TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The property is clean and well-sized. It is easy to navigate, and the staff is friendly. We stayed in a studio room with a king-size bed. The room was decent in size and included a small kitchenette. The shower pressure was acceptable, and the toiletries provided were of good quality and size. The mattress was comfortable, but I didn’t like the pillows—though that may just be a personal preference. The restaurants on-site are expensive, and while the cocktails were tasty, they also come with a high price tag. However, the customer service was outstanding. Mark, who works at Kolo, is an excellent mixologist. He is friendly and provides exceptional service. The pool at the back of the property is great—it’s quiet, clean, and always has available chairs. I really enjoyed my time there. The washrooms are also well-maintained. The pier is fantastic for snorkeling, and the water is lovely. However, entering the ocean from the beach can be difficult as it is rocky and the waves are rough; I wouldn't classify it as a typical beach experience. I really appreciated that they left food and water out for the resident cats. Overall, the property is pleasant and clean. The pool is excellent, and the customer service is top-notch. Additionally, there is plenty of free parking available. All in all, I am satisfied with our stay. Thank you!

This is a tough review to write, as Delfins Beach Resort isn’t a simple case of “love it or leave it.” The resort offers many unique features and has the potential to be truly outstanding, but there are some aspects future guests should know about. If the management happens to read this, I hope they take note of these areas for improvement—we’d love to come back. The highlights: the grounds are well-kept, and we stayed in one of the villas, which was spacious, modern, and came with a private pool. The resort has several restaurants, three of which are part of “Brass Boer”, owned by 3-Michelin-star restaurateurs from Holland, so the food is surprisingly good and each dish has a unique touch. There’s also an adjacent large (public) gym included in your stay, with classes and several floors of machines and free weights. For divers, there are two dive shops on the property and a long pier where you can jump straight into the ocean for scuba, snorkeling or a swim. Additionally, the resort boasts some wonderful pools to choose from. Bonaire itself is an island paradise, particularly amazing for scuba divers, with mesmerizing diving right off the shore. Beyond the diving, there’s plenty to explore, including wild flamingos, a donkey sanctuary, mangroves, caves, and a variety of wonderful water activities and restaurants. The drawbacks: While Delfins shines in many areas, there are some things to keep in mind. 1) The pier, for example, is overgrown with fire coral. While this isn’t something the resort can control, it would be helpful if management warned guests, especially families with small children, during check-in. The vinegar buckets to treat burns are appreciated, but a proactive heads-up to avoid the bottom stairs, railings, and pylons could save guests from a painful experience. 2) The three beachside restaurants offer excellent food, but the service is lacking due to understaffing. The young staff, mostly from Holland, work long shifts and do their best, but during dinner rushes, they’re overwhelmed. With only one bartender and a few servers managing a packed restaurant, wait times are long, orders get forgotten, and the experience doesn’t reflect the resort’s reputation. Adding bussers, food runners, and a manager would greatly improve efficiency and guest satisfaction. 3) The situation with the towels is a bit funky—you’re given one beach towel per person at check-in, and you’re expected to take it with you to the pool and beach, which don’t have any towels. If you want a fresh towel, you need to bring the old one to the front desk to exchange it. It’s not a big deal, but it’s an odd system we haven’t encountered at other resorts. 4) Room service only cleans and changes room towels once every three days, even if you call and specifically request service. Again, it’s not a huge issue, but unusual. 5) Another point to note is that while Delfins recently joined Hilton, the villas are not part of the Hilton Honors program. This was surprising since the villas are the resort’s most premium accommodations, and the website doesn’t mention this separation. If you’re a Hilton member hoping to earn points, double-check in advance. 6) Bonaire’s electrical infrastructure can also lead to occasional blackouts. While this isn’t the resort’s fault, it’s something to be aware of—rooms can get warm, and the grounds become very dark. Fortunately, these outages typically only last 2–3 hours. 7) Finally, sand flies and mosquitoes are common. The resort does sell repellents, but it’s worth coming prepared to avoid discomfort. Overall, Delfins Beach Resort has a lot going for it—it’s well designed, offers top-notch amenities, and has a culinary edge that sets it apart. With some improvements in communication, staffing, and attention to detail, it could be next level.

This place is amazing! Perfect for my mom, who loves to go to the workout center and then hang out by the beach and the pool, and perfect for my dad and I, who dive. Roos (Rose?) is an excellent server at Fresku and Kolo. Mark makes the best poolside drinks.

I have so many things to say about this hotel. On a positive note the rooms were good sizes, AC worked well and the report was a really nice size. The water was amazing and beautiful.. the dock was awesome and the sandy beach area was so great!! 1). We were here during the transition to being owned by Hilton so I tried to give the report multiple passes..it wouldn’t been nice for someone to recognize that we were visiting during this transition and perhaps buy us a round of drinks or something for the inconveniences. 2).If you’re someone who gets bit, make sure you have bug spray because there are a ton of no se-ums. Those of us who don’t tend to get bit barely noticed them. 3). The service is beyond slow. We’re used to traveling and island time and have traveled every year at this time for 35 years. The amount of time it took to get food, pay bills, get drinks is just soooo long. Sometimes I would even skip ordering just because I didn’t feel like waiting. You also couldn’t charge anything to your room so you had to have a credit card every where you went. (Including the pool bar) 4). The food was almost all Dutch. I understand mostly Dutch travel here but even some chicken tenders for my kids would’ve been nice. 5). We had 4 people in our room who took very quick showers. I ended up with a cold shower every day. 6). Almost daily we had to ask for bath towels because there was a shortage and sometimes there were also no fresh pool towels. In my opinion, it should be easy to just exchange your towel regularly and you shouldn’t have to ask for bath towels! Ultimately, we had a lovely trip and may even come back to this resort but are really hoping they make some changes!

Terrible experience! Looks beautiful from the front but rooms are cold, many rooms face a parking lot, and very mediocre food. We were locked out of our room several times which resulted in 30 to 45 minutes and walking to the front desk to get it fixed (a pretty decent walk). The staff were extremely pretentious. Of note, they strongly dislike Americans. I felt so uncomfortable there. I tried to be overly kind and grateful but the minute I spoke English a lot of the staff would completely change their affect. They also rent day passes to visitors so when a cruise ship is in town (6 days a week), beach chairs are very difficult to find. Also, most of the restaurants and gym are closed on Sunday so I would maybe avoid that day. There are so many beautiful places to stay in Bonaire and the people on the island are phenomenally kind. I would avoid this place if possible as it is the only time we ever experienced anyone rude and quite frankly just mean.