Delfins Beach Resort; any feedback?

[phelana]

I noticed the same thing in St. Croix and Roatan in regards to the numerous 'for sale' signs. I know in St. Croix they took a hit when the oil refinery closed its doors. The unemployment rate is sky high. I am assuming that the issue with Roatan is the instability of mainland Honduras. I am not sure why Bonaire seems to be taking a hit. After all of the recent hurricane damage amassed in neighboring islands it seems that it would certainly bolster the tourism in Bonaire. I hope that Bonaire can manage to strike a balance between being a quaint dive destination and a get away from it all vacation destination. In my opinion, the main obstacle to visiting Bonaire are the flights. They are expensive and quite limited.

IMHO our market is saturated thanks to private rentals post 10-10-10. Air BnB, Homeaway and VRBO have contributed dramatically to the decline in hotel occupancy rates. It's true about the low occupancy at Courtyard Marriott. I fear most who stay there will be using their Marriott points (as I have seen with my own customers). The building boom is rising to the point where I fear we are outgrowing our own infrastructure. Traffic in and out of town is ridiculous. Gas lines prevail. Parking in Kralendijk is a challenge. Most of this won't impact you as a tourist. Get gas mid day or late at night after dinner. Park on the outskirts of town when shopping, mid day. To support our island, stay in hotels or established condos. Contribute your hard earned dollars to sustaining legit rentals. Use reputable and long standing vehicle rentals vs one of the private companies. You stand great risk renting accommodations and vehicles with someone who has no experience in travel and tourism and won't have a leg t stand on if something goes wrong.

Thanks for reading

 

[phelana]

I noticed the same thing in St. Croix and Roatan in regards to the numerous 'for sale' signs. I know in St. Croix they took a hit when the oil refinery closed its doors. The unemployment rate is sky high. I am assuming that the issue with Roatan is the instability of mainland Honduras. I am not sure why Bonaire seems to be taking a hit. After all of the recent hurricane damage amassed in neighboring islands it seems that it would certainly bolster the tourism in Bonaire. I hope that Bonaire can manage to strike a balance between being a quaint dive destination and a get away from it all vacation destination. In my opinion, the main obstacle to visiting Bonaire are the flights. They are expensive and quite limited.

Airfares are high for peak dates. Are you checking Yapta and Hopper and ITA Matrix to find cheaper air? United is always cheaper than Delta. The good news is, once you are on Bonaire, it's very affordable.

 

[diveallthetime]

@darook @uncfnp and @trailboss, meet at bari reef at 10:00 am Wednesday the 6th. Dive then lunch. Plenty of time to firm that up but lets use it as a starting point for a plan

Hey all. I thought all our private messages would still be here, but i remember i did all mine under the "Alerts" tab. So i lost all your names. I am still hoping we all meet up on Wednesday the 6th. Can you all private message me so i can get names. 7 days until we land. Happy post Thanksgiving

 

[darook]

Hey all. I thought all our private messages would still be here, but i remember i did all mine under the "Alerts" tab. So i lost all your names. I am still hoping we all meet up on Wednesday the 6th. Can you all private message me so i can get names. 7 days until we land. Happy post Thanksgiving

Will do. Perhaps I will start a
Scubaboard mini surge thread.

 

[uncfnp]

Hey all. I thought all our private messages would still be here, but i remember i did all mine under the "Alerts" tab. So i lost all your names. I am still hoping we all meet up on Wednesday the 6th. Can you all private message me so i can get names. 7 days until we land. Happy post Thanksgiving

Just go to each person’s profile page and you will see your conversations there unless that person deleted it. For example, click on me at @uncfnp and you will see our conversation.

@darook we really should start our own thread. Morecowbells may be tired of our hijack!

 

[ijdod]

Walked the premisses after lunch at their Brass Boer restaurant. Not to my taste, tried too hard to get a luxury feeling while missing some (cheap and easy) points. Restaurant was okay, on par with the competition on the island. Did not live up to the high expectations from to their link with the 3-Michelin-star restaurant De Librije though.

 

[morecowbells]

Walked the premisses after lunch at their Brass Boer restaurant. Not to my taste, tried too hard to get a luxury feeling while missing some (cheap and easy) points. Restaurant was okay, on par with the competition on the island. Did not live up to the high expectations from to their link with the 3-Michelin-star restaurant De Librije though.

I appreciate your post. I looked at the restaurant menu online and while interesting it did seem pricey. I think we will have dinner at the Brass Boer one night, but I am too cheap to indulge in more than one night of fine dining while on vacation. We will probably balance things between grocery shopping and eating on patio along with casual dining in town.

Would you mind elaborating more on the missing points? Were they in reference to the rooms or grounds? There was one negative review on TripAdvisor which seemed authentic. They mainly complained about the resort opening without having everything ready(i.e. t.v.'s, tables,closets etc). They also complained about the lack of shade or chaise lounges by pool. A couple of days later the negative review was deleted. Anymore Tripadvisor is like a train wreck. You look at it, then encounter self loathing afterwards for doing so. I was hoping that after the scandals of Tripadvisor eliminating the bad, or less than flattering reviews(mainly in Mexico) were over. Obviously not the case.

 

[uncfnp]

I didn’t eat there but did look around a bit and dove twice from their beach, a checkout dive and a night dive.

The resort looked very well groomed with many nice features. I do wonder how well it will age and endure under stress. There is a lovely little area at the beach specifically set up for divers with rinse tanks, benches and shower. I noticed several tanks there with names marked. If not already it would be a nice feature to have tanks available there for the resort divers. But policing use may be an issue since I saw no significant security presence and the resort is not currently gated.

The entry to the water is easy but watch out for the usual rocks and boulders just off the sand. I was surprised at these since it is a roped off area that I assume is for snorklers and swimmers.

I admit that I was disappointed at the dive site itself. There is a lot of coral rubble and patchy reef. We had to go deeper than usual to hit healthier reef. Eric and I both thought the rubble and patches might make for an interesting night dive and prehaps and an octopus or two but no such luck.

The onsite Dive Friends is a drive though site and did our checkout dive. It is the first time that I have ever truly had anyone check us out. He was a very pleasant gentleman but watched us pretty darn closely as we prepared for our dive than showed us the way to the beach with instructions to dive in the roped area and swim around a bit near the gazebo so he could observe us! It was actually humorous to have someone give us approval to dive!

One thing he did share with us is that there have been issues, much as you mentioned. Rooms not completely furnished prior to guests use was a big one. But he seemed reasonably confident that it was all temporary and things would go much more smoothly soon.

 

[uncfnp]

As to Bonaire growth, everywhere I looked, at least on the southern end of the island, had new buildings or projects under way. It even looked like someone was opening up a new food/goods market on the south side.

On the flight back I was seated beside a woman that was making a final visit to her sister living in Bonaire. Her sister had just sold her ocean front property purchased 10 years ago for 400,000 dollars and sold for 1.4 million. And it was all for the property. Apparently the new owners plan to tear down the house and rebuild.

 

[darook]

As to Bonaire growth, everywhere I looked, at least on the southern end of the island, had new buildings or projects under way. It even looked like someone was opening up a new food/goods market on the south side.

On the flight back I was seated beside a woman that was making a final visit to her sister living in Bonaire. Her sister had just sold her ocean front property purchased 10 years ago for 400,000 dollars and sold for 1.4 million. And it was all for the property. Apparently the new owners plan to tear down the house and rebuild.

Oy. That is a big markup. I’m afraid that the cost of staying and diving may catch up with the air fare. That would be the end of my visits. At that point one could spend the same to dive the South Pacific. If that is the choice then I know where I’m going.

Lisa, it was a joy to meet and dive with you and Eric. I hope our paths cross again soon!