Planning a trip in early March. My wife is not a diver and I want to stay at a property with the best beach and creature comforts for her enjoyment while I'm diving. I greatly appreciate info comparing the two hotels. Is the beach diving better at one or the other?? I understand Harbor Village is more expensive and I will pay the extra $$ if justified. Many thanks.

i really haven't figured out who "Harbor Village" really services...it's a fancy place allright but it's location is not ideal for diving - the location is good for other things though.

the plaza may be a better bet - good diving and a good beach - not quite as convenient and also not quite as expensive as harbor village...

note i have not stayed at either place, but have visited both...

Has Harbour village done a lot of refurbishment work recently? Wouldn't this give it an advantage over 'Plaza' if it had?

Not that I have been to either...

I saw Harbour Village post refurbishement (Aug.) prior to it closing in Oct. 2001. It was LOVELY. The new renovations were incredible. We were sent to stay there in Oct. but it closed so we went to Plaza. We had a grand suite. It was lovely. Not as grand but really quite nice.

Since, I have stayed in the villas at Plaza. They face the marina. I LOVED IT there..also Port Bonaire was heaven.

Annie

When my wife and I were on our honeymoon this past June (2002), we stayed at the Plaza Resort Hotel during our time on Bonaire (we also spent time on Curacao). There are some nice things and some things I did not particularly like...

Ocean view rooms, have nice view of ocean and are close to beach.

The beach is nice, it has lounge chairs and palm trees for shade. There is a small hut/bar for drinks and some sandwhiches at lunch. To get in the water, it can be a little slippery on the coral/rock slab they have, but it isn't hard, just watch your step. Neither my wife nor I dive, I snorkel and she has started... their is decent life right off the beach, many fish, corals, moray eel(s), saw a flounder, etc.

Fairly decent sized pool right near beach, however we did not every use it, so not sure of clorine content, etc.

The showers in the room have decent pressure, but do not rinse off shampoo or soap very well as is to be expected.

Bathrooms are decent, bed is decent, the room is ok in general except for the air conditioning was poor. It helped keep the room manageable but not at a comfortable level.

The worst part was the room noise from next door! We could hear the people/kids/whoever next door when they talked, when they burped, when they dragged their furniture across the floor... after being out in the sun all day and trying to get to sleep at midnight, we had to call the hotel and complain many times on one night in particular before I was able to get to sleep.

Room service was decent. The food at the hotel was ok, but much better to go out and eat elsewhere...

The casino... not sure if your a gambling type, but it is nothing like I had visited before... the dealers we encountered were very inexperienced... and would payout incorrectly. I had to correct a payout when my wife had 4 aces in let it ride. I also had to correct my own payout during roulette. A bonus is that they have a European roulette wheel, with only a single 0, and no 00. So your odds are better, although they have a minimum of $1 denomination on that wheel, vs .5 on the american wheel. Not a big deal really, with the improved odds! You can't get that in vegas. Also, be careful if you visit on the weekends, all sorts of locals go to the casino and are very rude and pushy. We could not take it and left when we went there on a fridya night. The weekdays are much nicer, but be careful of bingo nights, they are hugely popular and they play on all surfaces, including the table games...

Room service for breakfast was insanely expensive... but not as bad as Curacao... I personally do not eat breakfast, but my wife gets REALLY grumpy if she doesn't eat regularly, so I bit the bullet. They have a breakfast buffet that was decent.

Make sure you rent a car if you plan on travelling around the island... unless you are hikers, it is hot and quite a hike from Plaza Resort up to the main part of Kralendijk (sp?). I will try to post some pictures on one of my websites this weekend with pics of the rooms, beach etc that I might have and post here with the link.

Any particular question about the hotel? I might be able to answer it... OH, no clock in the room. It was very strange... they do wake-up calls and they didn't miss one in the 9 days we were there...

We will be staying at the Plaza in early February. When we made the reservations, Harbor Village was closed. Do the grand suites have refrigerators and is there hot water in the showers? What size beds are in the grand suites? If there are refrigerators, where do you recommend purchasing beer, wines, etc. to stock it? I love Asti, can you purchase this anywhere on the island? Do you have trouble getting beach chairs at the Plaza or do you have to save them at the crack of dawn?? How do most people dress for dinners in Bonaire? Thanks for any input.

Cindy, our grande suit had a fridge. There was plenty of hot water and we had two queen beds.

You can buy wine and beer many place. Wine at Antillean Wine shop, beer at any grocery. I like Warehouse and Cultimara. Progresso sometimes for canned goods and boxed juices. There is no one stop shopping in Bonaire.

You can get some nice Prosecco at Antillean Wine.

There are lots of chairs so no need to stake out your camp. No offense but that practice seen in Aruba makes me NUTS. Sometimes chairs are empty for HOURS.

Dress is smart casual. No bathing suits in town.

Have a BLAST!

Another reason Joe and I no longer go to Aruba...just ONE of many reasons....Bonaire is soooo much better. Hope you are feeling better soon, Annie. CArole

Annie, Thanks for all the info. As I mentioned, this is our first trip to Bonaire and we have been staying in all inclusive resorts for the last 14 years. Just trying to learn all I need to know prior to arrival. We did rent a truck for shore diving and dinners. Are there things to see and do within walking distance of the Plaza or do we need to drive? Any places for good coffee and Cafe Mochas??? Made reservations at Croccatinos for Valentines dinner. Found their website for reservations. Have you eaten there or do you recommend some place different? Thanks again. Cindy

I'm not sure what your other Carib experience encompasses, but it is possible that Bonaire will be a lot more relaxed and casual than other places you have visited.

It is really a place to unwind. A hectic pace is antithetical to the island, i.e., the concept of reserving beach chairs (brought a smile because we've been to those places, never again after Bonaire.) And "dressing for dinner" is a relative term. You will find the great majority of folks at the nicest restaurants (again, relative) in nice street shorts and short sleeves. Every time we go, we pack less.

Bonaire is all about enjoying the sea and the land. I think you will have a wonderful time and I think you will be very surprised and, like the rest of us, perhaps captured by the culture.

Just slow down, think the enjoyment of the moment, and don't sweat the little stuff.

Charles Poteet
Dallas

P.S. We've stayed at the Plaza and will do so again in March. Again, take advantage of being in a different culture on a different tempo. Perhaps she'll try snorkeling and see a world unimagined.

I think Elizabeth does a SUPER job at Croccatinos and my friend Delno works there on occassion. The garden is magical.

You can walk to Old Inn, Richards, Divi and town from Plaza..easy..also there is a new restaurant on the water next to Divi called Tu Monde. Martin, the bartender makes the BEST fresh lime on the rocks Margaritas..tell him I sent you. You can walk to Blue Moon too (great bar food and pumpkin).

Oh you will have a BLASTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Coffee, I do not do but I heard Sea Horse Cyber Cafe and Cozzoli's have the best coffee but again, who knows. Karel's has a cappacino bar on the pier. How NICE!

Does the Plaza Resort provide beach towels or must I pack my own? I have e-mailed the resort but no response as yet. Counting the days!!!!!

They have beach towels. Don't waste your valuable space bringing any!

Just thought I'd add my two cents worth. My wife and I are heading back next week to the Plaza for our second stay there. We spent a week there in 2001 and the place was ideal for us. The rooms are large and clean, our air conditioning was excellent and the room was very quiet. An excellent beach with easy shore entry for snorkeling and/or diving is a big plus. The rocks are slippery but not that difficult to get by. Ladder entry by the dock is also available. We found the staff to be well organized, helpful and friendly. The dive shop and dive op...Toucan Divers...is absolutely top notch. The Plaza's restaurants are mediocre with the majority of off site restaurants being much better. The town of Kralendijk is only a 15 minute walk from the resort and, IMHO, you do not need to rent a car to get back and forth. I would not hesitate recommending the Plaza as very nice place to spend some precious vacation time.

Stanley, Thank you so much for the input on the Plaza. I always feel a little apprehensive when staying in a new place which is why we settled into the Sandals resorts for so long. All the reports I have read on Bonaire make it seem like a wonderful place to go and it seems people just keep coming back. Are they are restaurants that you would recommend highly. What were your favorite spots for breakfast? It is in the single digits here today (PA) with the high getting to 16 and I can't wait to get to Bonaire.

I agree with Stanley - the Plaza is great. However, during our last visit in September, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the on-site restaurants had really improved - especially Banana Tree. Their sesame-crusted tuna and their filet mignon ranked among the best meals I've had anywhere. This is probably due to the Plaza's having moved Ben from managing the Tipsy Seagull to Banana Tree. He transformed the food at the Tipsy from "so-so" to quite good during 2001, and seems to have worked wonders at Banana Tree. Lunches at the Coconut Crash beach bar were still kind of lame in September, but maybe they've improved by now as well. The Plaza's buffet breakfast is varied and good, but unless you're a hearty eater, the "all you can eat" pricing (around $12) is steep for breakfast. Anyway, you might want to give the Plaza's restaurants a chance, especially for dinner. (And I hope there haven't been any unfortunate changes since September to prove me wrong...)

Best regards, -Deborah

I really enjoy Cozzoli's for breakfast. Oceanfront setting, good coffee and generally very pleasant service.

Deborah & Josie, Thanks for the input. We will definitely try the Banana Tree for dinner one night and Cozzoli's for breakfast. I'm so glad there is good coffee, that was the one thing I missed in Jamaica, the coffee was very very strong although I guess it had sat for a long time as well. 19 days and counting...... Cindy