Harbour Village Beach Club

We first stayed at Harbour Village Beach Club in Bonaire in 1992 and have returned several times over the years. Although we generally prefer to explore new destinations instead of revisiting places, Harbour Village has been the one exception. Additionally, when visiting other tropical destinations, we frequently compare those properties to Harbour Village. Yes, it’s that special of a place! Indeed, it has retained its uniqueness and charm from our initial stay in 1992, while also incorporating ongoing updates and continued refinements. Harbour Village is simply one of the finest boutique properties in the Caribbean and is, in our opinion, the only 5-Star resort on Bonaire. This location provides an ideal blend of attractive architecture, meticulously maintained grounds, and a pristine private beach, offering excellent opportunities for swimming, diving, and paddle sports. This serene and tranquil location allows the opportunity to witness stunning sunsets in the evenings, which can then be followed by an exquisite dinner at La Balandra. Additionally, you may opt for a pleasant walk or a short drive into town where various other dining establishments are available. However, during a typical two week stay, we often find ourselves dinning at La Balandra more than half the time. We also highly recommend booking a private, torch lit dinner on the beach. Memorable experiences at any given property are greatly influenced by the staff, and at Harbour Village Beach Club, they provide exceptional service. The staff is notably attentive and friendly, arguably offering the best hospitality on the island and perhaps in the entire Caribbean. From the highly engaged owners to the manager, Jorge Ceballos, the leadership team at the property has assembled an exceptional group of professionals: Steffi Leon, Reservations Manager; Sytze, Ximena, and Katie at the front desk/concierge; Janet Hoediono, the new and highly skilled executive chef; and servers Claudia, Raysa, Alexandra, Guesela and Naphtaly at La Balandra Restaurant; Additionally, the housekeeping, groundskeeping, and service staff contribute significantly to the property's operations, along with Pepi and his team at Great Adventures. Unfortunately, the names of other exceptional staff members have not been included, but we plan to mention them on our next visit, which is currently being planned… We eagerly anticipate our next stay at Harbour Village Beach Club and reconnecting with everyone there very soon.

We spent a week at Harbor Village. There are some pros and cons to this property. Pros: nice little house reef. We saw a variety of fish, including a spotted eel. Very quiet beachfront- no need to save seats at the crack of dawn. Walking distance to some good restaurants and a 45 minute walk to town. Our beachfront villa was very large and the housekeeping staff was great. Cons: the restaurant was ok. Service extremely slow and a limited menu. Beach service is advertised but not really monitored so you really need to go up to the bar and order. Our room, 322 was on the 2nd floor & on the corner. At first it seemed like a nice spot but….the pool was on one side and very loud in the afternoons. People are enjoying themselves which is what vacations are about but if you enjoy sitting on the deck and enjoying some peace and quiet, this is not the room for you. Also the mattress is very soft & uncomfortable. We don’t like to complain but if a firm mattress is important to you, inquire about the mattresses.

Well done! From entry to exit, this place takes very good care of you. They want to make sure your stay the best it could possibly be. A lot of credit goes to the front line people working at the front desk. They listen well and make sure that they do everything they possibly can to make your stay first rate. A+

This was our 13th visit to Harbour Village. This is our favorite place to stay and dive in the Carribean, It is very secure. The landscaping is beautiful and well maintained. There is a sandy beach. Rooms are lovely with a choice of amenities and locations. The dive boats are spacious and well maintained. Dive staff is helpful, friendly, professional and will assist when needed.

We had a great stay at HBV but were disappointed to learn that the 3 boat dives that were offered in previous years had been reduced to only 2 boat dives (10am and 2pm). There were enough divers who paid for a dive package to fill all three boats. When asking about this, we were told that the owner decided to reduce boat dives to 2 a day (or otherwise you had to pay a fee to rent the boat yourself?!). This seems to be a cost-cutting exercise and is not customer focused. Nonetheless, Alfonso from the dive shop was great as boat captain, dive master and always greeted you with a smile on his face, humor and he also has great underwater knowledge. The gym can really do with an upgrade as it has old-fashioned equipment. Although minor, it is a pity that simple things such as hand/face cream are not provided anymore in the rooms. A hotel this caliber should offer this. Service and food quality at La Balandra was great.

This was our second time in Bonaire and there was no doubt in my mind, we would stay Harbour Village. There are so many other places we will visit but when we want peace and quiet, this will be it. We came for a milestone birthday, the staff did everything for us, from arranging airport transportation and we say the friendliest face picking us up, Huntley. He was the same gentleman that greeted us last time and he remembered us. He said welcome home. We were greeted again by Sietze and Shainyn, who were and still are incredible host and genuine in their welcome. The rooms are very clean, the entire property for that matter is well kept. I spent a lot of time in the beach, you wouldn’t think there are birds around, the chairs, the hammocks, the beach, everything is always impecable. We wanted to explore so rented a car for the day, we never had to leave to get the car, it was brought to us and picked up at the hotel. Driving in Bonaire was not as bad as I thought it was going to be either. The hotel staff recommended Loc Bay, it’s a must see. The most beautiful place I’ve even seen, we passed the flamingo sanctuary and a few donkeys along the way. For my birthday, hubby arranged for flowers to be sent to our room, they were just gorgeous. We also booked massages, it was also amazing. First time we came to the island and Harbour Village, we just went for walks downtown which was easy and beautiful. We had all our meals at the Balandra on the property for every single meal, we tried this time only lunch outside of the property which was ok. We wound up doing all of our meals again at the Balandra and again it was amazing. Every single meal was made to perfection with fresh ingredients every single time. A special thanks to Claudia, she was here last year as just as sweet and attentive as she was then. Silas was such a gentleman very attentive, my favorite thing was each meal he would say “I have some delicious (insert meal) for you, enjoy and always stopped to say hello and check on us. Manuk at the Balandra was also very sweet and attentive. On our first night I didn’t quite want a full desert but wanted something sweet, she gave me a few green tea packets and lotus cookies (coffee cookies) and that become my daily treat, each night especially on my birthday she made sure I left with cookies when she heard we watched movies at night. If you’re like us and just keep to yourself on vacation, a great recommendation is to bring your own Roku or fire stick and hook it up in the room. Last but not least, my favorite thing was each day after being on the beach, I’d end the day in the pool, which was always clean. I would just float under the open clear skies for almost an hour each day, this became a ritual. The first time we came, I thought it was pricey but let me tell you, worth every single penny. This was and continues to be luxurious, relaxing, peaceful and just above and beyond.