed previously on another message area!!

Just a few comments to add to today's discussion. I too found the SandDollar staff to be borderline unfriendly, blase at best, during my stay last December. I've stayed at SandDollar two different times and am psyched about the new restaurant...the old one definitely needed much improvement. Also the new pier sounds Great....can't wait to come back and try it. Just one thing of note that did concern me on my last visit. We were in a first floor studio unit with a screened porch (that was locked) and we decided to leave the sliding door open one night for fresh breezes instead of the air conditioning. The security guard came around twice and shone his bright light on us in bed and did not go away when we yelled at him.....instead he came around to the main door on the other side and shone his light in there.....it was frightening. Needless to say, we closed up and did not sleep with the door open again! Other than that incident, we loved the SandDollar and would definetly stay there again. Glad to hear about the improvements underway.

Hope, you brought a laugh to me with a memory of our first time on Bonaire. We stayed at the Oceanfront Apartments right in town, and one night we decided to leave the sliding door in the bedroom open to let the breeze blow thru rather than A/C. Well, the "breeze" was so strong the curtains were standing straight out, all doors slammed shut, it sounded like we were in a wind tunnel. LOL...we had to get up re-arrange & turn on the A/C, set at a "just barely on" setting.
Since then, we've always enjoyed the A/C in the bedroom wherever we've stayed on Bon.

Hello All who have communicated on this issue. Since my own comments there are six or seven od you who have commented on the Sand dollar. There seems to be unanimous agreement that the dive facility is focused on diver comfort and safety as well as providing easy entry into the water. That is most important but the comments on improvements required in relationships at the hotel are equally important. Now that the pier and new restaurant are in place, the general manager has assured us that those those aspects of hotel operation involving the staff have been addressed and are constantly supervised. My own experience on a recent trip to Sand Dollar has found an enthusiasm among the hotel staff that is very encouraging. I'm sure that previously they were discouraged by the absence of a fully viable dive facility but now that it is in place and operating their attitude is very positive.
I want to thank all of you for your comments, both positive and negative. As a concerned owner at the Sand Dollar, I will be certain that the general manager and the marketing department are fully aware of your comments.

Hi - I am the one who started this particular message! It has been interesting to hear from diff folks, especially the ones who listen to eachother and don't get defensive!

I have received a lovely e-mail from a manager at the Sanddollar who seemed to really and truley listen to my concerns and care - and I could tell that she believed me. She seems to understand the issues and how to address them. I wasn't expecting or soliciting a note from anyone on the staff and was glad that is was a positive experience!

I hope for the best for the Sanddollar and
wish all the other travelers great luck!! I may be wrong, but I think that familiar faces and repeat guests may have more repore with the staff and get the smiles and enthusiasm a little more easily than the rest of us! Which is of course not fair, but may help explain a little.

Oh and by the way..to the folks who got the flashlight shone on them - a staff member told me the guards are worried about open doors/windows especially on the main floor - for theft reasons. But you would think that the guard would have noticed you were in there?? That would be awful!! We were on the second floor, so we felt safe leaving the screen door open to the deck, and I would recommend the second floor to others too!! But we locked the windows each time we left, so that got to be a chore - several times a day!! Oh well - the crime issues are not the fault of the Sanddollar staff - but it is a burden and a shame. Things are not what they used to be in Bonaire, but it is still an overall safe place in my opinion!!

We just got back from staying at the Sanddollar, Prior to this trip it was several years ago we stayed there. We were impressed with the good condition of the units and how well they keep the condos clean. We had a small incident with the office staff that was no big issue but could have been handled a little better. We thought the condo was better than the ones we had at Buddy Dive, but we liked the staff at Buddy Dive better. This year we decided to get our shore diving package with Buddy Dive again because it seemed better suited for the type of diving we do (non-stop shore diving!).