Bonaire....I will let you decide

[helimvee]

Actually, it was clear from the original post where you stayed.

I am not trying to argue with you, it was your vacation and only you can be the judge of how it went, but I am having trouble understanding why you made comments such as "I see Bonaire as a tourist island that hates tourists."

You had positive comments about the dive operation, the diving, the brand new truck, Casablanca restaurant and the lady in the liquor store. In fact, it seems that lady was willing to look into the situation with the restaurant, but you declined her help.

A line up at customs is not out of the ordinary, no matter what country you are in. Sometimes they have to close down a line. BTW, the last time I was there (Feb 2009) the line(s) on the right were for island residents. Visitors on the left.

You mentioned overhearing many negative comments while you were there, but I don't see how that relates to your vacation???

It seems that the only real issue was with the hotel. The room should not have been dirty, but mistakes happen and I am sure they would have put you in a different room had you asked. They did give you a discount of approx 20%, if I read your post correctly. Sure it was not the 25% you mentioned, but you decided to walk away and have Amex deal with it.

As for the post being a trip report ... okay ... but it doesn't help future visitors when it is so vague it could be anyplace. Factual comments, positive or negative, are what most people look for in a useful trip report. If that was your intent, then I don't think you accomplished it (apparently others agree). If your intent was to complain, which is part of why these boards exist, then I think that you did accomplish that.

If you do decide to make another trip, try one of the places on the water. Yes they are more expensive, but many of them have more modern facilities. At least you never have to worry about the hotel not having entertainment, because a couple of Brights and the ocean in the evening is all the entertainment you need.

For the record, we had a very similar experience on our first trip, but still had a great time, because it is about the shore diving. We've stayed elsewhere since and have booked trips #6 and #7.

 

[dvrliz1]

Ok, so I have been following this post, knowing eventually it would come out where Rich stayed. I had to think long and hard, and speak with ALL of my staff so that I could get the facts from our end. I am not here to have a "tete a tete", but to present the "other" side. As you all know there are always 2 sides to every story.

First. I saw Rich for the first time the day after he arrived. I am still working my way back to full time, so I am not there, right now, as often as I would like to be, but that shouldn't matter. I think I saw Rich 2 or 3 times from the weekend he arrived and the Thursday before he left. As ALWAYS I inquired as to how everything was going and was never told anything negative.

On Thursday, my staff called me to tell me that he had stated that he was very unhappy and that he would never be returning. I was shocked. I spoke with Ed and he stated that he saw him an couple of times during the week and inquired and never was told anything negative either.

I immediately showered and headed down to the Inn to discuss with my staff, exactly how things went down. I went to my office and waited for Rich to return from his diving and asked that if he could come to speak with me I would like to hear what he had to say. Our discussion, went like this.

I let Rich know that I was surprised to hear from my staff that he was unhappy. He then stated that he was, and the majority of his complaint was about not having the Sunday Night BBQ and that the Happy Hour was not happening. I told him I would talk with my F&B person to find out what was up. He did state that during breakfast he was offered to go have dinner at Giby's house and he stated he would feel "uncomfortable" going to someone's house. I tried to explain how Giby's home also double as a restaurant, but he reinterated how he would be "uncomfortable" going to someone's house. No excuse, but an option.

He then stated, the "other" things were "very minor". He stated that he found something on the toilet seat and that there was a "ring" on the inside of one of the coffee cups. He NEVER stated that the room was "filthy", ever. Once again, I told him I would address this with the housekeeping staff. My housekeeper did come in while we were having a discussion, stated that she would go in a clean the whole apartment at that moment, but he declined.

He also discussed with me about the incidents about the restaurants and the over charging. I asked if he could provide the names so that I could address the situation with the restaurants. He did not want to reveal the names, so I suggest that he go see Michael at Chat N Browse and he is very involved with the Restaurant Association on the island and that they would want to know about this. Rich stated that he "didn't want to bother" and that he would not be coming back to Bonaire as stated in his original post.

Regarding the rinse tanks, first he states he "never" saw the guy before....IT WAS ED!!! He knew Ed, so I don't know why he said this. I spoke with Ed who said the minute Rich said something to him, he ran to the back maintenance shed, got the bleach to start cleaning and as he was passing Rich in the truck, he showed him the bleach to let him know him know that he was going over immediately to address the situation. My staff in the front office witness this and said Ed was "upbeat" and not at all showing "attitude". Maybe because Rich was not enjoying any of his holiday, this was the way he perceived it.

Rich then stated "I wish I was given the chance early to move to another place". I then explained to Rich, that if he would have let us know earlier that he was "unhappy" at the beginning of the week, or right after his arrival, we would have gladly moved him, no problem. But this was Thursday, and he was leaving the following weekend. We STILL offered to move him elsewhere, but he stated, no, that is fine, we are here now.

On Friday, Rich came in and asked if he could have the "gift certificate", and I said no problem. After he left and I spoke with Ed, we decided that since he did tell us the story about restaurants and how expensive the food was, and that he was unhappy, that would would cover a complete meal. Ed stated that was a good idea. I then walked over to their apartment and knocked (well actually said knock-knock, as the door was open), and went in to talk with them. I present them with a $100 and explained why I was giving them that much. Rich stated it was "too much" and I said no, especially with the restaurant experiences you have had and that you were not happy here, go and enjoy. NEVER did I imply or say it had anything to do with the 25% discount we had offered. He then stated "ok, thanks!"

I also tried the back door, and yes he was correct, the lock was bad. I did explain that we have doors on order as I wanted the louvered window doors for the back and you cannot get them on island, they had to be special ordered from the states and we were told it could take 6 weeks or more. In the mean time, Ed is adding a temporary lock above the broken one until the new doors arrive to rectify the problem.

On Saturday, I did present Rich with a final bill with 25% off acommodations, and it showed on his final bill, and this was as discussed. This is where his major complaint was. The diving, breakfast, vehicle was all good, so we DID provide a 25% discount on the accommodations. He was fuly aware as it was on his bill, so I dont' know why he was confused. He agreed and signed the refund slip, so I just don't understand why.

As you all have pointed out in this thread, sometimes things go wrong. Unfortunately, and for a rareity, here at GRI things did not go as planned for our guest. We offered, what we consider good return compensation. I just wish we would have known earlier in the week that he was unhappy, we could have rectified a lot of his problems, much earlier.

Rich, we are truly sorry that you were not happy. Unfortunately, it seems you were not happy with ANYTHING about Bonaire, and rightfully so, according to you, with the problems you experienced. I just wish you had been as detailed with us, right from the beginning of your trip as you were in this report. It would have really helped, as we would have worked very hard to make your trip more tolerable.

Once again, just our side of the story.

 

[RICHinNC]

I have no intentions of turning this into an "I said...you said" thing. I will say what I meant was by I never met the guy before was, yes I knew it was Ed, but this was the first time I have met him...havent said more than 50 words to him....so I know nothing of his demeanor. I did not meet Ed or Liz the last time I stayed at the GRI.

I have a VISA bill for my deposit, I have a final payment bill from Amex for my remainder and no matter how the math comes out, I paid a total of $1131 and got back a $113.25 discount. It is in the hands of Amex. I will live with however they decide to handle it.

I dont have to now, like I did not then, be loud and contentious over this. I know what the situation was and I know how things are being presented. The reaction of SB'ers is not my concern. I just know I will never go back to the GRI and never recommend it again as I have done in the past. As for Bonaire, people can interpret my words as they please, again that is not my concern. If others like the island and wish to go there and spend their money there, I have no problem with that. I will probably never go back. And, some need to remember that is my perogative.

 

[chauncy19]

Rich,
Certainly understand based on your experience why you're not planning on going back to Bonaire. Thanks for feedback . I am sure it brings back painful memories of what should have been a great vacation. I don't envision having these problems but neither did you. It will make be more vigilant when I go back.

 

[ReefHound]

I have a VISA bill for my deposit, I have a final payment bill from Amex for my remainder and no matter how the math comes out, I paid a total of $1131 and got back a $113.25 discount. It is in the hands of Amex. I will live with however they decide to handle it.

Did that bill not also include the rental truck and the diving? Why should you get 25% back on those items?

 

[jdcpa]

Rich:

I am sorry to hear about your experience. No one likes their vacation to go poorly, but most of us have had that unfortunate experience. I have learned a lot from reading of your woes and the responses of others.

You mention two amounts as the refund. You mention $131 in your original post and $113 in your most recent post. I agree that 25% of $1,131 is not $113 or $131.

Do I understand correctly that you just left because you were unable to understand the 25% refund calculation? It should not have been hard for the two of you to figure out what 25% of a total should be. Maybe I just missed it.

It is unforgivable for restaurants to take advantage of you as they did. I agree in the future you need to be more vigilant in that regard.

I will say that you had far too many issues than you should have. I think it is not reasonable to expect a BBQ at a resort with only three guests. It sounds as if you relied on their website, which probably should have had some disclaimer about lack of guests will cause certain activities to be cancelled, or something to similar effect.

Unfortunately, a lot of what happened to you is as a result of you making yourself the victim of your own circumstances. People can't meet your expectations if you don't let them know what they are. To continue to silently suffer through the continuous errors/problems is of your own making.

I just don't think it is fair to silently suffer, only to return and use a message board to cast a resort in an unfavorable light. Maybe the resort deserves it, but if you had exhausted all options for a remedy, then yes, I agree that you can come here and blast them.

The resort does not have much excuse for some of your problems, more than should exist.

All in all, two sides to a story, both seem to be wrong on some points.

I am sorry to hear both sides of this story. No one likes to see this type thing.

I wish you both all the best in the future and may this experience be the low point of those type matters.

 

[Jax]

Wow! I feel sorry for both RichInNC and dvrliz1.

Rich is between a rock and a hard place because his lady is highly tolerant and puts up with a lot more than he wants to, and dvrliz1 wishes he would have been more forthcoming, but he might have PO'd his lady . . . .

This is all really unfortunate. I can certainly understand Rich not wanting to return to an establishment that looked like it was systemically broken. I can also understand family emergencies that keep a proprietor from proper overwatch of their beloved business . . . oh, and what a disappointment to find that things were not up to standard in one's absence.

I, too, am really sorry for you both. Rich and dvrliz1, I hope this is the worst you'll ever experience.

 

[handben]

No offense to Rich, but after reading this thread and especially Liz's reply, I feel more likely rather than less to stay at the Golden Reef Inn. I usually opt for more luxurious accommodations (stayed twice at Belmar); but I am impressed by her concern for her guests happiness while on their vacation. It appears to me that she did all that she could to address the issues that were brought to her attention. This is likely due to it being a small operation and that she lives or dies economically based on its reputation.

I must say that on my last visit to Bonaire (in June) I was highly disappointed when we arrived at around 6:30 AM to be told that the room we had reserved (as a package with the plane tickets through travelocity) would not be available till that afternoon. This left us with no place to unpack our things. We changed clothes and so on in a back room of the dive shop. We were sort of homeless for about 8 hours. They did give us the option of paying for another night at around $330 to get in to a different room for a few hours. We chose to just go diving instead and not fret about our misfortune. About 3 dives and a lunch later, our room was ready for us.

Another incident that left me a little peeved was buying gas at the main station (Lisa's I believe it was called). I wanted to put in US $ 20 in the tank. The clerk set the pump to shut off at Naf 25. I went up and confronted her and had her correct it to Naf 35; she obviously knew what she had done based on her reactions and body language.

That said, when I'm on vacation, I just try to roll with the punches and not let these sorts of annoyances get to me. Sure, I'd like everything to be perfect while on vacation, but we don't live in a perfect world. It is best to just enjoy the great things about it and not dwell on the negatives. I will keep going back to Bonaire and enjoying it (though I might choose to fly in on the afternoon flight rather than pay for an extra day just to get 8 extra hours in the room). Rich, thanks for sharing your experiences with the rest of us.

 

[mathauck0814]

You've gotta love how the operators monitor this board and come to tell their side. It speaks volumes about their credibility that they are willing to take responsibility and offer a level-headed explanation and 'mea culpa' for poor performance. I agree, it makes me think that I would stay at their resort if in the market.

 

[ReefHound]

This thread is yet one more example of why I give little credence or respect to a review or complaint that refuses to "name names". I do to some degree understand the point that naming names can result in fans of that vendor coming to their defense, which is annoying to someone who only wants to tell their story.

But how many times, over and over and over it seems, that someone jumps on here and tells their horror story and has everyone sympathising with them, then lo and behold the vendor or other customers who were there join in and tell the "rest of the story" and the picture changes dramatically. Often those complaints turn out to be rather embellished if not fabricated. Not saying anything was fabricated here but if something isn't a big enough issue to complain about at the time then it isn't a big enough issue to rant about later on. IMO.

I do not see those who decline to name names as "taking the high road" but rather depriving their targets the opportunity to offer rebuttal. And it's a disservice to both the vendors and the dive community. Why should all vendors even the good ones get treated as suspect due to the actions of specific ones? How can divers "reward" the good businesses and avoid the bad ones without names in reviews?