My boyfriend at the time (now fiance) and myself are certified scuba divers, and love to vacation at top dive spots around the world. Through family connections, we decided to stay at Harbour Village for 10 days to dive and enjoy the beautiful island of Bonaire.
We caught the red-eye in from Houston and arrived at the hotel at 6am after a short 5 minute drive from Flamingo Airport. The manager welcomed us and showed us the premises and to our room, we were perplexed because we had yet to check-in. He smiled and informed us we were already checked in and that breakfast would be served shortly before our first dive. We were upgraded to a beach view suit with a king bed surrounded by netting, large, beautiful bathroom, kitchen and living area. We also had an amazing patio equipped with furniture and mosquito rackets. The rooms are air conditioned and our entire stay was pleasantly cool in the room.
The dive shop is located down the private beach and after a short orientation we were given a dive locker and encouraged to do a quick shore dive to get our "lungs back under us" so to speak. Conviniently located 200 feet offshore is a wreck dive, so we followed the line down and circled the wreck to warm up.... this indicated the amazing diving we encountered for the rest of the trip. They typically have 2-3 guided dives per day you sign up for on a chalk board. At night they leave full tanks on the pier for night diving and supply flashlights and headlamps. I highly recommend doing this because the hotel attracts amazing wildlife which comes to life at night. The resident tarpon, we named Tessla, would use your dive lights to hunt and this 200lb fish would linger behind you, and then swim under your belly, invert his body and strike any fish you were previously admiring. It was a truly unique experience and a high-light of the trip.
The hotel is amazing and accommodating, the only downfall to the trip was the restaurant. The beautiful restaurant is a converted boat, jutting out into the ocean, with a completely open-air ambiance. The food was terrible! This trip was awhile ago so I cannot speak for their current chef, but even breakfast was inedible. We attempted to eat there twice, once for dinner where the swordfish was brick-like, and breakfast. A critic for Food and Wine showed up while we were there and ordered a $500 bottle of wine, and they did not have the appropriate stemware to drink it with! The critic went behind the bar and examined each glass, and then left without drinking the opened bottle!
Despite that, the bar staff was amazing and we quickly befriended most of them. As long as they have fixed the food issue, this is the place to stay and dive in Bonaire. It is away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, but still within walking distance.
- Harbour Village Beach Resort
- Harbour Village Beach Hotel
