HELP! Plaza Resort Bonaire Gets Mixed Reviews

[South4Scuba]

We have a trip planned to Bonaire in early October. We're booked at the Plaza Resort with a really good package deal. Is it too good to be true? I HAVE 3 DAYS TO PULL THE PLUG AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!!!

There are very mixed reviews about Plaza Resort on Trip Advisor and there are an unusual number of TERRIBLE reviews compared to other resorts. We are divers and don't expect 5 star resorts in dive destinations, but I don't like roaches either and I demand air conditioning that works.

Someone please tell me if you have recently stayed at Plaza Resort and if the reports of construction, dirty rooms, poor service, roaches, broken A/C are true.

We are supposed to be booked in a newly renovated Premium Grand Suite, but is it all that they claim?

 

[jdcpa]

Did you use the search functioin on this board?

That might shed some light on your question.

You may get a quicker answer doing that.

 

[South4Scuba]

Yes, I looked at dozens of reports, but many were over a year ago. I'm hoping for someone who was there within the last month or so. It sounds like Plaza Resort has been all over the map over the past couple of years.

 

[H2Odyssey Rep]

Although I have never stayed there, I have heard great reviews... I used trip adviser ONLY once for a trip, I had already booked everything going to Couples in JA, trip adviser feedback was horrible, people were talking about mold, broken things etc... I went anyways, when I arrived I not only found that the reports and "pictures" were nothing like my experience I went back to the resort again for another week 6 months later...Reading one of the trip adviser posts about plaza resort for example where they complained about "broken things" this person posting also complained about the weather and things that would be out of anyone’s control....Look at it this way, go have a good in expensive trip, be blessed that you get to be on a beautiful island and if the accommodations are not perfect, Oh well, it is still a better day than being stuck at work or in an office! Happy Diving

 

[ScubaSam]

We had a group of 26 divers staying at the Plaza Resort from June 25 - July 2 this summer. It's definitely not a 5-star resort but was clean and adequate for divers. The two-bedroom villas were very spacious, enough for four divers and four sets of gear. I never felt like we were on top of each other or cramped for space in our villa.

We had working air conditioners units in our villa but some in our group had issues with their air conditioner units. We also did not have any roach or rodent issues in our villa and I only heard of one villa in our group that had roach and rodent issues in their villa. The door leading out to the patio in our villa was missing a handy which was reported to the housekeeping but never fixed. My quad mates improvised with a ratcheting adjustable wrench as the patio door handle during our stay. Some of the light fixtures in our villa were missing light bulbs so quad mates went to town to buy some bulbs.

There definitely were inconsistencies in the maintenance of various villa with spotty response to maintenance requests. Overall, it was more of an inconvenience which did not ruin the trip for the group. I will PM others and see if they can jump onto this thread to offer their feedback.

 

[noreastDIVER84]

I was in the group with ScubaSam, I agree that the resort definitely is not 5 star accomodations, but I dont expect that. All I ask for is a shower with hot water, air conditioning, and reasonably clean. Our 2 bedroom 2 bath room had no issues and I was happy with the place. There was some spots around the resort that could use some attention, but it is on a tropical island with salt spray. Until you have lived near the salt water you have no idea of the toll the salt spray takes on everything, so I understand some aspects of it, and I did see some work being done while I was there so they are definitely taking care of some of it.

 

[jupitermermaid]

I was also at the Plaza Resort with ScubaSam's group. There were three of us in a quad, and we were very happy. The a/c worked fine, we always had hot water, and saw no roaches or rodents (which are expected in tropical areas). For the price we paid, I am very satisfied and would have no trouble returning to Plaza Resort. Breakfast was included in our package, and they never minded if we took a few "to go" pieces of fruit or yougurt for a later snack. I stayed at Buddy Dive in the past and they would not allow any food to be taken from the restaurant.

It depends on if you're looking for royal treatment or just a place to lay your head and get some good diving in. Houskeeping even gave us some extra towels when we reqested them. Most people that write in travel reports are unhappy campers venting their frustrations. People who are happy generally don't think to rank a resort.......just my opinion.

 

[parzdiver]

I was at the Plaza the week before everyone else chiming in here. I have been there the past two years and the Villas have seen better days. Having said that, the regular hotel rooms have recently been renovated and I know some people who stayed in those units and had no problems at all. Bonaire isn't generally a "luxury" destination and the Villas, in particular, are designed with divers in mind and haven't been maintained as well as they could be. But, for the price, they are well worth the money.

Based on what I have heard from the people in the hotel part of the Plaza, I would not worry. You should have a great experience and enjoy wonderful diving.

 

[tajkd]

It is just fine. The house reef is good, the food is very good (we only ate breakfast), the room is great (we were two sharing and we had plenty of dive gear space). The only doqwn side was the delayed check-in process because our flight from Newark was very early. Go ahead and book. The location is pretty good too. I liked it being outside of the main part of Krendl***. You can access some of the sites in minutes and the road never has traffic.

 

[ScubaSam]

The Plaza Resort has not face/wash size towels. They have the hand towels and body towels but not the smaller squarish hand towels. Not a big deal for me but it was for some.

Sandy makes a good point about the breakfast buffet and the ability to pack a sandwich for lunch without being reprimanded.

Most of us had the red-eye flight and landed in Bonaire around 4:30AM, we were able to check-in but some could not get into their rooms until late morning or early afternoon. In the meantime, we were able to do the required orientation session, pick up our rental trucks and then do the required check-out dive.