Buddy Dive: Trip Report Mar 2015

[tridacna]

We just came back from a week long trip to Buddy Dive in Bonaire.

Some comments:

Rooms are spartan but functional. AC wheezes along trying to keep up with the hot temperatures. Rooms have not much decor, a fridge, TV and stove. We shared a 3 bedroom suite overlooking the dive shop. Showers were adequate but be warned: All three of us in that room were on the receiving end of some bad bedbug bites. I read that Internet access was pretty bad in the rooms. Please understand that it is non-existent in the rooms. This is the worst resort I've ever been to for IP access. We went next door to Eddys to get a decent signal. Do not come to this resort if using Skype or getting email are important to you. You will not be happy.

We ate breakfast there and prepaid for lunches. Food was OK - on a par with a typical diner. We ate at Blennies for dinner only once - Ingridients is the other restaurant faux fine food at prices similar to a fine NYC restaurant. Ended up eating at Mona Lisa (very good), Eddys (twice and excellent) and a few others.

Our MO was to do two dives in the AM on a boat then take out the rust-bucket of a truck they rented to us and shore dive in the PM. Usually finished off with a night dive off the resort. We prepaid for 12 boat dives. The plan is that you sign up the afternoon before for the next days dives.

On Tuesday after lunch, we went to sign up for the Wed AM dives. No luck - the shop was using all of their boats for cruise ship passengers. "But", we said, "We've prepaid for two dives every day". "Sorry" the dive shop manager said, "you lose". We were not happy. We asked for a refund. After the buck had been passed around from Wed to Friday from manager to manager, they acknowledged that they had screwed up and would give us a refund for two dives. Just as they were about to credit our accounts, the dive shop manager re-appears and says that they can no longer do this and are prepared to offer us a token credit toward future dives. We declined.

Diving on a boat is a stupid idea in Bonaire. The format is identical from dive to dive. Drop down and dive along the slope at 40-60ft for 30 mins. Stop and turn around and dive back to the boat at 30'. One hour limits. I made a point of getting in first and out last in order to extend bottom time. That way, we got 70-80 mins because of the amount of time that it took to get the rest of the boat in and out. Yes, you do get to dive Klein Bonaire from a boat but the afternoon shore dives were waaay better especially when not timed. We did Alice in Wonderland, Angel, Invisibles, Pink Beach, Salt Pier, Larries Lair and a host of others from the shore. The buddy tank dive through is great - just pull up and take tanks and off you go!

Overall opinion of BDR is bad. Mediocre accommodations, overrated food and boring diving. Make no mistake, we loved diving on Bonaire just not the way that Buddy does it. My recommendation is to avoid the place, I'm sure that there are better places to stay on the island.

 

[DeputyDan]

Having been to Bonaire multiple we no longer stay at Buddy Dive either.

 

[tursiops]

I'll be back at Buddy Dive for one week in June and two weeks in September...been going there for 16 years, this will be my 28th and 29th stay at Buddy Dive.
Expectations and experiences vary.....OP you were on one end, I'm pretty much on the other. I usually have a group with me of 8-40.....and they keep coming back.
Great breakfast, pretty good lunch, lots of places in town to eat. Boats go good places you can't shore dive...but you need to plan for it. They are a volume operation, not a boutique private-service outfit. You stayed on the side of the resort that does not have the best air-conditioning....best to stay on the north side. I have no idea why someone would sign up for 12 boat dives in the shore-diving capital of the world...6 is plenty for a week.

I'm not arguing with you; you clearly had a bad time. They have so many return visitors that I wonder if your expectations and attitudes were well-attuned to the situation.

 

[diverjen]

Thanks for the report - we are really hoping (fingers crossed) to be back in December for trip number three. We stayed at Sand Dollar and Bamboo Bali previously and have always thought about Buddy's but for one reason or another didn't end up going that way. Also I am so spoiled by the BDA dock. Next time we are going to try to use miles so we may be limited on accom choices by the time we book, but we are interested in Bamboo Bali or Den Laman or Apartments Bridanda. We were thinking about Buddy's and this will really help us if we end up needing to stay there - thanks!

Now, to more important things... do you have any pictures???

 

[Lorenzoid]

Interesting. I liked Buddy Dive the one time I stayed there, but that was five years ago. Our room was "spartan," too, but we were rarely in the room except to sleep, and on the rare occasion we returned to the room early, we sat outside, as we had a bit of ocean view and were near the pool on the north side of the complex. No bedbugs or A/C issues, but I realize that can happen anywhere. Our truck was fairly new--that is unfortunate that you got an older "rustbucket." I wouldn't know about the WiFi access because we leave our technology at home when we're on vacation. I had never heard that the food was highly rated, so I don't know how it could be "overrated." The only meal we ate there was breakfast, and it was like any other dive resort breakfast I've had. I agree about boat diving on Bonaire, and that's why I still have not been inclined to do a boat dive in all of the four (five?) trips I've made to Bonaire.

It will be interesting to see if this report is part of a trend of less flattering reports. Could Buddy's be going downhill?

 

[tridacna]

I have no idea why someone would sign up for 12 boat dives in the shore-diving capital of the world...6 is plenty for a week.

One of our group is physically challenged and we tried to accommodate him. Boats are just easier for him.

I'm not arguing with you; you clearly had a bad time. They have so many return visitors that I wonder if your expectations and attitudes were well-attuned to the situation.

If they had refunded us as they had originally agreed, I'm sure that I would not have been as mad as I am now. Customer service was awful. Once you agree to do something, stick to it. Do not renege and screw the customer. You are correct though. If you're part of a huge group, this is probably the ideal location for you. They certainly know how to handle volume.

Another thing that did not impact me but annoyed me were the short fills. Most that I got was 2850 - lowest 2600. What's with that? Given the shallow profiles and one hour limitation, it made no difference to me but somehow I would rather get 3,000.

The reality here is that if you're a small group or couple, go elsewhere. You're spending a lot of money for indifferent service and boring cattleboats. (Just check that they will have room for you on those boats). But if you're part of a large group (and you're the leader), the heck with it, the trip is FREE! Can't beat that.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Another thing that did not impact me but annoyed me were the short fills. Most that I got was 2850 - lowest 2600. What's with that? Given the shallow profiles and one hour limitation, it made no difference to me but somehow I would rather get 3,000.

You're a tough customer. Not unreasonable, but clearly not a laid-back vacation diver type. Our dives rarely exceed 50 mins., so for people like me and my friends (we've been a group of six or eight since my first Bonaire trip), it's not an issue. You can take all the tanks you can get away with taking, and you can do all the dives you want in a day. A short fill is hardly a noticeable inconvenience to some of us.

The reality here is that if you're a small group or couple, go elsewhere. You're spending a lot of money for indifferent service and boring cattleboats.

That's kinda harsh to make as a blanket statement. My first trip was my honeymoon, and we felt Buddy Dive took care of us just fine. I think it may have swayed them to give us an especially good room. The refusal to refund your money for boat dives they could not deliver seems inexcusable, and if I were you I would continue to pursue it up the chain of management. But for people who have no unusual issues, it isn't like the staff does not try their best to assist you or is unfriendly or something. Although I had no occasion to test their true measure of customer service, the general vibe I got from minor interactions with the staff was that they were attentive and friendly.

And my advice is don't do any boat diving--and certainly don't pre-pay for any--unless you have to accommodate someone in your group, as you did.

One can get the best of Buddy Dive--mainly, the use of Buddy's drive-through air station--by staying at their sister property, the Belmar condos. We stayed there on three subsequent trips. Dive Friends Bonaire also has drive-through air at at least their Hamlet location if not others.

Bonaire rocks. Next trip: December. In the meantime, the countdown to Cozumel is T-6 days

 

[drrich2]

Sorry to hear about the bedbugs; that can happen anywhere, but I imagine it leaves a bad taste in your mouth when it happens to you.

As for spartan accommodations, what more did you want?

I've been to Buddy Dive Resort 3 times. My impressions:

1.) One trip AC unit rattled, but I never complained, and it could refrigerate a large room very well.

2.) Wi-fi could be almost non-existent in room; going outside could help, but could expose me to mosquitos. Going to the restaurant on grounds gave decent signal if memory serves. This can be an inconvenience.

3.) Fried calamari appetizer as good or better than what I had elsewhere. I'd get the 'Catch of the Day' for supper most nights, which compared decently to other restaurants on the island. A slab or wahoo or mahi-mahi, sauce, vegetable medley and French fries.

4.) Liked the house reef. And resort location. Zhung Kong supermarket right up the road was nice. Close to Bari Reef and the Cliff.

5.) The one week I tried boat diving, most trips were 16 diver 1 tank trips. I did the one 10 person 2 tank trip. (All that's if memory serves). Did one Klein Bonaire site (Mi Dushi) and Small Wall.

6.) Regarding the boat dives, it's sad you didn't get to do all you could've. I tend to think of it as 'Up to that many, no refunds for unused dives.' Now, if it consistently books up so fast you don't get a decent chance to sign up, that would bite.

 

[redacted]

In would get the refund for the renege on the contracted service. Try your CC company.

 

[Shasta_man]

<<boutique private-service outfit>> ha ha... when you don't want to ride on a cattleboat, you must be on the other end of the scale, eh? Perhaps it's just that more people go there, but Bonaire apparently has a funny effect on people as it polarizes all who go there.