not really it was a long time since i last went.sorry.one of those things that when you go check room.if not happy asked to be moved.

djwoody

Thanks for the info.

Cheers

Sharon

Hi Sharon, I'm not sure how much help i'm going to be but when we stayed here in 2009 i was told block 5 was the best block to be in as it is furthest away from the daytime noise and you can get a bit of a sea view so i emailed the hotel and asked for block 5 on the top floor at the end nearest the sea, i was expecting nothing but low and behold this is exactly what we got! Regarding a shady balcony, ours overlooked the pool and we had shade in the morning and lovely sun all afternoon and evening, i did plenty of sunbathing on it. Email them and ask for the block with the most shade i'm sure they'll oblige. Also block 5 is nearest the evening entertainment that kicks off at eight on the dot every night and is very loud and repetative but i didn't mind this as it was my alarm call to set off to meet my OH and children playing pool at the London Inn (god rest it's soul).

Bit disappointed reading last years reviews regarding AI, I hope this doesn't spoil what was a fantastic Aparthotel, also why would you want to go AI with the choice of great restaurants in Cala Bona?

Hi Cypruschick

Thanks for the info, i will e-amil the hotel ref block 5 ...sun on a balcony all afternoon sounds like bliss to me!!

Cheers
Sharon

Just wondered about the depth of the pool here as last year my then 6 year old found the pool at last years hotel to be too deep. I know there is a splash pool but is there also another kids pool too.

Thanks Cypruschick. From looking at the google map it would seem that there are a few apartments overlooking fields so perhaps these would be the shady ones. I will e-mail Thomson and the hotel nearer the time.

Also, is Cala Bona beach sandy enough to keep a 7 and 10 year old happy? I know that the best beach is in Cala Millor but they are not into walking in 80 degree heat?? Is there stuff going on around the harbour of an evening just in case the entertainment doesn't come up to scratch??

Hi Wubbzy, we're not really beach people so didn't go on cala bona beaches but i understand they are not very nice from other people in the know, i thought they looked ok when we have walked along the promenade but we didnt go on them, but if you just want to make sandcastles and play I would imagine they are fine. We did go on Cala Millor beach once and it is nice and golden and deep!, but you are right about the walk although it is a nice stroll my children(age11 & 9) moaned none stop about how far it was so we didn't go again. Regarding entertainment around the harbour, it is geared to the more shall we say mature person. We used to play pool at the London Inn(think it's closed now) and also Sanddancers bar that has lively music and entertainment and shows films for children and there is a small fun fair on one of the back streets.We also used to go in Torres bar and play pool and watch the football on the big screens, depending on how old your children are the Bonaire entertainment always seemed popular for the younger ones although we never stayed for it.

Mummykins, again depending how old your children are i found the main pool to be too deep for small children, i kept a close eye on my youngest and he's 9 and a good swimmer because it is usually quite busy probably more so now you can go AI and also they play water polo every afternoon in the shallow end and it's up to an adults waist but also this means it's a no go area unless you want smacking with a hard ball. The baby pool is round and small and surrounded by sunbeds so it's hard to get to unless you have a sunbed around it and they usually all have towels on by 6.30am and i'm not joking, i've seen them if i've got up to get a drink. I think the water in the splash park would be shallow enough but it wasn't there the last time we were.

Thanks Cypruschick. Pool situation doesn,t sound too good! Last year we were at the Village Viva and my then 6 year old cried when we got there because the pool was slightly too deep for her. She did manage because she can swim but it took away from her enjoyment. The difference was that the Viva pool was the same depth all over whereas the Bonaires is not.

Some reviews have stated that the pool is 1m at the shallow end so my daughter should be ok to stand up in it. I have told her that it will be quite deep she is fine with that. She is looking forward to the pirate ship slide! Will just keep a very close eye on her.

Does anyone know the location of the splash pool as it is not on the google map?

Can anyone tell me what the evening entertainment is like? Do they bring in any outside acts?

Stayed here last year. Yes they had acts from outside the hotel and some were pretty good.

We paid just £17 in TOTAL for 4 days for 2 people. That wasnt a special rate, it was the price for the ROOM on the Thomson website!!! Apparently Thomson had bought all the rooms but hadnt filled them.

We didnt eat in the hotel so cant comment on food. Drinks were ok. We stayed in Block 5 top floor over looking the pool. Nice room, but be warned the walls are pretty thin between the rooms and some moron in the next room had decided to bring their entire home stereo system with them by the sounds of it! Had to bang the walls a few times at them. The rooms had air con, a decent kitchen and were clean.

The grounds were nice, lovely pools, which did look deep in places. We didnt use them as it was March when we went and too cold. The indoor pool is nothing special, pretty small. There was a wicked childrens water park which looked pretty new towards the back of the complex by the indoor pool, with water features etc.

There was also a park there, with slides and rocking erm, things. As for the resort itself, obviously quiet that time of year and not much there really apart from a small scattering of restaurants along the front.

We dont have kids so cant really comment on that side of things, but the price was too good to turn down! My ex used to have parents who live in Sa Coma. If you are looking for a good family holiday with a lovely beach and more to do in the nights, then Sa Coma is an excellent alternative resort which is just down the road.....

does anyone know if you can take drinks to your room if all inc, incase we want put our 17 month old bed early? thanks

you can do what ever you want with them.apart from taking them out of hotel.most hotels now give you glasses of water instead of bottles as a lot of people were stocking them up for beach.

oh brill is that even alcoholic drinks?

Hi i'm off to the Bonaire in August for two weeks with my family.
I know my daughter who is 6 is going to have a ball just my other comments. My son on the other hand who is 15 might not find the splash pirate ship as much fun. Has anyone stayed here with younger teens, just hope there will be others of his age group and he will be happy, otherwise we are going to have a stroppy teen for a fortnight....bliss!

Cheers
Sharon

Anyone been recently? I know the hotel started taking guests in April so my nose is bothering me as we are off in July.

hi again, still not booked! lol been waiting for family dcide what there doing, there not going, so wetre looking to book this weekend for early september, cant afford to pay the all inclusive price by the deadline now though so think were going go self catering.

anyone know the price of meals at the hotel? individual or what the arangement for upgrading to all inclusive or half board, or could you just upgrade to bed an breakfast? and also drinks prices?

is it expensive to eat out? thanks

Can't comment on Bonaire restaurant prices but there are LOADS of places to eat out in and around the harbour catering for all tastes....we tend to eat at Argos Bar if we're in the harbour - family of 5 (2 adults, 13 year old and 9 year old twins) and we usually pay around the €35-€40 mark including soft drinks.

If you want to keep prices down for to balance the cost of your meals out....do what we do and take your trolley suitcase for the long walk to bottom end of Cala Millor and shop at Lidl....we usually take ham and cheese slices in coolbag in suitcase and then buy baguettes or buns at Eileen & Pedro's in Cala Bona and make our own lunch-time snacks altho' Pedro makes a mean sarnie to order for just €1.60

Hi thankyou, that sounds reasonable, id expect to pay around €30 for 2 adults for a meal with drinks, yeah we will be stocking up for breakfast an dinners in most days and evening meal in for our little one as hopefully he will be asleep in his buggy when we go for ours! this is going to be an experience first family hol abroad!! :-)

We've just booked a spur of the moment family holiday for the above for th 13th of October

Will we be able to upgrade our board basis from SC to HB or AI when we get there and if so how much will it be ?

6 weeks to go !!!!

thanks