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From studios, apartments, and penthouses to villas, Delfins Beach Resort offers a fun-filled home base by the sea while exploring Bonaire, one of the world’s most spectacular dive and snorkel destinations.

Depending on your needs, choose from one of 52 luxury studios, 64 luxury apartments, four penthouses and 13 villas, all equipped with modern kitchens and bathrooms and either garden or ocean views.

For the ultimate in luxury, the four-bedroom, four bathroom villa has a private swimming pool in the garden.

Our one-bedroom apartment includes a living space with couch and flatscreen TV, kitchen, outdoor seating with folding rack for swimwear, an air conditioned bedroom with ample storage and a full bathroom with rain shower.

A pair of white, Bonaire-branded BPA-free 500 ml bottles made in The Netherlands are set in the compact kitchen for us.

95% of the plastic soup in the ocean comes from rivers in developing countries in Africa and Asia. These poor countries are also the most affected by climate change due to CO2 emissions.

Made of sugarcane and dishwasher safe, the organization behind these bottles, Join the Pipe, helps to fund several projects, including their Buy One Give One bottle program for children in developing countries.

Additionally, the production of these CO2-negative bottles has no negative impact on the environment. Thanks to the support of many retailers, hotels and events, Join The Pipe has been able to give millions of bottles to these children.

The grounds are beautifully manicured with walkways connecting the buildings and parking lots of the spacious property. Deflins Resort has a private beach with several palapas and a house reef for convenient snorkel sessions.

The onsite dive shop sells swim, dive and snorkel gear, plus reef-safe sunscreen, souvenirs and locally-made jewellery.

[Grilled chicken satay graced with peanut sauce, pickled veggies and frites]

Dining

There are four dining options at Delfins (Brass Boer Restaurant, Club Tropicana Beach Brasserie, Senang, Boertiek), plus BBQ at the beach (offered Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays).

Top-rated by Caribbean Journal, Brass Boer Bonaire offers a blend of Dutch and Caribbean influences courtesy of chef Stefan Martens (breakfast, lunch and dinner; closed on Wednesdays and Sundays).

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, enjoy a Beach BBQ with cocktails, beer or wine, with grilled shrimp, spicy hot chicken, ribs, beer as well as a small menu of appetizers ranging from olives and cheese to oysters.

[The satisfying Big Boer Double Burger with frites]

Club Tropicana Beach Brasserie is the place for lunch or dinner with more of that stunning Caribbean Sea as backdrop. Midday, enjoy a range of small plates, salads, sandwiches, the “Big Boer” Burger and vegetarian options, and in the evenings, think steaks, smoked salmon, gnocchi, risotto, local seafood and more.

[Dame Blanche: Vanilla ice cream, hazelnuts, cookie crumbs, chocolate sauce]

Save room for dessert: The Coupe Dame Blanche is the perfect shareable sweet finish to a lovely meal enjoyed by the sea.

Boertiek is a cozy combo of coffee shop and boutique, with sandwiches, smoothes, juices and coffees, open Tuesday to Saturday, 7 am to 4 pm.

The atmospheric, bamboo-fringed Senang currently offers a daily breakfast buffet as well as pool service for guests from noon to 4 pm.

Fresh pastries, fruit and fruit juices, yogurt, cheeses and made-to-order omelettes and Dutch pannekoeken are included in the daily buffet selection.

Quality Roman coffee roaster Buscaglione is used throughtout the resort’s restaurants and at Boertiek cafe. The brand, founded in 1899, was originally served at the Vatican!

Beginning in December, Senang will also offer dinner (Delfins is currently putting the final touches on a new dinner menu).

Pool, Gym

There are two large pools, one close to the beach with swim-up bar and adjacent baby pool, the other close to Senang. Both are surrounded by beautiful flowers and palms.

Delfins’s newly-designed, well air-conditioned DREAMZ Fitness Bonaire offers guests free use of the facilities from 5 am to 10 pm (Saturdays, 7 am to 10 pm, closed on Sundays), where you can also book a personal training session.

Stay fit while on vacay with classes offered six days per week (including aerobics, Zumba, yoga, spinning, kickboxing and judo) on a drop-in basis (day pass, $10; week pass, $35 at the time of this writing).

[Bonaire Donkey Sanctuary]

What’s in the Hood

The beach! At any time of day or evening (for night dives), there are beaches in all directions to explore. Delfins is located close to Bonaire’s Donkey Sanctuary as well as to Kralendijk’s shops and restaurants. It’s also a quick drive (under 10 minutes) to Bonaire International Airport.

Bonaire’s blue waters hold a variety of marine creatures with over 350 fish species and 57 soft and stony coral types. There are large tarpons, turtles, and barracudas as well as colourful fishes, seahorses, crabs, eels and much more. During our snorkels, we saw an abundance of species, many that we’d not yet seen elsewhere in the world!

Delfins Beach Resort also offers several packages, including a free Suzuki Jimmy truck for a day with each three-night stay, last-minute deals and unlimited air tanks for dives (if you book a stay between now and December 16, 2023). Visit the resort online for details.

Delfins Beach Resort is located at Punt Vierkant 44 in Kralendijk.

We were graciously hosted by Delfins Beach Resort for the purpose of this feature. Opinions, as always, remain our own.