i enjoyed my stay at this hotel very much. there are quite a few good places to eat locally too. i didnt have an AI meal plan here though. the rooms are spacios and the parking lot was close by. i loved bonaire so i cant say anything bad about this place.

My husband and I just returned from a week in Bonaire. We shared a 2-bedroom condo at Buddy Dive with another couple. Neither my husband nor I had ever been to Bonaire. The man in the couple traveling with us had been many, many times with dive groups. He told us the property recently has expanded, as 2 properties merged. So, there may be different experiences depending on where on the property you are staying.

Our original flight into Bonaire was cancelled, and we ended up on a red-eye, getting in around 5 a.m. The man traveling with us called the agent he used to book the trip, and talked to the hotel staff, to make sure that someone would be available to pick us up at the hotel at that hour. Our ride was waiting when we got there, and she drove us to the hotel and dropped us off directly in front of our room, allowing us to check in later. We immediately fell into bed after traveling since 5 a.m. the previous morning!

When we woke up, we explored the rooms a bit. Furnishings are old and well-worn, but clean and well-maintained. We had 2 twin beds in our room, which we could push together. The linens were clean and soft and the bed firm but comfortable. The other room had a king bed, which our friends said was comfortable. Our bathroom was very large, with a huge shower and good water pressure (very important to me). The living area had a futon sofa, table with 4 chairs and a couple of additional chairs, and a TV that got enough news and entertainment for the 30 minutes or so we watched it before going out to explore again. We also had a kitchenette with fridge, sink and small stove.

Both the living area and bedrooms were airconditioned, on separate systems, and it could get COLD in there, but easy to adjust so comfortable.

The only problem with the condo unit was that neither toilet worked properly. They would not flush well and occasionally not at all. Usually the first flush of the day was fine, and after that it was all downhill. VERY inconvenient. and aggravating. Housekeeping usually got things cleaned up and semi-working each day, but it would deteriorate again relatively soon. The toilet also ran all the time, gurgled, was loud.

There was a nice, small pool just outside our cluster of buildings, with ample area for laying out. We were in Bonaire during off season, so it wasn't crowded, otherwise finding a chair might have been an issue.

We ate breakfast at the Lion's Den buffet one morning, but found it to be just ok and not worth the $25 or so we paid for 2 plates of eggs. We preferred taking a trip to a grocery store and stocking our fridge with wonderful dutch cheeses, fresh bread, eggs and other supplies. We ate breakfast in the condo every day afterward, and lunch most days too.

We did enjoy lunch at the Pool Bar restaurant one day - cheeseburgers in paradise. That was very nice and the staff was courteous. We also had dinner at Lion's Den on their famous "lobster night" and it was outstanding. Huge 12-oz lobster tails! Service was excellent at dinner.

We really didn't do much diving - I'm very rusty and my husband and our friend only did 1 other dive, and we did all that on another site. My husband and I did snorkel off the docks at Buddy Dive, and it was very nice, easy access to the beautiful clear water, lots of fish and coral right there.

Overall, I thought this was a very nice, clean resort with good people and service. It's not fancy, so if you're looking for that, try someplace else.

Bonaire was FANTASTIC. One of the best vacations ever! We rented a truck and drove all over the island, visiting the salt mines, traveling up to the hillsides where an overlook provides views of the whole island, watched windsurfing and waded at Lac Bay, went to the "wild side" and took photos of the huge jetties of sea spray.

I would recommend Buddy Dive.

WHERE: Buddy Dive Resort, Bonaire

WHEN: September 07. This was a GREAT time to visit Bonaire. Some Kralendijk restaurants were closed because of the slowness of the off-season, but the lack of crowds more than made up for having fewer options. With the exception of the ‘must do’ dive sites (Hilma Hooker, Karpata), it was like having the island to myself. As this was my first trip to Bonaire (but DEFINITELY not my last), I have nothing else to compare the weather to. A brief rain shower every day and some occasional clouds were the worst that this off-season period had to offer.

WHO: I spend probably 25% of my time on the road for business. I typically stay at Hiltons and Marriotts, with the occasional Sofitel or Star Hotels thrown in for good measure. When traveling for pleasure, I’ll stay anywhere from Motel 6 to Hampton Inn, depending on price, location, schedule, etc. This is just to give you some idea of my frame of reference.

WHAT: I booked, and received, a ‘hotel room’, as opposed to a suite or multi-bedroom apartment. I paid the standard posted rates for the ‘drive and dive’ package from Buddy’s website. I include this because it’s what my level of happiness / satisfaction is based on.

ARRIVAL. I arrived at the Bonaire airport around 7:00pm. The customs process couldn’t have been easier. Everyone went through passport control, and into the open entry hall to wait for our bags. After a bit of confusion in getting the belt started, the bags arrived. Customs is 20ft away. Buddy’s had a driver just beyond the exit doors, with a large, recognizable sign. There was none of the usual (in the rest of the Caribbean, anyway) assault by people wanting to carry your bags for money, which was VERY nice. After a brief ride, we arrived at the ‘resort’.

CHECK-IN. One of the things I hope to convey throughout this review, is how immensely easy Buddy’s made everything. During the trip from the airport, the driver announced that we would be going directly to the room, and I could do the official check-in the following morning. WOW.

THE ROOM: Okay….I need to state up front that I am NOT complaining or being critical. I understand that Bonaire is a tiny island, far away from everything but other tiny islands. I know that Bonaire tourism centers around diving, and that divers are notoriously hard on lodging world-wide. While I know and wholeheartedly accept these things, I think it’s important to be as accurate as possible for those less-open-minded travelers who get ugly when their unrealistic expectations aren’t met. If for no other reason, I want those people to be somewhere else when I come back to Buddy’s.

The word that keeps coming to mind is ‘functional’. While the room was very clean and well taken care of, it is obvious that everything is older and probably past its heyday. If I had been expecting something as “nice” (pretty, new) as a Ramada or nice Best Western (or Novotel, given the Dutch connection), I would have been disappointed. I’d probably equate the condition of this specific room to a good quality Motel 6 or Red Roof Inn. An important thing to keep in mind, tho, is that Buddy’s is comprised of many different buildings, half of which used to be the ‘Lion’s Dive Resort’. With future trips in mind, I asked to see a vacant “studio, 1BR”, and a “1BR suite”. These were much larger than the ‘hotel room’, and moderately nicer. The studio was on the Lion’s Dive side, and had an A/C system for the entire unit. The A/C in the suite was only in the bedroom. While the suite was larger, I think I would opt for the studio. Again, while everything was very well kept, I just wouldn’t characterize anything as luxury.

Back to the room: My ‘hotel room’ was located at the tip-top of the “100” series building, the building closest to the dock and dive shop. Getting to the top required climbing some very narrow, tricky stairs. If you’re not reasonably sure-footed, or if you have ANY trouble with stairs, you should probably re-think booking this level of room.

The floors are all tiled, which is pretty standard for the Caribbean (and dive resorts in particular). Slippery when wet, yes, but nothing a towel-as-throw-rug can’t fix. The queen-sized bed, actually two twins pushed together, took up most of the room. The bed was a little firm, but extremely comfortable. I’m somewhat of a pillow snob, and did just fine with what was there. There was a small dresser, and a closet with several shelves and a small refrigerator. This is as good a place as any to mention that there was a small safe in the closet for valuables, but depending on who I talked to, there was either no lock for it, or “that room doesn’t have a safe”. I could have left valuables at the main office, but opted to just take my chances. A miniature TV hung from a bracket on the wall, with no remote to be found. There was a good selection of channels, but it mostly stayed on the ‘discovery’ channel because I’m lazy.

The bathroom, all tiled, was fully functional. There was plenty of hot water, and the water pressure was decent. I was surprised at how warm the ‘cold’ water was. The quality of the tap water, by the way, was great….it was just a little tepid. There were surprisingly few hooks, pegs, etc from which to hang wet stuff. If you’re particular about toilet paper, you really should bring your own.

The electricity and plug type in Bonaire are the same as the U.S. Actually, the current is 50Hz compared to the US 60Hz, but it just makes things seem like they’re a little ‘sluggish’. I also wished that someone had put a decent light bulb in ANY of the fixtures. Without exception, every light only put out the equivalent of a 40W bulb at most.

LAYOUT: Buddy’s is a 3 minute drive from downtown Kralendijk. The resort is on the water, and is effectively divided into two halves….the original Buddy’s, and the original Lion dive. The halves sit side by side, and each consists of a series of buildings surrounding a central pool. The dive shop and restaurants are co-located on the shoreline, and are no more than 100-yards away from the farthest point in the resort. There are three little parking lots, close to the road. Parking is not allowed near the buildings, tho we were allowed to leave the trucks there for loading and unloading. I could see that privilege being suspended if the resort was at full capacity. The grounds between the buildings and pools are landscaped with palm trees and local plants, and have concrete paths throughout. Again, the word ‘functional’ comes to mind, followed closely by efficient and convenient.

There is an outdoor tiki-bar located along the sea-wall, with a great view of the ocean and Klein Bonaire. This is the only part of Buddy’s that could be considered a beach. There is a small strip of sand, maybe 30ft wide by 150 feet long, with a few palm-brellas and lounge chairs. The only access to water, however, is by walking down a single set of steps, or by the steps on the dock. It’s all very nice, but if being a beach bum was the main focus of my vacation, I think I’d look elsewhere.

POOLS: Both pools were clean, warm, and largely unused. I never had trouble finding an open chair.

SERVICE:

Room – Except for two days, I left the ‘do not disturb’ tag hanging outside my door. Not only did the housecleaning staff respect it, but there was always a small bag of clean towels and a roll of toilet paper waiting for me upon my return in the afternoon. On the two days that the room was cleaned, they did an excellent, quick job. Each guest is given a clean beach towel upon check in. The towel can be exchanged for another one at the front desk any time. Very nice service, very convenient.

Front desk / admin – Everyone was always extremely polite and professional. Like every other Caribbean location I’ve experienced, tho, it may take a little time and talking to several different people to get what you want.

DRIVE AND DIVE: The D+D package consists of several components; A truck, the breakfast buffet, and unlimited dives (shore, boat, or both). Buddy’s is all about convenience, and the D+D package was key to having the freedom to dive when, where, and for how long I wanted. I chose to forego any boat diving, and was completely happy with the shore dives.

The Truck - Poor little truck (he says with a fond smile). Another disclaimer here….I saw that there were nicer, newer vehicles in Buddy’s fleet that I could have traded up to if I wanted to make a stink, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. In fact, it almost satisfied my long-lived desire to have my own Army jeep to bang around in. The truck had a manual transmission (so if you can’t drive a stick, you’ll need to make other arrangements), with no power steering, no air conditioning, no seatbelts, no radio, no power anything. It always started…eventually….and never left me stranded. There was a convenient rack in the bed for scuba tanks, and a working tail gate. What the little-truck-that-could lacked in niceties, it made up in character and heart.

Breakfast – (Bella Vista) Just good enough. There’s a very limited variety of fruits, cold cuts, breads, cereals, juices, and an omelet-to-order grill. The restaurant is open, so bugs and birds were always present, but never a problem. There are a few standard hot dishes, including bacon, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fried potatoes. I can’t imagine a day of multiple dives without first loading up on a big fat-and-protein breakfast. In that respect, the buffet was worth it, and I will purchase the option again when I return. At no point during any of my meals, tho, did I ever pause and think “Mmmmmm…..yummy!”. Unfortunately, one of the carryovers from the Dutch heritage, were the TINY TINY glasses, and the room-temperature juice and milk with which to fill them.

Diving – Bonaire, and hence Buddy’s, is all about diving. The ONLY negative I can recall, is the fact that the literature outlining the initial dive checkout is a little confusing and misleading. While all divers must do an official classroom orientation to dive at the Bonaire National Marine Park, Buddy’s doesn’t require a supervised dive. Your first dive must be done on the house reef, but it can be done in your own time, on your own.

The dive shop is extremely well-stocked with things that people actually want and need. I had to replace a fin buckle and pressure gauge, and they were able to fix me up and send me on my way immediately…with everything charged to my room. The staff in the gear room was always helpful and attentive when I needed it, and left me alone when I didn’t. It was a great blend of service and courtesy. The gear storage area is open and sparse. On the occasions I did leave gear there, I never had a problem (nor did I hear of any) with things being moved or taken. During peak season, however, I could easily see space filling up quickly. Tanks are available 24/7, either by using the ‘secret key’ for the tank room on the dock, or by using the ‘drive-through’ station on the opposite side of the premises. Everything is clearly marked, and the process couldn’t be simpler, or more efficient.

One of the nicest surprises at Buddy’s dock, that I haven’t seen in other places: A cooler full of ice water, with paper cups and a trash can…on the dock, all the time. It was a godsend after struggling to gear up in the heat, or to soothe the inevitable post-dive dry mouth.

Lunch – (Bella Vista / Tiki Bar) While a little on the pricey side, the food and drinks at the Bella Vista were very good. If you’re lucky, you can use your garnish to tempt and feed an iguana or two along the sea wall.

DOWNTOWN RESTAURANTS:
Pasa Bon Pizza – Extremely good pizza (especially the fish pizza), and the garlic cheese bread is sensational!
Casablanca Argentinean Grill – The mixed grill for two is a wonderful heaping pile of grilled meats, with some token side dishes…and here’s the amazing thing….ALL COOKED CORRECTLY!!! Everything’s juicy, everything retains it’s own flavor, and you have enough left over for the next day’s (or two’s or three’s) lunch.
Will’s Grill – Mainly seafood with a Caribbean twist. Decent food, really nice atmosphere.
Bistro de Paris – Everything was very salty….maybe it was a down day.

OTHER RESORTS: While I haven’t stayed anywhere else on Bonaire, I did make a point of visiting other resorts and seeing their versions of the smallest, most basic rooms.

Plaza Resort Bonaire – Much newer, much nicer, much more expensive. This is more in line with my expectations of what a ‘resort’ should be. The rooms and grounds were gorgeous. It’s a good deal larger than Buddy’s, tho, so the process of acquiring, loading, and unloading tanks and equipment for diving would not be NEARLY as easy. The PRB is also located in the glide path for the airport, so noise could be an issue.

Captain Don’s Habitat – Much more ‘intimate’ than any of the others. Not as large, not as nice, but probably more personalized service than anywhere else.

Divi Flamingo – Unfortunately, there were no rooms available for view, but I was able to walk around the resort at leisure. There is definitely more of a resort-feel here than Buddy’s, and the other amenities (lobby, shops, restaurants, etc) looked a little newer and ‘nicer’. Like the PRB, the sheer size of the place led me to believe that diving would not be nearly as hassle-free. If I were dragging a non-diver to Bonaire for some reason, I think the Divi would be good blend of diveability and resort-ness. For pure diving, tho, I’d still have to go with Buddy’s.

SUMMARY: For what I paid, and what I was expecting, (convenient, no-frills diving)I was very satisfied. I’ve endeavored to list all the things that I would want to be different, but none of these things would keep me from happily and excitedly returning to Buddy Dive Resort. I hope my review has given you a helpful, realistic picture of what to expect.

Perhaps some of the issues people had previously with check in have been resolved. We arrived at 4:30am on the red-eye and a representative from Buddy Dive was waiting for us outside Baggage claim. He had us to the resort and tucked into bed by 5am. Check in was at our leisure later that morning.

We also rented our truck with Buddy. The first truck we had was not the easiest to drive. It had manual steering and was sluggish. We complained and they swapped it out for a better one within 2 hours.

We only did 6 boats dives on this trip. The divemasters were all good but a few were outstanding. Our dive on town pier was suppose to only be 50 minutes but we did over 75 minutes and the divemaster was STILL showing us critters.

No individual dive lockers but the storage facility was more than adequate. We just brought our regulators and computers back to the room - which we normally do anyway.