Divi Flamingo Dive Resort - Bonaire

[Trwmodela]

I just returned from a week of diving at Divi Flamingo in Bonaire. If you are considering this place my recommendation is to look elsewhere. The place has really taken a turn for the worst. The employees don't seem to even care about their jobs. I would say the place was only about 25 percent occupied.

Just to list a few:

Dive dock...broken benches, broken missing stairs on one side of the pier. Wash bins not always filled in the mornings. Sometimes there were no full tanks on the pier.

Boat Crews...not professional, the DM guide was touching the reef and poking around with a rod to get the fish out in the open. After the dive the Captain would just throttle up the boat before any warning and did not care if the divers were still in gear or seated. BTW...only 2 out of 5 boats were being used. Appears to be as low number of divers at the Resort.

Room Service: weak if any at all, towels for the rooms removed but not replaced at times.

Photography Shop: gone

Breakfast Buffet: missing a lot of food items according to past guests. Staff not always on time in the am to serve you.

Beach: gone no sand, storms have taken it away.

Buildings: a lot of the complex needs attention and repairs. Venting machine empty most of the time and no place to get snacks or sodas after hours.

Dive Shop: not much in there but hats, t-shirts etc. Very little in the way of SCUBA gear if you needed anything replaced.

Grounds: grass not cut but I did see someone trimming palm trees one day.

I talked to a couple that had stayed there 6 times over a 20 year period. They can't believe how bad things have gotten and would not return. I guess the weak economy has not helped the island of Bonaire.

Tim
:shocked2:

 

[Doctorfish]

I areee. I have stayed there numerous times and most recently, last year, noticed a significant decline overall. The worst, for me is when a cruise ship is tied up at the dock in that there is a crowd of people at Divi using the resort services and out on the house reef there is noise and vibration from the ship engines and stabilizers. I much prefer Buddy's, Captain Dons and Sand Dollar as you are away from the hustle and bustle.

 

[jmb]

I just returned from a week at the Divi Flamingo, too - but apparently was fortunate enough to have had a much better experience. Yes, I had to wait for the room to be ready when checking in so just went to give shop and got that paperwork taken care of. Restaurant service was a little slow, but pretty much just "island time" - although you are right, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of enthusiasm from employees (you'd think tips would matter enough to rate some smiles, right ?) Housekeeping, however, was friendly and prompt - the room was cleaned daily and I never lacked towels (maybe I got yours by mistake as I actually ended up with extras !)
The boats were never crowded and the DM's and staff at the dive shop were very accommodating - there was a request for a specific dive site so another boat was added. The cruise ship did make it extremely busy in town - but it was on a Friday afternoon after doing my last dives that morning so I didn't notice the effect on shore diving or the hotel facilities. I was very happy with my stay, and would return again - I like the location and convenience of being such a short walk to town and having restaurant choices nearby.

 

[CountessP]

We just got back from the Divi and I have to say, I am surprised with the negative review. It wasn't an upscale resort, but it was certainly at least 3 stars. Loved the location near town, and the restaurants were fine. We did not partake of the breakfast buffet as we are not breakfast people, and I did think it overpriced, but their coffee was very good. We enjoyed starting each day with a pot of good coffee overlooking the beach and dive docks. Lunch menu was fine, as was dinner. The fact that you have so many dining options within walking distance was great. As for the dive set up, we went to both Buddy's and Capt Don's, and I thought it much better than both. Perhaps Divi has fixed all these problems since the original posting? IMHO, they have the best dive set up of the 3 resorts. Lockers and tanks right on the dive dock, stairs were in good condition as were benches, and there were plenty of them for lots of divers to gear up at the same time. Our dump tanks were sometimes low, but never empty. They had 3 or 4 boats going out each morning and each afternoon. The dive staff was not exceptional, but they were fine, friendly, and helpful, as was the cleaning staff. We never had problems with towels. We very much enjoyed out stay at the Divi, and while I'm not sure we will go back to Bonaire, we would definitely stay there again if we did.

 

[ronski101]

Why do I have that funny feeling that Divi Flamingo owner management is now doing the same thing (money out but no money back in) that they did to another of their properties (Divi Tiara) at Cayman Brac? Tiara closed it's doors about 3 yrs ago and was a real dump at the end. Pity the poor Time Share Holders.