Eden Beach Resort

This was our second time to Bonaire and first time at Eden Beach, which was terrific. For us, rating a resort has to account for how the staff handles errors/mistakes or deficiencies. I won't get into the details of the deficiency we experienced but can say that the staff there exceeded our expectations. We didn't request any sort of compensation, so it was a nice surprise. We stayed in a two bedroom, 2 story unit that is much like a condo. I have seen postings about noise from Spice, the onsite bar, but we did not experience any during our stay. Food at the onsite restaurant was excellent. I highly recommend Eden and we hope to be back there again soon.

My wife and I stayed at the Eden Beach Resort from March 4th to 18th, travelling on a Sunwing package out of Toronto. This is a small ocean front resort located on the northwest side of Kralendijk. It has an excellent scuba dive shop on-site run by WannaDive (see separate review). We had room #301 on the ground floor located very near the dive shop which was ideal for us. We were joined for the duration of our stay by Oxy the resort’s resident tabby cat. Our list of pros and cons as we see them follows: Pros: - Nice large comfortable suite with a kitchenette, lots of storage space and an outdoor terrace. - A very comfortable king sized bed. - Decent sized room safe at no extra charge. - The air conditioner worked very well. - Pleasant friendly staff. - There is a good restaurant on site but the prices are high. There are plenty of other less expensive, just as good restaurants, within a five to ten minute walk. - A grocery store (Zhung Kong) with reasonable prices located within a twenty minute walk. - The dive shop and water taxi to Klein Bonaire share a common dock. Hotel guests use this dock to get into the water for a swim or snorkel. Cons: - Lots of mosquitos in the evening. To minimize bites use lots of repellant. - Some nights there was loud music from either the resort’s bar or the next door beach club, keeping us up past midnight. - The shore is rocky. It isn’t conducive to entering the water or going for long beach walks. - The room and beach towels provided were thin and worn out. - Wi-Fi is available free of charge throughout the resort area including in the rooms but it is very spotty and did not work at all for a couple of days. - Hot water for showering and washing dishes was in short supply. We had to ask for detergent for dish washing. - The rooms could use an electric toaster and/or a microwave oven in addition to the gas stove provided. We had to ask for a lighter for the stove as the matches provided wouldn’t ignite. - Upon arrival we found that our fridge freezer was totally frosted up. Despite several requests to fix the problem, it remained this way for the duration of our stay. We ended up placing towels in the fridge compartment to try and catch the water dripping from the freezer compartment onto our food.

On Sunday Feb 25 we arrived at this resort we had included the American meal plan as part of our pkg...this includes all meals and unlimited domestic beer,wine and cola....the first night the bar was not aware of this plan so we purchased our drinks. We checked iin and asked about our plan and was told that we could have 3 meals and one drink each with our meal, we knew this wasn't right. The next day we looked up our meal plan and showed the manager as we had unlimited drinks with our plan, the manager was not aware of our plan and was going to look into it....after 2 days of Paying for our drinks she finally got back to us and we were correct. We asked the manager for a refund on the drinks we had already purchased and was told she would have to check with her accountant and get back to us...well we got our money back on Saturday night. As the manager I would of thought she would of found us and made this right in a timely manner we shouldn't of had to go and ask for our money the night before we left. The manager John who runs the spice bar came to us on Wednesday and apologized for all the issues we were having with our plan and that we would be taken care of for the rest of the week to anything we wanted from the bar...thank you John for really going above and beyond to make things right with us.......We ate our meals in the restaurant and one night I ordered the special and was told that I would have to pay the difference....really...my plan includes all meals....the waitress had to go ask the manager and yes I got my meal without additional costs...during the week we had other waitresses asking for money to pay for our meals..nobody was aware of our meal plan...the manager took along time to get this straightened out....as manager you would think that she would be aware of all the meal plans being offered at this resort.....My husband and I were very patient but very frustrated by this then to top it off on Sunday when we checked out at 10 am we were told that we no longer covered by our plan and we had to purchase our own drinks and food until the bus picked us up at 2 pm....the resort says we are all inclusive but that stops when you check out, other resorts I've been to cover you until you leave with all the issues we had that week you would of thought they would of taken that into consideration but not Eden beach..The manager Caroline made us feel like we were a problem because she wasn't aware of the plan we had purchased and the resolution to the problem was a slow process. Of course she made it right but she sure took her time getting back to us and making it right...We were the first people to buy the American plan and this resort had no knowledge of what was included in this plan that to me is unacceptable, you run a resort you should know everything about it....We had the standard hotel room which was clean...their site claims that every room has a safe but when you go to the actual standard hotel room on this site it states no safe is included....now these statements get a little confusing as in reality as a traveller I would expect every room have a safe to store your passports and anything else, I don't care how safe your claim your island is my documents are very important spend the money and give your travellers peace of mind so we don't have to carry our passports with us....The resort lacks enough towels, one night you would have 4 and sometimes 2 and sometimes none. The beach towels were a gamble as to wether or not you could get clean ones for the day...they wanted you to reuse your towels and save on laundry but after swimming and getting wet why should I have to reuse a wet towel the next day...your not supposed to hang them outside on the balcolony. This resorts lacks attention to detail as the lane way to the road always had the same broken glass and leaves along the walkway, the orange beach chairs were black liked they had never been cleaned..The beach area was small, wear water shoes to enter the water as their is lots of coral as you enter the water. The water has lots of beautiful fish, good snorkling..the pool area is nice for the size of the resort but the pool liner needs to be replaced as it is very faded. The resort offers snorkel equipment to rent for $5 per day which was pretty reasonable. The resort is about a 20 minute walk to the downtown area and the shops are pretty reasonable...if you have a chance take a taxi to Sorobon beach for the day it's breath taking and the bar there has great food and drinks reasonably priced...Isabel our taxi lady took us to different sites along the ride to the beach....Thanks Isabel for your great service. This resorts has a place on site to book tours and the water taxi is right there....Thanks Gigi for your help...the cruise ship is in Bonaire a couple days aweek and the resort has lots of extra guests. The standard rooms are really clean but small. If your going to list your resort as an all inclusive and charge extra for this service then I hope you know how an all inclusive works...you don't chase guests down to pay for meals and booze, you don't ask them to pay extra for the "special" at the restaurant and when you wrong your guests by having no knowledge of your all inclusive meal plan annd taking two days to figure it out, try treating them like you really appreciate them and their patience, cutting off our meals and drinks atfter 10 am on our last day really showed us how much you appreciated us. I would not come back to Eden beach resort again but I would come back to Bonaire in a heart beat...

I was very impressed with Eden Beach. The room was large with a small kitchen. I had a nice front porch surrounded with flowers and tropical plants. I made breakfast and lunch, which went to wherever I was diving for the day. The place was very quiet at night, except on Friday night when a band down the road played until late. Nice large shower with plenty of hot water. First place I have ever been (except a cruise) where the water for the island was produced through reverse osmosis. I drank it all week. I learned a lot quickly about the island by watching the Bonaire Travel Channel. The Spice Restaurant served excellent meals and has a great location next to the water. I ate some evenings in the beach bar and was very happy with the food. Wannadive was an efficient and responsive dive operation. I dove twice in front of the hotel, but most of the home reef is broken rubble. You have to swim a little north to get into nicer reef. But for me, a macro-photographer, broken up coral is a great place to be. I highly recommend. Adequate parking. Nice place and a great value.

Loved this place! Great people and good food at the sand bar and in the restaurant. Its the very place where you catch the ferry to Klein Bonaire, and where the best dive operation (Wannadive) is located on site. The two bedroom condos are perfect- clean, spacious, and with a wonderful complete kitchen (and view). We stayed for one week and thoroughly enjoyed the entire time. Only problem was the WIFI kept going in and out- but they said they were going to fix it. You get the combination to the dive locker and can get tanks of air whenever you please! There is a real beach at the resort, something other resorts in Bonaire do not have, and there is good snorkeling (if thart's all you are doing) right at the pier. Plus, the ferry to Klein Bonaire is also at the resort's pier- and great snorkeling and beaches are 10 minutes away on Klein (little) Bonaire. Would go back in an instant. The island is a paradise!

I've stayed here twice and both times it was super easy and the staff were great. It's a chill vibe and a safe place to relax after long days of diving. I'm a solo female traveller, so that's important to me. The food is good and I love the hammocks on the balcony rooms. They're perfect if I want solo time instead of being on the beach, even though the beach is never too crowded. Edwin (their massage therapist at the spa) gives the best back and shoulder massage I've ever had. He's fantastic! It was the perfect thing to have booked for the day after I arrived and I was sore from traveling. The rooms with the little kitchenettes are great and the grocery store is just down the street. I always rent a bike for the week, so it's easy to get to. This place is easy and reliable. Not fancy, but always clean and that really matters to me. I'd recommend it for sure.

We were recently in Bonaire for a cruise port of call, and just wanted a beach with facilites to have a stress free day. Eden provides this and then some. The service was excellent, food and drinks great, and the prices were very reasonable. We would definitely return for another trip.

This was our second trip to Eden Beach Resort, and the decision this time to upgrade to a two bedroom apartment was a good one. For our first trip, we selected a one bedroom, which was really just a hotel room with an outdated kitchen. We are not divers and Bonaire and all the hotels cater to divers, we go because it is quiet, peaceful and generally not very crowded. This year, there were cruise ships in port six out of seven days, but while other reviewers did mention cruise ship passengers at the resort, they were not there in large numbers. The water taxi picked them up at the dock and dropped them off, and in the middle of the day there was much more activity, but in general, the hotel handled it very well. There was one day when service was tough to get, lunch took about 30 minutes to arrive and bartenders, and beach servers lost track of things. The water is pristine, and the water taxi is located right at the resort allows you to come and go to Klien Bonaire snorkel there or right in front of the hotel. Since there are no beaches on Bonaire, the beach area is just that an area with trucked in sand, chairs and a bar. Expectations are important for Bonaire, just remember this is a divers paradise, services, and accommodations are catered to divers. Some complaints about Eden, about two years ago a beach club opened next door and on Friday nights the noise is significant, techno/dance music. The service at the bar is average, it depends on who was there, it was clear that the bartenders were soccer fans, and when they had a game on, the game got most of the attention. It was actually comical to watch, people trying to get there attention and simply just being ignored. The hotel itself is average, the outside is designed nicely, the inside they have let slide. For example, or refrigerator did not work, we went to the lobby, explained and they said no problem, we are on it. The next day we had to go back and remind them, but again it is Bonaire, not NYC. The rooms were clean, comfortable, the bathrooms were new, and the mattress is of good quality.

We were recently in Bonaire for the day for a cruise port of call, and just wanted a beach with facilities to have a stress free day. Eden provides this and then some. The service was excellent, food and drinks great, and the price was very reasonable. We would definitely return for another trip.