We chose to stay at the Golden Reef Inn for 2 reasons: 1) they partner with WannaDive; 2) glorious recommendations on Trip Advisor. The diving through the WannaDive organization was wonderful as always. Staying at the Golden Reef felt like camping..and not in a good way.

For those of you who have ever driven old route 66 through New Mexico, you'll recognize this establishment as similar to many of the motor inns outside some place like Tucumcare; it's ony missing a half-lit neon sign and an old juke box. Where to begin? There is a single, small air conditioning unit in the bedroom, and it's quite effective -- for the bedroom. The main room is easily 90+ degrees and by the time you return from a day of diving, it's brutal. Even if the buildings were situated to take advantage of the breezes (they aren't,) you can't ope the doors because there are no screens to keep out the mosquitos. In order to keep the room secure, the owner advised us to leave through the back door. OK, good advice, except that we had to walk over piles of cat excrement, broken concrete, and rusty rebar. Interesting that anyone would find that acceptable.

We arrived on a Tuesday night. Cleaning day was supposed to be Friday, except that the cleaning lady didn't show up. When the owner came to our door early evening, he apologized, but didn't offer any services himself. I asked for (and received) a new set of towels, removal of the trash, and extra trash bags. The owners are American, so I'm a bit confused why they didn't maintain continuity of service, regardless of local help. We did have to buy additional soap and shampoo, as these were not provided after the original service.

Overall, this place is fairly clean and apparently secure. If that's all you're looking for, this might be your place. But it is worn and tired, hot, and meager.

Our trip to the Golden Reef Inn took place July 3rd - 11th. We were 4 adults (all non-divers) and 1 child (6yo.) We chose the GRI after looking at many different lodging choices on Bonaire. This was the second time I have stayed at the GRI, but the first time bringing family. The GRI was again a FANTASTIC place! As this was my 10th trip to Bonaire and I was bringing family along this time, I knew we would not be spending much time in the room. I believe this is the same for most who come to dive. We staying in the 2 bedroom villa. One bedroom had a queen bed, the other, 3 twins, as we had requested. We arrived at the airport and the Inn's rep was there to meet us and set us up with our rental truck which all went smoothly. We arrived at the Inn, which was very quiet due to it being the slow season. We were shown to our room and I can truly say that it was awesome! I was just like having our own house! It was very clean and inviting. Also, while like most of Bonaire, A/C is only in the bedrooms, the owners had turned it on and opened up the bedroom doors and the entire house was cool! There was even a welcome basket of bread, cheese, fruit, etc in the fridge waiting for us. Great touch! Overall, we had a great time on Bonaire and at the GRI. We all, especially the young one, enjoyed the pool they have on-site. It was great to come back to after a day of exploring, snorkeling, sweating, etc...Chilling out on the porch on the hammock they provide was great too. While this location is not on the beach, it was perfect for us. It is located in a neighborhood which meant it was always really, really quiet. I would recommend this place for divers (tanks, rinse, etc all on site,) non-divers, and families. Now, if you are expecting a stay at the Hilton or Hyatt, forget it. This is like staying at home, on vacation. The rooms are clean and cool. The property is super nice. The staff and owners are great! On my next trip to Bonaire I will be sure to stay at the GRI again!

An absolute great value. A whisker off the ocean but no problem. Great dive sites within 5 - 10 minute drive. Room was beyond our expectations, nice kitchen, eating and sitting areas. Personal "back porch" drying area much better than typical stuffy wooden lockers.
Courteous and professional staff and affliation with "Wannadive" another plus. I would make this my only choice on the island and I highly reccomend. Thanks Ed, Liz, and staff.

There were 7 of us who went to Bonaire in April 2009, three couples and a single person. My husband and I stayed in the two bedroom with another couple for two weeks and loved it.

The rooms were just like described on their website. We enjoyed the fact that we felt like we were part of the island - relaxed and taking time to enjoy life.

Gibby - what can I say - he is amazing. He cooks breakfast for you. My husband and I ordered a picnic lunch from Gibby for when we went to the National Park. It was delicious with tuna sandwiches, chips, juices, and fresh fruit.

One morning the 7 of us wanted to eat somewhere that serves local food. Off the Gibby's house we went. We had goat, conch, and igauna - not saying I enjoyed all the food, but it was not due to the cooking. The food was delicious and I would say it truly local flavor.

Several times during our stay, Liz and Ed made sure we were comfortable and asked if there was anythig we needed.

We arrived at an interesting time - several inns had been buglarized, but had been caught. The thieves got in through the sliding doors so that day Ed installed extra lock mechanism to make sure that it could not happen again. They were very up front about it and made the necessary updates.

We know that this can happen anywhere and the fact they were up front about it and made the changes immediately let us know that they truly care for the guests and their safety.

My husband and I did a couples massage from the spa that is associated with GRI - it was delightful. We choose to have it done at their location down the street.

We plan on going back to Bonaire and staying with GRI - we loved it. If you are looking for a fancy place, then this is not for you. If you are divers who want a clean place to relax, sleep, and eat then this is the place for you.