23 Reviews of Property 287127 in Bonaire

Our April visit to the Sunset Villa in Bonaire was all that we hoped it would be! The temperatures were in the 80's, the sky was blue and sunny, and the water was warm and filled with beautiful tropical fish right in the waters in front of the villa. My son and I enjoyed snorkeling around the nearby reefs; while my husband, daughter & her family, enjoyed the splendid scuba diving areas along the shoreline within short drives from the villa.
The Sunset Villa is ideal for a family rental with its five bright and airy bedrooms with lovely ocean views, its large kitchen to accommodate all of us preparing our breakfast and lunch, the outside grill for cooking our dinners, and the wonderful table under the arbor where we ate all of our meals enjoying the ocean view and breezes and sunsets. The outside closets, sinks, bench and shower, make preparing to scuba and rinse off afterwards, an easy process. Everything is so convenient and well laid out. Even the Dive Shop is only a short walk for rental of equipment and air tanks!
Our host, Lamber, was very helpful in getting us reacquainted with the villa, renting a truck for us, giving us a discount voucher for the Dive Shop and suggesting some wonderful nearby restaurants. This was our second visit to The Sunset Villa and we hope to return again next year! It offers everything we want in a vacation ~~ beautiful surroundings, tranquillity and easy access to all the things we want to do.

Marlene & Jack Smith
Plaistow, NH

Just returned from a week at this house and found everything to be excellent. The house is as pictured, the snokeling and diving are exceptionally fine right off the garden. Lamber, the owner is fun and very helpful. The kitchen is well appointed including some basic food for your arrival; beds and bedrooms are very comfortable and outdoor tables and furniture are great. Our entire group of 7 adults and 2 teenagers found it to work very well with different areas to go to for quiet reading, group discussion of the day's adventures or watching the sunsets, parrots, or other birds and wildlife. Everything was wonderful and we have been to many VRBO houses. Thank you Lamber for sharing your piece of Paradise with the rest of us.
Exceptional in every way.

Our stay was everything we expected,,,and more! Us six adults had a wonderful week. Once we (or a couple of us) learned the roads to get to town and back, it was time to leave. So...we are for sure going back! The house is very inviting with the gathering table outside in the beautiful breeze. The sunsets are amazing as well. Just the anticipation of waiting for that "green flash" is relaxing in itself. Good thing the Rum Runners(food and drink restaurant just down the road) is open late!
Lamber is a very caring and wonderful owner. Checks in for any needs that may arise, answer all our questions,,,,were to eat, dive, shop. You name it...we asked him! If you love to dive, snorkel, read, relax, eat or drink,,,,you have come to the right place! The pictures that are posted are very true to the property. It is true that one of the best dive sites is right out the front of the house! The other sites are just a hop skip and a jump away. Don't forget to go see the Donkey's at the foundation site and when they sell you carrots to share....get at least three bags,,,each! I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did. Truely an amazing vacation spot.
Party of 6 from MN.

We have recently returned from a 2-week stay in this beautiful villa. This was our 5th year visiting Bonaire for a winter/diving getaway and the first year we were fortunate enough to find and stay in this property. The house is wonderful, the outdoor garden area is even better and the owners' handling of property and service to guests is unparalleled! We've already rented for 2 weeks, next year, during the first week of our stay!

Lamber (the owner) was quick to respond to any emails or questions from the time we booked the property. Transportation was arranged and waiting for us when we arrived at the airport and Lamber welcomed us, as soon as we stepped out of the taxi, to give us a tour of the villa. He took care of renting a vehicle for us too; it was delivered to the villa an hour after we arrived. Everything was so convenient! While he waited for us to arrive, Lamber found the internet wasn't working and had someone troubleshooting it before we even knew it was down. This is the first property manager/owner I have known to be so proactive and caring about the condition of their property.

For our diving needs, we took Lamber's suggestion and rented tanks from Dive Friends; just a few steps away from the villa. They have 3 other locations around town to exchange tanks so we found them to be very convenient. Everyone was so friendly and helpful.

While we weren't out diving and exploring the island, we spent most of our time in the garden, enjoying the view of the water and relaxing outdoors. The garden is beautiful, quiet and secluded, and the grill is a fantastic bonus. We spent many evenings cooking fresh fish on the grill. From our experience, it is rare to find such a nice, large outdoor grill in a rental property, plus there's a very nice 5-burner stove and double oven in the well appointed kitchen. It easily saved us several hundred dollars, not eating out every night.

When it was time to depart, Lamber and Jaqueline were there to say good-bye and thank us for our stay. A few hours later we called to tell him we ran into a snag at the airport and might need to rent the villa one more night. Before we knew it, Lamber was at the airport, looking for us to offer assistance. He knew our rental car was gone. Luckily his next renter wasn't due in for a couple days so he brought us back to the villa and helped w/ arrangements to get us back to the airport the next morning. It is treatment like this that will keep us coming back!!

We stayed over Christmas - we are a family with two boys in college. Our experience:
-arrive at the villa and there is already some food in the refrigerator. Yum!
-snorkel right from your own beach and see lots of fish there - house reef excellent
-rinse out your gear outside & hang things to dry in the outside closets
-BBQ in delightful garden where hummingbirds, parrots roam
-Nice washer/dryer to do laundry so you return home with some clean clothes
-Great kitchen with gas stove to cook gourmet meals
-Quiet neighborhood
-Close to town - we rented a truck but we saw many people walking or biking into town. There is a grocery store within walking distance.
-Close to dive shop (easy walk) - and the best snorkeling - 1,000 Steps, Karpata, Andreas 1 & 2 and of course the best snorkeling of all right at the house itself.
-Did I mention there are several outdoor living areas where you can read a book in the shade? For those of us who want to be outside and not get sunburned this is the best. Great lounge chairs with comfy cushions so you can read in the shade and still glance over at the Carribean Sea and check out the divers and the hummingbirds in the gardens.
-Best of all is the very gracious and thoughtful owners of the house. Lamber personally helped us over the phone every time we called. Need directions to the windsurfing place? Check. Need directions to Karpata? Check. Need a reservation at the Argentian restaurant? Check.
-Of course in every garden of Eden there is a snake. In this case the only drawback I can mention is that there are mosquitos. We have them at home too in the summer. Only wish they weren't so bothersome.
-Confession: I hesitated to write this review because this place is so fab that I wanted to keep it to myself.

Our group of 7 just returned from Sunset Villa on November 17 after a week’s stay. The November weather was perfect. After reading the reviews and corresponding with owner, Lamber, we knew we had found the right place. Sunset Villa is a precious gem….and perfect for a group. In our opinion the uniqueness of the villa is due to the beautiful and well-planned living spaces – open floor plan with huge kitchen, balconies, several outdoor seating areas, seaside lounge chairs, and creative well-maintained garden. This added up to a perfect retreat to spread out in, yet allow for privacy. We spent 90% of our time outdoors. The men took over most of the cooking on the outside custom grill, and we dined seaside each evening watching the sunset. Our private A/C bedroom/bath were a welcome retreat each day. The villa is Safe, Quiet, and Perfect for divers and snorkelers. Nice station for gearing up/rinse tanks/lockers. We wasted no energy walking through the garden and down the steps to the sea. How convenient! Snorkelers can spend hours investigating the corals in front of the Villa. For divers, we dove all over the island, but most often at the Cliff which is a dive site directly out from the Villa. Took in our first night-dive there where the wall of coral was unbelievable (sighting a seahorse made my week)! Lamber was our self-appointed travel guide. He arranged airport transport, vehicle and tank rental, provided a cell phone, mid-week cleaning, stocked us with our first breakfast (appreciated after our overnight flight), and checked with us throughout the week to answer our questions. He is very knowledgeable and truly enjoys making a memorable and effortless trip for his guests. Even after the trip, he has contacted us about something left behind. The location of the Villa is awesome. It’s a short walk to Bonaire Dive Friends Scuba Shop (5 locations on the island) who offers friendly and complete services. Across the drive we would relax in the nice swimming pool in the mornings and late-evening. The guys spent ½ day Deep Sea Fishing and our group had a blast on a ½ day ATV ride to the East Side. Went to town several times for ‘just one more scoop of Gelato’. While it sounds like we were very busy, the most enjoyment came from our time at the Villa where we could go at our own pace with water activities, RELAX, prepare meals, sip a ‘drink of the day’, watch the sunset, dine next to the sea, and rest up to do it all over again. Thanks Lamber!

After reading all the fantastic reviews about this Sunset Villa, we couldn't believe there actually existed a property so perfect for our needs - but there it was! The reviews are NOT stretching the truth! The 5 air-conditioned bedrooms allowed plenty of privacy for the 10 in our party, yet the large kitchen and spacious patios were perfect for large group meals. We ended up eating in all but one night because it was so easy. The kitchen was outfitted with everything we needed, and the grill, in view of the ocean, was set-up in a perfect location and was large enough to handle food for our large party. The owner, Lamber, even suggested a "local" place to go for fresh fish, and we ended up grilling tuna that had been out of the ocean for less than a few hours! Lamber was also extremely helpful arranging early morning pick-up at the airport, the delivery of rental cars, breakfast supplies for our first morning there, and provided a cell phone so we could contact him with any questions or needs. He even stopped by the Villa a few times to see how he could help.

As a group containing both divers and snorkelers, we enjoyed walking right out of the backyard gate, taking 10 steps, and being in the water. There were lots of amazing fish to see close to the Villa, and it was safe enough the 11 year old with us could go snorkeling on her own anytime she wished. The Cliff Dive site was a short swim away, and we thought it was one of the most interesting places to dive - right out of the backyard! We were even able to do night snorkeling/diving, visited by the resident Tarpon. The Villa is set up with dive lockers, drying racks and rinse sinks, so it made dealing with equipment very painless.

It was also a huge bonus that there was a dive shop, Dive Friends, less than a 5 minute walk away. Dive Friends handled our referral dives so that some of our divers could complete their certification, and their multiple locations were handy in dropping off/filling tanks. They were also extremely helpful in setting up our group not only with dive gear, but suggesting local attractions. We took a kayak/snorkel tour of the mangroves and a sailing tour (with dinner and a snorkel) to Klein Bonaire thanks to their suggestions.

I can't say enough how marvelous this property is. We recommend this property to others and plan on returning in the future. Visit the property's website to view a full video tour. We watched it many times before arriving! Thanks Lamber!!

We had a group of nine people stay at the Villa during July 2012. Working with Lambèr, the villa owner, was great - he was friendly, responsive, and helpful during both the reservation process and our stay. He answered my many questions quite quickly via email as we were preparing for our stay and reserved rental trucks for our group at a very good rate.

The villa itself is quite spacious with a large, well-equipped kitchen. We found ourselves cooking most of our meals there, and we'd usually eat them on the patio or at the lovely table next to the ocean. A couple nights we grilled out there as well. The villa seems much larger and nicer in person than it does online which was a nice surprise. (So many places look good in photos but not so good in person.) The backyard was quite beautiful with its many plants, flowers, hummingbirds, parrots, and the occasional lizard.

Having an excellent dive site in our backyard really spoiled us! Most mornings a few of us early risers would go out for a dive before the others woke up, and it was just as great to do a night dive out there, accompanied by the resident tarpon. And of course having our own large rinse tanks and secure dive lockers made the whole diving experience a breeze.

There is a dive shop just a few houses down although we didn't know about it before arriving and had already made tank arrangements elsewhere. Next time I'll use that shop. There is a small grocery store a few minutes away across the main road, Captain Don's is a five minute walk, and Buddy Dive is just beyond that, about a one minute drive.

If I return to Bonaire I will stay in the villa again.