TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1. 2 trips to front desk to get burnt out bulb over toilet replaced 2. 4 trips to front desk and email to travel agent to get hot water (finally got hot water on the 6th and final night) 3. WiFi was spotty at best. Mentioned to travel agent when asking for help with hot water. Guy came out (day 4 of stay) found router in room not plugged in and no adapter from euro plug to US outlet. 4. None of the info I provided to agent made it into the resort’s reservation system. Transfer back to airport, return flight info, divers waivers, afternoon dive bookings, premium food and drink upgrade. (Agent verified with staff, it just never made it into the system) 5. Construction starting around 7am, waking us on mornings we weren’t diving. I won’t even get into the dust everywhere in our room. Any one, possibly two of these issues could have been overlooked. Not 5, and why when I mentioned the hot water issue was I asked if my Air conditioning worked? Oh and let’s not forget outdoor dining… flys as soon as you sit down with food there’s flys all over the table and food, and it’s buffet for about 3 hours for each meal, so flys on the food at the buffet too. It’s a workout trying to eat and swat flies constantly. Needless to say I will probably not stay here again.

This is the fifth time in 2.5 years that we have stayed at the Van der Valk Plaza Beach & Dive Resort on Bonaire. It was absolutely top again. And no, I don't get anything for writing these reviews. No upgrade, no extras and no discount. We wrote in English and not in Dutch this time. We have also included a few (6) small tips and improvements in this review. This time we stayed in the recently completed Deluxe rooms (the "old" junior suites on the lagoon side). On the spot where there used to be a huge room with a balcony and a gallery, now two deluxe rooms have been built on the same surface area. This will double the number of rooms. One room overlooks the lagoon and the other room overlooks the "garden" (read the walking path between two buildings). Between these rooms now runs an indoor long open corridor. The deluxe rooms are completely decorated in the new corporate identity of the van der Valk Beach & Dive Resort. Lots of wood. Very stylish, comfortable and practical. Of course, there is a well-functioning air conditioning and a wooden ceiling fan. A nice lying large bed with delicious pillows. Very smart and functional lighting plan. Practically the light in the closet and toilet that turns on automatically. Sufficient closet space, a safe and plenty of (practical) space to put your (diving) stuff down. Large flat screen with many Dutch and USA channels. A spacious and nice balcony where we unfortunately missed a possibility of hanging some wet clothes. Tip 1. So dear Mr. van der Valk please come up with a nice sleek design solution so that you can easily dry some wet clothes on your balcony in the deluxe rooms. Food and drinks are well arranged. Even when it is busier, there is always plenty of choice. Quality and taste are just good. You can eat well and there is something for everyone. Every day, a few things change in the menu so that there is also enough variety. Nice and also delicious is the beach barbecue. New (for us) is the pizza restaurant (for a fee or for the.premium all-in guests). Quiet atmosphere, great cocktails and delicious pizzas. We saw the family van der Valk (both daughters) and son-in-law working hard almost every day. All the staff is super friendly, welcoming and helpful anyway. If you have a problem (the door lock of our room 356 often refused to open after several attempts), immediate action will be taken. People like to think along with you and want to give you a carefree holiday. Tip 2. Personally, we do think that with the increase in the number of guests (more rooms), it is advisable to open an extra beach bar and or deploy more staff. Now it is quite busy at the time. And when waiting times increase, not everyone (unfortunately especially Dutch people) is equally honest about waiting their turn. Speaking of typical Dutch behaviour, we are talking about typical Dutch behaviour. Laying a towel. Seriously say!!!!! It is bizarre that every morning (often the same and always Dutch) were pushing long before 08:00 to get a spot by the pool or beach. Then you didn't see them again until 11:00 or later. A sad "tradition." Tip 3. Many hotels we visit have a very simple rule. More than 30 minutes away, you can pick up your belongings at the counter and your bed will lapse. Please enter immediately. The beach is lovely. In terms of number of beach beds, something should be added by now. (Tip 4) Great opportunity to snorkel. Think of water shoes. The house reef also offers more than enough variety to dive (night) and/or do a Padi course. Great facilities to build your set and flush your stuff. Tip 5. Only the lighting does not work (yet) . After a night dive, it would be very nice to have lights there. If they go on a movement sensor, they are not unnecessarily turned on. The Toucan Diving School is top notch. Relaxed, friendly but above all professional instructors and divemasters. Feel free to take a test dive and you will probably become "addicted" to the underwater world, like many. People are now working hard to renovate the "old" junior suites by the pool in the new style. They are also working on the new casino on the street side. Hopefully the diving school will also get a new and modern place including new boats. Games have been built in various places. Very nice and it was used very often. There are several guest appearances (on Valentine's Day there was a violinist at the beach barbecue), there are also often DJs. Tip 6. Provide some beautiful LED lighting of the round DJ spot. It will add some extra ambiance in the evening. Unlike previous years, the all-in stops after handing in your room key. You can still buy it for 30 USD for the last day. We knew this in advance and were also informed at check-in. You can still use the facilities unpaid (pool/beach beds etc) but can no longer eat at the buffet etc. We found it agian a very nice (diving) holiday at van der Valk Plaza Beach & Dive Resort. A sixth time will certainly be there (planned February 2027).

stay away from junior suites and grand suites. Grand suites are moldy or raatling airo's, missing doors, although these are the most expensive they lack 20 years of maintenance. Junior suites are now starting with some renovation. Rooms themselves although lack of maintenance are ok, but.... from 8 am till 5 pm you can listen to drilling, hammering and all that kind of noise, no after lunch nap possible. So basically only rent deluxe harbour site, else you don't get what you pay for. Food, sea and pool are fine.

The location is perfect. We were in a Deluxe room and we recommend. The food was nice and with good variety. The beach bar personnel were amazing, they were the highlight of the customer service.

This was our third trip to Bonaire, and specifically to the Plaza. I understand that since our first visit in 2019 the resort has been undergoing a major transformation. This was, by far, the single most expensive one-week holiday I have ever taken. The Good: The buffet food is the best I have ever had at any resort. Fresh sushi every night, and fresh fish (snapper, tuna, barracuda) cooked to order each evening. The rooms (we stayed in the condos) were amazing—spotlessly clean, beautiful views, and very quiet. The lobby and restaurant areas are extremely clean. Diving on the house reef is some of the best diving in Bonaire. The Bad: I can’t say I saw a single staff member who appeared genuinely happy. The bar staff looked depressed; you could give them a $10 tip and they didn’t even seem to care. The front desk staff are all new and seem to have no idea what they’re doing. They also don’t seek help from more senior staff. We arrived at 6:00 p.m. and were given only one room key, and were told we had to come back the following day to have another programmed because they “don’t have access to the keys at night.” Seriously? We come to Bonaire to dive, and the dive shop has essentially fallen off a cliff. It used to be run with precision. Now you arrive on time, are told to be there 30 minutes before departure, only to find out you can’t go on the boat to prepare your dive gear because there is no captain. The dive shop itself is run down and looks trashy. The dive boats are tired, slow, belch exhaust, and are in clear need of replacement. We did dive on the Silver Surfer one afternoon. We were told to be at the dock at 1:15 for a 1:45 departure. There is zero shade at the dock where the Silver Surfer is moored. At 1:30 the crew arrived but still needed to do checks, couldn’t get the trim to work, and we were left standing in the sun. We didn’t leave the dock until 2:15. On our final day, I tried to settle our bill at the dive shop. I stood in the dive shop lobby for 15 minutes ringing the bell attached to the door periodically hoping someone would come up. You could clearly hear people in the back, but no one came out. When someone finally did, they slammed the door in my face and went back to talking among themselves. When they eventually came out, they said, “Sorry, we were working on a scheduling conflict.” That is not okay or acceptable—I was there to pay them before we left. There was apparently an issue the week before we arrived involving a customer and a tank. No one would discuss it, which is fine, but new “rules” were implemented that seemed to change daily. There were no clear signs, markings, or roped-off areas, yet staff were quick to tell guests to leave areas that were supposedly off-limits, despite nothing indicating this. Sorry, but as of right now, we are done with the Plaza.