1st world problem

[gbf]

It's time to start planning our Bonaire trip for this upcoming summer.

I've always been in the "if you're going to Bonaire then stay on the water" camp, and have been willing to pay the price to do so.

This year I have a problem, to wit, we can stay at the new Marriott essentially for free - actually about $40 per night.

I am torn. On the one hand I really enjoy sitting on the terrace watching the sun go down with beverage in hand. On the other, I'm essentially a cheap SOB - the difference is somewhere north of $1000.

Whatever shall I do? Oh, the pain....

 

[fmerkel]

Go to Pink Beach, watch the sun go down. Try some other vistas.

 

[Lorenzoid]

As a general rule, of all the places my wife and I have traveled for diving, we try to save a little money by staying inland on our dive trips. While it might be fun, we don't attach a lot of weight to watching the sunset from our room. Heck, often we're out doing a night dive at the moment of sunset. However, Bonaire has been an exception for us, because of the appeal of shore diving directly from our lodging. In other words, the "house reef" feature is what motivates us to choose lodging differently on Bonaire from just about everywhere else we have been.

 

[H2ODoc]

Tough call. We made that choice on our last trip (we chose the non-ocean view) in Cozumel and it was a bit of a bummer to not wake up to a nice ocean view. But $1000 is nothing to sneeze at. On the flip side, we've also stayed at some ocean-view locations that we a bit dumpier than I prefer, and in that case, I would have given up the view for something a bit nicer.

Why not roll the dice, save the $ and see how you like it?

And... is that discount available to everyone? Smoking deal.

 

[mbs]

Tuff call for sure... Other than the view I guess for me it would come down to convenience. If you like to shore dive the house reef. Or just walk to the pier for a boat dive that may just tilt the scale. Really tough call! But for a grand I think I would end up giving it a go! Hey what do you do with dive gear? Do they have lockers?

 

[kelemvor]

Wow, I didn't know they had a Marriott on Bonaire! It's only cat3, too! I could probably spend a week there free myself!

Does anyone know the security situation at the Marriott? Is it typical of Bonaire or more typical of other Marriott properties. I.e. would you be comfortable leaving stuff in the room while you dive? Things like laptop computers, digital cameras, clothes?

Sorry to butt in on your thread @gbf . I couldn't resist and maybe you'll find the answer to this useful as well.

 

[gbf]

And... is that discount available to everyone? Smoking deal.

Nope. And besides, not really all that smokin'. After many years of picking up the tab for daughters,one of them gets the smokin' deal and can include mom and dad - in exchange, of course for me picking up her plane ticket (I have delta miles - ha!)

We've been going to bon for a long time, and over the last several years we.ve settled into our digs, beachcomber villas, with which we're very well-pleased, and wouldn't even consider anywhere else.

But my cheap-SOB gene has reared its ugly head.

 

[gbf]

Wow, I didn't know they had a Marriott on Bonaire! It's only cat3, too! I could probably spend a week there free myself!

Does anyone know the security situation at the Marriott? Is it typical of Bonaire or more typical of other Marriott properties. I.e. would you be comfortable leaving stuff in the room while you dive? Things like laptop computers, digital cameras, clothes?

Sorry to butt in on your thread @gbf . I couldn't resist and maybe you'll find the answer to this useful as well.

I don't know, but looking at the pics it looks like your basic courtyard. That's part of what makes me hesitate - I spend my life in hotels and really enjoy the villa onbonaire.

 

[drrich2]

I would not pay nearly $1,000 to watch a sunset. No sunset is that pretty at my family income level. To me, waterfront is about doing more house reef (especially night) dives conveniently, running up my dive count.

Richard.

 

[Dave & Leslie]

If you've stayed at Beachcomber (which we have), then I doubt the Marriott will live up to expectations.