Plaza Resort Bonaire

Plaza Resort Bonaire

Plaza Resort Bonaire
Location within Bonaire
General information
Coordinates 12°8′15″N 68°16′32″W / 12.13750°N 68.27556°W / 12.13750; -68.27556
Owner Van der Verk
Other information
Number of rooms 200
Website

Plaza Resort Bonaire is the largest diving resort in the southern Caribbean Island of Bonaire, located at 80 Julio A. Abraham Boulevard, south of Kralendijk, just north of Flamingo International Airport (about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) away).[1] It is operated by the Van der Valk family of hoteliers and is also known as the Plaza Resort Van der Valk. American divers have reportedly voted it one of the top 10 dive resorts in the world.[2] The resort, which claims to be five-star, although this is disputed by several independent publications,[2] is situated on a peninsula, at the mouth of a man-made lagoon with turquoise blue waters.[3] The Plaza Resort Bonaire covers 5 hectares (12 acres)[2] and more than 300,000 tropical plants and trees. Its beach measures 500 metres (1,600 ft) long and 50–100 metres (160–330 ft) deep and is a notable scuba diving location, known as Toucan Diving.

Size

In 2002, the hotel contained 174 rooms and apartments, 198 rooms were reported in 2006 and 200 rooms were reported in 2007.[2][4][5] As of 2006, it was reported to contain nine two-storey buildings and a large freshwater swimming pool, a casino, four floodlit tennis courts, a fitness centre and a water sports facility.[2] A turquoise lagoon meanders its way through the resort. The main restaurant of the hotel is known as The Banana Tree;[6] the hotel also has the fish restaurant Tipsy Seagull, Caribbean Point Restaurant and the Coconut Crash Beach Bar.

Life at Bonair Plaza enlivens after sunset. Diving and snorkelling are the activities that are seen using four-cell flash lights, since the use of chemical lamps is banned in this Marine park.[4]

Marine species

Marine species Holacanthus ciliaris seen during Scuba diving

Deep water corals seen, at depths below wave action in the lagoon, grow in the limited light that penetrates into the sea. The species variety has been conjectured as Agaricia lamarcki and Agaricia grahamae. These are seen in the form of thin plates stacked one above the other but are fragile.[1]

Toucan Divers of the resort arrange a special diving near the Town Pier, which is a shallow dive site with colourful and varied marine life.[7] The nightlife witnessed, of the underwater sea, is full of coral formations and marine creatures. Tarpons, the large silvery fish gets its feed as, when the flash lights used by divers attract the smaller fish species which come out and become easy prey.[6]

Seaquarium

Plaza Resort Bonaire

The 10 feet (3.0 m) seaquarium built into the lagoon is the hub of training activities of the Dive and Sports Center of the resort. Boats, yachts and Whalers are operated from the marina attached to the resort; the marina is planned in such a way that it does not disturb the marine environment near the lagoon.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Lewbel, George; Lewbel, George S.; Martin, L. R. (1 October 1991). Diving Bonaire. Aqua Quest Publications, Inc. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-9623389-4-6. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Sullivan, Lynne M. (1 June 2006). Adventure Guide to Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao. Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 189. ISBN 978-1-58843-572-9. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  3. ↑ Kidder, Laura M. (7 September 1999). Fodor's 2000 Caribbean. Fodor's. ISBN 978-0-679-00314-4. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 Brushaber, Susan; Greenberg, Arnold (1 July 2002). Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao Alive!. Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-58843-259-9. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  5. ↑ Cameron, Sarah (1 October 2007). Footprint Caribbean Islands. Footprint Travel Guides. p. 951. ISBN 978-1-904777-97-7. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  6. 1 2 Sullivan, Lynne (15 July 2009). Bonaire Travel Adventures. Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 48. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  7. ↑ Aquarium fish magazine. Fancy Publications. 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
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