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Tags: Hotel Renovations / Bonaire Hotels / Scuba Diving Hotels / → All Tags

Captain Don's Habitat in Bonaire Has Plans to Be Beautified

Where: 103 Kaya Gobernador Debrot, Kralendijk, Antilles, Netherlands Antilles

Back in August, we told you about our brush with sucky service at the Captain Don's Habitat in Bonaire, Netherland Antilles. The whole debacle left us feeling kinda icky, mostly because we really fell hard for the island of Bonaire, and well...for the most part, the situation could have been avoided.

But hang onto your swim fins, because there may be a happy ending to our scuba sob story. We just caught wind of some good (and completely unexpected) news regarding the long-time diving institution.

The folks at Captain Don's Habitat must've snapped out of 1973, because the rundown property is (gasp!) being updated and renovated. They're planning on purchasing new (desperately needed) bathroom fixtures and furniture later this month, which should arrive to the island sometime in March. Then, the first phase of renovations will get underway and construction of new suites will be completed.

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Tags: HotelChatter Reviews / Hotel Hell / Bonaire Hotels / → All Tags

Great Scuba, Sucky Service at Captain Don's Habitat

Where: 103 Kaya Gobernador Debrot, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Think all press trips are free caviar and roses? Think again. What happens when a hotel invites a writer to cover their hotel for multiple publications and she ends up itching and scratching?

Though HotelChatter does not usually accept comp'd stay reviews, this was a situation we thought you needed to know about. After all, as GlobeTrotting Gourmet says: "if this is how the concerns of hosted media guests of the hotel are met, what can other guests expect?"

As an R&R/dive-centric island destination, we think Bonaire is the bee’s knees. However, events that unraveled during our recent stay at Captain Don’s Habitat during a hosted press trip really set the bar for how not to handle customer relations.

We get that Bonaire is not a destination for luxury-seekers. It’s all about the ocean, aquatic creatures and coral reefs. We like it that way. We’re more than happy to make certain concessions in creature comforts and amenities in the interest of enjoying this island paradise free of big box, high-rise hotels. We expect the occasional stray spider, gecko or bug in our room – it’s the Caribbean, duh. But what we cannot handle is a hotel that cuts corners on cleanliness and comes up short on customer service.

This is where the subpar part of our stay at Captain Don’s Habitat comes into play.

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